Getting Your Passport Can Open Up the World

I was talking with a friend the other day.  She hasn’t been out of the country but still daydreams about taking that big solo trip on her own.  Like I was, there are a lot of “buts” that came up in the conversation that kept getting in the way: Expense.  Time.  Age. Getting a passport. The first solution to this heap of problems is easy: getting your passport. Start there.

Many of us go through the majority of our lives daydreaming about that trip we are going to take. But there never seems to be enough time, money, or as we wind down we might put those kinds of dreams off for “maybe in another life.”  There is no other life. This is the one we get and it is up to us to live it!

First off, that age thing is a weak excuse.  I have met people in their eighties who are traveling happily, continuing to test their traveling skills.  The others are challenging, but not impossible obstacles. The only obstacle age throws in your path is when you are too young to do all the things.  If you are in your late 30s, 40s, 50s, etc., this is the time in your life you get to start appreciating the things you might have been too young to notice otherwise.  

Get Your Passport

This is the document that will let you cross into other countries.  Unfortunately, the majority of Americans don’t even have one!  I didn’t until about five years ago.  We live in a big country and unlike Europe or other continents, we don’t have many neighbors we visit that require the use of one.  Making that trip might seem like a daunting experience. Here are the first things you need if you are thinking about taking that first big trip.

Excuses for not Getting a Passport

People figure out all sorts of reasons to not get out of their comfort zones. Here are the top excuses I’ve heard.

• It will take several months for them to process your application and send you your passport.  Even pre-COVID-19 mine took about three months to get back.  The sooner you start, the sooner it will arrive!
• You will need to mail in an official copy of your birth certificate.  I have yet to meet anyone whose birth certificate was lost in this process.  It’s not that scary.  Seriously. The cool thing about your passport is this can be used in lieu of your birth certificate for most purposes from here on out.  
• It requires an investment.  I think mine was around $120 with fees and everything else to get started.  Renewal fees are much less once you actually get your passport.  Check the website for information.  https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports.html
• $120 is not a lot of money, considering people will drop that much money on a day pass to an amusement park per person.  Think of this as your eTicket to see the world!
• The pictures are terrible.  Yes.  Yes they are.  But you aren’t going to be gazing at your own picture for hours anyway, and Customs probably won’t look at it longer than about ten seconds to make sure it is you.  What you will hopefully be looking at is all the stamps you are about to start getting in the back of the book.

Start off Small

You can just jump in with both feet, but you might just scare the hell out of yourself and have a rough time.  Then you’ll be throwing your passport across the room, cursing me for telling you to get out and have this awful experience.  Even a trick motorcycle rider learned how to ride on a two-wheeler first.  

Pick a country where you speak the same language.  This is actually trickier than you might think.  Though I have some experience with a few other languages, my accent sucks and my knowledge extends about as far in Japanese to order a bowl of noodles, and in Spanish, I can ask a variety of questions that inevitably end up with the person I’m speaking to switching to broken English, which is usually much better than my broken Spanish.

My First Trip

For my first International solo adventure, I picked the United Kingdom.  Not just because I had a lot of interest in the UK historically, ancestrally, and culturally, but also because I knew I could communicate with people once I got there.  Well, funny thing about that, American English is getting difficult to understand.  My somewhat pronounced Western drawl (which is especially obvious when conversing with people in the Queen’s English) meant that sometimes I had to repeat myself.  So eventually, I wound up sounding Canadian.  They talk like us, only they enunciate each word.  This is important.  American English is almost like speaking cursive.

Start Saving Up Now

Travel is expensive.  But only because it is extraordinary to your daily life.  It really isn’t any more expensive than setting aside a Christmas fund or money for birthdays and graduations.  Some destinations are more expensive than others too.  I was warned about how expensive London was, but really I didn’t find it any worse than tourist traps in the US that aren’t far from my front door.  Lunch in Estes Park, CO is about as spendy as a meal in London.  

There are other expenses you might not be accustomed to, however.  Train fares, mass transport, car rentals, and even pay toilets can be eye-opening.  Set aside some money for tourist crap to drag home, but use the brunt of it for experiences.  You don’t need to dust them and nobody can take them away. Before long, you’ll be ready to take on a trip like this.

Ways to Save Money on Essentials

You are going to need some essentials when you travel. Transportation, places to stay, and of course experiences. I provide affiliate links which should help you save money on all sorts of travel expenses. At no added cost to you, I get a percentage which helps me keep my site going.

• Hotels: Check out Booking.com. I’ve been using Booking.com for years and love the flexibility of being able to book, cancel, and save money over contacting the hotels directly. Hotellook is another great way to compare and save when it comes to accommodations at your destination.
• Vacation Rentals: Vrbo has been around for a long time, providing quality vacation rentals without the expense of a hotel room. For one-of-a-kind stays, check them out all around the world. I like Vrbo because unlike other BnB platforms, they still work with affiliates!
• Hostels: Whether you are a student backpacking across a foreign land or trying to save lots of money, HostelWorld lets you select from thousands of locations worldwide.
• Experiences: When you get to a place, you are going to want to have experiences that characterize that location. Two sites can help you do just that. You might already be familiar with Viator and TripAdvisor. Follow the links and really get ready to challenge yourself!
• Rent a Car: To really get down on the local level of a place, there’s no substitute for renting a car. Check out DiscoverCars to compare rentals wherever you want to go.
• Travel Insurance: For extra coverage while traveling, you are going to want VisitorsCoverage. Travel insurance gives you that extra protection when you are visiting abroad. You hope you won’t ever use it, but you don’t want to be without it.
• Plane Tickets: Of course the most expensive part of getting to a destination is the plane ride. Save money by comparing flights with Aviasales.

Disclosure on Affiliate Links

This site contains affiliate links which help me support this site. I get a percentage back which helps pay my bills at no cost to you! If you want to save money on your next adventure, follow the links and check out everything there is to offer. It helps my site and it helps you save money to stretch your travel budget.