Kicking Off Your Travel Experiences: Initial Planning Guidance

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This post kicks off the planning section of our blog! For more thoughts on planning your trip, stay tuned to this page. Don't forget to check out the other sections under "Travel Tips" for deep dives on specific topics!

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So You Want to Travel...

So you want to start traveling? Not vacationing, traveling. Experiencing new cultures, meeting new friends, and seeing parts of the world almost no one you know has seen. But you are new to this. The only trips you have taken are your annual family vacations to the cabin in the woods or the beaches in Florida. You have no idea where to start. Where should you go, what should your budget be, what should you pack, what if you mess up?

Well, let's put those concerns to rest and think them through! You have already taken the first step: you decided to get started! No matter where you are going in the world, the most important place to start is right where you are.

In this part of the blog, we will discuss various planning aspects of your travels. Planning is important (as long as you don't over plan), and it is even more important when starting out. So let's start out with asking yourself a few of the big questions that come with starting your travel journey.

What Kind of Traveler Are You?

In today's world of travel vlogs and Instagram reels, we get a firsthand look into the real life of full-time travelers. Sort of. What we really get are the curated views from their travels which pull people like you and us into the travel life. What you don't see are some of the decisions that these travelers have made in order to bring us those pituresque views, scenes, and recommendations.

The first of those decisions? What kind of traveler are you? Are you a hitchhiking backpacker willing to stay in low-end hostels, spend hours in a BlaBlaCar, and prepare 90% of your meals yourself so you can have more money to spend on experiences? Or are you someone who needs to stay in four-star hotels, enjoy all of your meals out on the town, and check a bag every time you take a flight? Are you going on short trips to one place for a week or less, taking on an entire continent, or going around the world?

There's no right or wrong answer to any of these questions! It is all about personal preferences based on our own styles, needs, and budgets. If you are just starting out, chances are you'll be trying out a bit of everything to figure out what works for you, and that is fine! Better than fine, really, because then you'll really get to know how you like to travel. And, spoiler alert, your style will evolve over time, both as you gain more travel experience and as you get older in general.

This question is worth thinking about as you start your travels. How you answer it will drive a lot of important decisions, from gear to clothing to accommodations, even your diet and fitness.

What Kind of Budget Do You Have?

Where and when you travel will be driven by three primary factors: your nationality and passport, armed conflict, and your budget. Of those three, your budget will be the one you spend the most time thinking about, as you will be parting with money constantly. Breakfast croissant in Paris? Tap your card. Evening tea in Marrakech? That will be 15 Dirhams, please. Your seven-day stay at the hostel in Tulum? Don't forget to hit the cashpoint before arrival.

Of all of the travel considerations you have, this is the one you really need to think through in advance. You work hard for your money, so why waste it simply because you didn't think things through?

You can travel a lot of the world on a shoestring budget. Like, a lot a lot. You can easily breeze through Morocco, Mexico, and Thailand on 30 to 40 USD a day without missing any of the must-see sights with enough discipline. If you are willing to put it in two-foot drive (aka walk), you get added free experience of seeing the city from the ground up, through neighbourhoods and the lives of the people who live there, something the casual vacationer tends to overlook.

On the otherhand, if you're heading to Germany, Ireland, Italy, or anywhere else in Western Europe, a shoestring budget is going to come with some deliberate, even tough, decisions about how long you stay, how you get around, and what all you visit in-depth versus what all you admire from the outside. A hostel bed in Madrid in July will easily cost you 30 USD per night, a tour of the Vatican Museums is going to cost 90 Euros easy, and even tap water with your meal in parts of Germany is going to cost you.

Don't let that last bit scare you away, though! As long as you sit down ahead of time and look at your budget, you will be fine! The key here is to plan your spending (at least somewhat) so you can have the experiences you have been dreaming of as you scroll through TikTok and binge-watch travel vlogs on YouTube.

Beaches, Mountains, Cities, Where to Start?

Remember that first question, "What kind of traveler are you?" Well, that's how you decide where to start. If you are a lover of all things on the water, then the Caribbean is a great place to get your travel start. These countries are pretty easy to get to, tend to have economies that will stretch your dollar for you, and you have a pretty decent chance of someone speaking English (a universal travel language).

Prefer the mountains? Well, then maybe the Pyrenees or Atlas are calling your name. Again, easy to get to, decent chance of finding English speakers, and your dollar will go decently far.

Cities, rural villages, backroom hostels, in any case, the answer of where to start is the same: wherever you start! The key is to simply get started. Who knows? Maybe along the way you'll learn that you're not actually a beach person, but instead really like sipping your sangria in a Spanish square watching the tourists scurry round. The only way to know for sure is to simply get started.

Getting Started With Gear

Alright. Gear: one of the most important, oddly stressful start-up costs and decisions of travel. Travel backpacks, high-end suitcases, carry-on vs checked bags, what do you do?

The truth is, when you're getting started, you are going to get this one wrong. Just accept it. That cool Osprey backpack your friend has gone around the world with just won't work with your travel style. That really cool suitcase with the built in charging station and four swivelling wheels takes too much of a beating on Paris's cobblestone streets. Whatever you go with for your first pack, you are going to have some kind of trouble with it. And that is ok!

As a general rule, a backpack is going to be better than suitcases or dufflebags almost anywhere in the world you go. From cobblestones in Europe to dirt roads in Africa and Latin America to long walks through cities in the United States, a backpack will save you frustration, maintenance costs on beat-up wheels, and your back (as long as it is fitted correctly). You'll also be more mobile and able to adapt your plans than those who lug around heavy rollerbags.

After that, though, you're going to have to experiment a bit. Highly-technical hiking backpacks provide pockets and compartments to keep everything easily accessible and separated, but that comes with a cost of having less actual packing space for the size of your pack (which can be problematic, especially when it comes to shoes). The clamshell-style packs are great for packing cubes and large items, but can get a bit disorganised in a hurry and throw off your balance if you don't pack it right. That 35-liter pack is going to be great for carry-on, but that checked 75-liter pack is going to let you bring everything you think you need.

The tradeoffs are endless, but once you commit to the backpacking life, you can really make anything work. As with everything else, the trick is to simply get started!

Parting Thoughts

Get started! Ultimately, that is how you are going to start your travel journey. Worried about overspending your budget, getting the wrong pack, or not enjoying your trip? Well, let's help with that: it is going to happen! Just accept it. You are going to want to go on that 50 Euro night out, end up strapping something to the outside of your pack because it just won't fit, and feel like you missed something at your dream destination. That is part of the travel life! The only surefire way to not experience these things is to not get started in the first place. As long as you think it through a bit, at the end of the day you will be fine. All of those little miscues will be stories you tell later and pass on to other new travelers sitting around the hostel one day. But so will that amazing hitchiking experience in Kurdistan, the cliffside views of Ireland, and the cenote picnics in the Yucatan.

All because you decided to get started!