Long Term Travel — Definition, Tips, and Benefits
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Are you feeling stuck in your life? Like you’re not sure what you want to do, or how to get there? If so, long-term travel might be the answer for you. It’s a great way to figure out what you want in life and gain new skills while seeing the world.
The answer is clear, long-term travel is good. It makes us stronger and is an unforgettable experience. For these reasons, we believe that all of you should go on long-term travel even once in your life. In this article, we’ll talk about some of the advantages and disadvantages of long-term travel for you. But first, let’s see what long-term travel is and if you’re ready for it.
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What Is Long Term Travel ?
Actually, there is no exact definition of long term travel meaning. But, we love to call it a kind of freedom! Some travelers say it’s a three or 6-month trip, while others say it covers one or two years of travel. More precisely, it means buying your long-term travel ticket one way and not knowing when you’ll be back home. Not knowing exactly what to do is to be ready to change route at any moment. Moreover, that means lots of new friends. Most importantly, long-term travel is much more than visiting places as a tourist attraction. It’s an experience.
Are You Ready for Long Term Travel ?
If you don’t know, let us help. Everyone can be ready for long-term travel! Yes, you may not feel ready. However, you’re actually ready but not aware of it. All you need is courage and learn how to plan long term travel. We know it sounds difficult, but believe us, your travel will be good. If you’ve ever thought of going on long-term travel, do it. Dreaming is not enough. Especially if you want to get out of your comfort zone, long-term travel might be the best choice.
So, let’s start looking at the advantages and disadvantages of long-term travel. Let’s begin with the advantages.
Seven Advantages of Longterm Travel
You Start to See the World in a Very Different Way
When traveling long term, you also get the chance to stay longer in different places. Furthermore, you gain a lot of local experience during your stay. You can listen to thousands of stories about the place you go to, learn about its culture, or learn about its religion. The best way to learn about a place is to stay there for a long time. As a result, you experience different things and you have the chance to compare and analyze them. So, it makes you grow, and you start looking at the world differently.
It Is Cheaper
Long-term travel can become much cheaper, especially if you’re one of those who’re into slow travel. In fact, traveling is sometimes even cheaper than staying in your hometown. It’s also much cheaper to rent the place you rent for weeks or months rather than for a few days. Another advantage is that you’ll almost become a local because you’ve been there for so long. So, after a while, for example, you’ll know where to shop. Or, when you want to dine out, you’ll know which restaurant is the best and the cheapest.
You’ll Enjoy a Minimal Life
During your long-term travel, your view of material things will change. Most importantly, the value you place on material things will decrease. This will begin as you prepare for your travel. You’ll want to take everything with you as you’re going on a long trip, but you’ll find that this is not possible. You won’t be able to give up some things, and yes, you’ll take more than you need. Afterward, you’ll realize that you don’t need most of them on your trip. Moreover, the value you place on some of your belongings will decrease. This is a good thing. You’ll begin to value experiences more than things.
You’ll Be Open to Surprises
If your vacation is short, you might need plans because you have to do maximum work in a short time. However, now you don’t need tight plans. Be comfortable! Of course, you’ll still need certain plans. However, in a much more flexible way. For example, when you think you’ll stay for a week, you’ll stay for a month. Or the opposite, you’ll go to a place to stay for a month, but instead, you’ll only stay for one day just because you don’t like it or don’t feel safe. In your long-term travel, everything can change immediately. This can include your newly meet friends, or your travel crush! Just be more flexible.
You’ll Learn the Local Languages
The best way to learn a language is to be compelled to learn it. Some people even travel to learn languages. If you stay for a long term in the place you go, you’ll feel obliged to speak the local language. In the beginning, you can learn much simpler things. It’s like saying hello to people. However, then, that won’t be enough for you. Therefore, long-term travel is the best way to learn new languages. If you also have language skills, great! The locals will like you even more if they realize you’re learning their language.
It Is Good for Your Mental Health
Every year people travel somewhere to improve their mental health. However, short-term travel is not very healthy physically because it goes by very quickly. This also causes stress. However, long-term travel is not like that. In long-term travel, you can travel as you want without stress. You’ll have a much more flexible plan. You can also find time to exercise if you wish. In general, long-term travel is very good for physical and mental health. When you return to your hometown after a long term of travel, you’ll feel healthier than ever before.
You’ll Have More Freedom
When we plan a long-term trip, we’re freer. For example, on short travels, we’ve no control over the weather. If we hit the road in a rainy season, that’s sad! However, long-term travel is very good in this respect since we have a flexible schedule. All you have to do is to make good research. In this way, you can visit the places you want to go in the appropriate season. You won’t see the bad times. If you like winter, you chase the winter seasons, if you like summer, you chase the summer seasons. Everything is up to you!
Now, let’s look at some disadvantages.
Seven Disadvantages of Long term Travel
It Can be Exhausting
Everything will be very exciting as you begin your journey because exploration begins and there is much to do. On short travels, this excitement never ends because, as we’ve mentioned above, there is a plan and you follow those plans all the time. You do a lot of things in a short time. However, long-term travel is a bit risky in this respect because you’ll have bad days. You may get lost, feel insecure, or not like where you’re staying. Things like this can tire you out at times. As you get tired, your enjoyment will decrease. So, there can be disappointments too.
You Can’t Explore "Everything"
Long-term travel doesn’t mean visiting every place. There is no guidebook prepared for this. This is unfortunately one of the misconceptions about long-term travel. No, you don’t go out to see every part of the world. For sure, you’ll see many more places than the average traveler. However, the important thing at this point is your awareness. You haven’t started this trip just to tick off the places you’ve been to. This is actually much more important than visiting tourist attractions one by one. So, you’re different from an ordinary tourist, know that. If you want to visit tourist places one by one, short-term travel will be more suitable for you.
There Would Be No Routine
It’s actually quite normal for routines to break down while traveling. For many travelers, this is a factor considered when traveling. Some give up for this reason! This lack of routine can have bad effects on you. Especially if you’re attached to your daily routine. These can make you feel confused, directionless, and unproductive. As a solution, you can try to stick to certain routines as much as possible. For example, if you like reading, you can try to read a book at night before going to bed. Or, you can try to walk as much as you can. However, if you’re very attached to your routines, long-term travel will be a disadvantage for you.
You Must Stick to Your Travel Budget
Budget is an advantage as well as a disadvantage. If you’ve made a budget for travel, try to stick to it. From time to time, you may have to spend much more money than you think on food for example. Or, if you’re not satisfied with the hotel you’re staying at, you may need a lot more money to change it. You’ll know almost how much money you need from your research. However, things don’t always go as planned. For this, try to be in balance. If a day’s tour cost is more than you expected, try to balance your meal expenses accordingly.
It Is Hard to Be Healthy
Unfortunately, it’s much easier to get sick on long-term travel. This will manifest in times when you’re not feeling well. That is, you’ll feel sluggish and have lower energy. On short trips, the risk is lower. You can enjoy the local cuisine as you wish. But this is a disadvantage for long-term travel. If you run out of money, eating junk food all the time is bad for your health. In addition, while meeting the local cuisine, you’ll meet spices and ingredients that you’ve never had before. Bad for sensitive stomachs…
Homesick Effect
We know that you haven’t expected this to happen. However, it’s very normal. You’ll be away from your hometown, friends, family, home, and generally everything you see every day for a very long term. Even without these, there’ll definitely be something about your hometown that you’ll miss. Even the local coffee shop you go to every day… You won’t notice it because of the excitement at the very beginning of the travel. But the longer you stay away, the more you’ll find yourself yearning for it. Especially if you miss important events in your hometown because you’re in another country, this will upset you even more.
You Can Get Bored
Unfortunately, long-term travel can get boring after a while. Everything will continue to look great in your photos, but you might get bored. For example, transportation can become boring after a while. Time spent traveling all the time, waiting at terminals… It’s very boring, especially if you’re in a place with not very good transportation. To eliminate this boredom, you can make some preparations before you go. You can create new games yourself. It can be helpful to take books on various topics with you. And, the simplest way, of course, is to sleep and rest to kill the time.
Long Term Travel Tips
The problem with long-term travel is finding methods to push through those periods when you question whether you’re doing the correct thing.
Here are some travel tips for long and safe travels.
1. Travel Slowly
The best travel advice you have for surviving long-term traveling is to travel slowly. It’s hard to be on the travel every other day.
Spend full days walking the streets with no specific intent or goal. The more time you spend someplace, the less expensive it will be since you can bargain for better accommodations, locate the finest local eateries, and save money on transportation.
2. Find a Hobby
You must discover anything to keep your mind engaged, whether it be learning to juggle, writing in a diary, practicing sports, playing a musical instrument, or simply shooting photographs.
There’s really nothing wrong with laying in a swing for a whole week if you’re on a brief vacation from your job, however, you can’t do it each day for years.
3. Have One Day Off a Week
Everyone requires a day to rest and replenish their energies. A morning to sleep in, an evening to relax in a park and read a book, seeing the newest film at the theater, and more. These are all necessary for managing stress on the road.
Each day does not have to be spent with museums and tourism. People back home enjoy weekends to relax, and you can do it too. Give yourself a break at least once a week.
4. Get Back to Nature
When the rush and bustle of major cities get to us, you go to the closest national park. Out of the hustle and crowds, breathing in clean air helps us regain our good attitude. Take as much time as necessary in nature to ensure long-term survival.
5. Try Different Foods
What better time to sample new meals than while embarking on a new adventure? Trying new cuisines while on a journey in a nation you’ve never been to before enhances the taste experience. It is because you can learn about new flavors and cuisines to make at home. It may not taste precisely the same, but mastering your favorite new cuisine will be a lot of fun. You will have learned something you didn’t realize you needed to know. Aside from that, eating just brings people together. Trying new meals with individuals you’ve recently met in a foreign country might make them taste even better.
6. Keep Fit and Stay Healthy
You could abandon your intention to go for an evening run in favor of grabbing happy hour every night. Don’t forget to continue your usual workout routine. It can be as simple as walking rather than taking the bus or cab each day or doing a few push-ups and sit-ups first thing in the morning. Think about having a detox day per week when you just eat fruits and vegetables, or limiting your drinking to a few evenings each week. Make sure you get a good night’s sleep and avoid staying up late.
Long Term Travel Insurance
Never leave the house without travel insurance, which is intended to assist pay our expenditures when anything bad happens on your vacation.
If something severe occurs to you, you might wind yourself in a lot of debt if you don’t have insurance. Getting your equipment stolen may also be a nuisance for your pocketbook as well as your business or remote employment if you travel and work from anyplace.
Try to travel more wisely and safely!
Best Digital Nomad Insurance for Health & Travel
1. SafetyWing
SafetyWing is a working remotely firm that is quickly expanding. Their specialization is supplying nomads with primary health insurance.
This is especially useful for long-term tourists who may not have healthcare coverage in their native country. Their firm is a part of Tokio Marine, a strong worldwide insurance corporation.
2. World Nomads
Publications such as National Geographic, Eurail, International Volunteer HQ, and Lonely Planet all strongly suggest World Nomads.
With World Nomads insurance, you may create a long-term travel strategy. They are entrepreneurs that purposefully designed their company strategy to appeal to digital nomads.
3. Insured Nomads
Insured Nomads is a travel insurance company founded by nomads who’ve already lived on 5 continents and recognize the requirements of travelers.
The firm provides 2 alternatives: Global Health and Travel coverage. You can focus on the first because it includes long-term vacations (365 days or more) and digital nomads who live abroad.
Travel Resources
Here you can discover links to all of the travel resources that you can use and that you may find useful while preparing for your next vacation.
- Accommodation: If searching for a place to stay, you can use Booking.com or Hostelworld.
- Tours: While you enjoy traveling alone, certain destinations are better seen with a guided tour. You can prefer GetYourGuide because of its simple UI and good reputation. Viator is another excellent option.
- Rental Cars: When you travel on a car trip, you can use Rentalcars.com, a reputable website for pre-booking a rental car.
- Flight Tickets: When shopping for flights, use Skyscanner to locate the cheapest deal.
How To Plan Long Term Travel: The Bottom Line
There you have it…As we’ve explained, long-term travel has both advantages and disadvantages. We believe that long-term travel makes one stronger and remains an excellent experience in one’s life. Everyone should have this experience at least once in their life.
However, as you can see, long-term travel also has its disadvantages. It may be up to you to turn them to your advantage. If you really want to go on long-term travel, don’t be intimidated by these. We try to offer solutions to these problems as much as we could. You can also use some websites for your convenience and to do your research before you go on long-term travel. However, it’s definitely worth considering them. And, if you think that you’ll have a hard time, it would be useful to think a little more.
We hope we’ve helped you. If you’re on your way, have a nice long-term travel in advance! We look forward to hearing your exciting stories!