Packing for a holiday’s easy, but preparing for a gap year is a completely different story. In fact, if you’re getting ready to up sticks and roam the world for months on end, you might be feeling positively overwhelmed by the task at hand. Where do you even start, and what if you forget something crucial? Luckily, help is at hand. The following travel checklist should help you to get ready for your far flung adventures.
Think carefully about your cover
Insurance should feature at the top of your list. It might not be the most thrilling thing to do, but putting financial cover in place could help to prevent disaster when you’re away from home. As specialist brokers Chill Insurance Ltd point out, standard travel insurance may not be suitable for gap years. Instead, extended stay or tailored gap year policies are a better option. They can provide up to 12 months of cover and offer financial protection for all non-manual work you do while you’re away.
Be sure to choose policies that cover all the activities you’re planning too. Whether you’re taking elephant rides in the jungle, showing off your skiing abilities, scuba diving in the oceans or anything else, it’s important that you’ve got the right insurance in place.
Get your paperwork together
You’ll need all the right paperwork too, including your travel tickets, passport and visas. You might also benefit from having your driver’s licence, immunisation record and discount cards.
Make sure you get these documents together well before you’re due to depart. It can take a long time to order new versions, and if you don’t have the right paperwork in place, your whole trip could be scuppered – or even worse you could find yourself stranded.
Pack the essentials
Your trusty backpack might not be big, but with some careful packing, you should be able to squeeze plenty of useful items into it. Essentials include changes of clothing, travel money, a mobile phone and charger, electrical adapters, toiletries, a basic first aid kit and any medications you use. Depending on where you’re going, you might also need a mosquito net, water purification tablets, insect repellent and a range of other resources to protect your health and safety. Gadgets like head torches and compasses can come in handy as well.
When you’re deciding what to take with you, make sure you research your destinations thoroughly. Pay attention to everything you can expect to encounter on your travels, from the weather to the healthcare systems.
Bon voyage!
As long as you make sure all these basics appear on your travel checklist, you should find you have everything you need to make your trip a success. All that’s left is to wish you bon voyage and a great gap year!
