How To: Decide Trip Pace

Next in our “How To…” series, we’ll look at aspects of our itinerary. How could we possibly narrow down the world to a limited list of countries to visit in 6 months? Well my friends, that was quite the process. It took lots of time, discussions, wine, walks, mapping it out, and letting it morph through many iterations over several years.

Trip Duration

The first step for us was length of time. We really needed to narrow down that piece before we could put pen to paper for the itinerary. In our case, 6 months was decided upon because of Adam’s work schedule. During the time we were in limbo (umm…will this be 6 months, a year, or 8 months?), it was really hard to visualize what we were going to do. Not knowing the length paralyzed our decision making. Once we knew it was going to be 6 months, it was much easier to imagine the shape the trip would take. I’d highly recommend starting with a rough time frame.

Trip Pace

The next piece, and this is where we really struggled, was pace. How many countries and how fast? The first consideration was: do we only go to one country for 6 months? If we did that we could truly refine language skills and feel like we “lived” there. We were extremely tempted by this.

Super Slow Pace Pros:

• Truly experiencing a country
• Big language gains (if the country speaks a foreign-to-you language)
• Can settle into a routine
• Have a home base to visit other places

Super Slow Pace Cons:

• Is it a “waste” to have the time off and only visit one place? When’s the next time we’ll have 6 months off with no kids or responsibilities?
• Without jobs, will we get bored for that long in one place? We have very fast paced lives now.
• At 6 months, you start to run into visa problems. Most countries only offer ~90 day tourist visas.

We decided that for this trip, super slow wasn’t quite what we wanted because we really wanted to see more, though the temptation was definitely there.

Next option… what about just “slow”? Splitting our time between 2-6 total countries for a month or two at a time. Well, for a long time we thought this was the direction we were headed. It seemed like a real sweet spot for our goals on this trip.

Slow Pace Pros:

• Somewhat in-depth experiences in several different countries
• Some language gains
• Ability to develop some routine
• Slow enough to be restful, but still exciting

Slow Pace Cons:

• MORE, I want to see more! Fighting that temptation to see all we could in 6 months.

Not a lot of cons in that group, so you can see how it almost took the cake. The final option was a “fast” pace. We qualified that as spending no less than a week in a particular area.

Fast Pace Pros:

• Seeing a lot and “taking advantage” of time off
• Never feeling bored

Fast Pace Cons:

• More expensive
• More tiring / potential for burnout
• Not seeing enough or a getting deep enough appreciation of any one destination

The Final Product: Slow-Fast-Slow

There were a lot of advantages to both slow and fast travel. We were torn. So we decided to do both!

We’ll have “bookends” of about a month in one location at the start and end of our trip. Then we’ll use the remaining 3-4 months to travel at a swifter pace. During that time we’ll spend a little more than a week in each destination (on average).

So why didn’t we end up with a slow pace the whole time?  If you read any other long-term travel blogs, they’ll say we’re crazy for pushing the pace. Honestly, that’s probably true, but we already travel abnormally. “Oh, our nephew is getting baptized in Brazil and we will have one day on the ground? YEP.” Remember, my siblings and Dad work for airlines. I’ve been conditioned to think that last minute, hectic, and brief travel is totally normal. Additionally, we’ve squeezed every last drop out of Adam’s vacation weeks during residency. “Oh, just 6 days, 5 nights? Let’s fly to Europe and do multiple countries.” We feel that our baseline travel pace is above average, so we’ll be in a better position to travel quickly. Throw in that I have unpacked/packed a suitcase weekly* for the better part of 4 years, and I think we’re ready! We’re hopeful that the insanity of the last few years will make anything feel relaxing at this point.

How we hope our pace makes us feel about life.

We know that when it’s all over, there may be things we would have done differently… but isn’t that life? We’re excited about our projected pace and feel confident it’ll be a nice compromise for us. Crossing our fingers we’re right!

– Kelly

*Full disclosure – Adam has taken over the packing of my suitcase. It’s our weekly ritual 🙂

 

How To: Travel Medicine

One more major milestone is out of the way: visiting our Travel Medicine doctor!

Adam and I both made appointments pretty late in the game and just squeaked by, so learn from us and don’t wait until the last minute. Generally I’d recommend making an appointment about 4-6 months before a trip to account for spacing in shot series (if needed).

We called in July, but because of the way that insurance works with this travel doc, I thought we’d be exploring other options. AND, you have to have your country list (which we didn’t have complete at the time). However, we never really got around to finding another option and it fell off the radar. Oops.

In a pinch, we just made appointments in October and I’m glad we did – she was pretty tricky to get into. However, in our case, we’re in pretty good shape despite our squeezing it in at the last minute (phew!). I was born in the Philippines and Adam did a few medical mission trips in Haiti, so we had most of the big sequences out of the way (that you need several months).

When I first said I was going to the Travel Doc, my mom was floored, “That even EXISTS?!?” And sure enough it does. Basically the travel doc can guide you on any vaccinations or medications you may need, based on the countries you are visiting.

When we called to make the appointment, the scheduler requested the list of countries so they knew what to plan for. Unfortunately the travel doc we saw was 100% out of pocket. We’ll have to submit the claims with our insurance after the fact. When I went to a travel doc in Wisconsin, it was all through insurance, so that made it pretty simple. So check in advance, as you may have a hefty bill if you need lots of vaccinations.

Arriving at the clinic, the first form is all about what vaccinations you already have. This seems totally reasonable, right? Well, I was thinking this first visit was more a consultation about what I’d need for the countries – then come back later for vaccinations. Nope – everything right there. Super convenient, right? Well… convenient if you do your homework and have your list all done. So in a panic I tried to think of how I could get my list.

I was a few minutes early for my appointment (thank goodness), so in the nick of time I downloaded an app, reset my password, and found my list of vaccinations from my old clinic in Wisconsin. LUCKY DUCK! I was thanking my lucky stars when I went in there, because this doc was super no nonsense. She might’ve made me cry if I didn’t have my vaccination list completed. No. Nonsense.

Once I was back, she gave me a folder with lots of information regarding travel for me to take home. Then we ran through the countries and talked about all of the risks and any needed vaccinations. For both of my needed meds/vaccinations there were two different routes (oral and injection), so we also talked through which would be the best for me. She also gave me a lot of general tips and guidance regarding things like water contaminants and health care in general in foreign places. It was a mix of super informative and overwhelming, with a dash of doom and gloom.

After the list was narrowed down, we went to another room to get the shots. I ended up needing the final shot in a Hep A series and a Typhoid booster. Not too shabby. I also walked away with a couple prescriptions for malaria prophylaxis and travelers diarrhea (if needed). On my way out I paid and collected a blank form for Adam. He was able to complete his information before going to his appointment, so it was even smoother for him. No panicked vaccine list hunting. My arms both hurt for about 3 days, much longer than I expected. Using them right after the shots help (which I did), but I was amazed at how long they were stiff.

Adam had a pretty similar experience, but with his form already filled out in the comfort of our home. He was able to do the pill form of the Tyhpoid booster (lasts 5 years rather than 3 for the injection) and needed the Yellow Fever vaccine (thanks Colombia). After a quick stick, he was on his way.

With our vaccinations out of the way, the trip is feeling much more real!

-Kelly