We have been dreaming of overseas travel for most of our life. Traveling through the states of Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and Wyoming in the Summer of 2024 really enforced the idea of taking our adventures to the next level. Now we know we are ready for more adventuring outside the continental U.S. 48 states.
What really cemented our idea of traveling overseas was our chance meeting of Chris from Switzerland. Luckily, we were all traveling through Utah at the same time. He ended up boondocking with us for the night. We were all staying only one night. However, we started chatting and continued visiting the entire next day into the evening.
Our gentleman, in his thirties, had already visited more of the U.S. than we had. In addition, he had traveled to a lot of countries that we have only been dreaming of visiting. His encouragement of “Just buy the ticket” really put a fire under our butts for more adventurous travel.
So, now we are planning our 2025 trips and we are focusing on traveling overseas. We still have adventures in the continental U.S. on our bucket list and plan to visit them a month or two each year. However, our main plans involve airlines, hotel or condo accommodations, and rental cars overseas or in Hawaii and Alaska.
With this new found bravery in traveling, we also had to revamp our budget. In addition to lodging and plane tickets, we want to dine out more and try the local cuisine, visit markets, and tour more historical buildings.
Learning About Overseas Travel
Traveling outside the United States is a whole new concept to us. Neither of us has been outside the U.S. in all of our many years. We know many friends who book a resort for a week vacation and never leave the resort. But this sounds completely boring and is not our type of travel.
Part of our fascination with traveling to other countries is interacting with the local culture, learning new languages, and visiting historical buildings and places. And, of course, in many places, snorkeling is at the top of our list.
Because worldwide traveling is new to us, we are trying to learn more about how to travel efficiently and safely. We are reading books by travelers and watching YouTube Videos. Also, we are trying to learn more about the confusing credit card points and using them efficiently. Forget expert hacking tips yet; we are still trying to earn our promotional points!
Because we are newbies at the overseas travel gig, we are only planning a week or two in different countries to get our feet wet. Luckily, many of our bucket list places are considered safe for traveling, speak english, and we do not yet have to get a Visa.
However, as we gain more knowledge and feel more comfortable, we expect to travel to less safe areas. Especially as many of our snorkeling bucket lists are in more dangerous countries. But some of bucket lists are once in a lifetime experiences that we don’t want to pass up.
Some ideas we have gathered so far from reading the accounts of full-time travelers are:
- Don’t try to see everything – book a week or two and see your highlights
- Don’t check in baggage – carry-ons are the way to go
- Be flexible
- Plan for fraud and theft
- Learn a few polite words in every country you visit
- Research the country you will be visiting
Don’t Try to See Everything in Overseas Travel
When we plan our RV adventure for a year, we try to include a lot of sights and hikes that we want to do. Usually, they are on our bucket list. However, sometimes it is because we get bored sitting at a campground.
During our truck camping adventures of 2024, we missed a lot of our hikes and sights on our list. We were sometimes too antsy to get to the next spot or the weather was miserable. As we were traveling through the desert for most of the summer, the weather was often miserable. Especially for sleeping in the back of the truck. And we didn’t expect the price of ice to kill our budget.
Initally, while considering overseas travel, many times we thought we would have to book a month in a country to see everything. We discussed finding public transportation or renting a car, booking two or more hotels/condos, and how to travel to different areas. Our friend from Switzerland simplified overseas traveling for us. He told us to pick a few bucket list items that we must see or do and then leave. It sounds simple, but it was an “Ah-ha” moment for us.
What a relief this was! It is way easier to book a week or two for the main places we want to see rather than planning luggage, clothes, and travel for a month! And, we can include a couple of days for rest and just walking the town. Because we are not go, go, go travelers, having a few days of downtime is very important for us.
So, now in our planning for 2025, instead of booking a month in one country and traveling all over it, we are planning a week or two visit in one area. We hope to see our main attractions in the one area and interact with the local culture. If we have time, we might venture out a little further. However, we can always book another trip to a different area later.
The planning of only a week or two in one area makes the overseas traveling a whole lot simpler. We only must book one hotel or condo and do not have to travel throughout the entire country. We expect to stay in one location, see the sights, and learn a little of the local culture and food.
Simplifying the travel to another country has made our trip planning more fun and relaxing. We may have to plan more than one visit to a country to see everything we want in the country, but we don’t have to try to cram everything into one trip. Whew!
Don’t Check in Baggage
We are not baggage checking travelers anyway. I have this fear of my luggage being lost and I like to keep it all near me when I fly. I am like Scrooge with his money. And reading books by full-time travelers supported this decision. Full-time travelers we have read and watched recommend not checking baggage. Instead, they suggest following the one carry-on and one personal item for airport check-ins.
Since studying the recommendations of frequent flyers, we have purchased one small suitcase that meets the requirements for under the seat luggage. We also plan to purchase two small traveling backpacks for our overhead compartment. We plan to pack light. As we don’t wear jeans anyway, we will pack some nice pants and shirts for both of us and maybe a couple of light dresses for me. As one YouTube traveler recommended, “pack your bag, take half out, and then go.”
One recommendation given by another YouTuber is to make sure your bags stand out. You do not want someone else to take your luggage without you noticing. So, make sure your luggage cannot be mistaken for another. I am still looking for the most goofy, colorful way to decorate my luggage. Also, we will put locks on everything, including our day backpack, to deter theft. From what we have read, pickpocketing is the most frequent crime in overseas travel.
Because we will be traveling to other countries and, sometimes, visiting churches and other historical buildings, we will pack nice, presentable clothing. After all, we do not want to offend citizens of these countries or be denied access to something we really want to see. And, let’s face it, no one wants to see two fifty-years old walking down the street with their private wrinkles showing anyway.
As for shoes, we love our hiking sandals. In addition to hiking in them, I can also wear mine with dresses or skirts. The only other pair of shoes we plan to pack are our tennis shoes To make our packing lighter and our decision of what to wear easier, we plan to purchase neutral colored pants, shorts, and skirts. We can then choose more colorful tops to accessorize our plain jane bottoms.
Hopefully, our packing plan works for us. We don’t want to do laundry or have sweat stains under our armpits. The more we travel overseas, the more we will learn what clothes and personal items we really need to be comfortable and presentable.
Be Flexible
In addition to traveling overseas, this is sound advice for RVing Full-Time. You don’t know what will happen that could potentially change your plans and even make you slap your forehead. Sometimes, crap just hits the fan.
During the Summer of 2024, we took our travel trailer to Arizona during the hot month of July. We expected to stay only a week or two and then head back to the cooler weather in Colorado. We really didn’t like the heat, but we wanted to do a couple of bucket list hikes in the area.
Unexpectedly, our truck broke down. It just wouldn’t start one morning before a hike. So, we had it towed to the nearest dealership. For a month we sat in our travel trailer in the over one hundred degree heat while our truck was fixed. This was not in our plans and took us by surprise. We had to reschedule campgrounds and change our plans. This was our first major mishap in four years of RVing Full-Time, but we handled it.
We assume overseas traveling will also hold some surprises for us. Our planning in some countries involves using pubic transportation. We know this will take us some time to learn and we will have some hiccups. So, we want to add a few days to our trip to find our way back to the hotel, just in case.
However, we also know that things we never even considered will probably occur. Our best action is to have a few backup plans and to search for other opportunities, if necessary. Some of our best learnings have been from life’s curveballs.
Expecting Theft in Overseas Travel
I did not even really consider this until I read a book written by a full-time traveler. Both she and her husband have had their credit cards frauded while traveling overseas. And their bank closed the account. If the bank closes the account due to fraud, they will only reissue the new credit card to your physical address back in the states.
Another YouTuber traveler we watch was pickpocketed while touring a country. She also had her luggage taken from the overhead compartment on the airplane. It seems there are many ways to be targeted for theft and fraud in our travel overseas.
We are still researching ways to make our travels safer. Our first plan of action is to carry most of our important items in cut proof day backpacks with locks. We each plan to carry one so we can divide credit cards, money and important documents. Hopefully, we also remember to keep records of the customer service numbers of our banks, just in case.
A couple of worldwide travelers that I have read also recommend carrying backup copies of important documents, including passports, in other suitcases. One author recommends three copies of ids carried in different suitcases. Because we are only part-time travelers, we are still researching how much actual paper backup we should carry with us. We don’t want to set ourselves up for more identity theft for only a week of travel overseas.
Also, to make it easier on us, we are not carrying laptops or other electronics on our trips. Of course, we will have our cellphones and a backup for our photo storage. But we really do not want to worry about how to carry or where to store other devices while we are having fun.
Luckily, our bank allows us to exchange dollars for euros in the U.S. before traveling. To get our feet wet, we decided our first country for overseas travel will be in Europe. We love the idea of leaving our Debit Cards at home and not using foreign ATMs. Hopefully, this removes some exposure to fraud and theft.
As newbies, we are still learning. We continue to read and watch videos on scams others have been exposed to and recommended safety precautions by full-time travelers. Our first line of defense now, before visiting a country, is to check out the travel.state.gov website and learn more about the crime, restrictions and locations of U.S. embassies in each country. And, of course, once we begin overseas traveling, we will have a better idea on protecting ourselves.
Although we realize no one is immune to theft and fraud (and every day company hacking proves it), we plan on limiting our exposure by simply not carrying too many items that can be stolen, dividing the necessary credit cards and cash, having copies of our passports and ids, making sure we are always aware of our surroundings and our personal effects, and anticipating what our backup plan is if something does happen.
Learning Polite Words and Behaving Respectfully
Oh, yes, we have met them, the travelers that everyone warns you about. We met them at the pool while RVing in Virginia. Originally, we thought it was going to be a great conversation. After all, the man was originally from Missouri, and we usually love meeting fellow Missourians.
However, the conversation soon took a wrong turn. We began discussing the subject of overseas traveling. We were so jealous as they had traveled to loads of countries. Of course, us being us, we started asking a lot of questions, trying to learn more. We really thought they would teach us tips on overseas traveling and ideas for some adventures.
What we really learned from them was: (1) they did not like the food, (2) the weather was not ideal, and (3) their favorite part of one trip was staying in a hotel with a view of the Eiffel Tower. They were arrogant and always comparing the country they visited to the United States.
Words cannot begin to describe how disappointed we were. I am surprised our faces did not give us away as we grimaced on every detail of their travels. We still have no idea if they ever truly enjoyed any of the countries they visited.
We know enough about ourselves to realize we will have to make some adjustments in our normal behavior while in other cultures. For example, I am loud. It is not that I do it on purpose, my voice is just loud and carries. Especially if I am excited about a new sight or adventure. I am working on it. But it may take me a little bit to change a habit of fifty years. I know I must soften my voice because not everyone in my vicinity wants to hear, “Wow, baby, check that out!”
However, we hope we are open to meeting various people from lots of different areas without prejudging them. We love meeting, talking, and learning from others. Sometimes it is difficult not to make comparisons between other countries and the United States. However, there is really no reason to compare unless you are deciding whether to move to another country. Afterall, we are just temporary visitors right now.
We want to travel overseas to learn and see amazing sights. Duolingo is teaching us a few languages. More importantly, we are trying to learn a few simple phrases such as “hello,” “please,” “thank you,” “good morning,” and “where are the bathrooms.” in all of the countries we will visit. Afterall, it is very important for us to know where the bathrooms are.
We know that English is spoken in many countries, especially in the touristy areas. However, we do not want to assume that everyone will understand us. Also, we hate to miss amazing opportunities to learn new languages, even if it is just simple phrases! We would kick ourselves if we did not take advantage of hearing the local language and learning a bit of the culture while we are visiting.
Even though native speakers may laugh at our attempts of pronunciation, everyone we have met to date has been so friendly. I have been laughed at while trying to roll my Rs and other speakers have explained conversations in English to us. But, everyone we have met was happy that we were trying to learn their language and very nice about our faults. It is a joy to us to talk with friendly, amazing people from all different walks of life.
Research Your Desired Location
This is how naïve we are about traveling. We did not realize that the U.S. federal government maintains the website travel.state.gov to research different countries you will be traveling to. I learned it recently while reading a book written by a full-time traveler. You can aslo register with the website to let the U.S. government know when you will be in another country.
While planning our overseas travel, we try to read up on and watch a lot of YouTube videos about the specific country we are visiting. And we will continue to learn more about traveling in general. Windell loves watching YouTube and I love reading. So, you can guess who does the research in each area.
When we travel to a country, we want to do our best not to offend anyone. Also, we realize the laws in that country can differ from what we are used to in the United States. So, we do a little research. Although we know we will make mistakes, our research makes us feel more prepared for our travels. We are probably overthinking it. We sometimes do.
Yet, because we want to learn and experience some of the culture as well as see some sights, we expect to put ourselves in more uncomfortable settings than just relaxing in a pool at a resort. Who wants to relax in a resort pool? Especially if there is an ocean nearby to snorkel! So, we research to teach us some basics of how to visit a country politely.
The most fun research is determing the bucket list items to do! We make a list of the sights we want to see, any markets we want to visit, recommended authentic restaurants, and the main areas we want to tour. It is also interesting to research festivals and cultural events that may occur while you are there. I will never forget jumping up to dance in Colorado with Hopi family members when permitted!
Preparing Ourselves for Traveling Overseas
We are so excited. When we started RVing, we made a strict budget to retire early. Our initial budget was so strict that it required us to stay on Thousand Trails campgrounds for two to three weeks without much adventuring. However, we have expanded our interests since then, our budget, and our work experiences. The more exploring we do, the more we hunger for new and more exciting adventures.
Although we have not seen all the continental 48 states yet, we have decided to start exploring via overseas travel in the upcoming years. We still plan on traveling in the U.S. a few months out of the year. But we will be limiting this adventuring and travel to fewer, more specific areas.
Luckily, we can start exploring together while we are still physically able. We are grateful for this chance to meet people, learn cultures, and try things we never dreamt of while working full-time. And we expect our overseas travel in 2025 to further expand our interests and memories. Thanks to our friend from Switzerland and some research, we will soon be able to start this new journey.