A-Z OF TRAVEL PREPARATION

We are now right in the throes of preparation for our major adventure – retiring later this year then embarking on pretty much full time travel from early 2020. As we work through these preparations, it strikes us just how much there is to organise and to get into place before you can go. It’s not just a matter of upping sticks and catching a plane – there’s so much to think of, and put into place. So over the next few days, here’s our A-Z of how to be organised enough to take this on.

A is for accommodation, and Airbnb; it’s also for apartments. We’re going to leave a lot of this free, but you can’t leave everything to chance – for instance, we’ll book accommodation in the major cities before arrival, either before we leave the UK or on the ipad as we move around the world. It’s one thing finding digs in a small town, but a different ball game in a capital city. We’re also in Cambodia for the Khmer New Year when accommodation really gets booked up early. So it’ll be a mix of booking before we leave the UK, booking a few days ahead as we move on, and rocking up and taking pot luck. Airbnb is invaluable in that blend.

B is for banking, bills and budgeting. It’s essential that you can transfer money between accounts and pay bills whilst travelling. Not only will we need to pay bills as we go, but of course there’s bills at home to pay too, so we’re busy putting as many accounts on line as possible in order to minimise bills arriving by surface mail. Our banking app also means we can keep most of our funds in accounts which are unconnected with Bank cards, lessening the effect of any card cloning or similar. As for budgeting, at our age we’re not exactly on a tight budget, but it’s always necessary to keep control and not give yourself a problem. Having said that, our kind of independent travel is unlikely to break the Bank anyway.

C is for cars. Travelling for around four months means you’re leaving cars at home, untouched. Our decision is to let one go and just keep the one car; it might feel odd when we return, only having one between us after a lifetime of one each, but we’re pretty sure we’ll get over that. Even leaving one car for so long is still a bit of a worry though.

D is for driving permits. We will be driving hire cars in many different countries over the next few years. In most cases, this means we need an international driving permit, both to enable the hire in the first place, and to smooth things if and when you get stopped by the police. They’re not difficult to obtain, but they are only valid for twelve months at a time, so renewal reminders will be necessary.