Our checklist to prepare a round-the-world trip

If you've made it this far and have read all the previous chapters of the e-book, you now know all the important things to prepare for your world tour and embark on the adventure of a lifetime. In this final chapter, we’ve created a travel checklist or summary for you, outlining all the key steps in preparing for a world tour, starting from a year before your departure date up to the big day itself. After this, you’ll have no more excuses not to go on trip around the world! 😉

When you begin the preparations, you may sometimes feel overwhelmed by the huge pile of paperwork. You might wonder if you’ll ever manage it or if you’d rather just leave without bothering with all the admin. But trust me, with a recap, everything becomes much easier! To get a printed version, you can find our full checklist in PDF format at the end of the article!

Have you set your departure date?

As we explained in chapter 1, setting a departure date will already help you make your travel project concrete. It’s the best way to kickstart this amazing adventure and get the ball rolling for your travel preparations. The dream has now become a project, congratulations!

1 year the start of your RTW trip

• Start planning your itinerary and set a budget per country, as well as an overall budget. Let yourself dream and keep your options open. Planning is great, but don’t overdo it! 🙂 You’ll see that in the next 6 months, you’ll be in sponge mode… You’ll start browsing blogs and taking notes, and this is also when your trip will begin to feel more real! To inspire you even more, here’s the world map of all our blog articles below 😉.
  
• Start saving for your world tour. Here are our tips on how to save!
• Attend traveler meetups. You’ll see it’s a great way to get inspired and meet other travelers and future world explorers.
• You’ll probably be leaving your job. If you decide to take a sabbatical leave, opt for a mutual agreement termination or something else, now is the time to find out about the conditions and timelines in your company. We explain all the possibilities regarding your job!
• Announce your travel project to your family and friends. Don’t let some of your loved ones’ reactions scare you off 😉 There are risks when traveling, just as there are when stepping out of your house…

9 months before departure

Paperwork

Request quotes for your plane tickets. Whether through an agency or an airline alliance, start your research. Refer to the chapter on different types of tickets for more details.

Miscellaneous

If you’re traveling to a country where you don’t speak the language, now is a good time to start language lessons. Whether at a school or online from home, learning some basic vocabulary will greatly help you during the first stages of your trip! We personally use the Mosalingua app, which allows us to easily learn whenever we have a little downtime on our smartphones. As a bonus, you can get a 20% discount with this link!

6 months before departure

Paperwork

Buy your round-the-world plane tickets if you’ve received a satisfactory quote. Ouch! This will be your first major expense for your long journey!

Check the validity of your passport as well as the number of blank pages available. If necessary, renew your travel document! Some countries require your passport to be valid for at least 6 months after your entry date.

Health

By now, you should have your destination countries clearly defined! Make an appointment with your doctor for vaccination advice. Outline your itinerary and start drawing up a vaccination plan. It’s important to begin this step early because some vaccines cannot be administered together. Additionally, vaccines can weaken your immune system, so the more time you take and the more spaced out the injections, the lower your risk of side effects. For more details, read our article on health while traveling ;).

Miscellaneous

Start making arrangements to sell/rent/sublet your home, depending on whether you’re a homeowner or renter.

Announce your departure to your employer if you have one. Whether you’re requesting a sabbatical or quitting your job, 6 months before departure is generally a good time to do so. Unless, of course, you’re on bad terms with your company—then you can wait until the last minute 😉

Now is also the time to sell/rent your personal belongings you no longer need: car, furniture, books, old items you don’t use anymore, etc. It’s a great way to declutter before the upcoming move and also a fantastic way to boost your travel budget!

Even though you haven’t left yet, think about the budget you’ll need for when you return.

3 months before departure

Paperwork

Travel insurance

Take out travel insurance! Request quotes, compare offers, and contact your current insurer to find out the next steps. Check out our guide on choosing the best round-the-world insurance or head directly to our travel insurance comparison table.

Banks

Choose an optimal banking solution for your trip to avoid unnecessary withdrawal fees worldwide and limit bank management fees.

For travelers, the current favorite option is to open an account with N26, the mobile bank, with N26 You, the most interesting option with free withdrawals worldwide. To make the best choice, check out our comparison of the best fee-free cards for travelers. For the Swiss, we invite you to read our post on Swiss banks for travelers. You’ll see there aren’t many options—opening an account with PostFinance is the best solution in our opinion.

Another banking point: check the expiration date of your cards if you’re keeping the ones you currently have!

Other

Cancel your subscriptions in time: phone, internet, TV, unnecessary insurance, public transport, gym, etc. Most contracts have a 3-month cancellation period, and every little bit helps!

If you’re keeping your tax residence in Switzerland or France while traveling, ensure you can pay your taxes online during your trip around the world. If necessary, contact the tax authorities to learn the procedures: early declaration or complete removal of your tax residence.

Check the visa requirements for the other countries you wish to visit. Apply for a visa if necessary for the first country you'll visit on your trip. As for us, we chose China as our first destination because it was easier to get a 3-month visa from Switzerland than on the road.

Apply for an international driving permit. This permit may be required depending on the country you're traveling to if you want to rent a vehicle. For the Swiss, you’ll need to go to your local motor vehicle office (and the permit costs between 30 and 40 CHF).

Health

Schedule your various medical appointments for a final check-up before departure: dentist, dental hygienist, gynecologist, general practitioner, ophthalmologist, dermatologist, etc. It’s always better to leave after having a full medical check-up. At least this way, you won’t have to worry about it during traveling, and it’s part of preventing any potential health problems!

Gear

Start thinking about your backpack, clothing, and the gear you want to take. We’ve put together a packing list for a trip around the world that should really help you at this stage. Depending on the time of year, it may be worth buying certain things on sale a few months before you leave.

Find a place to store your belongings during the trip, after you’ve sold everything you no longer need 😉 A storage unit, family, or friends—it’s up to you!

A rtw trip is also a great opportunity to get into photography and bring back amazing images from your journey. But choosing a camera from the vast range of models currently available can be tough. Luckily for you, since photography is Ben’s passion, he’s prepared a comprehensive guide to help you find the right camera to travel.

1 month before departure

Paperwork

Remember to forward your mail to a trusted person. You can also use an online mailbox service (they receive and scan your mail to send it to you by email).

Start preparing your travel blog and share the link with your loved ones! And if you're not keen on maintaining a blog, you can simply create a WhatsApp group, a Facebook page, an Instagram account, or collect the email addresses of your friends and family to send them updates during your trip.

Gear and health

Usually, this is the time for moving. Good luck! It’s just a tough moment to get through 😉

Buy any gear you still need for your trip and start preparing your first aid kit. Visit your doctor or pharmacist for some advice.

2 weeks before departure

Paperwork

Gather all the addresses and phone numbers you'll need in a small notebook or send the list to yourself via email. This includes the addresses of your loved ones, emergency numbers, the number to block your credit card, your travel insurance number, your bank logins, etc. A good solution is to create a Word document with all this information and store it in Dropbox so you can access it anytime during your trip if needed. Alternatively, just save them in your contacts on your smartphone.

Give someone close to you power of attorney over your bank account for the duration of your trip. You never know what might happen, and you may need someone to perform a transaction on your behalf while you’re away.

Miscellaneous

If you tend to have a sensitive stomach while traveling, start a course of probiotics 2 weeks before you leave. This will strengthen your gut flora and help you adjust more easily to a new diet.

Start organizing your farewell party! 😉

1 week before departure

Gear

Start packing your things and make those last-minute purchases. I guarantee there will be some! Just don’t do what we did… Try packing and carrying your backpack before the night before you leave. And don’t worry too much if you find it heavy—you’ll get used to it quickly :).

Paperwork

Make photocopies of all your important documents: passport, vaccination records, driver’s license… Keep a copy with you, and send yourself an electronic version via email.

Subscribe to a VPN to browse securely around the world.

Get a set of ID photos, as they will come in handy for various visas along the way.

Print your insurance certificates—they will also be required for certain visas.

Sign up for a government alert service to receive safety instructions in case of a natural disaster or other issues in a country on your itinerary.

Miscellaneous and health

Eat as much chocolate, cheese, and cold meats as you can! 🙂

The day before you leave to travel

Finish packing everything. Taking your backpack for a quick test walk around the block to see how you handle the weight might not be a bad idea... And if your neighbors think you’re crazy, give them your blog address—it might inspire them to dream a little!

Celebrate with your loved ones!

Oh, and RELAX! The adventure ahead is amazing. Don’t waste time stressing—it’s not worth it!

The planning timeline before traveling around the world

We’ve summarized all the preparation steps in a PDF document. It’s up to you to print it out so you don’t miss anything and can leave with peace of mind!

The last word

Did you enjoy this rtw trip planning guide? We hope this little gift will be really helpful! This guide is and will remain free. However, if you want to help us keep it up to date, you can buy us a coffee!

Do you have any feedback that could be useful to other travelers? Feel free to comment directly on the relevant pages on the blog!

In any case, if you’ve decided to go, we can only congratulate you. It’s definitely the most beautiful experience in the world! We wish you all the happiness in your journey!

Want to get in touch with us? Don’t hesitate to send us an email with your thoughts on this guide or just to say hi. We love receiving your emails!

Our email: contact[at]novo-monde.com

All the best,

Fabienne & Ben

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