I’m ready to answer the ‘Million Dollar’ question that everyone had been asking us:-travel costs ‘How much does a year of travel cost?’ and I’m happy to say its not a million dollars! I kept a meticulous spreadsheet that tracked every penny of our spending over our year abroad. I’ll share it with you but first I have to tell you about how our plan came to fruition. I think its an inspirational story about the universe providing! If you only want the numbers and want to skip my long winded, thought provoking story then scroll down to the bottom.
Europe Travel
How to pack for all four seasons and a year of travel
I’ve had lots of emails through the blog asking what we packed for our year of travel. I did a lot of pre-thinking and planning for it and glad to say we did fantastically well! After live testing I can offer proven advice and some packing hacks that made our travels go brilliantly smooth. Below is a video while we were in Wales that will walk you through what to pack.
Dazzling Dubrovnik, Southern Croatia
I’m still in love with Italy but we were completely blown away by Croatia and will plan to return soon on our next vacation. Croatia has it all; history, great architecture, mountains, lakes, miles of coastline and over 1300 islands to explore. Its breathtakingly beautiful from Plitvice lakes and Krka National Park in its interior to its many islands, our favorite was the celebrity hot spot of Hvar.
The Isle of Skye, the misty island
The Isle of Skye for me was a highlight of Scotland. It’s rugged land and coastal scenery was so epic and atmospheric, maybe it was the misty weather that added to the ambiance but the island left a distinct impression. The weather changed frequently from windy and misty to sunny and calm so if you didn’t like it as the saying goes ‘wait 5 minutes’ but we never minded the wet weather, it was part of the experience.
MarkandJanettraveltheplanet make the Metro News paper
Exciting stuff, we made the news! Here is a link to a news article about our travel plans in Metro News.
The Schengen Visa and how long you can travel visa free in Europe
How Long can you travel in Europe or the Schengen zone visa Free?
What is a Schengen Visa? Many people have asked after hearing about our application to remain in Italy for a period beyond the allowed 90 day stay. Most had never heard of Schengen before and commented ‘how would they know’, ‘maybe you are being too diligent at following the rules’, ‘I never heard of that before’ and asked ‘what could happen if you stayed longer’? Well, big brother knows all and you don’t want to mess around, here’s why;