Anna Maria Richards
Do you have a dream vacation floating around in the back of your mind? Nowadays, the proper term is bucket list trip, but it’s still a vacation of sorts and a dream at that. Either way, you want to call it, now is the time to start planning all the details. They include where to go, when to depart, how to pay for the venture, whether to travel alone or with others, the destination, and any activities you’ll be taking part in during the trip (like mountain climbing, making a film, deep-sea fishing, or hiking across Australia). There’s a trick to doing bucket list excursions right. The first two steps are about planning the vacation and financing it.
Design It
This is the fun, but a very necessary, first step. Be specific about where you’ll be going, how long the trip will last, and what you want to do while there. Consider making a few personal contacts well ahead of time if you intend to do unusual things like mountain climbing or hiking in remote locations.
Finance It
Anyone can dream. Paying for a bucket-list vacation is the part that is most challenging. Fortunately, you have a lot of options in this department. For example, during the design/planning phase, you might decide to set aside a specific amount of funds each month to cover a portion of the trip’s cost. Additionally, if you plan far enough in advance, it’s often easy to find rather large discounts on airfare, cruise tickets, hotels, and other key pieces of the pricing puzzle. But, for the majority of travelers, those efforts will still leave them short. An effective solution is to take out a personal loan from a private lender. It’s a wise, cost-conscious way to pay for your trip and make sure every expense is taken care of.
Prepare
The preparations are as unique as the journey, but often include learning a foreign language (at least taking a beginning course online or at a local community college), dealing with money exchange, updating or obtaining a passport, getting a travel visa from the country you’ll visit, acquiring camera equipment, making a detailed wardrobe list, knowing how to access funds in an emergency, and having at least two at-home contact people you can call if necessary.
Leaving
A month or two before departing, take care of safety-related tasks. It’s no fun returning from the trip of a lifetime to discover that your home has been broken into, vehicles stolen, or storage sheds vandalized. Have a written, detailed plan of what you’ll do in case of a medical emergency. Contact health insurance providers and find out about getting care in a foreign country. Remember to stay low key about your specific travel dates, especially if you’ll be gone longer than a couple of weeks. Avoid peppering social media ahead of time. Save the photos and writeups for after you return. Hire someone to either watch or live in your home while you’re gone. Arrange for pet and plant care, and remember to store your vehicles in a safe place for the duration of the trip.
