Know Before You Go: Travel Around the World for a Year – Part 2

Seasons

When travelling, it’s good to also keep the season in mind – in the southern hemisphere, for example, the seasons are reversed. And so we were caught in a blizzard while trekking in Ushuaia (Argentina) in April. Some countries experience wet seasons that can bring floods or landslides, and if you’re in the tropics, it’s good to try to avoid the hurricane season. Of course, making an ideal plan and getting the best weather everywhere would be difficult – that’s why you have to make a few compromises. The “shoulder season” (the period between the peak and off-peak seasons) usually turns out to be a perfect choice because there are fewer crowds and the prices are lower.

Activities

Where to go, what to see and how much time to spend in a country, these are the questions that’ll probably be crossing your mind before going on a one-year trip. A lot of things depend on what type of traveller you are – do you want to see everything in a certain country and try to squeeze out as much as possible from each day, or do you rather enjoy slow wandering and exploring the surroundings while hanging out with the locals?

If you’re the first type, then you’ll probably start planning way before your departure – you can read travel guides and blogs, map out your journey and set the amount of time you’ll be spending in each country (and maybe even book plane tickets for domestic flights and certain activities in advance). But if you prefer to go with the flow, then maybe it’ll be enough if you just mark down those major things you would like to experience, and then decide on the fly how and what – it can happen to many travellers that they like a place so much they decide to stay for several months, which is also one of the perks of a long trip – after all, there are no limits and you can always change and adjust your plans. We ended up spending almost four months in Chile and extended our planned three weeks in Mexico for a month and a half.

Communication

Though one can come a long way using hand gestures – that we can confirm – your trip around the world will be much easier, and enriched, if you’re able to communicate. Knowing how to speak English is great, as the locals in major tourist areas often speak it at least a little bit, but just a few basic expressions in the local language can make your travel experience that much greater. If you’re travelling to Latin America, you should start learning Spanish (and then join a local language course), while in Central Asia, Russian might come more in handy. There are classroom courses, online courses, mobile learning apps, YouTube... You should put at least a bit of effort into it, so that when someone in Peru asks you “Cómo te llamas?” you won’t look so puzzled, asking yourself what llamas they’re talking about.

What to take with you

And the last thing before departing (besides the going-away party, of course!). At first glance, one would think it’s impossible to pack things for a one-year trip around the world. The truth is, though, that it’s almost easier than packing for a short holiday because you pack for 7–10 days and wash your things in between. A bit greater challenge presents travelling across different continents and climate conditions, or if you intend to spend part of the trip in a tent and spend the rest elsewhere.

In that case it’s worth considering whether it’s better the locals send you the equipment while you’re on your way or buying the things you need on the fly. We chose both options (and a third one, since my brother carried part of our luggage back home when he visited us) – but we waited for the package from Slovenia when in Chile for a whole month and made a »detour the size of half of Europe«, just so we could pick it up.

Five most useful items of our choice to have on the trip? Headlamp, cleaning wipes, backpack/luggage organiser, hat and Swiss army knife.

Enjoy planning your trip around the world!