Long-term travel differs greatly from a short-term trip. Each takes a distinct set of planning and preparation. We have found there is a very different approach to costs, activities, lodging, and leisure to each of these. While long-term travel isn’t for everyone, it has advantages and disadvantages to shorter trips. We will go over what you can expect from each and why they are different. And we will tell you why we believe long-term travel is more valuable. Let’s dive in.
It’s been many years since we’ve been to Japan, but we still dream of it often. It was our first international trip together (and Aaron’s first ever), and it holds many fond memories. We’ve certainly learned a lot since that first trip, and we’d design an entirely different one now. But these pictures still take me back and make me wish I was there once again.
Come dream of Japan with us. These images are sure to inspire wanderlust for Japan for you as well!
I am Aaron, and for me; travel is the ultimate freedom. It is an escape from the known to the unknown. Travel is addictive and emotional. It is messy like a normal life, but exciting like there is no limit. While I took many quick trips around the USA as a kid and young adult, it took me 38 years of life to travel internationally. Why did it take so long? What was stopping me?
I took the typical path of getting college degrees, working my way up the ranks of the corporate world, and feeling unhappy. Work was not fulfilling me, and it was making me sick. I yearned for something more meaningful and something that made me happy. So at 38, I took my very first trip out of the country to Japan. While that was one of the greatest culture shocks I had ever had, it was the most incredible start to my travel journey. This is where I caught the travel bug that inspired the world trip, and the rest is history. I am free!
We love to travel, and for years, we looked forward to annual trips, international vacations, and local explorations. It just all came as a given, and we never questioned its prominent place in our lives. We never had to question the future of travel. When we departed last year for our grand world tour, we never could have imagined how it would end.
Now, we have been forced home due to global restrictions, and we’ve had to reconsider our future plans surrounding travel. Everyone has. Here’s what we think about the current situation and where we’re headed.
Istanbul, Turkey is an incredible city that blends the cultures of Europe and Asia. It is located on both continents and divided by the Bosphorus Strait. The city is full of unique architecture, food, fascinating culture, and street cats. This quickly became one of our favorite destinations and we hope to see more of Turkey on our next European adventure. Istanbul is one of the most awe-inspiring cities we’ve been to so far. If you are visiting it for the first time, this guide will tell you everything you need to know to travel to Istanbul.
Travel apps managed many aspects of our life of full-time travel, and we want to share with you the best ones we used regularly. These were critical in figuring out where we would stay next, how to get there, and what we wanted to see. They kept us on a budget and helped us find deals on flights. We even made friends on them and found entertainment on long layovers in airports. With so many apps out there, we have narrowed down the list to just the best.
If you’ve been reading for a while, you’ll know that I simply adore ruins. It’s so fascinating to witness the evidence of the passage of time through something so carefully constructed being torn back down to its elements by the sheer force of nature. This juxtaposition of structure turned chaos is beautiful in its unique way, and I can’t get enough of it. If you share in my affinity for the elegance of decay, you’ll love these amazing ruins found all across Europe.
Traveling full time is an amazing way to see the world, experience the cultures of many places, and meet people from all walks of life. It has a downside that most people don’t talk about: travel burnout. While we were on the road for many months, we kept our pace of cramming many activities into each day, walking tens of thousands of steps, and then crashing, just to do it all over again. That lifestyle is not sustainable and needs to have a better balance. Here are some tips on how you can avoid travel burnout and balance your full-time travels with some downtime.
What place has a friend recommended that you found to be amazing?
We are taking a short break from our daily blog posts but will continue to have our more in-depth Thursday articles. Look forward to more exciting content soon and let us know if we can answer your questions about full-time travel!
In Montenegro, our hosts introduced us to an Irish couple that gave us some tips on the area and showed us some outstanding places. Tivat was one of those places. We met them for some lunch before exploring the rest of the town. It is fun to walk, and we especially enjoyed getting close to nature at the Big City Park. Right on the water, Tivat also has some lovely beaches and a harbor full of enormous yachts.
When have you deviated plans to visit a new place?
Rijeka was not part of our original plans, but as we travel long-term, our plans change. We landed a house sitting opportunity in Switzerland, so we had to go from Montenegro all the way back north to get there. So we stopped in Zadar to visit Plitvice Lakes and then moved up to Rijeka where we would eventually depart our beloved country Croatia.
