Around the world trip - how the dream becoms reality

Many dream but only a few dare. A real pity. A trip around the world - once in a lifetime. That would be something! Here you will find important information and clues that can make your journey around the world reality.

Pictures of white sandy beaches, deep green jungles with beautiful flora and fauna, or breathtaking skylines of huge metropolises - everyone knows them but only a few have visited all these places. These images are more likely to appear as pre-set desktop images on your new PC or as advertising by travel agencies. Why not plan a world trip and visit all these places yourself? To make such a journey possible, one thing that requires particular attention beforehand: planning and organizing. Here are some things to keep in mind.

Planning

It takes time to plan a trip around the world. If the planned trip takes more than three months, it is advisable to start planning half a year in advance. It helps to compile a checklist to keep important deadlines and to ensure that you don’t forget anything. Each of the points could have a deadline, so nothing is forgotten. Important deadlines are e.g.:

• visa applications: These are best acquired directly from the relevant embassies. Sometimes travel agencies can also help.
  
• Passport: This must be valid for more than six months after the intended stay.
  
• International driver's license: This serves primarily as a translation and is valid only together with the national driver's license. You can request one at the Road Traffic Office. What you need: a valid ticket and a colored passport photo. Prices vary according to regions.
  
• Vaccinations and the corresponding international vaccination certificate (certain vaccinations must be distributed over several weeks). A visit to the tropics travel doctor is popular these days! The usual vaccinations, recommended for several long-distance destinations are: hepatitis A, hepatitis B and typhoid. Some countries also require a yellow fever vaccination before entry. A good overview of medical concerns in terms of travel can be found at: www.safetravel.ch. If you want to play it safe, you can also request a blood group pass.
  
• Make arrangements to cancel the lease or sublease. Do you need space to store your furniture and personal belongings while you’re on your trip? Then placeB can help you. Here you will find dry, clean and secure storage space that you can easily book and manage with the placeB mobile app. On the website ums.ch you can rent out your home easily, safely and quickly. On UMS you can easily find trusting subtenants.
  
• AHV: Beware of contribution gaps. If you are traveling for a long time (about 1 year), you can expect cutbacks. It's best to continue paying the minimum contribution to the AHV or you should clarify whether enough has already been paid in via wages. The minimum contribution has been CHF 478 since January 2016. The compensation office branch of the residential canton can certainly provide information on contributions.
  
• Insurance: For travel within the EU and EFTA states, basic health insurance is sufficient. If you are traveling overseas, you should further clarify your insurance cover. Basic insurance is only available abroad for emergency treatment and covers a maximum of twice the costs that would have been incurred in the treatment of a doctor or a general department in a hospital in the canton of residence. Medical care in the US, Japan or Australia can be very efficient, but very expensive. Therefore, when taking your world tour, you should take out worldwide holiday and long-term travel insurance. Also check: Accident insurance cover.
  
• Deregistering your place of residence: If you deregister from your place of residence, all taxes will stop. If you do not deregister, the taxes will just keep running.
  
• Deregistering from military: If you want to leave Switzerland for more than 6 months and still have military service to complete, you should also deregister with them. The corresponding form is available online . Depending on the canton of residence, it is best to contact the relevant department.
  
• Prepare your particulars before leaving: Make sure you have the travel agency file, including airline tickets and bank details and you are e-banking ready. A list of fixed costs will help you to keep track of costs.
  

Equipment

Having the right equipment for your dream world trip is essential. Here are some of the most important items for your trip:

• Backpack: One of the most important companions will be your bag or backpack. This should provide enough space, not weigh too much and you must be able to fasten it properly around your body. If you can strap it around your body, you'll better distribute the weight of the luggage over your entire upper body.
  
• Clothes: As you know, you can't take along fresh clothes for every day of your trip. Important things to note about clothes: Clothes should be easy to wash and, above all, dry quickly. They should be easy to combine and used for different occasion. Practical clothes to combine are for example shirts and blouses. These can be combined in many ways and at the same time are easy to clean. Hiking pants are also very practical. They dry quickly and can often be transformed from long into short pants. Wearing layers: This principle is suitable if you're in an area where the weather changes rapidly in one day. The idea is that wearing several layers of clothes is warmer than a single thick jacket. For example, you can wear underwear trousers or thermal underwear or under a rain jacket a fleece sweater or a light down jacket.
• Packing bags: These little helpers are great for keeping your luggage organized. In addition, it protects your clothes from moisture, dust, sand and insects.
  
• Footwear: Packing sturdy and comfortable footwear will protect against blisters and wet feet. Hiking shoes are a good example. For warmer days on the beach, packing a few flip flops is certainly also a good idea; you can also buy these at your destination.
  
• Electronics: Having a laptop with you will make your journey a lot easier in many ways. You can check your finances, stay in touch with friends and family, upload your photos from your camera to the computer, and brag on social media. So, don’t forget the camera! An alternative to the laptop is of course a tablet. These are also quite handy: Use it to book bus tickets, plane tickets and other travel destinations conveniently online.
  
• First aid: A first-aid box and the most important personal medicines should accompany you on each trip. The basic equipment of the travel medicine box should include medication for allergies and insect bites, pain, fever, diarrhea and small wounds. Also, remember to pack the sunscreen.
  

Financial matters

According to the Beobachter, a world trip is possible with a budget of around 15,300 Fr. of course, that depends on the route and your travel style. Plane tickets, visas and vaccinations account for about a quarter of the total cost. The biggest financial burdens are incurred for daily expenses. This includes accommodation, food/drink, transport and sightseeing. It is also assumed that each of these everyday expenses accounts for about a quarter of the costs.

"Financial traps" can arise, for example, when having to rebook plane tickets. That can really eat into your budget! Therefore, take care of the plane tickets and the itinerary early on.

Plane tickets

There are three ways to book air tickets: Book a round-the-world ticket (short RTW), through agencies or booking the flights individually.

Round-the-World ticket: With this ticket, usually from an airline alliance, your all-in ticket can be used for the duration of a year. Airline alliances differ in terms of their offers: Some base the RTW on miles, the others on the number of continents. The advantage of an RTW ticket is that "backtracking" is allowed, which makes it very flexible compared to other arrangements. You should definitely take enough time to study the programs and compare the offers. The cheapest ticket is not always the best solution, as it may limit the choice of route.

Ticket booking at agencies: Depending on how flexible you want to be with rebooking your flights and which destinations that must be included, airline alliances offer a variety of programs to choose from. Each agency uses a different system. Star Alliance, which also owns Swiss, is the largest airline alliance in the world. Its air network is quite well-served in Europe, Africa, America and Asia. Another system offers "One World", to which American Airlines belong. This system is based on stops and zones. Another airline alliance is SkyTeam, which includes KLM.

Booking plane tickets individually: If you prefer to have more freedom, it's better to book your flights individually. Then you do not have to stick to alliances, zones and miles. With a little luck, cleverness and flexibility, it is quite possible to save some money this way. Travel websites allow you to compare prices online. But before booking a flight on such a website, first compare the prices on the airline's website. For domestic flights, local airlines tend to be the cheapest but are often not considered in metasearch engines. Cheaper prices are often found for traveling on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, as these days are not the most popular days to travel. The best days to book a flight are Tuesday through to Thursday. Pay attention to public holidays! Flights are always extremely expensive on these days. Extra tip: Scan through social media or newsletters of the desired airlines to find out about special offers. Such promotions are often advertised very early on such channels.

Itinerary

The itinerary is an important criterion for a world tour, which in turn influences other decisions about airline tickets, equipment and visas. The choice of route depends, for example, on the following factors:

• What would you like to see? - A list of desired destinations can help you find the route you are looking for and help clarify costs, visas and equipment.
  
• Are you traveling alone or with several other people? - If you do not travel alone, it is very important to discuss your travel ideas with the travel partner(s) and to make compromises, if necessary. It should be a dream trip for all traveling companions.
  
• Selecting a country: Where does the weather play a big role? - If you are traveling a whole year, it is almost impossible to always have the sunniest and most beautiful travel weather. Accordingly, you should consider and find out where you can go if the weather is not perfect or if it does not want to play along at all. If you want to hiking high up in the mountains, the weather must be good.
  
• What is available in your budget? - Even if that is an annoying topic, you should never forget about financing the world tour. Without money, no trip around the world is possible.
  

How Self-Storage Can Help You

Self-Storage helps you safely store your furniture while you are traveling.

If you leave or sublet your home, you certainly do not want to get rid of or give away all your furniture. It is first too expensive and second, you want to come back home sometime. Right? It is nice to return to your familiar surroundings in a familiar environment. Also, all those old love letters, photo albums and other memorabilia can be temporarily stored at placeB. This way you can break free to new shores, travel all the continents of the world while having peace of mind that your old "me" and your favorite items are safe and sound.