11 days out!! My list of last minute things to do and pack is dwindling. I am over the moon excited for this vacation - 90 blissful days of travel!!!!!
The last week should go fairly fast as I have several time consuming tasks (hair appt, a drive to Austin & back, house cleaning, etc,)
How do I get through these next 5 days without just exploding with excitement????
How do you do it?
Red wine, white wine, margaritas.
That's a long trip , so you legitimately have a lot of loose ends to nail down than someone going for two weeks .
Our longer trips are 4-5 weeks and I too get a bit stressed and excited with worry and anticipation ! Have no suggestions on how to deal with it , as I just run around like a chicken with its head cut off sometimes .
Helps if I actually write down my priorities ( ie banking bill paying etc ) and I try not to let the small things stress me out .
Christi - Excellent!! You're almost there!
I do like PHilip's suggestion.
Start packing. I would have my underwear/pjs in their cube and in the suitcase along with the 3-1-1 and other toiletries kit plus my extra shoes. I'd have my clothes to be packed hanging in my packing area.
I would layout/hang my clothes for In Transit along with the money belt. I would have my small purse (that I wear on the plane with my passport/money/cc) loaded and ready to go with some $ (for the airport I transit thru) and Euro/Pounds and have the purse I use once I get there in the suitcase. I would have my carryon bag (usually a RS Veloce) packed and ready to go with stuff I will need on the plane, except for the iPad/phone/chargers.
Stop by Staples and get extra ink cartridges, lol so you don't run out!
Last minute exercising if you can do it before it gets too hot!
You know you'll have a great time!
Wow how exciting. I don't know how you plan a trip for 90 days. But I look forward to doing it some day. I leave in exactly one month nearly to the minute. I've done all I need to do pretty much. I love watching youtube clips of places I'll be visiting. I get a kick out of saying I saw that on the video clip and I'm really here! My experience has almost always been better than the clip. Have a wonderful time!
Yes Phillip - there is much wine for sure!
I am 90% packed - just the stuff we are using left to go.
I think I've covered all the other stuff - notified cards/banks, tv on vacation, phone plan changed, list of last minute things in house (well motor home), mail hold done...
List of tasks:
1) Cancel stuff - newspapers, garbage service
2) Credit cards - chip card? Notified bank about destinations? Here's an important point - notifications run out after 30 days and you need to re-notify
3) Copies of all documents on a device
4) Taking a small computer? I always do. Make a plan about storing cords and such
5) The most difficult part of a trip is the route from the hotel to the train/airport. Get the first route planned. After that, I usually find it easy to get around.
6) If you plan on going to a theatre/opera in some cities, make reservations now. Some places sell out.
7) Do you know anyone in those cities? Make plans to visit.
8) Can you write the trip off as a business expense? Visiting some business may allow some parts of the trip to be written off.
9) We have learned that storing each day's reciepts in separate bags is a good idea. Much simpler. Take a bunch of small plastic bags.
10) Will you take pictures? you can't store 90 days of pictures on a device. How will you store pictures?
11) Stop mail. Note: The post office will only store mail for 30 days - BOOOO. What will you do then?
12) Plan on mailing stuff home through the trip. Who will you mail to?
13) Go to the Rick Steves section about audio guides and download some of these. Note: They take a lot of space
14) Do you have an UNLOCKED phone? We did not. It would have really helped to have one. We would have paid to do that before the trip. If your phone is unlocked, you can get SIM cards and use it in other countries. Another approach is to find map apps which don't require telephone service.
15) Make a plan for the last morning. Throw out all food from the refrig. The freezer is a danger zone - if you lose power, this could be quite dreadful - rotting food? Clean that frig!! Turn off the water at the house water shutoff. Get timers for lights. Turn off the air conditioning. Empty the trash. Dump the used baking soda down the sink.
Almost all trips are shorter than a month. Thus, longer trips have some special rules. We were in Europe for 40 days, and ran into the problem with the bank card - we lost access for a morning due to the 30 day limit. The mail stop is only 30 days. What will you do then?
List of tasks:
1) Cancel stuff - newspapers, garbage service - done
2) Credit cards - chip card? Notified bank about destinations? Here's an important point - notifications run out after 30 days and you need to re-notify - I did all mine by phone that way they can do the whole 90 days and all 10+ countries
3) Copies of all documents on a device - done
4) Taking a small computer? I always do. Make a plan about storing cords and such - never travel without one plus a phone - I did pick up a very nice cord organizer
5) The most difficult part of a trip is the route from the hotel to the train/airport. Get the first route planned. After that, I usually find it easy to get around. - I think you mean airport to hotel? With the cat & and an extra bag we are splurging on a cab fro CDG
6) If you plan on going to a theatre/opera in some cities, make reservations now. Some places sell out. - done
7) Do you know anyone in those cities? Make plans to visit. - done
8) Can you write the trip off as a business expense? Visiting some business may allow some parts of the trip to be written off. - The good news is yes!
9) We have learned that storing each day's reciepts in separate bags is a good idea. Much simpler. Take a bunch of small plastic bags. - good idea
10) Will you take pictures? you can't store 90 days of pictures on a device. How will you store pictures? My days of taking hundreds of photos are over - I have ample storage on a few SD cards
11) Stop mail. Note: The post office will only store mail for 30 days - BOOOO. What will you do then? Fortunately I live in a very small town - no problem on a 90 day mail hold. I do 99% of everything online so we receive very little mail.
13) Go to the Rick Steves section about audio guides and download some of these. Note: They take a lot of space - great idea
14) Do you have an UNLOCKED phone? We did not. It would have really helped to have one. We would have paid to do that before the trip. If your phone is unlocked, you can get SIM cards and use it in other countries. Another approach is to find map apps which don't require telephone service. Yes - unlocked phoone all set - will buy sim on arrival - plus my phone will still have Verizon service if needed.
15) Make a plan for the last morning. Throw out all food from the refrig. The freezer is a danger zone - if you lose power, this could be quite dreadful - rotting food? Clean that frig!! Turn off the water at the house water shutoff. Get timers for lights. Turn off the air conditioning. Empty the trash. Dump the used baking soda down the sink. - Yes - we live full time in a 40' motor home - very special needs for leaving.
Almost all trips are shorter than a month. Thus, longer trips have some special rules. We were in Europe for 40 days, and ran into the problem with the bank card - we lost access for a morning due to the 30 day limit. The mail stop is only 30 days. What will you do then?
Nice list - thanks
You are taking a cat on a 90 day foreign trip? Did you ask the cat if this was OK? Cats are usually not good travelers. I would really reconsider that idea. I know that your cat is your little baby, etc, but that is your view, not the cat's. And if the cat got away from you and got lost, what then? You would probably be unhappy.
I took 5000 pix on my 40 day trip. Every day, I downloaded to the computer, and then backed up to the external hard drive. Another approach is to use a cloud-based approach. If you lose your sim cards, you lose you pix. Sim cards also go bad.
Paul - she is a service animal (not ESA) and is very well traveled. Her arrangements are all set as well.
Ok, that's a very different situation. I'm sure that she is a seasoned traveler. Maybe she can write a diary about the trip?
Ok, that's a very different situation. I'm sure that she is a seasoned traveler. Maybe she can write a diary about the trip?
Actually I will be blogging . I'll have to think about posting from her point of view.
I would love to hear what the cat has to say about the travels! Have fun!!!
Hi,
Bravo! My compliments on this undertaking! The most I ever had on a trip over was 84 days. Logistically, the chores prior to departure are the most tedious in terms of tying up loose ends. I am sure you have it already... the battery charger and converter If your camera has rechargeable battery, bring two.
For a long trip (over two weeks), I start packing seriously about 6-7 weeks in advance, not just shirts and socks, etc but supplies needed.
We've been on some 1-4 month trips to Europe and I feel your anxiousness to get the well planned show on the road! To help us relax and focus before we leave we do things like eat out more at our favorite local restaurants, invite friends over for a meal and (non-trip) conversation and spend time with each of our families. It's reeeeallly hard to not be bursting at the seams to just GO!
And will you be checking in here with your old friends on the RS forum? A link to your blog would be great when it's up and running.
I will definitely be checking in here along the way and I think its OK to put my blog address in my profile.
We go out of town for long periods of time as well and I always make sure to have people over for dinner who I will miss while we are gone...passes the time so I'm not crawling out of my skin and it's fun! Anything to keep busy!!!
