trip begins

How To Plan A Trip: Easy 15 Step Travel + Vacation Planner

by Mark and Kristen Morgan

Published: July 17, 2019

Updated: December 31, 2023

This ultimate how to plan a trip guide will transform your destination daydreams into travel reality within just 15 easy-to-follow steps.

Adventure is calling! But where should you go? How do you get there? And what do you need to organize before you leave home?

This one-stop travel planning resource covers all you need to know about preparing for any trip.

But how can you trust us to cover all of the important travel planning aspects?

The goal is to walk you through 15 simple and stress free steps, from ideas to bookings and from packing to walking out the door. We’ll take you on a journey from idea to reality.

Personally, when we plan a trip, we know that breaking the process up into sections works best. We feel less overwhelmed when we plan in manageable pieces.

Follow the steps in this guide and you’ll see just how easy planning a trip can be. Let’s travel plan!

The Travel Planning Rollercoaster

Planning any vacation is like being on a rollercoaster called the Emotion Overload. In the beginning the rollercoaster climbs slowly, building your excitement before plummeting into overwhelmed anxiety.

The second climb is determination and hard work, followed by a loop de loop as information spins around your brain in circles.

And just when it seems the ride will never end, the carriage comes to an abrupt halt: your plans are finally ready.

Break Up Planning A Trip Into 3 Sections

We are all different. Genetics, personality traits, habits and attitudes make us all unique. But although we are all unique, common patterns emerge among travelers.

Most long term travelers tend to book the first week or month in detail. Once comfortable with the whole idea of backpacker life, they tend to plan just a few days in advance each time they move.

Because who knows what might come up? Those taking shorter trips, such as a 2 week vacation, typically plan almost all specific details in advance.

Because who wants to lose valuable time planning what to do that day with just 2 weeks away from work

No matter how you prefer to travel or how long you intend to travel, the planning process can always be broken down into 3 manageable sections. You will make life easier and less like your brain might explode.

Plan, Book And Pack

These 3 travel planning sections encompass the same repetitive processes we all follow, every time we travel. When we repeat them enough times, they become autonomous.

You plan your travel goals, you book the essentials, you pack your bags and you go.

But even when taken back to basics, each travel planning section can be time consuming, frustrating and overwhelming. We know from first hand experience when planning multiple long term travel routes.

The key is to break down each travel planning section into smaller, easier to accomplish steps. That way you will eliminate stress and feel the positive reinforcement each time you complete a step.

Follow the easily achievable steps listed below within each travel planning section. Begin to plan your trip in advance, take each step one at a time and we guarantee you will avoid feeling overwhelmed.

All you need to do then is watch your dream trip create itself before your eyes.

Need help with packing? You might like to use our ultimate travel packing resource .

Section 1: Establish Your Travel Goals

Let’s start at the beginning, the daydream stage.

You know it’s time for a vacation or a long term trip but right now you’re just floating ideas around.

Ask yourself these important travel planning questions (H and 5 W’s):

• How much time will you spend traveling?
• When do you want to leave?
• Who will you travel with?
• What shape are your finances in?
• Where in the world do you want to go?
• Why is it so difficult to save up for your trip?

This is one of our favorite parts of planning a trip because everything sounds wonderful! But before you can book or pack for your potential trip, you need to figure out the basics.

Research Is Key To Planning Effectively

The fundamentals of how to plan a trip begin and end with research.

Every aspect of your plans will require research, from booking flights to buying travel insurance and from packing your bags to visa requirements.

But research starts all the way back at the beginning, before e-tickets arrive in your iPhone wallet and you’re debating between packing your tan vs black shoes.

Research begins with deciding on the most basic of travel planning principles. But don’t confuse basic with a lack of importance. The goals you set at this stage will consequently shape your entire trip.

You will spend a lot of time on google, the same as we do before every trip. If you embrace the research you will do just fine.

By reading this post you are already well into establishing your travel goals and researching travel planning techniques.

That gives you a hand up over other travelers.

You will be more prepared and ultimately have a better trip. The first section of travel planning is designed for you to turn daydreams into actionable reality.

By the end of this section, you will know everything you need to know about the trip you’re going to take. Then, you can start booking!

Consider Your Travel Limitations

We don’t want to rain on your parade but it is critical at this point to manage your expectations and be aware of your travel limitations.

Every one of us is guilty of getting carried away in life, but when it comes to travel planning, be very careful not to take on more than you can chew. Or afford.

Our advice at this stage is to be honest and realistic about what you think is achievable.

• Can you realistically finance a trip to country X and city Y with your budget?
• Is it safe to go to hiking in National Park Z in Winter?
• Do you really want to travel solo or would you prefer company?
• Can you quit your job sooner and still afford your year around the world?
• Are you able to squeeze and extra few holiday days out of your job?

1. How Much Time Do You Spend Traveling?

The thrill of choosing where you want to go on vacation or long term travel is by far the most exciting part of planning a trip. There’s no question about that.

However, before you conjure up your dream Vietnam itinerary or US road trip route , the first piece of the planning puzzle is determining how much time you have on your side.

Time is one aspect of life no amount of money can control.

• On a short beach or hiking vacation from work, will you travel for 7 days, 10 days or 14 days?
• Are you able to take a 3 month sabbatical to backpack South East Asia?
• Or maybe you’ve been thinking about quitting your job to travel without an end date in mind?
• Are your dates flexible or do you have to stick to specific timeframes?
• Do you work remotely or at a physical location?
• Are the kids back in school on Monday morning?

Carefully consider the time you have available and remember there are implications to consider with the amount of time you allocate for your trip.

Example : You will need more money to finance a 4 month trip when compared to 2 months. It sounds obvious, but the point is to ensure you get the balance right between time and travel funds.

Once you establish the amount of time and any specific dates you have to play with, move onto the next planning steps.

2. When Do You Plan To Leave On Your Trip?

The date you are aiming to leave on your trip is vitally important to your personal travel planning process.

Are you planning a trip way in advance? Or are you last minute planning? The subsequent steps will change focus depending on the answer to those questions.

For those planning a last minute spontaneous trip, you will need to double down and get to work.

Conversely, if you are planning a summer vacation that’s 6 months out, you can relax and take each of the plan a trip step slowly.

It is important to remember that people work more efficiently in different ways.

For us, Kristen works more efficiently when planning early and taking things at a gentle pace, whereas Mark works best under pressure with the clock ticking.

Timing Is Crucial

Consider the timing of your proposed trip.

You will have to account for high, shoulder or low season as well as weather conditions for the time of year you visit and finances will be impacted by how well you plan your leaving date.

Example : Your trip is shaping up to be a 3 week European adventure in Summer. You better believe it is going to cost you! Would you be better off planning to leave in Spring or Fall to suit your budget more appropriately?

If you plan to quit your job in 6 months and travel the world for a year, now is the time to get stuck into planning. A year is a long time and the world is a big place.

Leaving a trip like this until the last minute means you could risk missing out on once in a lifetime opportunities.

Working out the most effective time leave on your adventure gives you the framework to set achievable planning and financial  goals . 

Remind yourself of the 7 P’s of planning: Piss Poor Planning Promotes Piss Poor Performance.

3. Who Do You Plan To Travel With?

Chances are high you already know exactly who you will travel with before you begin to plan a trip. Maybe you’re going on a family holiday or a romantic couples weekend getaway ?

In which case, your travel partners are nailed on. The same applies for us. We always travel as a couple which makes Step 3 obsolete when we plan a trip. 

However, many travelers planning trips are undecided between exploring solo or with a friend.

Our world adventures have enabled us to meet hundreds of others traveling. Solo travelers and those traveling as couples or larger groups.

There are pros and cons to all types of travel, just like most things in life.

The important thing to understand for first time travelers who feel anxious about traveling solo is that you will meet people along the way. Even as a couple, you will meet dozens of other couples on longer trips, particularly in Asia and South America.

So, don’t be afraid to plan your dream trip if you don’t have anyone to travel with initially, you will make a ton of friends on the road.

4. What Shape Are Your Finances In?

Working out a rough travel budget is arguably the most important aspect of planning any trip. That remains true if you are leaving tomorrow or in a year.

Take a cautious approach rather than an overly optimistic approach. You will spend more money than you think, trust us on that one.

It’s better to have money left over than run out of cash a long way from home. We’ve seen it happen.

• How much money do you currently have saved up for your trip?
• How much money can you save between now and the date you plan to leave?
• Do you need to get a second job or a second income to bulk your budget out?
• Do you have any cash in reserve in case of emergency?

Before you start dreaming of your 2 week luxury beach vacation to the Maldives or 3 months backpacking through Australia and New Zealand, you need to be realistic about your budget.

Travel Smarter, Not Harder

A good rule of thumb is to consider yours destinations around your budget.

Instead, consider your budget and travel to a place where that same amount of money will allow you to have a much better experience.

See how much we spent in 1 month in Vietnam to use as a reference for travel costs.

If you are planning a short vacation, you will have much more control over finances. You know you’re going to get paid from your job again, so a splurge isn’t out of the question.

In contrast, long term travelers will constantly be checking finances. Once they leave for their trip – that digital bank balance value will decrease every single day until the end.

Travel Tip : When planning a trip around your budget, always always always leave some room for buffer in case of emergency. We’re all used to living to our means and it’s easy to plan down to the last penny but trust us, you never know when you might need a spare US$ 100.

5. Where Do You Plan To Travel?

Now and only now, despite wanting nothing else but to start planning your travel itinerary. It is time to plan your travel destination and route.

You will thank us for leaving you hanging this long because now you have a firm grasp on your travel budget, whether you will be traveling alone or with a group, how long you can travel for and when you want to leave.

Here are some of our top travel inspiration suggestions :

• Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks in Wyoming, USA.
• Budapest is a wonderful European city break.
• New York State Parks like Letchworth and Buttermilk Falls are perfect day trips.
• The Atacama Desert in Chile is mind blowing.
• Los Angeles , San Francisco and San Diego are awesome cities to discover.
• Andalusia in Spain is a stunning region to explore.
• Pacific Coast Highway , Utah and South Dakota  are epic road trips.

The beauty of leaving this step until you know your budget is having the ability to plan your vacation or itinerary with a clear understanding of which places are feasible and which places you will have to exclude based on price, distance, safety and so on.

Planning travel itineraries takes a lot of work. We find it to be our favorite and least favorite part of traveling – in equal measure! Excitement and frustration.

It is vital you consider public transport routes, airports, safety, hotel availability, time of year, activities on offer, food and so much more.

Choosing A Travel Route

A question we often get asked is: “How do you know where you want to go?”

We do something our ancestors have been doing for over 2000 years: Look at a map!

Seriously, buy a huge map and stick it on your wall. Study each continent and indicate places you would love to visit using pins or colored sticky notes.

If looking at maps doesn’t help, here are some excellent alternatives to find travel inspiration:

• Read the wide range of destinations we write about on our travel blog !
• Read other blogs too. There are hundreds of fantastic first hand resources on the internet written by people who have been to the places you want to visit.
• Change up your google searches to ‘the best place to travel in X year’ or ‘the most obscure travel destinations’.
• Be creative, look for specific events, festivals or concerts around the world.

Once you have a shortlist of dream destinations, fire up google maps and prepare to lose yourself for hours. Design mock travel itineraries lasting 10 days, 2 weeks, a month, 3 months or however long you plan to travel.

6. Why Is It So Hard To Save For Your Trip?

You’ve meticulously planned your next adventure. Now, you need to stump up the cash to pay for it.

Whether you are going on a one week trekking holiday, a one month live aboard scuba diving course or traveling through Africa and the Middle East for six months, you will need to save up enough money to pay for the pleasure.

You already worked out your finances and travel plans in steps 4 and 5, so you have an actionable target to reach. Is your departure date 3 months away? 6 months? A year?

However far ahead you plan to leave, you might need to put a savings process in place to make up the difference.

Saving for vacations or long term travel is HARD. Your excitement is at fever pitch but time seems to stand still. Days at work start to drag more and more the closer you get to the big day.

Be Disciplined

The key to financial success can be found in one simple word, Discipline .

It’s easy to start well with the best intentions but it’s equally as easy to lose focus. Put yourself on a strict no-spending regime if you don’t have the money in savings to pay for travel costs in advance.

Make judgement calls on every single expenditure – is it want or need? Do you want that thing or do you genuinely need it?

If it’s a want, don’t spend the money, save it. Be disciplined .

Once your bank account begins to swell, fight the temptation to ‘treat yourself’. If you think you won’t be tempted, think again. 

That 80″ TV you wanted is only US$ 1,000 and you now have 10 of those saved for your trip – can you get by on US$ 9,000?

No you can’t! Put the TV back! Be disciplined .

Plan A Trip Section 1 Complete: Your Tentative Travel Plans Are In Place

You are officially one third of the way towards being travel ready.

There are more challenges to come but you’ve nailed down the hardest part of travel planning.

Narrowing down where to visit and formulating the perfect itinerary is by far the most difficult part of planning a trip for us.

The word perfect was used for a reason, we both have FOMO (fear of missing out) so it takes us an age to finalize our trips.

With the whole world as your travel option, deciding where to go and where not to go can be overwhelming.

Personally, we just take it one step at a time based on our budget and places on our travel bucket list. We systematically include and exclude places, activities and routes until we agree on a winning formula.

Do not feel disheartened when you think you’ve cracked your route and budget but for whatever reason it just doesn’t work out. Go back to the drawing board and start again fresh. You will end up with an even better itinerary.

Section 2: Take Action + Book

We can all daydream about vacations or backpacking the world for a year. Or imagine ourselves lounging on a beautiful powdery white sand beach in Thailand  and hiking into the Grand Canyon .

But until you bite the bullet, until you commit by clicking the buy now button on flights and hotels, a dream is all it will be.

Once you take that giant leap, it becomes tangible.

How many times have you planned a travel route mentally and thought about how amazing it would be and all the things you would do on your trip only to snap back to reality in the office?

Be brave and courageous. Take the plunge and book the important elements of your travel plan. Does this sound like a good story?

“Well, I was going to book a life changing 3 month backpacking trip through South America, but didn’t bother in the end.” That sounds like missed opportunity to us!

Myths About Booking In Advance

Like many other things in life, travel planning gets easier with experience. You learn which aspects of the way you planned and booked your trip worked and which aspects caused problems or lost you money.

However, one thing even the most savvy or accomplished traveler doesn’t always get right is how much of the trip to book in advance.

Here’s the problem travelers face on every trip:

If you book in advance, you plan ahead, book all hotels, buses, trains, activities and flights on your trip.

But what happens? You have no flexibility. If you love a place, you can’t stay longer. If you hate a place, you can’t leave immediately.

And if you don’t book in advance, you plan nothing and have complete flexibility. But you spend all of your travel days booking the next place to stay that night or your flight the next day.

Last minute flights and hotels will have far fewer options and may have seriously inflated prices.

How To Successfully Book A Trip

Here are a few tips to help you book your next trip:

• Find the perfect balance between being organized and flexible.
• Book all of your major trans-continental long haul flights before you leave home.
• Book any hotel splurges you have identified.
• Book any bucket list activities (such as W Trek in Chile) in advance.
• Leave the rest of your trip open ended.

We meet travelers with binders full of confirmation documents who prefer to plan the entire trip down to the ground, even dinner reservations.

Then there are those who prefer to book nothing more than a one way flight and decide everything on the fly (pun intended).

There is no one size fits all best practice or answer to this relentless travel quandary. It depends entirely on your own preferred travel style.

7. Book Your Major Flights To Seal The Deal

Now the real work can begin.

Booking your first flight is the single most exciting and nerve racking moment of travel planning. In one single moment of commitment, you turn your daydream into a reality.

There are numerous flight searching platforms and you can use any you prefer. We personally use – every time we fly and recommend to our friends and family:  Skyscanner .

We’ve used each of the major flight search engines and we find Skyscanner to offer the easiest user experience, have the most flight options and consistently lowest prices.

But our favorite aspects of Skyscanner are having the ability (and flexibility) to search for flights by whole month and whole country.

Example: Let’s say you want to fly New York to London.

Instead of selecting an exact date with +/- 3 days (which is what most flight searches offer) you can select by whole month of May for example.

A flight calendar will show the prices of flights on every day that month and between all airports in New York / London.

Check flights with Skyscanner here and start searching for your next flight.

Avoid Flight Price Myths

Booking flights can go one of two ways:

• You prefer to search for a flight, find one at a price you feel is fair and book it. 
• You are the type who prefers flight price roulette, playing the algorithm game.

But the thing is you can save money on flights if you put in some research and effort. That being said, there are a lot of myths and legends about booking flights.

Booking International flights on a Tuesday or domestic flights on a Sunday will save big money. Not necessarily true. Prices fluctuate many times a day, week and month.

Clearing cookies and searching incognito will save money. Unfortunately not, no evidence to support that.

Quick Tips On Booking Flights

Our number one tip for booking flights is to be flexible. That’s the way you will save big money.

Look at prices around the dates you want to fly using Skyscanner, you will see how drastically different they can be.

Book your long haul flights as far in advance as possible. The last thing you want is a mammoth cost on your flight home.

Keep an eye on prices 9 months in advance, 6 months 3 months in advance, 1 month in advance and last minute. Watch how much they fluctuate over time.

Research thoroughly, search regularly and build up patterns of prices.

Put flight alerts on specific flights of interest to you. You will receive notifications of changes.

If you see a flight you want and it’s cheap, book it! Don’t wait for it drop by US$ 5 because you’ll find it will go up by US$ 50 instead. Know the right time to pull the trigger.

Flight booking search engines are built on algorithms like everything else online. The key is not to outsmart them, just work them to your advantage.

READ MORE : How to book cheap flight when you travel

8. Book Ground Transport

Booking ground transport in advance depends on where in the world you are traveling, the timing of your trip, the length of your trip and how rigid and flexible you plan to travel.

Example : When we traveled 3 months in South America, we booked a 24 hour bus from Bariloche to El Chalten in Argentina before we left the UK. But we did not book any sleeper buses or trains in Vietnam in advance.

We visited Argentina in January, during Peak Season. Flights from Bariloche to El Calafate were expensive (and a bus to El Chalten is required) so we took the much cheaper bus.

The bus books up in advance and we wanted to guarantee seats so we booked in advance.

Conversely, we visited Northern and Central Vietnam in October and knew we would be able to jump on any bus or train we wanted. No need to sacrifice flexibility.

Most Cost Effective Transport Methods By Region

• Europe – Cheap budget flights with Ryanair, EasyJet etc between countries / Trains within countries.
• SE Asia – Cheap flights with Jetstar, VietJet, AirAsia, Scoot, LionAir, TigerAir etc between countries / Sleeper Trains & Buses within countries.
• South America – Flights hit and miss for price. We found Chile and Peru had cheaper flights than Argentina. Best way to get around is by Bus but be aware, some of them are LONG!
• North America – Road trip is the best way to explore. Buy a cheap second hand car or hire a car drive point A to B. Trains and domestic flights are expensive. Traveling by bus is a cheap option but not a great one.

The take home is to understand the region you plan to travel through.

How are public transport prices impacted by season? Variations in prices if booking in advance vs last minute?

Example : Let’s say you’re traveling Europe by train but not Interrailing. Booking trains in advance WILL save you money. Do not leave European train bookings until the last minute.

By researching and understanding these things, you can quite literally rescue your travel budget from total annihilation.

If you prefer to drive yourself around a new place to taking public transport, always check prices for hire cars with Rental Cars for most options and best value.

9. Book Accommodation

Booking accommodation can be both extremely rewarding and extremely frustrating.

Some travelers embrace the best deals hunt, whereas others despise losing time trawling through endless lists of hotel prices.

As with all other aspects of travel planning, the key is to find the right balance between how much time you invest and how much money you can save.

There are a limited amount of flights you can choose between, right?

It’s the opposite for accommodation, there are SO many options for where you will sleep at night, no matter where you travel.

If you let it, this process will overwhelm you within seconds. How do you choose between 1000 hotels? When do you stop searching for an even better deal?

The scenario of your trip will affect the benefits of booking hotels in advance.

Example : Beach vacations and resort hotel complexes can go either way. Sometimes you can pick up big money saving last minute deals. It’s a risk but it can pay off.

However, if you’re on a tight budget and backpacking for a month through Thailand in low or shoulder season, it would be worth turning up in person to negotiate a better deal.

Use Hotel Booking Search Engines

Something we find fascinating when we meet travelers on the road is the diversity of platforms everyone uses to book accommodation.

Some swear by Airbnb, others use Agoda or Hostelworld and a high proportion use Booking.com. Personally, we use Booking.com to book our hotels.

We have been using Booking for years and still to this day we are staggered by how many hotel owners pull faces at us or make comments like ‘wow, you guys must have that booking genius thing, this is the lowest price I’ve seen.

We do have Booking Genius Level 3 and you can have it too by simply creating a free account and booking your hotels with Booking.com .

The same applies to Hotels.com, Agoda, Airbnb, Priceline and many others. Find a hotel booking service you like, create an account and reap the loyalty benefits.

That’s not to say hotel search engines have the best prices period.

We ask certain hotels for a price directly and if it’s more than what we can see on our Booking.com app, we simply book a room on our app right at the check in desk.

Quick Tips For Booking Hotels

Similarly to booking ground transport at the trip planning stages, we only book certain hotels in advance before we travel.

Typically, we will book hotels as we go to allow total flexibility. However, there are three scenarios when we book hotels in advance:

• If we plan to visit a big city like London, New York City , Hong Kong or Dubai in shoulder or high season.
• When planning itineraries including rural N ational Park s with limited hotel options.
• Big splurges on a luxury hotel so our travel budget doesn’t take a huge mid-trip pounding.

When searching for hotels, always use filters and sorting to cut through the crap and display exactly what you are interested in.

Search engines by default will display hotels based on featured. So what is featured?

It is hotel search engines listing hotels in their own order, but we like to sort by user rating and review count.

If a hotel has 2,500 reviews and a guest review score of 8.7, we would add it to our shortlist.

Once we have enough hotels in a shortlist we look at their locations, nearby amenities, nearby major attractions and transport hubs etc.

READ MORE : How to book cheap hotels for travel

10. Book Bucket List Experiences

Your final bookings at this stage of planning your trip are reserved for any bucket list experiences.

You’ve planned a route through a country or continent, so you should know all of the bucket list places you will be visiting. However, unless you research thoroughly, there’s a small chance you might miss something.

Life is about learning from mistakes.

One of ours when traveling Europe was when we visited Interlaken and Grindelwald in Switzerland but we hadn’t researched things to do before hand.

So we didn’t know about the Jungfrau rack railway line through the Eiger to the top of Europe at 3,454m. Once we discovered it, we’d already spent our allocated budget which isn’t difficult in Switzerland.

Plan major activities ahead. Make a spreadsheet or a checklist, even book some ahead of time if you have to or prefer to plan your whole trip in advance.

The more planning you do in advance, the less you will miss on the road. There are times when you will have no choice but to plan months ahead.

A few examples are the W trek in Torres del Paine (Chile), Half Dome hike at Yosemite National Park (California) and hiking down the Narrows at Zion National Park (Utah).

Not planning ahead will result in missing something epic. If you don’t typically plan things like this in advance, now is the time to learn some new core skills.

Section 2 Complete: Major Bookings Are Made

You’re almost over the hill and it’s plain sailing from here. The hard work has paid off, now all that’s left is preparing and packing for the adventure that awaits you.

Booking flights, transport, hotels and activities is part of the travel planning experience.

Try to enjoy the process. If you feel overwhelmed at any point, step away for a few hours or days. That is a tried and tested method of successfully planning a trip.

There have been times where we’ve had to walk away from planning for a day or two.

Remember, you can book hotels anywhere at any time, you don’t always have to book your entire trip before you leave. 

If there’s one particular leg of your journey where you can’t quite make transport work or there are no cheap hotels available, just go back a few steps and alter your route accordingly.

This is a common travel planning stumbling block. 

It can be infuriating to have a route perfected, only for something not to work and find yourself back at the drawing board.

But consider this, would you rather be at home with this problem? Or in a foreign city with no idea where to go next, how to get there or where to sleep that night?

Section 3: Prepare And Pack

You’re on the home stretch. There are just a few important admin tasks to complete before you can finally say you are ready to leave on your trip.

Get stuck into these last few steps as soon as possible, tick the boxes, put your feet up and enjoy a nice cup of Yorkshire tea.

Section 3 of travel planning is about giving yourself the best return on your expenses, travel safety, insuring your property and packing the right gear for your trip. 

It would be easy to switch off once you’ve secured your important bookings but you would be shooting yourself in the foot.

Instead, keep the ball rolling into this final section. Use the momentum to make the best choices possible as you complete your travel planning process.

11. Travel Rewards Credit Cards

You might be from a country where paying with debit and credit cards is the norm. Heck, you probably even pay for things with your phone these days.

However, when you travel through certain regions, such as parts of South East Asia, you won’t always be able to pay for goods and services with your cards.

Cash is often king in developing countries or countries with few tourists.

Example : We spent a month traveling North/Central Vietnam and can count on 1 hand the amount of times we paid for anything using a credit card. In order to withdraw cash from ATM’s without incurring a fee, we used our travel rewards credit card.

So, aside from always carrying a handful of US dollars in cash as a safety net, here’s the best money saving advice for any trip you ever take abroad, limit the amount you use your debit card.

If you use your debit account, you can kiss goodbye to your travel budget. The local bank will charge you a fee and your bank at home will charge you a hefty fee. Double whammy. Not fun.

What To Do Before Your Trip

Sign up for a no foreign transaction fee on all withdrawals and purchases travel rewards credit card.

On longer trips you will be taking money out of ATM’s regularly. Local ATM withdrawals will yield better exchange rates than airport exchanges.

Always choose local currency when withdrawing money, not your home country currency.

Research the best travel rewards card before you leave on your trip. Residents of the US are fortunate because competition is fierce, which drives fantastic offers on travel credit cards.

At a minimum, you should be able to pick up a travel rewards credit card giving you 1.5% cash back on all purchases and withdrawals.

Some offer points instead of cash back, which can be saved and used to pay for a flight later in your trip. Look for any special points and bonuses for spending X amount of money in Y amount of time.

Choose the card that offers the best perks for your travel style.

Example : Bank A will give you 1,500 points bonus if you spend US$ 3,000 within 90 days. Those bonus points equal US$ 150 that you can put towards a flight.

12. Tell The Bank About Your Travel Plans

It would blow your mind if we told you the amount of people we meet traveling the world who have experienced blocked credit cards.

Blocked cards in turn lead to no money and expensive phone calls back home to unblock said cards.

The banks are doing it for your protection but when you’re stuck in the back of beyond and can’t pay for anything or withdraw money, you will be in trouble.

Example : You have a Bank of America checking account, a Capital One Venture travel rewards card and an American Express travel card, you need to tell every one of those banks what your rough travel plans are.

It doesn’t hurt to keep them updated as you travel because plans can change.

We will contact our banks each time we move to a new continent and give them a rough idea of the countries we intend to visit, plus an estimated duration. Remember the 7 P’s of planning.

13. Get Travel Insurance

We’re not going to frighten you into buying travel insurance with gruesome tales. We’re simply going to say it is not worth the risk to travel without insurance.

You may be debating running the risk because insurance can be expensive.

We understand, it’s a bit of a blow when you think all your costs are nailed on the head and you see how much travel insurance is going to set you back.

But believe us, skipping it is not the smart move. Especially if you are backpacking for longer periods. Knock on wood, nothing serious has happened to us yet on the road.

No lost backpacks, no serious injuries, no muggings. But that could change at any moment, all it takes is being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Travel Insurance Is Worth The Peace Of Mind

Could you imagine the cost involved in being repatriated to America with a serious illness or injury sustained on the other side of the planet? No insurance would leave you in financial despair for years.

Example : You’ve just bought a brand new Sony A7R IV mirrorless camera for US$ 3,000 for your trip and you lose it or have it stolen on your first day traveling. You don’t have insurance. Imagine the pain!

There are plenty of travel insurance providers, such as Allianz, AIG and Travelex but right now we use and highly recommend World Nomads.

The company was created by travelers for travelers and they will tailor an insurance plan to suit your trip. You can get a free quote and choose between Standard or Explorer plans.

Be sure to do your own research but use World Nomads as your reference. See if you can get better coverage.

14. Check For Last Minute Travel Bargains

This is where we hope you don’t find an amazing last minute deal that’s US$ 200 cheaper than what you booked back in section 2.

Last minute deals are a gamble. Sometimes they pay off but mostly, they don’t. Never leave any of your major flight routes or bucket list activities until the last minute.

It’s always worth keeping an eye on hotel and flight prices, even for things you already booked that may include free cancellations or free changes to the booking.

If you can pick up the odd money saving last minute bargain, great. But don’t leave your entire trip to chance.

In the days leading up to your departure, check prices on (non-major) flights, trains, hotels and tours that you are interested in taking.

There are always flash sales on things, it’s often a case of being fortunate enough to stumble across them at the right time.

Here’s something important to remember if you started planning your trip months ago. High season might have moved into shoulder season or low season in a place you want to go.

But be aware that the opposite may also occur.

You could have planned on last minute deals because when you were researching the prices looked amazing, only to have unwittingly transitioned into peak season for the place you are visiting.

Last minute deals are going to cost you and your options will be greatly diminished in peak season.

15. Pack Yours Bags It’s Time To Leave

Your travel plans are in place, you’ve booked the important things and prepared efficiently. All you need to do now is pick the perfect backpack and fill it with the right gear for your destination.

If you think you can handle traveling with just 40L of space which means you can carry on to flights, don’t miss this review of our top rated travel backpack, Osprey Farpoint 40 .

For those who will carry a larger main pack and need a second smaller backpack to carry on, read our review of the innovative and versatile backpack perfect for travel photographers:  Peak Design Everyday Backpack .

We won’t go into a huge amount of detail with this planning step. Instead, you can find all you need to know about packing for your trips in our detailed  Travel Packing resource.

Here are a few addition packing tips for your trip:

• Be sure to pack according to where you’re going. If there are varying climates on your itinerary, pack for warm and cold weather conditions, even if that means taking a bigger backpack.
• Pack carefully, make sure every single item is fit for multi-purpose use. Do not pack fancy shirts and jeans if you will only use them once, you will end up throwing them out half way through your trip.
• We all have our own dress styles and preferences but our best advice for packing is to take plenty of comfortable gear.

Just remember, the most successful travel planners are the ones who can accept when they need to take a few steps back in order to take many steps forward.

More Travel Resources

• E-Books – Shop our travel guidebooks
• Packing List – The ultimate travel packing list
• Gifts – The best gifts for a traveler

Want more travel content?  Head to our  Travel Blog to discover new destinations around the world.

We hope these 15 steps help you plan the perfect trip!

Please let us know if you have any questions about this trip planning guide in the comments below.

Happy Travels ,

Mark and Kristen

Enjoy This Trip Planning Guide? Pin It For Later!

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All Rights Reserved © Where Are Those Morgans, LLC. Republishing this article and/or any of its contents (text, photography, maps, graphics, etc.) in whole or in part is strictly prohibited.

Mark and Kristen Morgan are travel, hiking and photography experts. Over the last 6 years traveling full time, they have explored more than 40 countries and 30 US states.

Where Are Those Morgans has been featured in USA Today, Gestalten, Get Your Guide, CityPASS and Condé Nast Traveler along with various other publications. Read more about us .

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Pope Francis arrives in Indonesia as he begins 4-nation Asia trip

JAKARTA, Indonesia — Pope Francis arrived in Indonesia on Tuesday at the start of the  longest trip of his pontificate , hoping to encourage its Catholic community and celebrate the tradition of interfaith harmony in a country with the world’s largest Muslim population.

After an overnight flight from Rome, Francis was wheeled off the plane in his wheelchair and onto the tarmac for a welcoming ceremony under Jakarta’s perennial hazy, humid and polluted skies.

Two children wearing traditional clothes handed him a bouquet of vegetables, fruits, spices and flowers.

Francis planned to rest for the remainder of the day, given the rigors of an 11-day voyage zigzagging across time zones that will also take him to Papua New Guinea ,  East Timor  and Singapore . However, the Vatican said the 87-year-old pope met with a group of refugees, migrants and sick people at the Vatican residence in Jakarta.

Outside the residence, he was greeted by well-wishers eager to catch sight of the first pope to visit since St. John Paul II in 1989.

“When I saw him in the car I was so touched, goosebumps,” said Fanfan, a 49-year-old housewife from West Jakarta who uses only one name. “I hope he will hopefully appear in front of me to wave his hand again.”

Francis’ first full day of activities begins Wednesday with visits to the country’s political leaders and meetings with Indonesian clergy who are helping to fuel the growth of the Catholic Church in Asia.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo welcomed the pope, saying in a broadcast statement that “Indonesia and the Vatican have the same commitment to fostering peace and brotherhood, as well as ensuring the welfare of humanity.”

The highlight of Francis’ first stop will be his participation Thursday in an interfaith meeting in Jakarta’s iconic Istiqlal mosque with representatives of the six religions that are officially recognized in Indonesia: Islam, Buddhism, Confucianism, Hinduism, Catholicism and Protestantism.

The mosque, the largest in Southeast Asia, sits across a piazza from the capital’s main Catholic cathedral, Our Lady of Assumption, and the two are so close to each another that the Muslim call to prayer can be heard during Mass.

Their proximity is not coincidental, but strongly willed as a symbol of religious freedom and tolerance that is enshrined in Indonesia’s Constitution. The buildings are also linked by an underground “Tunnel of Friendship” that Francis will visit with the grand imam, Nasaruddin Umar, before they sign a joint declaration.

While Francis will want to highlight Indonesia’s tradition of religious tolerance, the country’s image as a moderate Muslim nation has been undermined by flare-ups of intolerance. In 2021, a militant Islamic couple  blew themselves up outside a packed Catholic cathedral  on Indonesia’s Sulawesi island during a Palm Sunday Mass, injuring at least 20 people.

“We have no problem with the visit. He’s a guest and we will welcome him,” said Eldy, a 64-year-old retired government worker who uses one name and was out walking in Jakarta on Sunday. “He wants to visit our Istiqlal mosque, he can do it.”

Even though Catholics make up only 3% of Indonesia’s population, the sheer number of Indonesians — 275 million — makes the archipelago home to the third-largest Christian community in Asia, after the Philippines and China .

As a result, thousands are expected to throng to Francis’ events this week, which include a Mass on Thursday afternoon at Jakarta’s main stadium that is expected to draw some 60,000 people. City authorities have urged residents to work from home that day given roadblocks and crowds.

“It is a joy for our country, especially for us Catholics,” said Elisabeth Damanik, a 50-year-old housewife outside a packed Mass on Sunday at Our Lady of the Assumption. “Hopefully the pope’s visit can build religious tolerance in our beloved country of Indonesia.”

The Associated Press

VGK Road Trip begins with five stops in four states over next nine days

LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — For the eighth time since the team's founding in 2017, the annual VGK Road Trip has hit the road.

Departing from City National Arena on Wednesday morning, members of the Golden Knights organization began their trek of five stops across four states in nine days.

Going from Jackson, Wyoming, to Billings, Montana, to Couer d'Alene and Boise, Idaho, to Reno, Nevada, TV cast and team staff members will be joined by VGK youth hockey coaches in pop-up on-ice clinics at local arenas.

Silver Knights goalie Isaiah Saville will help out at the clinic in Couer d'Alene, and Golden Knights defenseman Nic Hague will be the star of the show in the trip's final stop in Reno.

"It's one of the coolest things we do all year," VGK sideline reporter Ashali Vise told Channel 13 sports reporter Nick Walters. "It lets you know that summer is winding down and hockey season is just right around the corner. It gives us an opportunity to go into a lot of different markets to bond and get some face-time with those fans. Hockey clinics are put on in those areas. We’ll be doing library readings, so a really good opportunity to get out and thank some fans we wouldn’t normally get the opportunity to.”

“What it’s meant to do is create those additional touch-points in our outer markets," Golden Knights Chief Marketing Officer Eric Tosi said. "Fans in Idaho, Wyoming, Montana are able to watch Golden Knights through our relationship with Scripps Sports and our streaming platform Knighttime Plus. So we always utilize this off season in the summer months to be able to go out there, host some youth hockey clinics and engage with the community.”

This year's road trip is the longest that the team has taken for these youth clinics. The team will go approximately 2,700 miles and about 45 hours of driving time.

While one mission of the trip is to grow the Golden Knights brand across their massive broadcast region, another is helping aspiring hockey players with on-ice and ball hockey youth clinics.

“Once we get to the location, we work with the local youth organizations within those cities and we have pop-up clinics," Tosi said. "Our youth hockey coaches are on the ice or playing ball hockey with the kids. “

“Whether it’s like a learn-to-play program here or whether it’s more advanced, kind of tailor it to that city," Vise said. "Chance is there, so the kids who are on the ice get really excited about that as do the fans in the arena. It’s basically the Vegas Golden Knights treatment in places that wouldn’t normally have the opportunity to see that.”

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Pope, 87, Embarks on ‘Physical Test’ in Grueling Asia Tour

The 11-day trip, a signal that Francis does not intend to slow down, requires nearly 45 hours of air travel and meetings in tropical climates.

By Emma Bubola

Reporting from Vatican City and Jakarta, Indonesia

Pope Francis left Monday on an 11-day trip to the Asia-Pacific region, the longest and among the most complicated of his tenure. It could be particularly challenging for Francis, 87, who has been using a wheelchair and battling health problems.

But the trip, which includes a stop in Indonesia — the world’s largest Muslim majority country — also signals he has no intention of slowing down his outreach to faraway Catholics.

Francis will visit four countries for a total of about 20,000 miles by plane. From Indonesia he goes to Papua New Guinea, then East Timor and Singapore, as he deepens his engagement with Asia, one of his priorities.

The trip will include more than 43 hours of air travel and meetings with local faithful, clergy and politicians in cities with tropical climates or high levels of pollution on the other side of the world from Rome.

“It’s a physical test,” said Massimo Faggioli, a professor of theology at Villanova University, “and a sign that this pontificate is far from being over.”

Why is he visiting these countries?

The pope chose four island nations as he extends his outreach to what he calls “the peripheries,” a term for overlooked, faraway places with small, minority or persecuted Catholic communities. The trip is also one of Francis’ boldest engagements with Asia, a fast-growing part of the world, which the pope has always regarded as a strategic objective.

Francis made a largely secretive deal with China in 2018 for the appointment of bishops, but not all issues have been resolved, as China’s government still exerts strong political control over religious life, said Gianni Criveller, dean of studies at the PIME International Missionary School of Theology in Milan.

While no pope has been able to visit China, Francis has taken trips, such as to Mongolia, that have basically put him on China’s doorstep. This time as well, Mr. Faggioli said, the trip is seen as an attempt to “talk to countries he can’t go to.”

He said the trip also showed Francis’ ambition to make the Roman Catholic Church truly global — drawing attention to areas not traditionally of Christian culture and where Catholicism coexists with other religions, relying on the communities’ devotion rather than on wealth, endowments or a historical hegemony.

Unlike in Europe, the Catholic church in Asia does not “rest on its laurels,” said Mr. Faggioli, and believing is in some cases still an act of resistance.

“He sends a message to all the Catholics,” Mr. Faggioli said. “That the future of the church looks more like these churches in which we are a minority than those in which we are a majority.”

The pope’s first stop, Indonesia, also reflects Francis’ commitment to promoting dialogue between Muslims and Christians. He was the first pope to visit the Arabian Peninsula , in 2019.

He is also likely to urge global action to protect the environment, in a part of the world that is particularly vulnerable to climate change, including rising sea levels and severe weather events like droughts and typhoons.

Is the pope too frail for such a trip?

The Vatican originally had considered the trip for 2020 but canceled it because of the pandemic. Despite being older now, the pope is committed to showing that despite his age and ailments he is “still alive though some wanted me dead,” as he once joked .

In recent years, Francis’ health has been a source of concern. Within three years, he underwent a hernia operation, had colon surgery and was hospitalized for a respiratory infection. Last year, he did not attend a summit in Dubai because of health problems.

Still, the pope has been seen walking in recent weeks, instead of using a wheelchair, as he has increasingly done.

In the 11-day trip, he will be accompanied by his medical team (two nurses and a doctor) and, in a first, by his secretaries. Matteo Bruni, the Vatican’s spokesman, said at a news briefing on Friday that no extra precautions were taken for this trip, as the measures they normally adopt were considered sufficient.

Still, the ambitious itinerary for the octogenarian leader of the world’s Roman Catholics inevitably has stirred questions about the impact on his health.

Reporters questioned Mr. Bruni about the 92 percent humidity that the pope would face in Vanimo, a town tucked between Papua New Guinea’s rainforest and the Pacific Ocean. Markus Solo, an Indonesian priest who focuses on interfaith dialogue at the Vatican, said he worried about the impact that Jakarta’s high pollution could have, partly because Francis lost part of a lung to infection as a teenager.

“Hopefully, the government will do something in order to reduce the pollution during the visit,” he said.

The head of the Environmental Service of Jakarta, Asep Kuswanto, said no specific plans for curbing air pollution had been made for the pope’s visit.

Still, it appeared that some measures had been taken to protect the pope’s health. Francis was not expected to visit Flores, a predominantly Catholic Indonesian island.

“His health condition doesn’t permit him to go all that way,” said Father Solo, originally from Flores. “We have to be very prudent.”

Ismail Cawidu, a senior official at Istiqlal Mosque in Jakarta, an important stop on the visit, said that the pope would not tour the inside of the mosque but instead meet other religious leaders at a plaza outside.

Mr. Ismail said they had asked the Vatican if the pope could cross the “tunnel of friendship” that connects the mosque, Southeast Asia’s largest, with a Catholic cathedral but were still awaiting a response.

What can we expect from the trip?

Indonesia has a large Christian population, with a lively Catholic community. The country has been considered an example of interfaith tolerance but is still facing challenges to its image, as extremist Islamic groups have exerted growing pressure on other religions.

The pope’s visit to the Istiqlal mosque will include a meeting with representatives of the country’s officially recognized religions — Islam, Buddhism, Confucianism, Hinduism and Catholic and Protestant Christianity. He will also celebrate Mass at a stadium in the city, where tens of thousands are likely to attend.

Papua New Guinea, where more than 800 languages are spoken, is one of the world’s poorest countries, and Pope Francis “wants to send a message that he can reach everyone, that nobody is too far away,” Father Criveller said. After spending most of next weekend in Port Moresby, the capital, Francis will fly north to the coastal town of Vanimo, and he may address the issue of protecting nature from extractive businesses and the effects of climate change.

In East Timor, Asia’s newest nation and the only predominantly Catholic country on the trip, Francis is to follow in the footsteps of John Paul II, who also visited the conflict-scarred nation. Francis may face questions over the scandal involving Carlos Ximenes Belo , a Nobel-winning bishop and independence hero who the Vatican acknowledged had sexually abused young boys.

In Singapore, an economic powerhouse with a blend of Asian ethnicities and religions, Francis will witness one of the world’s most diverse societies up close, as well as a small but dynamic Catholic community, where the faithful still crowd pews.

Emma Bubola is a Times reporter based in Rome. More about Emma Bubola

Phrase Finder

• A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step

What's the meaning of the phrase 'A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step'?

The proverb ‘a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step’ puts forward the notion that, however difficult a task is, you can only complete it if you first start it.

What's the origin of the phrase 'A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step'?

This proverbial saying is a classic of the sort that gets put onto posters and into self-help books as an inspirational thought. Many similar proverbs, for instance, the darkest hour is just before the dawn , speak softly and carry a big stick , a picture paints a thousand words etc., are wrongly assumed to have an ancient Chinese origin.

‘A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step’ is different in that it actually was coined in China. Any saying that is associated with ancient China is generally labelled as being the work of Confucius. This one isn’t.

Westerners like myself, who don’t speak Chinese and have no real knowledge or understanding of Chinese history and culture, need to tread carefully when making pronouncements about who did what in China over two thousand years ago. What is generally accepted by scholars with a better grasp of Chinese and China is this…

The proverb ‘A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step’ is first found in the Tao Te Ching , which is a classical Chinese Taoist text usually credited to Laozi (a.k.a. Lao Tzu), and probably written between the 4th and 6th century BC. The original text is:

“A journey of a thousand li [a Chinese mile] starts beneath one’s feet”

The Tao Te Ching, is not a neatly bound and dated book with a definitive ISBN number that you might buy on Amazon. There are numerous fragmentary copies differing in content, language and authorship and dating over several centuries. The authorship is uncertain and disputed and some scholars dispute even the existence of Lao Tzu, claiming him to be mythical sage rather than a real living person.

We might usefully consider the Tao Te Ching as having a similar standing in Chinese culture as Aesop’s Fables has in the West. It is now widely believed that Aesop’s Fables weren’t written by one author and, even if they were, it wasn’t Aesop who may well not have existed in the flesh.

The ‘self-help’ nature of the phrase has led to some parody, including this from the Anglo/Australian writer Kathy Lette:

A journey of self-discovery starts with a single step… But so does falling down a flight of stairs.

See also: the List of Proverbs .

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Roam by The B-52s

• I hear a wind Whistling air Whispering In my ear Boy Mercury shooting through every degree Oh girl dancing down those dirty and dusty trails Take it hip to hip, rocket through the wilderness Around the world the trip begins with a kiss Roam if you want to Roam around the world Roam if you want to Without wings, without wheels Roam if you want to Roam around the world Roam if you want to Without anything but the love we feel Skip the airstrip to the sunset, yeah Ride the arrow to the target, one Take it hip to hip, rock it through the wilderness Around the world the trip begins with a kiss Roam if you want to Roam around the world Roam if you want to Without wings, without wheels Roam if you want to Roam around the world Roam if you want to Without anything but the love we feel Fly the great big sky See the great big sea Kick through continents Busting boundaries Take it hip to hip, rocket through the wilderness Around the world the trip begins with a kiss Roam if you want to Roam around the world Roam if you want to Without wings, without wheels Roam if you want to Roam around the world Roam if you want to Without anything but the love we feel Take it hip to hip Rocket through the wilderness Take it hip to hip Rocket through the wilderness Take it hip to hip Rocket through the wilderness Take it hip to hip Rocket through the wilderness Take it hip to hip Rocket through the wilderness Take it hip to hip Rocket through the wilderness Take it hip to hip Rocket through the wilderness Take it hip to hip Rocket through the wilderness Writer/s: Catherine Pierson, Cynthia Wilson, Frederick Schneider, Julian Strickland, Robert Waldrop Publisher: Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd. Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind
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Comments: 7

• Slade Barker from Dc - District Of Columbia My dudes, the lyrics clearly state "without wings" and "without wheels." So no. Just no.
• Aivas from Texas "Around the world" is a sex term, though usually involving the mouth not the hands (the trip "begins with a kiss"). And do we really need to explain rocking hip to hip?
• Brautigan from Portland, Or If you can't figure out that this song I'd about making out (hands are what are "roaming" here), then you're not very good at this.
• Mark from Rossford, Oh (toledo) One of my favorite songs too. Also Fly1965 "A banana chasing a donut?" I seen that in the music video and was kinda wondering what that was all about myself.
• Adam- : Kane from Australia Is about the holy see . A kiss on the ground.
• Fly1965 from Aurora, Colorado I swear this song is about something a little more erotic than travel. Hip to hip, rocking through the wilderness? A banana chasing a donut? LOL But okay. Whatever they say.
• Chris from Germany One of my favorite songs by THE B52s awesome song. Was their second consecutive Top 3 Hit in the USA reaching #3. It gained GOLD certification for 500,000 sold copies i grew up with the band as a child and knowing them from FLINTSTONES Movie but their 1989 album COSMIC THING is great

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Roam Lyrics

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Add your song meanings, interpretations, facts, memories & more to the community.

as usual, clever, capricious fun probably best not interpreted too deeply. Most of their songs only seem to be about life and joy; frequently sexual joy.

case in point:

• "Roam, if you want to..." a lovely and poetic invitation to explore anywhere one may like on the geography; the terrain of the physical body, visiting all it's best landmarks and leaving no stone unturned.
• "Take it hip to hip... Rock it through the wilderness" My hat is off to them now for starting so poetically and getting to this intent-laden description. the erogenous spaces between the hips, the very specific "wilderness" therein,
• "trip begins with a kiss" usually, yes. :)

Oh, I stop here: you can find the rest, :) (apologies in advance for analyzing such an exuberant, unapologetic song!) -Phase

And "Ride the Arrow to the Target," in case anyone was missing the subtleties! ;)

The B-52s specialize in innuendo.

I love this song. The video is rife with innuendo.

warmPhase is dead on. Nice work. It should come as no surprise that the B-52's were a very sexually oriented band, but always done in a way that was subtle enough to slip past the censors but speak directly to those with a welcoming ear. The band has a history of lyrics with double entendre'd sexual innuendo.

I love the song Roam, and not just for its incredible beat, exceptional vocals, and catchy tune. What is meant to seem like an innocent song about vacations is actually a very dirty one about stretching one's erotic permissiveness to the outer boundaries. I picked up on it the very first time I heard and had to smile thinking how many clueless Moms and Dads there are with teeny bopper kids bopping to it!

Actually, one of the main lines in the song "around the world" is not that all that subliminal to those that know the naughty meaning to that phrase. For fear of being censored here, let's just say it involves the mouth of one partner and EVERY part of the nether regions of the other partner.

The fact that it is cute and "makes you happy" when you hear it is testimony to the B-52's view that sex IS fun and the ultimate trip and adventure.

tdnsexy1 is right. the word is "anilingus" great song from a daring band. Cindy Williams is one of the voices. Listen to her on "give me back my man" for a real treat !

Actually "around the world" means being licked all over by someone. What you've described is "halfway around the world", which focusses on the nether regions.

Oh - so that's what it all means, huh? You people brought it down to the gutter really fast. Go ahead and dwell in the cesspool if that's what gets you off - but PLEASE don't define an inspiring song according to your own merely carnal limits.

And now, pray - DO tell... Is "Rock Lobster" really all about deep-sea bestiality?

@tdnsexy1 Yep. You and Warm phase have hit the proverbial nail right on the nose. Or guess it's more like Riding the arrow to the Target, just like the song says. Without wings. Without wheels. Love this song!

And NomadMonad, as for Rock Lobster..."Motion in the Ocean...he was in a jam..was in a giant clam!!" Enough said.

Kate Pierson has that high soprano voice,it sounds like she's almost screaming like the back up singers for Lynard Skynard's "Sweet Home Alabama"...my ears is bleeding.

Yes very shrill...

I\'m new to this website. I\'m surprised this page has the authorship wrong for this song.\n\n"Our friend Robert Waldrop wrote these lyrics and Keith wrote the music for the track -Cindy and I jammed with the lyrics and magic happened - Kate"\nhttps://twitter.com/theb52s/status/1266450923238256641?lang=en

Aww, what a cute song. It's one of those songs that just makes you so happy when you hear it.

what a voice that chick had.....amazing

great song too

Kate and Cindy both have amazing voices which are so unique to them.

I remember this being the theme music to the Peace Corps. back in the day. Trying to get us dumbasses to join. What they don't tell ya is how many women are assaulted sexually and killed in the countries that you pay your own way to... :)

The Peace Corps is a wonderful organization and I have had the priviledge of meeting quite a few former members. Here is the 2009 Peace Corps report on crime (Official): "Of the more serious crimes reported, 15 rapes/attempted rapes, 2 kidnappings and 1 death by homicide. From 2008 to 2009, the number and rate of rapes/attempted rapes decrease noticeably, a deviation from the previous nine years in which the rate remained essentially unchanged. Major sexual assaults increased for the second year, although the rate is still lower than the peak in 2001. The rate of other sexual assaults decreased slightly,...

The Peace Corps is a wonderful organization and I have had the priviledge of meeting quite a few former members. Here is the 2009 Peace Corps report on crime (Official): "Of the more serious crimes reported, 15 rapes/attempted rapes, 2 kidnappings and 1 death by homicide. From 2008 to 2009, the number and rate of rapes/attempted rapes decrease noticeably, a deviation from the previous nine years in which the rate remained essentially unchanged. Major sexual assaults increased for the second year, although the rate is still lower than the peak in 2001. The rate of other sexual assaults decreased slightly, though not enough to reverse the steady but gradual increase seen since 2000. Incidents of rape in 2009 were 0.35% (“Rape” in the Peace Crops is defined as involving the mouth on body parts.) Major sexual assaults in 2009 were 1.75%." According to the stats, the majority of sexual crimes took place in the victim's residence and when alcohol was involved (probably similar to what occurs in the states, where the rates of rape/sexual assault are much higher!) Therefore, it is essentially safer to be a woman working in the Peace Corps than it is to be a woman living in any U.S. state.

ŊʘmĄď MʘŊąĐ says: For me, the lyrics speak of absolute freedom. The journey IS the destination. Leaving the confines of striated space into utter transcendent LIBERTY. Room to move. Macro/microcosmic travel. An extended line of flight. The globe as terrestrial unity spinning toward extraterrestrial interconnection. And LOVE is the axis.

(Now what y'all do in your bedrooms [referring to some of the "analyses" below] with your various appendages and orifices is none of my business...you don't need to tell me any more, thanks.)

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Pope Francis arrives in Indonesia as he begins ambitious Asia-Pacific tour

Pope Francis arrives at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, in Tangerang, Indonesia, on Sept. 3. Willy Kurniawan/Reuters

Dozens of excited Indonesians waved on Tuesday as a motorcade carried Pope Francis through the capital as he began the first leg of an ambitious Asia-Pacific tour expected to urge global action on climate change as part of his longest trip yet.

The 87-year-old pontiff, who will also visit East Timor, Singapore and Papua New Guinea over the next 10 days, was seated in a wheelchair as a lift disembarked him from a chartered aircraft at Jakarta airport.

Two children in traditional clothes presented a bouquet of local produce before the pope was greeted by Indonesia’s religious affairs minister, its Vatican envoy and several of its bishops on a red carpet flanked by honour guards.

Francis then drove off in a waiting car, waving and smiling. As his motorcade passed through Jakarta towards the Vatican embassy, where he is staying, small crowds of people were seen waving excitedly.

“I’m so happy, I feel so blessed,” said Enny Rahail, 52, who travelled 3,000 km (1,860 miles) to Jakarta from her home in southeast Maluku before standing for two hours in midday heat to wave to the pope outside the embassy.

“As Indonesians we are happy because the Catholic leader comes to our country,” said Enny, who called Francis an “advocate for peace” and said she cried as the pope arrived.

The aging pope was not set to attend any public events on Tuesday, to allow him time for rest after the 13-hour overnight flight from Rome.

But shortly after arriving at the embassy, Francis held an informal meeting with a group of refugees living in Indonesia.

The Vatican gave few details, but said the group included persons from Somalia, Sri Lanka and members of the persecuted Rohingya minority from Myanmar.

The pontiff is set to travel nearly 33,000 km (21,000 miles)on the 12 days of the Asia-Pacific tour, before he arrives back in Rome late in the evening of Sept. 13.

At the beginning of his flight to Jakarta, Francis spent roughly half an hour individually greeting the accompanying journalists, leaning on a cane as he walked slowly around the back of the aircraft, chatting and shaking hands.

He offered only a few words about the trip, saying the coming days would represent his longest voyage abroad.

Francis, who is not only the leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics but also the Vatican’s head of state, wired customary greetings to every country he crossed on the way to Indonesia, including Iran, India, Pakistan and Turkey.

He offered prayers of peace, hopes for prosperity, or divine blessings, in messages varying with each country.

An address to Indonesia’s political leaders on Wednesday will be the pope’s first official event. The following day, he will participate in an interreligious meeting at Southeast Asia’s largest mosque, the Istiqlal Mosque.

Francis, who pushed for the 2015 Paris climate pact, is expected to continue voicing appeals to confront the dangers of a warming globe.

Jakarta, the Indonesian capital home to at least 10 million people, is vulnerable to climate change, as it tackles chronic flooding and sinking land. The government is building a new capital, Nusantara, on the island of Borneo.

Just 3 per cent of a population of about 280 million is Catholic in Indonesia, which is the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation.

“This is a very historic visit,” Indonesian President Joko Widodo told reporters before the pope’s arrival, offering Francis a warm welcome on a long-planned visit that had been delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Indonesia and the Vatican have a similar commitment to cultivate peace and brotherhood as well as ensure prosperity for the people.”

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The Trip Begins

Guide for chapters 10-11, canal captain.

A canal boat captain was essentially his own boss. He either leased a boat from the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company or owned the boat that he captained. He was responsible for operating the boat, managing the mule driver and any other employees, maintaining a schedule, keeping track of cargo and supplies on the boat, and owning the mules that powered the canal boat. He had to follow all of the rules enforced along the canal and by LCNC such as keeping the proper speed, treating his mules correctly, and adhering to the hours of canal operation. He usually worked about 18 hours a day and could almost always be found standing at the tiller steering his boat and watching his surroundings. When he reached a lock he helped the locktender by navigating his boat in and out of the lock. If he had a family they might have ridden with him on the canal. In that case his wife and children would help with the cooking, cleaning and maintenance of the boat. If he did not have his family with him he would usually have one mule driver and maybe one other employee to help with the cooking and taking shifts on mule driving and steering. The fewer employees he had the more work he had to do, but the more money he got to keep.

Lock System

Canal locks allow boats to be raised or lowered. They are built where there are drops in the elevation of the river that parallels the canal. The higher the drop in river elevation, the higher a lock must be built to compensate for it. Most locks along the Lehigh and Delaware canals, from Mauch Chunk to Bristol, were relatively lower in height because the rivers elevation lowered gradually. Above Mauch Chunk in the Pocono Mountains of Carbon and Luzerne counties, locks on the Lehigh Canal were of enormous size because of the steep, quick and frequent drops of the Lehigh River. Several of the locks were built to lift or lower boats more than 25 feet. A few of them lifted and lowered boats more than 30 feet. Hundreds of men and mules were required to build the locks, using local rock and timber. On the Lehigh Canal, the gate at the head of the lock (the upstream end) was a heavy single drop gate. At the lower end was a set of two miter gates, which swung in and out. Openings at the bottom of these gates and on the floor of the lock- called wickets- allowed water to enter and leave the lock. Locks on the Lehigh Canal designed by Josiah White were 22 feet wide, big enough to accomodate two canal boats side by side. The original locks on the Delaware Canal were only 11 feet wide, large enough to pass only a single boat. When Josiah White was hired by the state of Pennsylvania to rebuild the Delaware Canal in the early 1830s, he widened some of the locks to 22 feet. When the LC&N gained control of the Delaware Canal in the late 1850s, more of the locks were enlarged.

Interior of a Boat

Canal boats were designed for moving cargo. However, space had to be provided for sleeping and living. A very small section at the rear of the boat was designated for this . This area was very cramped and was not made for many people, but it still allowed for some of the comforts of home. The basic necessities that were inside the cabins were a fold down bunk bed, fold down table for eating, a stove to cook food and keep crew members warm in cold weather, and a locker for food whose bottom was always below the water line of the boat, thus providing reasonable protection for perishable food. A cupboard for dishes and kitchen utensils was located on one wall. There were two windows on the stern wall of the cabin that allowed light and fresh air into the cabin. The windows were equipped with sliding covers. There were usually one or two lanterns mounted to the wall to provide nightime illumination. The cabin was 9.5 feet wide by 7 feet tall and was accessed by a ladder that led to the deck. A hatch door covered the opening into the cabin. Crew members often chose to sleep on deck during the warm months of the boating season to have more room to stretch out and a fresher, more comfortable supply of air. Cooking was done inside the cabin but many boats were equipped with a second stove on the deck, which was utilized in warm weather. Boat captains often took their families on the canal. Wives were responsible for cooking and watching children who were too young to help with chores. Some families lived on their boats during the winter in dry dock, but most had homes they stayed in during the off season.

Equipment on the Boat

Canal boats were built to hold a lot of cargo. The inside of the canal boat was a huge empty storage space waiting to be filled with cargo. The deck of the boat was a different story. This area was where the captain and his family kept their supplies. What they didn’t keep in their sleeping cabin they kept on the deck of their boat. There was certain equipment that every canal boat captain would have on their boat.

Conch Shell

A conch (pronounced "konk" or "conch") is one of a number of different species of saltwater snails or their shells. The conch shell is pointed on both ends. Conch shells are used throughout the south Pacific as horns. On American canals the conch shell was used as a horn to announce the impending arrival of a canal boat at a lock. This would alert the locktender and allow him to prepare to allow the boat to pass through the lock. Conch shells also were blown at the beginning of a work day on the canals.

Nighthawker

A nighthawker was an oil lamp with a polished reflector, which was placed inside a boxlike structure 12 to 14 inches on a side. Three sides of the box were made of glass. The nighthawker was hung on a decorated board, called a dasher which was attached to a post at the front of the boat.

Rudder & Tiller

A canal boat rudder was its steering device. It was made of heavy wood and was attached to a rudder post located at the rear of the boat. At the top of the post was a tiller that was pushed by the boat captain or member of the crew to determine the direction of the boat. The tiller was connected to the rudder by a stout rope. The rudder operated best when a boat was full and it was fully submerged in the canal. When a boat was empty, or light, much of the rudder was exposed above the surface and the boat did not steer as well.

The towline was a heavy rope that connected the canal boat to the engines that pulled it - the mules. Most towlines were between 100 and 125 feet in length and 3/4 inch in diameter. Captains liked to begin a new boating season with a fresh towline.

Locking through

A decorated board that the nighthawker was hung on.

A small structure that resembled a dog house that was built over the iron mechanisms that operated the miter gate which was part of the lock system.

Leather straps and metal pieces to attach a mule to a plow or a cart.

An enclosed part of a canal with gates to change the water level for boats.

Moving along the canal in and out of locks.

Group of horses or mules that work together.

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