The new year is fast approaching and many of us are starting to lay out plans for the twelve months ahead. This helps to give some sort of purpose and structure to our life and also gives us something to look forward to! Now, increasing numbers of people are interested in travelling more throughout 2018. We want to see more of the world and experience some of the cultures, landscapes, and cuisines that we see splurged all over social media and Pinterest boards! But some of us will put off making travel plans, as we believe that our personal circumstances don’t allow for us heading away for extended periods of time. But not to worry. There are steps that you can take to help make travel possible! Here are a few to consider!
Taking Time Off Work
If you have a permanent or full time job, you may feel that you can’t take sufficient time off in order to travel the world in a way that you might want to. But remember that if you are entitled to annual leave and are really dedicated to getting overseas and exploring, you could take all of your annual leave in one fell swoop. This will give you more time to do what you want. Just remember that you will have to work through the rest of the year without many breaks beyond the weekend or usual days off. Determine whether this is a sacrifice that you are willing to make and, if it is, begin to negotiate your time off with your employer well in advance. This will allow them sufficient time to organise cover and ensure that others aren’t taking time off at the same time.
Traveling With Pets
A responsibility that many of us take on relatively early in life that can have a profound impact on our ability to travel the world is having pets. Now, who can blame us for wanting to take on an animal companion in our lives? They tend to be loyal and can provide us with a constant source of love and affection. You really cannot simply drop your pet in favour of travel. When you take on responsibility for an animal, you need to make sure that they are well looked after for their entire life – their needs begin to come first, as they are dependent on you. However, it’s important to remember that you can travel at the same time as having pets. Now, if you’re only planning on heading away for a long weekend here and maybe seven nights there, you should be fine placing your pet in kennels or leaving them with responsible friends and family members. However, if you want to head away for an extended period of time, you should bear in mind that you can travel for extended periods of time with your pet. You just have to take more precautions and plan a little more thoroughly. Some things to bear in mind could include:
- Finding pet friendly airports – as you can see from this list of the top 10 pet friendly airports, you can see that pet friendly airports do exist. You just have to search for them!
- Finding pet friendly accommodation – remember that most places offering accommodation are not pet friendly. You don’t want to end up in an overseas location, only to find out that you cannot take your dog into your accommodation. Make sure that permission is granted before heading away to prevent any difficult situations.
- Vaccinations – animals have to have vaccinations when they head overseas for the same reasons that people do. They are likely to be exposed to germs, bacteria, and diseases that they are not used to at home and need to be protected against them!
- Passports – some countries will require that your pet has a passport to identify them as they pass from one country to another. Take the time to
While travelling with pets is possible, it’s important to be sure that this is a lifestyle that your pet will enjoy and be comfortable with as well as being something that you enjoy yourself! Weigh up the pros and cons and see how they are as you go along.
Money Worries
Now, we wouldn’t generally recommend travelling if you are in a difficult financial situation. Generally speaking, it is better to prioritise clearing debts before spending money heading away. But you can take steps to clear your debts more quickly. Take on overtime at work, take on an extra part time job or freelance work, and minimise your spending in other areas. If you desperately want to get away and are willing to borrow money in order to do so, make sure to survey your options before signing up to anything in particular. Keep an eye out for low interest rates and ensure that you have sufficient money in your account to keep up with minimum payments while you are away – these charges could be removed by direct debit and will prevent you from receiving fees and fines for late payments or missed payments.
These are just a few potential problems that you may find yourself facing when you want to head away to travel the world. But, as you can see, there are steps that you can take in order to overcome these difficulties and still travel overseas for longer periods of time! Hopefully, the above advice will help you to achieve this!
