Travel Planning: Ready Set…

So, it’s official. On the 3rd August 2017, myself and Andrew leave Dublin on a one way flight to follow the sun around South East Asia, Australia and New Zealand! (I actually can’t believe I am writing that!)

After about a year’s worth of saving, a breakup (or two!), and a lot of hemming and hawing about whether to leave everything behind and just do it, we finally took the plunge and booked our flight! While it may seem a bit daunting to just pack your life, career, and any sort of certainty up into a 20kg bag, I am so looking forward to really doing what I love, and getting to do it with my best friend is just the cherry on top.

Since we booked our flight, we’ve been mapping out the route we are going to follow and have recently settled on the following 10 countries over 5 months. Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, The Philippines, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Vietnam, and Cambodia, which looks a little something like this:

We have created a massive spreadsheet where we are documenting our expenses. These include flights, hotels, and any trips to make sure we don’t go over budget. It is an absolute monster of a spreadsheet. Although, I think it’s something that we had to do to keep us on track. 

Also, we’ve taken full advantage of Booking.com and Hotels.com’s free cancellation options for our accommodation. Although sometimes they work out a little bit more expensive, it gives us a little more flexibility in changing our plans and also with our budget.

One little treat I decided to book for us (without consulting Andrew…oops!) was the Marina Bay Sands Hotel while we were in Singapore. The infinity pool and just the view in general stole my heart. Right now I am refusing to let go of it. I know I may need to accept that it is a bit ridiculous. But for now…HELLO LUXURY!

I’ll be sure to keep you all posted as we progress with planning a little more. Don’t forget to follow on Instagram @atasteofjam for all the latest x