since i manifested a life of travel, i’ve been on a six-month trip, a three month trip, one month, couple week-longs, a weekender here n there… anyway. i’ve been around. no matter how long you’re going away for, there is a lot to think about and the prep process can be overwhelming, so i thought it might be helpful to share my checklist on how i prepare for my trips!

let me know if you have any questions and i will respond/update this article accordingly!

planning

how to decide where to go

i get asked this question more than i would think, and it’s confusing because to me the answer is simple: go where you want! explore somewhere new, somewhere your friends visited and loved, somewhere you saw and looked cool on insta. there is travel inspo alllll around us. you’ll never know which places tickle your travel bug until you try, so pick somewhere and go!

finances

saving up

totally depends on your travel style and where you want to go, but try to keep at least $1,000 (CAD) of buffer money for a multi-month trip. i definitely spent more than this on missed flights and other unexpected costs on my 6-month trip lol, could have been more responsible probably but ya live and ya learn.
in expensive places like western Europe, i’d budget about $100/day but you can chop this in half if you stay outside of the city centre, make your meals, don’t drink fricken 20 euro cocktails, etc. lol.
on my recent trip in Central America, you can get hostel beds for like $9 in Guatemala or Nicaragua, and a lil more in Colombia but that still varies depending on where you are in the country. Caye Caulker and Costa Rica are more expensive; like $15-20 a hostel bed. meals are about $5-10 when you eat out. I DON’T KNOW. just message me where you’re going and if i’ve been i will tell you what i spent okay!

insurance

you will need travel insurance and travel medical insurance for your trip. god forbid something goes wrong, but you don’t wanna be footing a gazillion dollar medical bill if it does.
my card American Express Cobalt covers my travel insurance (lost baggage, etc) and travel medical insurance for the first 15 days. after that, i am using SafetyWing, and insurance designed for digital nomads like myself! it’s super easy to get online, covers up to $250,000, and is the cheapest option i’ve seen, at just $37 usd per 4 weeks. when i was shopping around for insurances most were asking me where i was going, the exact amount of days, etc, but you know what it’s 2019, i am #wanderlustandwifi-ing, and i JUST DONT KNOW OKAY?
SafetyWing allows you to update as you go, and it will keep renewing like a subscription until you tell it to stop.
the universe loves me so much that literally the day i was running around abbotsford trying to find insurance, i was chatting with someone from SafetyWing and i am able to partner with them to refer you guys! use this link to purchase your own insurance: https://safetywing.com/a/kelliepaxian !

banking

call your bank, let them know where you are going and double check your cards will work there (mine did not in Cuba and that was a rude awakening). even though if your bank is like mine at HSBC, they’ll likely put your card on hold for suspected fraud at least once a trip anyway 🙄🙄 then you will have to find someone local’s phone to try and call collect, so good luck with that! #somadatyouHSBC
go to your local currency exchange or bullion to get out currency for your next destination at the best exchange rate. even a couple hundred bucks will do just to get you goin’ upon arrival.

phone

for #peaceplaypassion i put my number on “vacation disconnect” to pay a lesser fee and save it for when i got back, rather than cancelling it altogether. your Whatsapp will still work with your phone number.
i usually try and do wifi only, but in places like cape town where it’s a bit sketch and i need to uber around, i get a local sim card for my trip.

planning & inspo

maps

download the offline version of your destination on Google Maps or Maps.Me, and save pinned locations for everywhere you wanna go. this will allow you to navigate without wifi

insta inspo

follow the hashtag for your destination to see what people are posting in real-time to get excited and get ideas for your trip. you can save the photos to a folder on your ig with the little flag to the bottom right of each photo too. basically my entire insta feed in Belize was inspired by similar pics i saved from the #cayecaulker hashtag prior to my trip!

packing

okay this one can be tricky but i feel like i have been on enough trips (to warm weather places) in the past few years to know what to pack like clockwork. here’s what i stuff (no, i roll it neatly) into my backpack:

toiletries: use environmentally friendly, refillable shampoo, conditioner, and lotion bottles. personally i have accumulated a bunch of small shampoo and conditioner bottles from hotels over the years, and am still using those when i travel and lightening the load in my bag along the way.
hostel gear: a padlock or combination lock, quick-drying towel, small container of laundry detergent
transit: passport, phone, wallet, neck pillow, sleep mask, earplugs, layers, adapter, electronics + chargers, headphones, book, extra bathing suit/change of clothes for arrival
clothes: i’m usually going somewhere hot, so pack very light! light dresses or bathing suit cover ups, loose tanks or crop tops, jean shorts, comfy shorts. i am very monochromatic so i mostly just pack whites and blacks, which can mix and match with anything. i love my light rainjacket from lulu and always fly in my lulu leggings and nikes.
pharmacy: high deet bug spray, gravol or anti nausea pills (drowsy and non drowsy for sleepy plane rides or days on the boat), polysporin, band aids, tylenol
i always travel with a mini bottle of Redavid Orchid Oil and it saves my life for when my hair is all beach tangled and i don’t have the effort to use conditioner.
current obsession: this flexi smushy water bottle from Hydrapak. i keep it in my purse at allll times.

that’s it i’m done rambling! give me a shout if you have questions about anything i’m missing!

Everything you need to know about preparing for a long trip