Time to get going again!
I'm finally going travelling again, by myself this time. I thought I'd share some info about travel planning with you. While it's exciting as the trip becomes more real, this part can also be super stressful!
When I decided I was leaving Nantes (where I've lived for 1.5 years) I had no idea where to begin. There are so many places I'd love to go! To make it easier, I've made a list of the places I can't miss, and since then I've been joining the dots. In central Europe, for example, my list consists of visiting friends in Germany, teaching English in Poland, and visiting a friend in Greece. The Czech Republic, Hungary and Croatia have since been added to the list, following many recommendations. On the way to Germany, I'll visit Belgium, and the Netherlands. I haven't quite got that far yet, but I might visit another country on my way south, too. This way I get to spend time in the places I really want to visit, but I also get to discover cities I know nothing about.
When I decided I was leaving Nantes (where I've lived for 1.5 years) I had no idea where to begin. There are so many places I'd love to go! To make it easier, I've made a list of the places I can't miss, and since then I've been joining the dots. In central Europe, for example, my list consists of visiting friends in Germany, teaching English in Poland, and visiting a friend in Greece. The Czech Republic, Hungary and Croatia have since been added to the list, following many recommendations. On the way to Germany, I'll visit Belgium, and the Netherlands. I haven't quite got that far yet, but I might visit another country on my way south, too. This way I get to spend time in the places I really want to visit, but I also get to discover cities I know nothing about.
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| The plan so far (countries only, I haven't marked cities or islands)
Although they're not visible on the map, I'll also be going to Morocco and Portugal!
The next step is to organise how I'll get there. I've booked a Ouigo train from Nantes to Tourcoing (next to Lille, on the Belgium border). It's the best option to get across France if you want fast and cheap; I paid €10 for my ticket, and you can find cheaper if you book earlier. From there, I'll hop from city to city using trains, buses, and ferries. My backpack is small enough for carry on only flights, but I'm not intending to fly until I leave Greece. That way, I can carry cutlery, a corkscrew, and liquids for most of the trip.
Booking flights is time consuming. Finding the best deals, tossing up between money and time, wondering if a two hour stopover is long enough in case of delays...
I primarily compare prices with several flight aggregators, then check the airlines' websites to see if they have better prices when buying direct. Flystein, by the way, offers a useful service. They charge you $49, ask you a few questions, look for cheaper flights, and if they can't beat the price you found by more than $49 they refund you. Checking nearby airports helps, as does being flexible with dates.
Update: flights home are now booked, with 2 weeks planned in Seoul and Tokyo on the way.
I'm actually going to keep working as I travel, teaching a few hours a week on skype. Hopefully this will go some way towards covering my costs. I'll try to find cafes that don't mind me chatting on my laptop, but we'll see how it goes.
In short, if you're planning a big trip, find some points on the map, choose some dates, and the rest will fall into place!
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