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Home » Planning

How Long Should I Travel For?

Submitted by TravMonkey on September 7, 2009 – 9:59 pm2 Comments
Thailand Beach

Leave yourself some time to relax.

There are many common around the world travel questions that come up time and time again. When preparing to travel the world there is a lot of information to take in and also a lot of question to be answered. It’s difficult to know what to expect if you’ve never traveled for a long period of time before.

With the excitement of planning a trip around the world many people try to fit too much into a short period of time. After all there is a lot to see and many amazing sights.

“I met three English girls that were traveling the world in 7 weeks”

For me this can often be a mistake. It’s easy to get lost in planning to go to a vast number of sights and countries when in reality you could experience a place and begin to scratch the surface of what really makes it tick. Often you will find people spending minimal time in a place because they are in such a rush to fit everything into their itinerary.

One example I came across whilst staying in a Sydney hostel where I met three English girls that were traveling the world in 7 weeks. They had one night to stay in Sydney before they had to move on.

One of the great things about having time whilst you are traveling is that you have so much more freedom, you aren’t chained to a tight schedule. Having this freedom means if you feel like it you can take a detour, side trip with some new friends you have just met. If you are on a tight schedule you are forced to follow it without being able to make decision on a whim. You can also choose to stay longer if you find that stunning beach of your dreams.

It really does give you more options.

Traveling this way isn’t for everyone, I know people who need things booked and planned or they just can’t handle it. But for me, I like the to have the freedom and sense of wandering when traveling.

It is definitely something that should be considered by first time backpackers before planning their trip.


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TravMonkey

Paul Dow is an English, optimistic, late sleeper, green tea drinker, writer, web developer, soccer fan and editor of TravMonkey. Currently recovering in London after traveling solo for 22 months through Asia, Australia, New Zealand and South America.


2 Comments »

  • Daniel says:

    Hey Paul — some good insight here. Discovered you via @Nwano’s Twitter feed. My wife and I’ve been considering the same question for a similar post — wherein we explore the reasons that we’ve chosen a year as our arbitrary ‘time spent travelling the world’. Thanks for the post!

  • TravMonkey says:

    Hi Daniel,

    Thanks for the comment! Love the site!

    Keep up your good work!

    Thanks,
    Paul @
    TravMonkey.com

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