An Englishman in New Shorts

Getting Started

  • Planning

    The first big decision for any big trip is deciding where to go. Some of the main factors here beside personal preference include what your budget is, and how long you are planning to travel. Europe is great for a few weeks of backpacking, as you can see a lot in quite a short time, but most countries are very expensive. Travelling South America or Southeast Asia is far cheaper by comparison, as the same budget will carry you twice as far. However, you will need a lot more time to see everything due to the massive size of these continents.

    So once you’ve settled on a continent, the next thing to do is plan a route. With pretty much anywhere you go there will be popular routes through countries which you can find on plenty of other sites, but don’t feel restricted. You can add or skip stops on your route depending on what you want to see and how much you want to spend. Part of the fun of travelling is coming up with your own plan and making your trip personal to you. Bear in mind that whatever you plan, you will almost certainly end up changing and adjusting it once you are actually there. There were many places on my journey across South America that I had never heard of until we got there, but ended up being incredible additions to the trip. A lot of these places you’ll hear about from locals or other travellers, so its always worth chatting to people with a bit of local knowledge. For example, Palomino, a small beach town on the North coast of Colombia (featured in the image at the start of this post) was completely unknown to us until a friend we met in Bogota told us we had to go, and even though it was quite a detour it was absolutely worth it. The sunset over the beach every night was stunning, and the beach parties at night were unforgettable.

    The point is, do your research, write down a list of anything you definitely want to see and do, and just connect the dots as you go. Most locals will usually be very helpful and can give you advice about places to eat, stay and get around. Its therefore worth brushing up on the native language of wherever you’re visiting just to get the basics down. Get some lessons before you go if you can, but getting a few solid months on Duolingo will go a long way. You’ll also likely pick up quite a bit once you’re out there too, nothing beats immersion!

    If you want to check out my route for South America, check the next page for the full breakdown.