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TRAVEL PLANNING: STEP BY STEP GUIDE

I’ve just returned from a fabulous extended trip around amazing Asia and and I’m already planning a return trip in early 2026!

I’ve been asked by many of you to pass on my travel tips and travel planning advice to those of you planning a travel adventure encompassing lots of countries and destinations in one trip or/and for a longer and slower travel experience.

So, in this post, I thought it might be helpful to you to see my travel planning step-by-step checklists for an extended trip.

Whether you’re planning to take a trip spanning several weeks or several months, planning a sabbatical, or even a grown up gap year, this post and my checklists will help you to plan every aspect of your travels methodically – step by step – so you can avoid feeling overwhelmed!

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• TRAVEL PLANNING: STEP BY STEP GUIDE
• MY STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE ON TRAVEL PLANNING
• TRAVEL ANXITY OR OVERWHELM
• THE SIX-MONTH PRE-TRAVEL CHECKLIST
• A FEW EXTRA CONSIDERATIONS FOR PRE-TRAVEL:
• WHAT TO PACK IN YOUR SUITCASE OR BACKPACK
• PRE-PLAN YOUR SECURITY WHILE TRAVELLING:
• WHAT IS SLOW TRAVEL?
• WHO IS DRIVING THE SLOW TRAVEL TREND?
• Have a fantastic trip!

MY STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE ON TRAVEL PLANNING

Travel Budget: Do you worry about not having enough money to fund an extended trip or to slow travel? Look at your resources and research your costs then draw up a budget. I work out travel costs (airlines, busses, trains etc) and accommodation costs as fixed expenses while travelling and enter these all onto a spreadsheet!

Food and Activities: Travel and Food is exciting to me – but my stance here is that we need to eat wherever we are – and so I try to keep my day to day living costs the same as at home. For activities and sightseeing I like to use Klook to book online tickets for transport and activities. I have just booked with Klook to watch a Sumo Wrestling Show in Tokyo and to take a day trip to see views of Mount Fuji!

Accommodation Costs: I like to use Booking.com to find and book my accommodations. I’ll often book in advance and with a cancellation option in case plans change. When I’ve had to keep accommodations costs down I’ve opted for house-sitting and I’ve stayed somewhere for free in exchange for looking after someone’s home/pets while they’re away.

TRAVEL ANXIETY OR OVERWHELM

Travel Anxiety: Are you scared of being hurt/sick/attacked/unsafe/in danger while travelling? Check with your doctor if you have any specific medical concerns that might affect travel and ask advice. Enquire as to what travel vaccines you might need for your proposed destinations. The best way to prepare and avoid anxiety over falling sick or getting injured abroad is to have good travel Insurance. Read my post on Travel Insurance for Over 50’s.

Feeling Travel Overwhelm: It’s natural but is it a real tangible fear or an imagined worry? To get into a travel mindset you must face your fears and ask yourself what is holding you back? Let’s look at how these concerns might be overcome.

• Do you think you’re too old to go travelling? National Geographic says: “Life Begins at 50. Empty-nesters are inspired by their children’s gap years. Young-at-heart empty nesters are increasingly looking to travel. What’s more, they’re heading further afield and for longer, preferring exotica and adventure over slippers and comfort zones.”
• Do you think you need to be in better shape? Try gentle yoga and brisk walks. I make sure I do enough steps every day to maintain a basic level of fitness and to keep my weight within healthy parameters to help if I ever want to do a hike!
• Do you fear flying? You can find practical advice and more information on this common anxiety here.
• Solo Travel: Are you worried about travelling alone? Recent media is reporting that solo travel is on the rise. A recent survey also revealed that most over 55’s want to travel as a couple or with a friend or to travel with a group but a solid 10% of them prefer to go it alone to complete their bucket list. In my experience, solo travellers are rarely alone if they want company, as they are likely to meet other people. But, if you are still not sure, have you looked into group tours for solo travellers? That’s what I’m looking at right now and would recommend taking a look at TourRadar.

THE SIX-MONTH PRE-TRAVEL CHECKLIST

• Decide on the country/countries you want to travel to and check their specific entry requirements.
• Decide on the dates you’d like to travel and make a travel itinerary.
• Find out how long you are legally allowed to stay in the country/countries on your itinerary.
• Check you have a valid passport. Check if you need to pre-apply for a travel visa?
• Find out what travel vaccines are recommended for travel to the countries in your itinerary.
• Acquire/apply for credit/debit/travel cards that allow you to access your cash abroad without excessive fees and charges as this will help you to save a considerable amount of your travel budget.
• Notify your bank of when you’ll be travelling (dates) and which countries you’ll be travelling to so they don’t suspect suspicious use and block your cards while you are away.
• Check the currency used in the country/countries you want to travel to and if you carry currency with you do make sure the notes are clean and undamaged and not in too high a denomination.
• Sign up for loyalty/reward membership with the airlines you are using/might use to collect points/air miles.
• Sign up for loyalty/reward membership with hotel groups you will/might stay with while you are travelling.
• Get online accounts with and other accommodation websites like Booking.com to get deals and build your status (to get discounted deals) on these sites and to make it easy to book your accommodations while on the move.
• Apply for a Global Entry Pass – which includes TSA approval – to avoid standing in long lines at airport immigration.
• Book your flights: Book online. I like to use Skyscanner and my recommendation is to always book directly with the airlines. Deals and discounts are often available for travel outside holiday times.
• Buy comprehensive travel insurance to cover you for your entire trip.
• If possible I book my own accommodations with Booking.com. Do you want a hotel? A motel? A hostel? A homestay? Live Like A Local or live it up in an all-inclusive resort?
• What time are your flights? If they are early or late then maybe you need to book airport hotels?
• Make sure, if you have regular prescription medications, that you have enough for your trip.

A FEW EXTRA CONSIDERATIONS FOR PRE-TRAVEL:

• Decide/buy a suitcase or a backpack. I must admit I favour a wheeled backpack these days.
• Decide/buy your cabin luggage and make sure it is no larger than the smallest size airlines allow.
• I back up all my documents and contact information that I keep on my laptop computer and phone – copies of all my travel documents – and all my treasured family and travel photos onto a virtual storage cloud (I pay a small fee monthly for extra space) that I can access via the internet from anywhere in the world.
• I bought a smaller size and lighter laptop especially for travel and I signed up for a VPN to keep my data secure.
• Check your mobile phone is compatible for the convenience of using an eSim OR unlocked and takes dual-sim so you can buy local phone/internet access at your destination. Read my post on Staying Connected While You Travel.
• I travel with a few back up solar power rechargeable items such as a phone charger and a torch.
• Forget paperbacks and hardback books and take a Kindle e-reader loaded with ebooks to read. You might want to read all my bestselling romantic adventure novels while you travel or while relaxing at your destination. You’ll find all my books widely available worldwide in paperback and as ebooks and from Amazon.

WHAT TO PACK IN YOUR SUITCASE OR BACKPACK

• I recommend you travel light whenever possible. As a rule, only take enough clothes for one week – you can wash them – or you might buy more suitable/affordable clothes when you’re at your destination.
• Keep the things you value the most in your hand luggage rather than your checked luggage.
• Travel compression bags or packing cubes might help to keep your things tidy in your luggage.
• Travel with an easy-dry travel/beach towel to save weight and space in your luggage.
• A worldwide travel power adapter and a small first aid kit is essential kit.
• I always travel with one warm sweater and a warm shawl/pashmina in my cabin bag plus one change of clothing including underwear and a swimsuit/bikini – just in case of a luggage loss/ delay.
• I travel with very few toiletries because you can usually buy them at your destination (this is especially true with insect repellents) BUT I would never want to be without a tub of coconut oil.

PRE-PLAN YOUR SECURITY WHILE TRAVELLING:

• ALWAYS travel with travel insurance. Buying a travel insurance policy to cover you for any unforeseen medical expenses or financial losses while travelling is an essential part of the planning and preparation for any trip. Finding the best travel insurance policy when you are travel planning and over 50 years old can be difficult and confusing but travel insurance is something we can’t afford to travel without at any age.
• It’s handy to have your own small security safe with you if the accommodation doesn’t offer one.
• I wear a hidden ‘security belt’ or a ‘bra wallet‘ when I travel with secret hidden pockets to keep cards and cash secure.
• I also travel with TSA Approved luggage locks and a Pacsafe cable lock that I can use to secure my possessions if needed.
• If you intend to use hostels or homestays or if you travel solo then you might find travelling with extra personal small security items comforting and reassuring: like an Epictraveller door jam or personal alarm.
• Make sure family or loved ones at home know of your travel plans and itinerary. Stay in regular touch with friends and family while travelling (and show them your amazing travel photos!) via social media and messaging apps. It’s also a good idea to leave loved ones at home a copy of your passport and your travel insurance just in case they or you need to refer to them again.

WHAT IS SLOW TRAVEL?

Journal of Travel says: “Slow tourism is characterized by reducing mobility and by taking time to explore local history and culture, while supporting the environment. The traveller’s main goals are relaxation, self-reflection, escape, novelty seeking, engagement and discovery.”

EHL on Travel Industry Trends says: “Travelling slower involves transitioning from materialistic and consumerist luxury to wanting purposeful experiences and creating meaningful moments. People no longer want to have a schedule full of tours of classic sightseeing spots. They want to travel at their own pace while experiencing and tasting the local culture.”

WHO IS DRIVING THE SLOW TRAVEL TREND?

Those in their midlife years: whom have long treasured those precious two-weeks-a-year work breaks and a well-deserved holiday vacations and who are now looking at a more flexible work life and the empty-nest and retirement years.

The over 50’s: Maybe you’re thinking of early retirement or not quite ready to fully retire yet? You might be thinking of taking a work sabbatical to learn something new or to volunteer on a project abroad that feels important to you?

Market Watch says: “Slow travel emphasizes staying in one place long enough to connect with the local people, culture, food and music This style of travel is growing more popular among the 50-plus set and it can offer a richer, more relaxing experience.”

The over 60’s: Gap Year Statistics UK tells us that “The over 60’s took extended travel periods and there is an estimated 4.82 million more older Brits planning on doing so.” 

OR you’ve simply reached a stage in life where you don’t want to keep your dreams of travel on hold any longer, because the sands of time are slipping through the hourglass. If not now, when? And, you might be reasonably physically fit right now, but any sensible and realistic person knows that as we age – our continued physical fitness cannot be guaranteed.

But of course, you might not need to go to the same extremes as we did in selling everything you own to travel because you might just be looking to take several months out for that once in a lifetime slow travel trip to see the places you’ve always dreamed of seeing and had on your bucket list or travel wish list for what seems like forever.

Have a fantastic trip!

Did you find my travel planning checklist useful?

Where are you planning to travel?

What’s on your Bucket List?

Let me know! I’d love to hear from you!

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