What is in it

Part one, the journey

Eight chapters, in the order a trip actually happens. Read before you go.

1. 1. Philosophy and foundation

   Why you are going, what shape this trip is, who you are going with, how long you can really go for, and what you have heard about the place versus what is true.

2. 2. The money

   What it actually costs including the layer nobody counts. Cards, fees, and the ATM trap. What unfamiliar currency does to your judgement.

3. 3. Booking

   When to book a flight and why the fare arc is real. Direct or third party. Where to sleep. The incognito myth.

4. 4. The paperwork

   Passport validity and the trap that ends trips at check-in. Visas, insurance, medication across borders, and a countdown from six months out.

5. 5. The bag

   One bag. Technology. Clothes. The what-if pouch. The day before.

6. 6. Being there

   Finding your way, what things should cost, understanding where you are, jet lag, transport, being a decent guest, and doing the opposite once.

7. 7. When it goes wrong

   Passport gone. Ill or injured. Flight cancelled. No access to money. And the page to read when everything is wrong at once.

8. 8. After

   Points and miles honestly. Could you live there. Coming home, which is harder than people expect. And thirteen questions for the flight back.

Part two, the field manual

Fifty-seven entries, A to Z. Open this while you are there.

Allergies and dietary requirements · Altitude · Animals · Bargaining · Bedbugs · Border crossings by land · Buses, long distance · Cash, carrying · Cold weather · Couchsurfing and hosted stays · Diarrhoea and stomach illness · Driving abroad · Eating alone · Feet · Ferries · Festivals and public holidays · Food safety · Group tours · Guides, hiring · Haircuts and everyday services · Hiking and the outdoors · Hostels, how they work · Insects and bites · Language, learning enough · Laundry · LGBTQ+ travel · Loneliness · Mail and post · Meeting people · Museums and sites · Night buses and sleeper trains · Noise and sleep · Periods while travelling · Photography · Rain · Returning to the same place · Road trips · Scams, common structures · Shopping and bringing things home · Sim cards · Smoking, drinking and drugs · Solo travel · Staying in touch · Sun and heat · Swimming and water safety · Taxes and admin while away · Taxis and ride-hailing · Tipping · Toilets · Trains · Travelling while pregnant · Travelling with a disability · Visiting religious sites · Volunteering and work exchange · Water, drinking · Wifi and connectivity · Working while travelling

Also in the book

• The Small Things

  One page of habits that take a minute each.

• Finding things

  Six ways in, including a table for when something has just happened.

• Support

  What helps now, and a note that donations and the fundraiser come later.