For those of us who enjoy travelling, the idea of a long break is one of the most thrilling prospects that can arise. A week or a fortnight is often barely enough to scratch the surface of what you want to do while away – so given the chance, who wouldn’t want to pack themselves and some luggage into an RV or other vehicle, head for our first destination, and prepare for a proper break?
The key word in the last paragraph, for many of us, would be “prepare”. The chance to stay on vacation for longer is thrilling, but it does involve more preparation, and some elements of that preparation are utterly essential. While there are aspects of the preparation that can be treated as provisional and changed while you’re away, the below are some of the aspects you can’t leave out.
Do you need a visa, and how do you get one?
Depending on where you are travelling to, the chances are that you’re going to need a visa if you hope to spend more than a couple of weeks there. If you’re travelling as a UK citizen, there is a good chance that those requirements have changed in the last year or so, so even if you’re repairing a previous trip, it’s essential to check your visa requirements for any long trip. Do you need one? If so, what kind of visa? What do you need to do and provide in order to get one, and how quick will it be? You need answers to all of these questions before you book anything.
What about your home?
If you’re going to be away for a long time and leaving an empty home, you need to consider precisely how empty it needs to be. For your most valuable possessions, it’s worth considering placing them in self storage for the duration of the trip. For all the effort you put into putting off burglars, consider what you would least want them to take should they manage to breach your protections. Also, if you have a smart home with remote lighting controls – based off an app – then don’t set things to come on and off at a set time of day. Burglars checking out a house will notice this kind of thing; turn things on and off at random while you’re away. If they can’t predict these changes, they’ll look elsewhere.
Do you need medication?
Approximately one in six people in the UK have long-term prescribed medication on which they are somewhat dependent. Being without your medication can be troubling, necessitating calls to your doctor and visits to healthcare centres. Now, imagine having to do all of that in another country, potentially another language – and even worse, finding out that there is no way to get your medication in the country you’re visiting.
You’ll need to ask your doctor for an extended supply of the medication in question before you go; you’ll need to ensure that there is no restriction on you taking the medication across borders, and to secure a waiver if one is needed. While you’re at it, look into what you would need to do if you suddenly lost your meds or ran out of them – hopefully you’ll have more than enough, but it is better to be double- and even triple-sure.
