Travel Tips and Lessons Learned From A 9-Month Journey Around the World.

My family and I recently returned from a 9-month, 13-country, 48-city trip around the world while we remodeled our house. I knew that choosing to do this was a crazy idea considering we had multiple 10+ hour flights and multiple 4-5 hour drives on road trips with both our young kids in tow, not to mention the cost of such a trip during an uncertain economic climate.

But financially speaking, it made sense because it was actually cheaper for us to travel that entire time than it was to rent a house in our own neighborhood during peak season.? Plus, seeing that we hadn’t traveled for a couple of years during the Covid-19 pandemic, we figured it would be a great opportunity to catch up on some long overdue travel before both kids started school full time.

So, after a couple of months of planning, we packed up our house, moved our things into storage, packed our bags, got all the necessary homeschooling material for the kids, paused all my consulting engagements, and took off for our trip around the world.

I’ll save the stories for another post or maybe even a book, but I wanted to share some travel tips that I learned along the way for those of you who may be considering such a trip for you and your family, or maybe striking out as a digital nomad on an extended work-cation overseas.

Without further ado- here are some of my key tips and takeaways from this incredibly rewarding yet challenging trip:

Planning

• Get travel insurance if you’re going to remote places or have multiple legs of a trip.? It’s worth the expense in every sense.
• ?Don’t stay more than 3 full days in a city. Every time we stayed longer, we were ready to leave. It’s always better to leave a place wanting more.
• Check to make sure if you need an international driving permit before renting a car in a foreign country, especially Japan. I almost lost two weeks of pre-paid hotels and activities because I couldn’t rent a car without one.
• ?You can plan all you want, but stuff happens that is out of our control like canceled flights, surprise visa requirements, and unforeseen vaccination requirements that are buried in the fine print (thank you for that Japan). Always have a backup plan or be prepared to pay a lot of money for last-minute bookings. ?
• Research through booking sites (Expedia, Kayak, Booking, etc.) but book through the provider and ask for price matching. Even though it is generally a bit more expensive, the customer service is always better and terms are generally more forgiving for changes/cancellations.
• Read the fine print when you book flights, cars, and hotels. Try to get flexible cancellation terms and pay the extra money for the ability to get a full refund as an insurance policy. I can't tell you how many times I got screwed by just finding the cheapest deal and booking. ?Those few minutes reading the terms can save you from a massive headache later on. ?
• Don’t stay in the city center with all the tourists and price premiums. Stay just on the outskirts where it’s cheaper, quieter, and you can usually get much more space for your money. Most of the best parts of the trip were in these places instead of staying in the city center.
• When visiting a new place, stay in cities no one has heard of and then go visit the touristy attractions. It will allow you to be immersed in the city/country’s true authentic culture, and again, it’s usually cheaper.
• Always check visa and entry requirements months in advance, ideally before booking. Scrambling to get a visa the day or hours before your flight is more than stressful. This actually happened to me twice, in Australia and NZ because I ignorantly thought that I didn’t need a visa as an American. Luckily I was able to scramble and get them submitted and approved hours before our flights but things could have been much worse.
• Don’t overlook the great outdoors when visiting new places. Hikes, fishing trips, safaris, and cruises are a great way to see more of the country and meet new people.
• Whatever your travel budget is, expect it’ll end up actually to be doubled by the time you’re back home. Opportunities pop up out of nowhere and you don’t want to miss them because you under-budgeted.
• Getting an Airbnb with a kitchen and eating in will save you a TON of money on dining out. It’ll also be easier to eat healthy.
• ?Don’t be afraid to overlook the “destination” places and cities. For us, that meant staying in an amazing little beach town called Dugi Rat in Croatia instead of downtown Split, which was only twenty minutes away. Go explore off the beaten path and see spots that not everyone is talking about.? They’ve always been more memorable and pleasant than the places everyone talks about. Plus, when you eventually tell stories it’s always cool to talk about things not many others know about.
• Try to go to seasonal places just outside the off-season. It will not be that different and it will be a lot less expensive. Think going to Europe in September or May.
• This may be common sense, but if you’re booking midnight flights, check and double-check check to make sure your flight time is on the right day. In Hong Kong, I got confused and missed a flight to Dubai because I thought our flight was taking off later that night when it took off the first thing the previous morning at 12am. That was a very costly dyslexic moment.

Packing

• Pack light, because you’ll inevitably acquire more clothing and souvenirs along your travels. In our case that ended up being another 8 lbs worth of toys, clothes, souvenirs, etc.
• Pack light, but if you have a lot of luggage, (or surfboards/fishing poles/golf clubs) schedule airport transfers in advance. ?Not all taxis or rideshares are amenable to picking you up with these types of luggage.
• ?If you’re going to locations of warm water and clear water. Bring a mask and snorkel. It’s worth it and you’ll save a lot of money on rentals.
• If you’re bringing a lot of clothes, buy space savers to vacuum seal your clothes. They will save you a lot of extra space.
• Put an Apple Airtag or other GPS locator on your luggage. It will help you find your bags if they get lost (and they inevitably will).
• The coastal towns outside of urban Brazil are amazing in every sense of the word. Beautiful people, beautiful scenery, great food, and great vibes. Definitely worth checking out.
• Pack enough of the appropriate medicine as if you were camping in the wilderness. Can’t say bough how much I saved the day by having a first aid kit with adequate medicine from our home country.
• Wet wipes…never leave home without them. Trust me on this one.
• Pack clothes for layering. I couldn’t believe how in Chile and some other countries the temperature can change +/- 30 degrees in a single day. ?
• Bring some local gifts from your hometown to give away when you make new friends and are shown great hospitality.
• However many charging cables you think you need, bring two more. And if possible, get a cable organizer
• Pack earplugs and an eye mask. They’ll save you on long flights or noisy hotels/areas when sleeping. Hard to travel and enjoy when you’re sleep-deprived.
• Ounces equal pounds and pounds equal pain. Pack light.
• Men, 3 full outfits is more than enough to travel with. If your clothes don’t look dirty and they don’t smell, they’re good for another use (up to 3 days). Use Airbnb’s with laundry machines otherwise just hand wash your clothes in a hotel sink and hang dry in the shower. Ladies, I know I know, 20 still isn’t enough.?

Traveling

• Make sure you select the appropriate hour of rental car pickup. In Brazil, this cost me 2 hours of waiting and another $400 in fees/etc. to book a new one when they gave up my reservation because I didn’t tick 1 pm instead of 12 pm online.
• Make friends with the locals. Always be friendly/kind, tip big and be generous. It’s the right thing to do and you never know when you’ll need their help.
• Eat as healthy as possible whenever possible. Quick eats are generally more expensive and bad for your waistline/stomach.
• Brazil is really cheap for Americans. Like really cheap (at the time of this writing).
• Don’t order the ceviche, I don’t care how good it looks/sounds. I’m 3/3 with food poisoning after eating it. Make it yourself or avoid it or raw food outside 1st world countries at all costs.
• Avoid salad in third world countries and fruit without skins. The bacteria and pesticides will make you really sick and can give you long-term effects like stomach cancer.
• ?Know your limits when it comes to outdoor activities. I nearly died failing to observe this in Chile when I paddled out in 20ft surf on too small of a board thinking I could handle it. Dying is bad, but dying in a foreign country and leaving your family behind to deal with the aftermath of your stupid decision is worse. ?
• Speaking of Chile, even in summer it is cold. Like, really freaking cold.
• Japan is ridiculously expensive but SO worth the visit. In my opinion, it is one of the coolest most exotic places in the world.
• You can eat really well and cheaply at Japanese convenience stores. I routinely fed our very hungry family of 4 for less than US $20.
• Everyone should see Dubai and Singapore at least once in their lives. The cities and their skylines are nothing short of stunning to see. If you're like me and have lost hope in humanity, the buildings and architecture will refresh your hope in what we can achieve.
• Don’t try to rent a car in Japan or any major city for that matter. Public transportation is cheap, effective, and way less stressful when you don’t have to drive in narrow streets with lots of traffic and little to no parking.
• New Zealand is one of the most underrated places in the world, probably my favorite. Great scenery, weather, outdoor activities, people, culture, and very uncrowded.
• Don’t ever go to an Italian restaurant hungry or? an Italian household full, unless you want to feel so full you want to explode.
• Pasta and pizza will make you fat but when in Italy, just deal with it. It’s all worth it.
• Limoncello will sneak up on you, don’t do more than two glasses or you’ll regret it the next day.
• Try some of the local libations, some will be so bad it’ll be funny and some will be so good when you try them again later on, you will feel like you’re back where you tried it.
• ?Grab a small keychain or patch from each country. They make a great ornament for a Christmas tree, when stitched to a backpack, or on memory wall board to remember your travels
• ?Try to speak some of the local language. When the locals see you at least trying they will be much more friendly than if you insist on speaking your own language.

Philosophy

• If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go with a friend. If you go far for a long time, go with your family.?
• When going to countries where you don’t speak the language, you better be really good at non-verbal communication. That or bring a pocket translator.
• Remember and write down some of the recipes you tried and make them when you get home. It will bring back fond memories and impress your friends when you share some of the dishes you tried abroad.
• ?Keep in touch with the people you met during your travels. Invite them to come visit you if become close and/or they showed you hospitality in their hometowns.
• ?The world is a lot smaller when you’ve been around it…twice. Try to make it happen, it’s a feat not many can say they’ve done.
• ?Travel is the best teacher. It will humble you, break you down, and leave you smarter and with more character than many of your peers.
• ?You can re-make the money but you can never re-live the experience or re-make the memory.? Now is the time. Life is short, get out there and enjoy it.?

?

In closing, I realize perhaps many of you would love to do this at some point in your lives but think that you don’t have the time or money. The truth is, it really isn’t as difficult to do as you would expect. Our respective life situations and timing may be different, but if you really want to do something like this, even on a smaller scale, it can be done with the right amount of planning and budgeting. ?

At a high level, you can always Airbnb your home, live off the rent, homeschool the kids for a year or semester, put your valuables in storage, pack your bags, and get after it. ?Sure, life may be more complicated than that. But as you contemplate whether to seize on an opportunity like this or not, remember one thing:

Tomorrow is no guarantee and who wants to travel when you’re old and retired and you have to always worry about where the nearest bathroom is? Just do it now!