Why long-term travel is not the same as a long-term holiday

Over on Instagram, we have a little community of other long-term travellers, people who are looking for tips and recommendations and a few who are maybe inspired by our lifestyle. We will often see all the glamourous or posed shots of pristine beaches, luxury hotels and expensive restaurants but so rarely do you get to see the reality of long-term travel. Here’s just a glimpse of what it’s really like…

Now, don’t get me wrong, we are incredibly grateful to be in a position where we can live this lifestyle and to be totally transparent our first year of travel was paid for through inheritance, we took money from a house sale and decided to travel together rather than invest in a house of our own. Experiences over things, always. But we caught the travel bug and decided that we’re not ready to come back to the UK full-time, instead we want to create a lifestyle that allows us to work online and live anywhere in the world with a good internet connection.

Carl now works for a global photography business that creates diverse and inclusive stock imagery and I am a self-employed virtual assistant, which has taken me around a year to set up and book enough clients to make a sustainable income.

Now, as much as we love this lifestyle it is definitely not the same as taking a long holiday, it may appear this way online but please don’t be fooled. There are so many things you sacrifice when you decide to travel long-term, here are just a few:

not seeing friends and family for extended periods of time and missing out on celebrations
moving around and never really settling in one place
having to squeeze your life into a small suitcase or rucksack
not having all the kitchen equipment you need or a cupboard brimming with spices (that might just be a me thing)
dealing with an array of creatures looking for free accommodation – big spiders, giant snails, all sorts of lizards and geckos, mice and not to mention, mosquitos
trying to work out how to get your clothes clean – translating washing machine dials is a hobby of mine
not being able to buy all of those beautiful trinkets and homewares you see on your travels as your suitcase is already bursting at the seams
trying to manage your banking from abroad, with premium-rate numbers, long hold times and being in a different time zone
just trying to get any life admin done, this always feels so difficult when we’re away
having to manage visas and applications, these are often tricky, expensive and time-consuming
plans changing last minute and trying to find suitable flights or accommodation that don’t cost the earth
being stuck for hours in airports, ferry ports and bus terminals
not having the convenience of ordering what you need online as you’re never in one place long enough
spending silly amounts of money on imported boxes of Twinnings Earl Grey tea, crumpets, Marmite, ginger nut biscuits and chocolate hobnobs because you miss home comforts
communication barriers, especially surrounding healthcare
getting a sickness bug or worst still, Covid, whilst you’re staying in a small studio apartment with no aircon and it’s 1,000 degrees outside

These are just a small number of things that are more difficult when you’re spending extended periods away from home. Here are a few more photos to give you an idea, I’m especially fond of our Croatian washing machine instructions and positive Covid tests…

Having said all that we wouldn’t change a thing, long-term travel is the biggest adventure and one of the most incredible things we’ve ever done, being able to live and work from anywhere we choose is a privilege and we enjoy all the highs and lows of long-term travel. Just remember the next time you see all the beautiful beaches and fine dining restaurants on social media, there are often times you will spend two hours trying to find good wi-fi, your beach day plans are washed away with the torrential downpours and more often than not you’re microwaving cheap noodles from the 7/11 or ordering Burger King for dinner because you just haven’t got the energy to go out.

There are so many ‘pinch yourself’ moments that you get when living this lifestyle but I suppose the point of all this is to remind you that you shouldn’t always believe those airbrushed photos on social media as there’s a lot more to the story…

Just to prove we actually love travelling, here’s just a small number of our ‘pinch me’ moments from the last two years…