Being able to travel, especially long term, is such an amazing opportunity and something I would highly recommend to anyone. That being said, it’s not always the easiest option (you become acutely aware of this when searching for yet another passable public toilet). Long trips take a lot of organising and usually involve keeping to a strict budget, but there’s also a lot you need to do at home before you go, if you don’t want to run into some pretty annoying issues later. Keep reading to see some of the most important and least-talked-about things you need to know before you board that first plane (or boat, you never know).
1. Sort your life out
This sounds obvious but is often more involved than you’d think. Ending a tenancy, storing or selling belongings, quitting your job… all these things take time and get majorly stressful when you’re under a time pressure. If you own a property then there’s a whole other can of worms you need to deal with - read our post on the things you need to know before you rent out your home so you don’t make any other mistakes we did.
2. Points, points and more POINTS
I can’t stress this one enough, get collecting air miles and points as soon as possible. You don’t need to be a frequent flyer or have a degree in economics to collect a lot of points with minimal effort. Rewards credit cards like Avios give you points for every pound you spend, as well as hefty sign-up bonuses. In just under five months I’d collected almost 20,000 points on from my bonuses and day-to-day spending (enough for a flight from Sydney to Wellington). Now I really wish I’d done it sooner! The UK doesn’t have the kind of massive points/miles schemes that the US does, but it’s still well worth doing.
3. Get your travel insurance BEFORE you go
Travel insurance is pretty cheap and straightforward for a regular holiday, but tell them you’re going away for multiple months at a time and to multiple destinations and suddenly its computer says no. You’ll need to go to a specialist insurer for a long-term trip. But brace yourself for the price. We got a great policy with Outbacker, who specialise in cover for backpacking trips, but it set us back over £1,000. Prices also differ depending on your destinations, but add in the USA and your premium will show it.
4. Let the Student Loans Company know you’re leaving
This one obviously only applies if you went to a UK university from 2009 onwards and took out government loans (unless you’re Scottish in which case, you don’t know how lucky you are). We made the HUGE mistake of not telling SLC we were leaving the country and boy did we pay for it. Don’t assume that a P45 from your employer will be enough. Once they stop receiving money from you, SLC will want to know how you are supporting yourself and they will want proof. Lots of it. I only found this out three months into our trip and ended up being put on what they lovingly call a ‘non-compliance interest rate’, which basically means you pay the absolute maximum amount until you can prove your current employment status. And if you think you can just avoid paying until you get home, SLC will take steps to ‘pursue you’ for the money - not something you want to deal with when you’re meant to be globetrotting. So, before you go, head to the SLC site at GOV.uk and follow the links to update your employment status and include evidence of any funds you have. I had to upload bank statements from four different cards, plus travel cards in three different currencies, a travel itinerary and proof of home co-ownership, all in all about sixteen different documents. It takes about two weeks for your evidence to be assessed so get it in before you go or right at the start of your trip. It took me four attempts to persuade them I wasn’t squirrelling away a secret fortune.
5. Let HMRC know you’re leaving
This came as a surprise to us but, apparently when you’re leaving the UK for a prolonged period, you need to let the taxman know. This is particularly important if you have any passive income from property or other investments or if you plan to work while you’re abroad. It’s relatively easy to do, fill out the P85 form on the GOV.uk website and they’ll let you know if you need to do anything else. Not doing this can land you in a confusing and expensive tax situation later on.
6. Vaccinate yourself silly (you can’t be too careful)
This one is totally dependent on where you’ll be travelling, but for us travelling from the UK to south east Asia, we had a pretty long list of vaccines that we could potentially need. Check with your pharmacist to find out which they’d recommend based on the regions you’re visiting. If you’re in the UK, you can book a vaccinations appointment with Boots; the pharmacist will run through what you might need and can administer most of them there and then. You may need to wait days or weeks between doses of certain vaccines though, so factor that into your travel prep. Also bear in mind that you’ll have to foot the bill for these yourself, (the NHS ain’t covering you to go on holiday) and some of them are pricey. We spent over £400 each.
7. Visa la visa loca!
Visas. They can be a pain and sometimes very expensive but a lot of places won’t let you in without one. If you know where you’re going, or even if you have a vague idea, then get yourself a list of countries and the visas they require. Not checking in advance can cause you massive headaches later. For example, the US requires you to have an ESTA which you can easily get online before you go for a small fee. Many countries in SE Asia don’t require tourists to obtain a visa at all, but they can ask for proof of onward travel, which, if you don’t have, can result in your being refused entry into the country. Tip: if you aren’t sure of your travel plans, sites like Best Onward Ticket let you buy a genuine plane ticket out of the country in under a minute, but which only lasts 48 hours, just long enough for you to show at immigration. These are a great option if you aren’t sure how long you want to stay in a new country.
8. Invest in your tech
This may seem like a random one when you’re saving hard for your trip, but hear me out. If you’re planning on taking a lot of photos (who isn’t?) or even recording, blogging or vlogging your experience then you’ll want a decent camera and laptop. If your phone is on its last legs or the camera is a bit lame, upgrade before you go! And as someone who has struggled with a vintage laptop on the road, I would recommend getting yourself a new one while you still have money coming in. Once you’re on the road, blowing hundreds or even thousands of pounds on tech just isn’t an option.
There you have it, eight tips for prepping for long-term travel. Even if you fail to do any of them though, muddling your way through is part of the experience and there will always be something you haven’t thought of! The main thing is to roll with the punches and not put too much pressure on yourself.
Bon voyage!
Connor
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