It's all in the Planning...

On a trip that spans 12 months, 32,000 miles and hundreds of hours in planes, cars and boats, there are a lot of factors that go into making it a success. Divine intervention, luck, aligning yourselves with smart people that have done similar things, and planning. Here's the checklist that we used to create our plan.

Research and Plan Trip by reading “First Time Around the World,” ”Lonely Planet,” “Practical Nomad.”

Explore country backgrounds; US State Department travel warnings...

Book first week in Perth, Galapagos, Thailand, S. Africa, Mauritius, with Intrepid tours.

Check out hostels.

Spanish school reservations.

New Zealand discount card.

Star Alliance membership for frequent flyer miles.

1st & 2nd grade computer games for Dominique.

Get Immunizations/ health/ dental check-ups

HIV testing requirement?

Follow up shots required?

http://www.who.int/countries/en/

We all had to get tetanus and Hepatitis A shots. Nicky and I also had to get Yellow Fever shots. We will take malaria and typhoid pills with us.

Insurance—trip interruption; combine with medical?

http://www.worldtravelcenter.com

Trip protection for last 6 months

Emergency medical for last 6 months- Medjet assist

Renew Dominique’s passport.

Get visas’—Australia is the only country that we need to get a visa prior to entering the country. ETA

International driver’s licenses.

Shore up home finances- invest in money market, CDs, kids’ education.

Get new credit cards.

Get additional passport pictures.

Home school- make sure no testing/ paperwork requirements.

Get Amex.

Buy unlocked GSM tri-mode phone.

Website: Worldsmartkids

Designed, maintain & updated by my brother, Kevin Rousseau

Tax return preparation, documents.

Close out home

Forward mail

House sitter—where to send for deposit?

House sitting agreement

Finances- auto pay, power of attorney

Leave copies of passports, visas, health-cards, tickets, insurance cards and claim forms, itinerary, credit cards, wills, insurance documents, valuables

Pack:

Backpacks/ day pack/ money pouch

First aid kit

• Malaria pills
• Pepto bismol/ anti-diarrhea pills
• Band aids
• Motion sickness pills
• Antibiotic lotion
• Benedryl/ antihistamine
• Ibuprofen/ children’s Tylenol
• Hemorrhoid medicine
• Tweezers/ safety pin
• Thermometer
• Sealed disposable sterile syringes
• Water purification tablets

Rain ponchos

Cold weather clothes, hat—not jeans (too difficult to wash)

Warm weather clothes

Bathing suits

Sandals/ sneakers

Games- pick-up sticks, cards, frisbee

Small gifts/ tokens to trade

Flash light

Sleep sheets?

Journal

Camera, video camera

Computer, Blackberry

Electrical converters

Banjo

Stroller?

Binoculars?

Travel towel

Floaties

Pullups

Dive cards

Swiss army knife

Tool kit?- Duct tape, super glue, sewing kit etc.

Toilet paper?

Books—guides, reading, education

Spanish/ English dictionary

Passports (complete emergency info; confirm >6 mth expiration)/ visas/ immunization card/ insurance card and claim forms, copies, extra passport pictures

Wallet- Cash, copies of credit cards; leave behind SS card, extra credit cards, items we won’t use

Tickets

Sunglasses/ hats

Toiletries

• Mosquito repellant
• Sunscreen
• Shampoo/ conditioner/ tangle spray
• Razors/ shaving cream/ aftershave
• Nose spray
• Retainer
• Deodorant
• Toothbrushes/ toothpaste
• Chapstick
• Brush
• Lotion- face, body
• Hairbrush
• Vitamins
• Tampons
• Anti-biotic soap

Register trip with Embassies

Review current public announcements

Reconfirm flights.

Get remaining tickets—check out intra-country flights/ air passes; Airtreks to send booked tickets in January

Hertz frequent renter card.

Electronics Stuff

Dell Inspiron 700m laptop

• Extra 8-cell battery
• AC adapter
• Misc cables
• This is a small 4.3lbs laptop with a 60gig HD. We’ll use it for email, VOIP communications, website updates, and as a backup for movies for the kids.

Polaroid DVD Player PDM-0711

• Extra 8-cell battery
• AC adapter
• 15 movies on DVD for the kids
• What can you say? With hundreds of hours on planes and cars we need to entertain the girls somehow. They quickly get tired of my finger puppet shows.

Sony Digital Handycam DCR-PC101

• AC adapter
• 4 DV tapes
• Extra battery
• We might be able to put some video on the website. Depends on internet availability and speed.

Canon SD450 digital camera

• Extra battery
• Charger
• Pretty cool little camera. Quick shutter speed, good quality prints. I bought the high-speed SD card which really made a difference in the speed of the camera.

Two world electric adapters with surge suppression

• We’re fortunate that all of our electronic gear is dual-wattage so we don’t have to carry a transformer. Transformers can be expensive and heavy.

60gig video iPod

• This carries a lot of audiobooks, courses on tape, and backup videos for the girls.

Motorola Timeport tri-mode GSM world phone, unlocked

• Our plan is to buy a SIM card in each country we visit. They range from $40-80.

Timex expedition watch with digital compass

Other stuff

28” Pathfinder Revolution roller suitcase

26” Pathfinder Revolution roller suitcase

Two REI Traverse backpacks

• The choice of the suitcase/backpacks is a pretty important one. We’re going to be piling on the miles in planes, checking through the big suitcases, and getting the beat up in every way imaginable. So we not only have to make sure the cases are gonna hold up, but also are light enough so we don’t exceed the airlines weight limit. In preparing our suitcases and backpacks we had to focus on, “light and small.”

Clothes

• We plan on 5 shirts, 3 shorts, 2 long pants, half a dozen each socks and underwear. Hey, underwear has two sides, right?

Toiletries

Wet wipes

Two first aid kits

Sewing kit

Two small rolls duct tape

Chinese survival tool-- knife, ruler, can opener, bottle cap lifter, wrench, screwdriver, and file all in a 1.2oz package.

International Driving Permit

Two sets of extra passport pictures for each person

Malaria and typhoid pills for everyone

Portable door lock

Ponchos

Two small rolls of toilet paper

Suitcase locks

Leatherman knife

Nylon cord for clothesline

Kwikpoint International Translator

Four mini-maglites flashlights with replacement bulbs

Passports

Copies of passports