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Countdown to our 6-7 month holiday:

  • 5.5 weeks till we fly
  • 24 days left of work
We are starting to look forward to our trip. Plans are coming together, but there are more and more things to think about.  This is why it is better to travel when you’re young!  You have simpler life and less personal admin.  You pack up and go.  When you’re older, things are complicated.  There is so much to think about.
Our to do list is long.  These are the types of things we’re having to consider:
  • Flights – booking the first few
  • Travel Insurance – consider that gadget insurance is expensive, and household insurance generally doesn’t cover gadgets taken out of the country for more than 30-60 days.
  • International driver’s licence – some countries won’t accept your local licence, especially if you’ll be hiring a car.
  • Home Exchange and AirBNB prep, arrangements with neighbours to help while we’re away
  • Selling our one car. Makes no sense having a car sitting on the drive for 6 months – especially if it is hardly ever used.
  • Vaccinations. Be careful. They advise you to get these 6 weeks before travel, but be aware – some require multiple doses over 3 months.
  • Malaria advice. Again – be careful of the advice you’re given.  Often you’re given generic country advice, and could be sold expensive malaria tablets you don’t need. The NHS Fit for Travel website gives good advice.  We were disappointed at the advice offered by Boots though – it generalises by country.
  • Visas. Applying for visas for some countries, or preparing the information required for visas later during our trips
  • Mail redirects. Having our mail delivered or collected while we’re away.
  • Bank & credit cards. Ensuring that no bank cards will expire during our trip.
  • Tax returns. Getting all tax return documentation together early.
  • Mobile phones and iPad contracts. Converting them to Pay-As-You-Go or cancelling them before we go. (Will cost £2.50/min to call them to do it while we’re away!)
  • Subscriptions. Checking whether Netflix, Spotify, Kindle Unlimited will work abroad.
    • Answers: Netflix (works almost everywhere except China), Spotify (sounds like it works if you use your UK account), Kindle Unlimited (not that convinced that it will be beneficial).
  • Contact lenses. A stock of daily contact lenses will fill up my bag, so I am converting to monthly lenses. It’s going to take some adjusting to!
Good news is, we’re making a good dent in these. And when the prize at the end of the chores is so big, you don’t mind doing them so much.
The countdown continues …