When the decision is made to embark on an adventure of this magnitude it hits you: there is so much to get done before I leave.  Some of it is fun; flipping through guide books, figuring out the things you'll see in each place, setting up times to meet up with friends around the world and planning a going away party with the friends you're leaving behind.  Some of it is not so fun, but completely necessary.  Leading up to the trip I spent a good deal of time reading books and blogs about making preparations for leaving my life here for 8 months.  Where to put my stuff?  What to do with my cats?  On one hand it can be very satisfying to sort through your life in this way, getting rid of everything you don't absolutely need, and on the other it can be quite stressful.  We all spend so much time and energy acquiring things throughout our lives that the idea of getting rid of most of it can be a bit daunting.  Below is my list pre-trip to-do's (in no particular order):

• talk to family about leaving
• apply for Brazilian and Australian visas (all visa needs can be checked here on the government travel site)
• check on vaccinations needed for countries on itinerary (those can be checked here, at the CDC)
• add pages to passport
• get several copies of passport photos
• get teeth cleaned and checked
• physician appt - general physical
• gynecologist appt
• get new glasses and enough contacts for a year
• put in notice and write resignation letter for work
• clean up and sod over garden
• sell car
• put furniture on craigslist
• get travel insurance
• get plane tickets (see steph's post from 06/16/11)
• bring cats in for annual check-ups
• contact friends abroad about staying with them
• jail break phone and put att contract on hold
• launch website and figure out how to maintain while abroad
• buy travel clothes and camping equipment
• print off all needed documents
• make copies of docs for roommates
• get international driver's permit
• open checking account that doesn't charge international fees (I opened a Charles Schwab Checking Account, they refund all atm fees, both in the US and internationally.  The hitch is, you have to have a Schwab investment account attached to the checking account.)
• update living will
• get in shape (eh)
• make sure all payments are set up to happen automatically
• plan going away party

This list is by no means complete, and it seems like new things pop up everyday.  For example, it doesn't include, 'file police report for the hit and run that happened on my parked car two nights ago' because hopefully most people won't have to deal with that happening to them.  Because it's annoying.  

When we started talking about buying RTW tickets, i was under the impression that a "RTW ticket' meant we would create a route at a set price, and that our dates would be flexible. I'm not sure if that is the way it used to be or if it was a complete fantasy, but regardless, that's not the way it works.

RTW tickets are a package of tickets purchased through a travel agent.  The plus is getting travel insurance included (a must), the negative is that you are locked into a route and schedule (no skipping, no date changes).

The consensus on the internet is that Airtreks through Boots 'n All is the best customized RTW ticket agent. While we debated buying all the flights on our own, between the travel insurance included in the package, and a few legs where the agent was able to get a better deal than on commercial sites, it was worth it.

If you leave it to the travel agent to do all the work, you will end up with an expensive trip with a pretty crappy schedule. Here are my tips to avoid that.  Basically, in order to have the best experience, do their job for them.

Notes on buying tickets through a travel agent:

- BE FLEXIBLE - Start with an extensive list of places you want to go. Group them by region and try to find the cheapest routes from region to region. Set your dates to be flexible by 3 +/- days where you can. Be prepared to chop some destinations out.

- DO YOUR HOMEWORK - You would like to think that agents have your best interests in mind. They don't. They're not going to do the hard work for you until they know for sure that their time isn't going to be wasted. Even then they'll only do so much. Erin and I priced out our trip before committing to the travel agent.  Vayama.com consistently had the best flight prices and options of the airline search engines we used, but many budget airlines like Easyjet (Europe) and Jetstar (Australia) don't list their flights on these. A Google search for "Budget Travel in [country/region]" is an easy way to find these gems.

- KNOW YOUR OPTIONS - Agents get special deals on specific routes and regions. They also have limited airline options. When you're on the phone with them, know the lowest possible prices for each leg (even if the route/schedule sucks).  It will get the agent to look a bit harder before quoting you, or they'll be honest if they can't match the price. We found flights from Edinburgh to Copenhagen for $100 and  he couldn't get it for less than $200. Also, know the peak seasons, and know which routes the agent gets special pricing on. The short trips way in the future may be worth buying separately.

- BE VIGILANT - When you're actually scheduling flights, definitely be on the travel websites. Our agent told us we could only get to Tel Aviv at 3AM. We quickly found flights getting in at 11:30pm.

-SB

Sitting in a Mission neighborhood cafe on this typical warm yet overcast Sunday in San Francisco, I'm starting to get a sense for what this trip might be like.  Steph is sitting next to me inputing all of our travel dates into a google calendar while toggling between maps of the Eurail system, our running email conversations with the travel agent, our google spreadsheets and any other pertinent information she can find.  I'm playing the lackadaisical sidekick, telling her that we can figure out exactly how long we want to be in Germany when we get to Germany.  This is a strange role for me to play.  I'm the planner.  I like to figure the things out, I like to create spreadsheets and documents.  And spreadsheets of documents.  But here we are.  Lackadaisical me and overly organized her.  Odd.

I think it's working for us for the moment.  I've been quite distracted over the last few weeks while attempting to make this decision about whether or not to go and have been overwhelmed with also doing research and planning.  I still haven't told my mom - but to be fair, we've been playing phone tag for three or four days.  

Am I nervous?  Completely.  But in the end, after a long late night phone call with my little sister, I decided that missing out on this opportunity would be something I would seriously regret.  I know that when I get back I'll be able to get a good job.  I think she put the question in the best way possible for me.  In ten years, when I have long returned and have re-established my life, will I look back and regret going or regret not going?  Put in those terms, the answer is obvious.

And away we go.

-EC