Written by Christi Sparrow
Long term family travel can be an amazing experience, but there’s a lot to consider, plan, and accomplish before setting foot on an airplane. Planning to travel abroad for a year was a true test of our organization and resourcefulness. It’s not completely unlike any other household move, though we hadn’t moved in 13 years and had never attempted moving with children. And our destination was not fixed; we weren’t just moving permanently to another home.
My husband and I are lovers of to-do lists and seekers of checkmarks. We have checklists on our phones, in our emails, on our Google drive, and on scratch paper in the kitchen. As we managed to accomplish tasks that prepared us to travel for a year, it got us thinking: what if we kept our checklists from our trip planning not just as a breadcrumb trail for ourselves to remember what we’ve addressed, but also as a beginner’s guide for others to use while planning extended travel?
So here it is: a chronological step-by-step guide to how our family got ready to travel for a year! It’s by no means exhaustive, but we hope that you find it to be a useful starting point as you dive into planning your own adventures. And as always, we’d love to hear from you in the comments section below. Let us know if you have any questions or items to add to this list!
2 Years (or Longer) Before Departure
- Dream. It starts with a dream! We first dreamed about extended travel many years ago, and it was simmering in the back of our minds ever since. One day we put up a wall map of the world and started flagging countries we’d like to visit.
Think about all the beautiful places you’ve seen on calendars, read about in books and travel magazines, heard about from friends, or liked on Instagram. Make a master list, don’t hold back. Get a wall map of the world and start pushing thumbtacks into your desired destinations. This is a terrific family activity, and that map will become a visual representation of your goal. - Saving & Budgeting. Almost immediately after the dreaming comes saving and budgeting. We didn’t want to go into debt or dip into long-term savings to finance our trip. So we started saving a few years before we set our departure date, even before we guesstimated how much we’d need. We nicknamed one of our bank accounts “the big trip” and saved when we could.
We also talked about how to cut down or eliminate expenses back home while we’d be gone. For example, renting out our house while we travel is a huge piece of this puzzle because it provides an income stream to cover the costs of our home while we are gone.
Related post: 23 Tips on How to Save Money to Travel
- Income. Early on we talked about what we might do for work while traveling because if we could continue to earn money, why not? We discussed the possibility of various side hustles and remote work. We knew we wanted to work on something together, and this website is one of our projects!
Think about creative ways you can earn money while traveling. Does your employer offer the possibility of foreign assignments? Are you able to perform work remotely? Do you want to start your own blog? Do you have a talent or skill that is marketable on freelance websites like Upwork or Fiverr?
12 Months Before Departure
- Budget. Yes, this topic will continue to surface. Twelve months before your trip is a great time to lay out an estimated travel budget so you can see how things may play out. Of course you’ll be guesstimating the cost of flights, trains, rental cars and accommodation, but you can search for sample prices online using websites like rome2rio.com and airbnb.com.
We created a budget template for our travel months by using our existing household budget as a guide. We added and subtracted items based on what would apply while we were traveling. For example, we deleted the line for recording our gym memberships, and we added a line for rental cars.
Budgeting to travel for a year had two goals: to try to live abroad for the same amount of money that it costs to live at home, (or maybe less?), and to go into extended travel with open eyes, informed about our money and spending habits which helped us set expectations early. Even now as we are traveling, we are continuously referring to our budget as we make decisions about transportation, accommodation, and even weekly groceries.
- Home. As I mentioned before, we decided to rent out our home while we are away. It just made practical sense, though we had two caveats: whoever rented our home needed to care for our two dogs; and we planned to use two rooms in our home to store our personal belongings, so that was square footage that the renter would not have at their disposal. In exchange for these considerations, we offered a below-market rental rate. About a year before we left, we started asking friends if they knew anyone looking for a place to live beginning in September 2019.
Do you own a home? Would you prefer to sell it, rent it out, or let it sit vacant while you travel for a year? Do you lease your home? When does your lease end, and does the timing line up with your desired travel date? - Pets. We have two fairly large dogs, and it just wasn’t practical, (or even possible?), to bring them with us. As stated above, when we were looking for renters for our home, we stipulated that they would need to care for our dogs while living in our house. Do you have pets for whom you would need to find care?
- Kids’ Education. Depending on the age(s) of your child(ren), this conversation could go a variety of different ways. When we left home, our kids were 1 and 4, so we decided that we could manage their educational needs for at least one year. For me personally this was and still is an exciting responsibility. But I’d be lying if I said it didn’t make me nervous. I don’t want my kids to be behind their peers when we decide to drop them into a classroom. So while we travel, we are intentional about spending time fostering their curiosity. We talk talk about cultural differences, studying maps, reading, exploring, counting, imagining, moving, and marveling.
- Decluttering (Phase 1). This can be fun, even if it takes overcoming some mental blocks, as it did in my case. This process is basically minimizing your physical possessions. There is no shortage of advice and tips on how to declutter your life, (see the Marie Kondo movement). Here’s what it looked like for us. First of all, this took time, like, lots of time. I’m grateful for the gift of time in this process because it helped me mentally prepare to say “see you later” to our home, and I enjoyed reliving memories along the way.
We went through the house one room at a time, (and sometimes we suspended this process for weeks in between rooms), pulled everything out of drawers, cabinets, closets, and shelves, and decided what we could sell or give away.
Then we collected everything we no longer wanted in one room— the bigger the pile, the better! We used apps and sites like Offer Up, Craigslist, and Facebook Marketplace to start making sales. Everything else we kept for a garage sale, (more on this below).
Decluttering accomplishes several things. First, and most practically, it reduces the amount of stuff that you need to store while traveling. Second, it simplifies your life and reduces the environmental clutter in your home, creating a calmer space. Third, it gives you items to sell which leads to more money to put toward your trip!
- Departure Date and First Destination. We looked ahead on our family calendar and selected a departure date! Our departure date and first destinations were driven by two big events: my husband’s 40th birthday and the Ironman race that he planned to complete in Italy two weeks later.
Look ahead on your family’s calendar and choose a date! Are there any particular events you’d like to see or milestones you’d like to celebrate in a particular place? Think about the seasonality of your destinations: what will the weather be like that time of year? Will it be very busy with tourists or quiet? Off seasons tend to be less expensive times to visit.
9 Months Before Departure
- Garage Sale (1 of 2). After we completed phase one of our quest to declutter, we had our first garage sale! We got the permit, advertised the heck out of it, invited neighbors to join, and sold, sold, sold! And yes, proceeds went towards our trip. We made almost $900!
- Logistics: Flights. About nine months out, we booked our one-way flights to our first destination. If you plan to use reward miles, I recommend starting this process a couple months earlier as airlines typically have limited seats on each flight that they sell for miles. Otherwise, sites like BookingBuddy, Kiwi.com, Skyscanner, Kiwi, and Momondo can help you find a great flight. Consider price, departure time, number and length of layovers, and arrival times, and decide what works best for your family.
It’s worth noting that our original itinerary included flights with three different airlines, all of which had different luggage quantity and weight restrictions. So be aware of the type of fare you’re booking and what’s included. Sometimes base fares do not include checked baggage in the ticket price.
It’s also worth noting that two months after we booked our flights, one of the carriers, Wow Airlines, ceased operations suddenly, and we were back to square one with finding flights. Luckily it was still early enough to find good flights at a reasonable price.
- Logistics: Accommodations. This is also about the time we started booking accommodations. Our family likes airbnb.com because we can shop for a home that’s large enough to make longer stays comfortable. We love having a kitchen to prepare meals at home, two separate bedrooms, and a family common area. The properties are self-catering but come with essentials like bed linens, towels, soap and paper products. Often the price of an Airbnb apartment is less than a hotel. And don’t be shy to ask hosts for a discount, especially if you plan to stay longer than one week.
Related post: Vacations Rentals Vs Hotels for Families
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6 Months Before Departure
- Logistics. By this point we had booked our new flights, and we had secured our first three months of accommodation. The earlier you book your accommodation, the wider the selection on websites like Airbnb, VRBO, and HomeAway.
- Passports. The U.S. Department of State recommends having at least six months validity on your passport when traveling abroad.
Two of our passports needed to be renewed. To renew mine, I mailed it off as per the instructions on the State Department’s website. To renew my daughter’s, we had to reapply in person which is required for children under age 16.
If you don’t have passports, apply for them now. The turnaround time is usually measured in weeks, not days. If you have passports, check the expiration dates to ensure they do not expire while you are traveling! It is possible to renew your passport while abroad at a U.S. Embassy or U.S. Consulate. But I think it’s easier to just take care of this before you leave.
- Health. Think of all the healthcare providers that your family sees, and schedule appointments for checkups and to discuss your plans to travel for a year. Before we left the country, we wanted to take advantage of our health insurance benefits like annual well exams.
- Pediatrician. At our kids’ well checkups, we informed their pediatrician about our travel plans and discussed a plan for care including scheduled vaccines.
- Primary Doctor. My husband and I visited our doctors for checkups and to discuss our travel plans. We also considered any medications we might need while traveling and planned to carry a sufficient supply.
- Dentist. I scheduled our family’s last dental visit for about a week before our trip. Many dentists book a few months in advance, so now is a good time to get on your dentist’s calendar. I wanted to make sure we received all of our 2019 cleanings since we had already paid for them!
- Vision. My husband wanted to have Lasik surgery on his eyes before our trip. So we scheduled it early enough that we even had time for the correction surgery he ended up needing four months after the original surgery. I also scheduled an eye exam for myself so I could update my prescription and order new glasses and a supply of contacts for our trip.
- Decluttering (Phase 2). Similar to the first time, we went back through every room in our house and took a stricter look at what we wanted to keep and what we could part with. Again, over time we accumulated another (huge) pile of items in preparation for a second garage sale. Remember, the goals here are to reduce your stuff, simplify your life, and earn some extra cash to travel for a whole year!
Related post: How to Save Money When Traveling with Kids
4 Months Before Departure
- Home. If you plan to rent out your home while you travel, now is a good time to sign a lease! I still get butterflies thinking about it.
- Storage. We started organizing the two rooms in our home that we planned to use for storage. We began moving furniture and packing boxes. As the interior landscape of our home thinned out, we were reminded daily that the wheels were in motion!
Get creative when considering where to store your things. Of course you could invest in a storage unit, but the goal is to avoid unnecessary expenses. Do you have a friend or family member who might be willing to loan you a closet or attic space or a corner of their garage to store your belongings while you travel for a year?
- Decluttering (Phase 2). Just a reminder that this is an ongoing process. We were still at it!
- Budget. We kept records of our spending throughout 2019, and we continued to piece together our travel budget. In addition, we considered income-generating work to pursue while traveling, and we cut expenses where possible.
- Kids’ Education. Another reminder to do whatever research and planning your family needs in this category. For example, at my daughter’s end-of-year parent-teacher conference, I asked her teachers for advice on continuing her education while we travel. I also bought Chloe a simple notebook that acts like her journal and sketch pad. My aunt and grandmother gifted us several children’s ebooks for my iPad, and I started borrowing digital children’s books using my San Antonio library card.
- Health Insurance / Travel Insurance. We researched travel insurance plans that not only covered new health issues that might arise while we travel, but also provided coverage for things like lost baggage, trip cancellation, natural disasters, and medical repatriation. We compared several companies and elected to purchase our travel insurance from World Nomads. Their plans are flexible, reasonably priced, and submitting our first claim one month into our trip was easy.
As you research, pay attention to things like coverage area, coverage limits, and customer support. Also check with your credit card companies to see if they offer any sort of travel protection like supplemental auto insurance, lost baggage, or trip cancellation.
- Homeowner’s Insurance. A phone call to our insurance agent taught us that we needed to change our homeowner’s insurance policy to reflect the fact that we rented out our home for a year to travel. If you own a home and plan to keep it while you travel, check with your insurance company to see if you need to make any changes.
3 Months Before Departure
- Garage Sale (2 of 2). We held our second garage sale in June 2019 which emptied our home of another huge wave of stuff. And it provided funds to put towards the purchase of our packing cubes and luggage! We made just over $400!
- New Travel Items. You may need to acquire a few new items to travel for a year, (or longer?). For example, we purchased eBags packing cubes, two new suitcases, travel wallets, a Road iD for our daughter, and a GoPro Hero7 Black. Ordering three months before you depart allows time for returns if you’re not 100% satisfied with your purchase.
- Car Seats. We decided to bring our kids’ carseats because we knew we’d be renting cars at many of our destinations. In the past we’ve had poor experiences renting carseats from rental car companies.
For our son we brought his Britax convertible seat. Be warned: this seat is not lightweight and while we love this car seat, it’s not the ideal option for travel. It is however, a fantastic everyday car seat.
For our daughter I researched a forward-facing-only, lightweight car seat and purchased the Evenflo Maestro. At only 11 pounds, it’s a breeze to carry or pull along, and it’s fairly easy to install repeatedly. If you do plan to travel with your car seat, don’t forget to buy a car seat travel bag to carry and protect it. - Ground Transportation. Admittedly, we did not spend enough time on figuring out the logistics of getting between our first few foreign countries before we left Texas. That led to a few surprises along the way, including paying for a night of accommodation in Croatia that we didn’t use because we ended up taking an overnight ferry to get there. So we’ve learned to research and be aware of transportation options and durations at least a couple of months in advance when possible.
- Usernames, Passwords, and Reminders. In a safe place, or multiple places, compile your usernames, passwords, account numbers, and policy numbers for any websites, bills, or accounts that will need attention while you’re traveling.
It’s also a good idea to make note of due dates for credit cards and other bills that will remain active while you’re traveling. And don’t forget to file your tax return! We compiled a spreadsheet of month-by-month reminders with everything from renewing our car’s registration online to extending our mail forwarding service to mailing birthday cards to friends and family.
2 Months Before Departure
- Cell Phones. We researched what it would cost to add an international component to our existing U.S. cell phone plan. We compared that to what we estimated it would cost to purchase new SIM cards and basic plans abroad. Ultimately we decided to terminate our U.S. plans and just pay our carrier a monthly fee to reserve our U.S. phone numbers for when we return. Unfortunately we were in the middle of our payment plans for our iPhones, and we had to pay off those balances before our carrier could unlock our phones for use with other SIM cards. Once we got to Italy, it was fairly easy to purchase a SIM card with an Italian number and enroll in a local service plan.
- Mail. Because we planned to travel for at least a year, we had our mail forwarded to my Dad’s house in Maryland. This meant that a.) our renter didn’t need to worry about collecting our mail, and b.) my Dad could screen our mail for important notices or items that might need attention. The US Postal Service will forward your mail for six months at a time, so I set a reminder to prompt me in February 2020 to extend the service for an additional six months.
- Travel-related Vaccines. We waited until only one month before we left to get the recommended travel-related vaccines, but I advise doing this a bit earlier, especially if you are going to places for which more vaccines are recommended. Some vaccines require more than one dose administered over time, and some vaccines can get expensive, so the more time you have to plan for them, the better. We visited a Passport Health office in San Antonio and met with a nurse who advised us on each destination on our itinerary.
- Local Bucket List. I made a local San Antonio summer bucket list of both new and favorite things for our family to do before we left town. This helped us enjoy our remaining time in San Antonio and gave us opportunities to relax in the midst of packing up our lives.
1 Month Before Departure
- Home. We boxed up one room at a time; most rooms were dismantled in phases. I packed up the kids’ rooms last. Those were long, emotional days! We also had several odd fix-it jobs around the house that needed attention before our renter moved in. Our goal was to make our home move-in-ready to minimize the likelihood of issues while we were traveling.
- Pets. We took our dogs to the vet for their regular vaccines to keep them current and healthy before we left.
- Vehicles. We decided to sell one of our two vehicles before we left because it was 11 years old, and it didn’t make sense to continue to insure it while it depreciated on our driveway. So we sold our Jeep privately, transferred the title, and contacted our auto insurance company to remove the vehicle from our policy.
- Packing. We started making piles of everything we planned to take on our trip so we could monitor when the piles got too large and then reevaluate our strategies. We included our daughter in the packing process, too. She loved being involved in the decision making process of what to bring and why.
- Currency. We ordered some Euros through our bank before we left so we’d have cash for the first few weeks of our trip.
- Friends. We were intentional about making dates with friends to grab coffee or a meal and say “see you later” before we left town. Spending time with people who care about you and support your dreams is just plain good for the soul.
1 Week Before Departure
- Home. We did a walkthrough of our house with our renter and gave him the chance to ask questions. There were several things to show him such as how to maintain the pool and yard and how to care for our dogs. We transferred the utility bills into his name, and we gave the house a good cleaning before we left.
Finally, we hosted a meet and greet to introduce our neighbors to our renter which turned out to be a really fun evening and also served as a kind of closure for me before we left.
- Passports. We made copies of the photo pages of our passports and left one copy with my Dad and brought another copy with us to keep as back-ups in case our passports were to get lost.
- Finish Packing! By this point our adrenaline was off the charts. Were we really leaving home for a year to travel? We repacked our packing cubes a dozen times. We admired them when they were finalized. We kept our suitcases under 50 pounds. We did not bring a stroller. We did bring our Tula soft baby carrier. We left a key to our only car with a friend. We enjoyed our last night in our empty home, reminiscing and getting excited for the adventures ahead!
Wow! You read to the end— way to go! This checklist might appear fairly straightforward on paper, but as with any big undertaking, there are hundreds of small, odd jobs and tasks that will pop up along the way. Many of the tasks above are multi-step processes. But that’s okay! Making the decision to travel for a year is exciting, and the effort is entirely worth it. Hopefully this checklist provides a starting point for considering the “big rocks” that require attention when planning to travel for a year… or longer.
We’d love to hear about your experience! Have you traveled for an extended time? What surprises popped up for you during your planning? Are you interested in learning more about long term family travel? Let us know in the comments below, and thanks for reading our post!
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How to Prepare to Travel for a Year with Your Family:
1st published date: November 14th 2019
Revised published date: February 20th 2020 with updated content.
28 thoughts on “How to Prepare to Travel for a Year with Your Family”
Love reading your blogs!!
Thank you Laura, let us know if you have any recommendations for blogs you might be interested in.
Excellent blog. Very helpful. Great pictures n just a great overall blog as I can feel like I’m there with you on your journeys.
Thank you! We appreciate your kind feedback.
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Wow! I love how you have broken the planning and preparation down. It is incredible that you can travel with such little kids.
Thank you! We are always happy to answer any questions. As for traveling with little kids, it’s tough at time but SO rewarding! We are so happy we made this decision.
Really useful post! I’m not long term travelling but I’m backpacking solo with my to be 10 month old in July!
10 months backpacking with a 10 month old! Way to go! so exciting! We have a few other posts on our site that might be of use to you and your planning. Have a great time!!
This was so detailed and helpful. It gave me a lot to think about!
Thank you! It’s a journey for sure, but it starts with a dream!
This is such a helpful, comprehensive list – I’ll definitely be holding onto it
Thank you. Happy to answer any questions.
Get out of my head! This article is perfect for people who enjoy planning just as much as traveling. Great ideas in the article, and great idea for a post!
Thanks for your comment, Adriane!
Wow! So detailed. I know people who dream of this kind of travel and they will love this step by step guide on how to accomplish their dream. You make it sound doable and fun. So happy to have met y’all, albeit virtually.
Thank you Jenny. Happy to have met you also! Thank you for your support.
Wow! This is a really fantastic post! So comprehensive. We hope to go on our own family adventures soon and this will be a handy resource!
Thank you Maureen. Always happy to answer any questions. Safe travels!
There are some attention-grabbing points in time in this article however I don’t know if I see all of them center to heart. There is some validity however I will take hold opinion till I look into it further. Good article , thanks and we wish more! Added to FeedBurner as well
Well I truly enjoyed studying it. This post offered by you is very effective for proper planning.
Thank you. We hope it helps others to live their travel dreams.
Enjoyed reading the article above, really explains everything in detai,,the article is extremely interesting and effective.
King regards,
Lunding Zacho
Great post. I am facing a few of these issues as well..
Loved reading this article. My husband and I are planning a year (or two) of travel with our two kids and we are giving ourselves 3 years to be able to do that. Our kids are 2 and 4 now. If we left in 3 years, they will be 5 and 7. We figured those are ages young enough that we can homeschool plus world schooling. We have started the dreaming stage and are now checking out family travel blogs like yours for inspiration and also start to prepare and plan mentally. I am so happy to have found your blog. Thank you for your tips and for the inspiration and encouragement!