“I WANT TO TRAVEL THE WORLD!” BUT WHERE DO I START?

“How can I travel the world like you guys?”

This is a question we keep getting asked on all our social media platforms repeatedly. We are so happy to see how travel has sparked interest in so many people these days and we are over the moon that we may have a minuscule part to play in that interest in a few of you guys out there. While this question is straightforward, the answer might be a bit intricate so we decided to write a post about it. Hope this will answer some of your questions and for those unanswered ones, you know where to find us.

OUR LIFE PHILOSOPHY- PLAIN & SIMPLE

“Invest in life rather than the earthly” 

Vishnu and I try to live by this philosophy every single day. It is hard, trust us! But travel is our priority. We practice a minimalistic life, as much as we can. We ask ourselves, “do we really need this right now” on all matters from the most trivial to the really important ones. This question has helped declutter all our “wants” & “needs”. At the risk of sounding like Marie Kondo, it REALLY does work!

Our first trip together to Georgia. Circa 2015

WE ARE NOT FULL TIME TRAVELERS… YET

We work for a living and save up for our travels and LOVE the balance we currently have. We live in one of the most expensive cities in the world and have no plans to sell everything and join the nomadic lifestyle yet. So how do we do it? Keep reading and take that first wobbly step towards your dream.

Part Time Travelers

Vishnu at the peak of Mt.Kilimanjaro

HOW CAN I TRAVEL THE WORLD?

STEP 1

Yes, You want to travel! But this world is vast! Where do you want to start? Which part of the world would you like to tackle first? That is one of the first decisions you have to make.

We currently live in Dubai which we consider to be the centre of the world to see all of Europe, Middle East and parts of Asia. So we started identifying the nearby countries that we can visit easily while we are here. We made a list and thats how we started. Once you have seen it all, time to move. Look out for work in the next destination you would like to base yourself. 

Now, we know its not as simple as it sounds (Hello Indian Passport!). But haven’t you felt that when you desperately want something in life, even the smallest thing, and magic happens. Time to dream,trust your dream and chase it. If you put your heart & soul into it, it is absolutely achievable. (Note to Self– read that last sentence every morning)

STEP 2

Once you have identified your geographical advantage, the next step is to figure out the best time to visit the countries on your list. We try to travel to most places during off season or during the transition time between high and low season. This gives us an advantage on flight fares, hotel tariffs and holiday crowds.

Part Time Travelers

Island Hopping at Langkawi, Malaysia

Skyscanner & Booking.com  are your twin best friends when it comes to flight & hotel bookings. Skyscanner has this amazing feature for those like us who plan our trips on the basis of flight fares. In the destination box, just enter “Everywhere” and it lists close by destinations in the order of the lowest fare. Now, that’s awesome right!

AND THE FINAL STEP 3

The last step is to figure out your finances and work leaves. Finance can be tricky but let that not stop you from chasing your dreams. The trick is to save up. That may translate to not buying that awesome new car that you are totally in love with, not getting that huge apartment with the the most amazing views, not going drinking every weekend at fancy new bars, not buying that branded new bag or dress or shoes..…… Trust us guys, we live in Dubai where everything sparkles and shines, we know its hard. But does it give you as much happiness as stepping into a new country with infinite possibilities…. Probably not, else you wouldn’t be reading this to begin with. If traveling is your true passion, these may not really be “sacrifices”, just a way of life…

Now about getting time off work. We are all entitled to certain number of days off every year, not to forget the public holidays and weekends. Plan ahead and you will be surprised how amazingly you can fit your dreams in whilst working full time. Use the last week of December or first week of January to just plan the year ahead. Plan your leaves around the best & cheap time to visit a country and that’s it guys! As simple as it sounds!

Couple of Travels
Couple of Travels

We really hope this article has helped in your planning process. Comment down below or click that ‘Contact Us’ button if you have any questions. We would be super happy to help!
Happy Travels!

4 Comments

  1. Shravan
    September 27, 2018 / 3:07 am

    Loved your blog 🙂 Thanks for posting :))

    • Couple of Travels
      September 30, 2018 / 8:11 am

      Thank You 😀

  2. Naman
    March 2, 2020 / 3:13 am

    Thank you. It’s inspiring for my wife and I.

    • Couple of Travels
      Author
      April 20, 2020 / 12:16 pm

      Thank You Naman!

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