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General Travel Tips and Advice Have you traveled before?- Please share your tips and advice with fellow Tpunks!

Raileurope.com: See Europe by train
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Old 11-27-2006, 12:46 PM   #1
annielee22
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So i have not been on this site for awhile, not really since i got back from my six week trek around europe. While it was difficult tocome back i found that i quickly readjusted to life over here and soon was back to the daily grind. However, with my upcoming graduation from college and deciding what to do with the rest of my life i came to a realization...i am not done travelling. The farther i get away from my trip the more i miss europe and my travels and long to go back. So, i have decided i need to take a much lengthier trip next time and do europe right. I'm thinking somewhere around 6 months of traveling.

My question is, how do i go about planning a trip as lengthy as that one, i can do the six week trip that was no problem, but what other problems do i encounter by staying for such a long time. So any advice on planning longer trips would be much appreciated!
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Old 11-28-2006, 02:55 AM   #2
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Probably the biggest challenges for a longer trip are on the financial side - funding it, of course, but also making arrangements to take care of any bills or obligations at home. This is easy to resolve by arranging automatic payments, of course, provided the money's available when needed! It's a good idea to pay off as many of your bills as you can before you go, so you don't have to worry about them while you're on the road, and you don't have a mountain of debt when you get home.

Packing can be an issue, depending on where you plan to go - you'll need different clothes as the seasons change. I traveled from April through August, beginning in northern Europe, so I definitely needed sweaters and warm gear at the beginning, but I mailed them home when the weather turned better. Also in the package, I mailed everything I'd accumulated but didn't actively need (souvenirs, maps, notebooks, etc.) to cut down on the weight of my pack.

Pace is important too. If you plan on visiting a new place every day or two you'll be exhausted half way through your trip. You'll have the luxury of being able to stay put for 4 or 5 days, or much longer if you fall in love with someplace, and that's key to enjoying a longer trip. It's also nice to plan in some "vacation" time, days or weeks where you just plan on visiting some nice beach or chilling in the mountains somewhere, because sometimes you get burnt out trying to see every sight and check out every attraction.

I wouldn't worry too much about loneliness, usually the hostel crowd takes care of the company factor, but you might consider asking a friend to meet up with you for a week or two somewhere, to recharge your battery if you're afraid of homesickness.

Make sure you have travel insurance in case you get sick - it doesn't happen often, but the longer you're away the greater chance there is for a cold or some weird bug to find you...just consider how often you get sick at home in a six month period, particularly if you're not eating/sleeping as well as you normally do...
Insurance is cheap and it beats paying hospital bills or a flight home out of pocket.

Ask someone to give you a rechargeable phone card so you can call home. Parents are generally good for this one, as they usually like to know if you're still alive.

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Old 11-28-2006, 11:09 AM   #3
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^ Everything she said. Packing for six months vs. six weeks isn't going to be a whole lot different, other than you'll need to take seasons into account... but remember that you can buy pretty much anything you want or need over there.

Your biggest obstacle in planning for an extended trip is getting everything ready before you leave. For something that extended you'll need to have a financial backup plan, or rather more of a backup plan than you'd normally have. What I mean by that is try to calculate what you think the trip is going to cost at a maximum, and then budget for 50% (or more) over that (if you can). Like tumblezweedz said, insurance is a must. And one other thing to consider is the entry permits-- i.e. you're permitted 6 months in the UK, but only 3 months in Schengen agreement countries. After 3 months in a Schengen country (most of the EU) you have to be gone for 3 months before you can come back. Fortunately the UK makes this easy, but unfortunately the UK tends to be more expensive.

It seems like I'm forgetting something... but others will be along to weigh in with their thoughts. Have a good time!!
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Old 11-28-2006, 11:37 AM   #4
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All this advice is really good, you have already pointed out how much i have to learn and plan before i am prepared to go, one question about length of stay, i have a british passport so does that mean the i can go to the EU for as long as i want?
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Old 11-28-2006, 11:53 AM   #5
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As far as I know the answer to that is yes.


Furthermore I would encourage you to think about your statement "I am not done travelling"

Travelling isn't a one-time thing you do before you start life or at least it doesn't have to be. Life is about living and doing what you enjoy the most. For me that is travelling so for life I plan to be on the road, exploring and adventuring. Always remember that the whole 9-5 grind is a lie and that there is little life inside of it!

Go forward chica into the great unknown and continue to be an adventerous spirit!
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Old 11-29-2006, 12:44 PM   #6
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I agree that travelin should not be a one time thing and something that is continued throughout life however, i don't know if i will always be able to escape my life for 6 months and not have to worry about too much stuff. I hope that seeing the world will always be a huge part of my life , and i'm looking forward to spending a significant portion of time exploring and learning, however i do have to figure out a way to fund this......
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Old 11-29-2006, 12:46 PM   #7
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prostitution seems to work best for me... not everyone can do it though...

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Old 11-29-2006, 02:34 PM   #8
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i'll keep that one for my back up plan......
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