So now you know where you are going, whst you will do and which organisation will help you organise all. Now it’s time to think about flights, packing and insurance and precautions.
Vaccinations:
Depending on where you are going you will need vaccinations. It’s best to get them as early as possibld because some require 2 or more shots over a few months.
Best thing to do is to go to your next tropical institut. They will tell you what you need and can give it to you too without loosing time ordering it.
Be prepared that if you go to Afrika, South America or Asia you might need up to 5 different vaccinations and all together it can cost you over 500€. But some medical insurances pay you back. I am with TK and they even payed my anti Malaria tablets together with all vaccinations.
Flights:
You can book flights normally 10 to 11 months ahead. I can’t tell you if you might get cheap last minute ones, I brought mine 8 to 10 months in advance.
Also you can of course buy online but I got much cheaper ones in a travel agency. They are called Explorer and offered me great service. It took each time over an hour but they made sure I got the cheapest flights possible. Also they informed me every time my flights got changed (so far 4 times). They can even get you discounts or seat booking in advance.
But be prepared, if you want to fly cheap you something need to cope with discomfort. When I am flying back from Nepal I will have to spend 10 hours on the Dubai airport during the night.
Insurance:
Travel insurance can seem like a waste of money but worst case you end up with a bill over several 1000€ if something happens.
There are plenty of insurance company but it’s difficult to find the right. Many just offer service for short time or only Europe. Also your organisation might require from you that you also have a liability insurance.
I chose CareMed. They offer a package deal with medical, liability and luggage insurance. They are specialists for young people and Gap Years.
Also I had to insurance myself against mountain rescue since I went hiking. Helicopter rescue can cost over 10 000€. To do this I became part of the Österreichische Bergrettung. If you become a member for around 25€ they pay your mountain rescue world wide.
Packing:
Probably the most challenging part. Most likely you will travel with a backpack. I am quite small so my backpack is too. So you have to limit yourself. As a handluggage I took a small backpack and then carried one back one front. Additionally I had a belt bag for my most important things. Make sure you know how much kg are allowed in your (hand)luggage!
I will give you my packing list. Nepal’s temperature goes down to 5° in winter and I went hiking so my list contains warm cloths. If you are going to central Afrika you might want to pack differently.
Big backpack:
2 trousers, 2 T-shirts, 2 longarm shirts, 1 three quarter shirt, 1 or 2 tops, 1 warm sweater, 2 medium sweaters, ski underware, pyjamas (t shirt and leggins), 9 pair of underwear, 4 pair of socks, hiking socks, hiking cloths, rain pants, hat, gloves, sneakers, sandals, bathing suit, toiletries, water filter, books, sleeping back, inner sheet, mosquito net, washing line, host presents
Small backpack:
Important documents, money, phone, tablet, camera, headphones, charger, plug adaptor, food, toothbrush and other toiletries, medicine, change of cloths, scarf, rain jacket, 2nd warm sweater, wear your hiking boots/leggins/comfortable shirt
I might have forgotten some items, sorry for that.
Still I hope I could help you. Please if you have any further questions just comment please 🙂
