“We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.” –- Jawaharial Nehru //
How do you plan an unplanned multi-month trip? Don’t go with a tour group, travel on your own, and skip the set itinerary. Seem overwhelming? It’s actually easier than you think, if you keep the following guidelines in mind:
- Pick a region of the world – First, decide on what region of the world you’d like to travel to. Take into account places you’d like to explore, flight costs, ease of traveling to and through the area, and your budget versus cost of accommodations/food. If you need inspiration, talk to friends or check out 1000 Places to See Before You Die or other similar sites.
- Figure out timing – Next, pick a date and city to fly into, and a date and city to fly out of. Look for major airports where flight prices are often cheaper. Consider flying into one city and out of another — it is not always more expensive, and will allow you to cover more ground during your travels. Through my research reading about others who have traveled on learning journeys, it seemed like 3-months is a good amount of time to step outside of your day-to-day and gain some new life perspective. Some people will travel for a year or more. Others may just take a couple of weeks off from work. My advice, especially if this is “once-in-a-lifetime,” is to go as long as you can.
- Get ideas on countries/cities/itineraries – Check out travel sites such as Lonely Planet, Rough Guide, BootsnAll, Trip Advisor and Travelfish to get ideas on what countries and cities in the area may be cool to explore. You can also see sample itineraries. Take a look at tour operators such as G Adventures and Intrepid Travel – although I recommend not traveling in a tour for maximum flexibility, you can still get ideas on itineraries and cities to see from the trips that they plan.
- Research experiences – Next, research experiences that will challenge you and help you discover who you are. Yes, I am know that going to see Angkor Wat in Cambodia will be an incredible and amazing experience, and I am very much looking forward to seeing it. But to really challenge yourself—to really see what you’re made of—find some things off of the main tourist path that will offer a unique experience. Keep in mind, you’ll likely learn more on the road about unique experiences then you’ll be able to figure out researching online. Looking for ideas or inspiration? Here are some initial thoughts I have for my trip through Southeast Asia
- Taking unique transportation – cycling / biking tour through the Vietnam countryside, Laotian “slow” boat down the Mekong River, riding an elephant or ostrich
- Hiking – in the jungles of Malaysia, through the hills of Northern Thailand, up the moutains in Indonesia
- Adventure sports – surfing in water or sand dunes, rock climbing, scuba diving, caving, sailing
- New hobbies and experiences – cooking classes, traditional dancing, yoga in Bali, Vipassana meditation
- Volunteering – helping at an orphanage, teaching English
- Staying at unique accommodations – living in a monastery, spending time in a hill-tribe village
- Participating in local customs and ceremonies – such as a Baci ceremony
- Meeting locals and other travelers – through local community events, airbnb.com, coachsurfing.com
- Start your trip – Finally, start your trip and plan as you go – when traveling during big festivities it may make sense to book accommodations ahead of time. If going a far distance, booking a flight in advance may help you save some money, while booking a train ticket ahead of time may give you access to a better / more comfortable seat. Otherwise, book as you go, or a day or two before you arrive in your next city.
With the steps above, you can plan a cool trip with plenty of unique experiences to have which will help shape new perspectives and offer you plenty of opportunities to learn.
Lessons Learned
- Planning a trip without a set itinerary is exciting. Including stops along the way to have unique experiences is even better
- Planning a trip without a set itinerary is daunting! I’ve cheated a little bit by pulling together a very rough itinerary to have a basic sense of some of the cities I may travel to. Booking your arrival accommodation and planning your first week can help your transition overseas
Do you prefer traveling with a set itinerary, or without? Why?
Excellent ideas. When I travelled through Europe for 5 weeks many years ago, my friend and I had no itinerary at all. We made up a simple rule. We would stay in one place until we either got bored or it rained. At that point we would go to the train station and take the next train – wherever it was going. Of course Europe is smaller than Asia and the one-fare Eurail pass made this easy. But it brought us to places we would not have planned to see and gave an increased sense of freedom than a set itinerary. Happy travels!!
Thanks, sometimes I get nervous about the idea of having no itinerary — hence me having a rough itinerary — but glad to hear that you’ve done it this way before. Actually, come to think of it, I don’t know if I’ve ever heard about your trip through Europe. You’ll have to tell me about it sometime.