I am organised, there is no denying this fact and nothing gets me more excited than planning a trip. Itineraries, budget planning, scouting the best deals and planning the perfect route, all of this gets me going! Planning a six month sabbatical to travel full time has proven to be a whole new challenge and truth be told the second half is going to be mostly done on the hoof.
“How have you managed to it sound dull already?” With two weeks before I was due to leave, this was the response from a friend when I told them how much there was still to finalise. Planning a trip is half the fun for me though, so I don’t think it’s that dull however if that’s not your bag then this blog post won’t be for you. There has been a lot to organise and although I am joining a couple of tours in Africa, I have organised this entire trip by myself. Flights, accommodation, visas, transfers, I can see why people pay good money to outsource their holiday planning.
The main questions for me before I could even start with the itinerary were, can I afford it and if I can how long can I afford, will work agree to the career break and let me come back at the end and finally, what will I do with my flat.
Saving:
I’ve known I was going to take some time out from work for a couple of years, so after I bought my flat three years ago I kept saving with this in mind. I am good at saving, I like to minimise what I put on credit cards and have a slush fund to dip into so it was no hardship for me squirrelling away a regular monthly amount. To maximise the interest on my savings, I used high interest regular savings accounts and an instant access ISA. I have borrowed some cash for the trip including a credit car with 0% interest on spend for 24 months. I've assumed a monthly expenditure of £1,600. Time will tell if this was sufficient or not!
Career break vs resignation:
I am fortunate to work for a company that allows for career break leave, up to 12 months after two years of continuous service. I’ve only been at the company for 2.5 years so it was a punchy request but I’m a big believer of life first, work second and my headspace at the time was very much that if they said no, I would resign. I need not have worried though, when I asked my manager she was incredibly supportive of the request, as was my Managing Director and so my six months was approved and I will be returning to my same role in July. If in doubt, you lose nothing but just asking the question.
To lease or not to lease:
I own my flat and it is my safe haven so I’ve gone back and forth over whether to lease it to someone while I’m away. Finances drove me to the decision in the end and I now have a lodger moving in for the time I’m away. To further help with the ongoing monthly costs while I'm away, I have taken advantage of a UK mortgage charter that allows homeowners to switch to interest only payments for up to six months.
With the big considerations covered and work confirming the career break in August, I could start with the serious planning.
Budgeting:
I would strongly recommend a budget planner when planning a trip of this duration. It doesn’t need to be anything fancy but for me, knowing that I would have no income and be relying solely on savings, having a running total of expenditure, offset against the budget has helped me over the months. Don’t forget to consider the time from when you return to when you’ll next be paid, I had to calculate a whole extra month in my budget! My first three months are expensive due to the tours that I’m taking, I’ve pre-booked and pre-paid almost all of my African leg. I will consider sharing my exact costs for this trip at the end however, this is not a trip on a shoestring nor is it a luxury trip. I have made choices to spend more money to minimise the potential for any issues with my back e.g flights and tours. I am a procurement manager so maximising value and identifying ways to save is my bread and butter.
The Route:
Details on the route can be found here.
Visas and Vaccinations:
Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania all require a visa to be organised in advance of departure. UK citizens can apply for e-visas but always check current requirements online. There is an ETA that can be used for all of the above countries with restrictions but when applying for my Kenyan visa it wasn’t apparent from the form whether I was applying for the ETA or not. The Ugandan website was much clearer but the ETA can only be validated in the country that you first land. I’ve ended up with a separate Kenyan visa and Ugandan ETA which at time of writing I’m hoping will work for Tanzania too. I found the application process a little time consuming but only due to the file limitations on documents that need to be uploaded. I only applied two weeks before departure and my visa confirmations came through within 48 hours. The Kenyan visa cost me £28 and the Ugandan ETA cost £83.
I went through the NHS for my vaccinations. Yellow Fever is recommended for Kenya and Uganda and other countries require proof of a yellow fever certificate when you’ve been in those regions. I also had a combined diphtheria, polio and tetanus booster, a Hepatitis A booster and Typhoid injection, these were all free in Scotland via the NHS. The Yellow Fever vaccination was £76. Anti-malarials are required for almost the entire African leg of my trip. I chose to go with Malarone which I bought from Dr Fox pharmacy online as it was significantly cheaper than purchasing through the NHS, I paid £104 for 86 days. Make sure to prioritise a vaccination consultation and don’t leave it to the last minute. The vaccines/boosters I had are not the definitive list of those required, it depends on the region being visited and what injections have been had previously.
Equipment:
See details on what I’ve taken on a six month trip here.
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