After deciding I was going to travel and start my journey in Europe, I needed to pick a time of year to leave. In reality thought I was always going to start my trip when summer hits in Europe. Having grown up in Australia I’m not sure starting an overseas backpacking lifestyle should start in the middle of a European winter. Especially since Europe is having one hell of a cold snap.
This tie’s in well with my saving targets and when I would like to finish up with my job. Our working financial year ends on the 30th of June so working beyond that point would make tax time next year more taxing (bad pun I know). Before leaving I had also planned to spend some time with the parents back home.
Mum was adamant I had to spend some time at home with her (Read more about that at Telling Mum Your Leaving) seeing as I have no intentions of returning home within the following 2 years. Although with my brother’s recent engagement over the holiday break that may have to change.
My preliminary goal is to be flying out of Australia within June 2010. With this date set the next targets are visa’s, travel itinerary, booking flights and ensuring I know WTF I am doing. Little by little I am getting organised, all while trying not to overwhelm myself.
As the new year has rolled around and other great travel friends (Travels Of Adam, She’s In Love With The World) are preparing to or have just left on their adventures across the world, I’m becoming more and more excited. It also means I need to begin planning the big stuff and not floating about with all this airy fairy stuff I have been. I hope to have my travel itinerary in a preliminary stage next week so that i can garner some knowledge from those more experienced than I.
After that well lets just say the list of things to check off seems to be growing each day. I’ll try and post it up for everyone so I know I’m not forgetting something really important.
It took me several nights of staying up past 5am to work out a general itinerary. Most of it was just researching which flights/trains/boats are most expensive so I have an idea of how to get from one country to the next.
Look forward to seeing your itinerary! Nice to have a general date set, though. (Granted, I’ve changed mine several times already.)
I have a basic idea and its only going to be a list of place’s I want to visit. There won’t be any time frames except that I’ll allow 1-2 months, after that I’m off to London to find work.
From then on I’ll have trips here and there, saving as much as I can while working so that I can finish Europe and head back to Australia via Asia when my visa in the UK runs out.
I am jealous that so many people are preparing to soon embark on their round the world trip. I’m still on the dreams and plans aspect but hope to move towards making it a reality. I will be sure to follow up on this site so I continually have inspiration to accomplish something similar.
I know the feeling. When I started thinking about travel etc last year I was eager to head off as other people were.
Its interesting the little community of people I have found myself talking to are all heading off within similar time frames, hope we can all meet up somewhere.
I concur with Aussie Nomad, I tuned into him because my departure date is basically June too. Exchanging info through blogging has been awesome in itself, meeting up would be icing on the cake!
Look forward to reading reading a more detailed itinerary. 🙂
I just hope we all get to catch each other as we travel around. Looks like we will all be in europe around the same time so its looking good.
I love watching everyone plan their RTW trips…hopefully it’ll set me on the right path for when I plan my own someday. 😉
Don’t leave it too late, I regret not having done it sooner. Worst case we can all just come and take you I guess, drag you across the world.
Haha, just realized I wrote reading twice. My bad Engerish. 🙂
I’d edit it out but then this comment would become redundant 🙂
Our departure date is 25th August and we are becoming more and more excited. I think since Jan it has become much more real that we are really going travelling THIS YEAR!
.-= Kirsty – No Place To Be´s last blog ..Six Months To Go! =-.