Plan Your Escape: Secrets of Traveling the World for Less Than the Cost of Living at Home

By Wayne Dunlap

From a travel TV Host (Plan Your Escape), travel columnist for the Huffington Post and experienced traveler (100 countries), turn your travel dreams into reality with this acclaimed, groundbreaking, and inspiring how-to travel book. You will learn to safely travel and see more for half the cost for all trips from a weekend getaway to longer vacations and trips with comprehensive planning tools and checklists. You deserve this popular selling book! It makes a great gift that keeps on giving. Former economics professor tells 100's of powerful cost-saving and how-to travel tips revealing proven secrets the travel industry does not want you to know! Learn to get the best deals on airfare, hotels, tours, car rentals, restaurants, cruises, and more.

Both experienced and occasional travelers say Plan Your Escape, Secrets of Traveling the World for Less Than the Cost of Living at Home is an inspiring and comprehensive how-to travel book: "It gets people exploring possibilities they never thought of". It shatters common misconceptions about traveling showing you how traveling the world or living somewhere can be safer, easier, and more affordable than you think. This book gives you the practical resources, planning tools & checklists, cost-saving strategies, and tips missing in travel guidebooks.?

From experienced travelers who have visited 100 countries, you will learn how to:??
Discover 100's of cost-saving and bargain-finding strategies for all trips, even a weekend getaway, so powerful the authors were able to travel for 2 years for less than $100/day for a couple, which they could never have afforded otherwise
Get the best deals on airfare, hotels, cruises, tours, car rentals, restaurants, and more
Choose the right destination for you and plan your trip
Stay safe minimizing security risks far from home and tips and tools for maintaining a healthy lifestyle
Save time and money with hidden secrets - 200 of the best Internet travel websites and apps
Fall in love all over again! - how to bring you closer to a partner and how to get a reluctant partner to go travel, also great tips for solo travelers?
How-to-pack with comprehensive checklists for women and men - pack light, have more, and still be prepared
Reduce stress with step-by-step 5-month trip planning and preparation checklists and action steps
Useful travel tips for experienced, occasional, and beginning travelers for any trip or living somewhere for 1-2 weeks or longer like several months
Handle money & credit cards, Stay in touch cheaply with friends and family, Pay your bills online, Rent your home, Set up a travel blog, Take photos like a pro, and much more

The Dunlaps rented their home and traveled the world for 2 years and are members of the exclusive Travelers' Century Club visiting 100 countries on 6 continents as well as 44 U.S. states. They have done home exchanges, taken 27 cruises on 13 different cruise lines on ships ranging from 10 to 3,000 passengers, and over 100 trips together taking cars, trains, buses, organized tours, and independent travel all over the world. Traveling is their passion!

The Dunlaps have met scores of people along their worldwide journeys who asked hundreds of questions. They realized many people dream of taking a travel adventure but felt it would be too expensive with too many unknowns or didn't know the best way to pack or where to begin to make it actually happen. Plan Your Escape combines real-life answers with countless hours of research from travel experts.

The experienced traveler will learn at lot. For occasional travelers, they show you how to start out slow, choose the right trip for you, and work up to longer trips or stays. They present ideas about how to get a reluctant partner interested in travel and how to bring you closer together even on a 24/7 basis. Plan Your Escape is the travel-planning guide Americans need.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Oct 26, 2011
• ISBN: 9781456795689

Wayne Dunlap

Wayne Dunlap is a travel TV host (Plan Your Escape™) and travel columnist for the Huffington Post. Wayne and his wife, Pat, have been fortunate to live their dreams and are members of the exclusive Travelers' Century Club. In total, they have visited 100 countries and island groups on 6 continents as well as 44 U.S. states. Recently, they rented their home and traveled the world for 2 years visiting 51 countries. They have taken over 100 trips taking cars, trains, buses, and organized tours. They have also done home exchanges and taken 28 cruises on 13 different cruise lines on ships ranging from 10 to 3,000 passengers. They now enjoy most of their traveling independently on their own. The Dunlaps have been chosen “Best Boomer Travel Bloggers to Follow” and stories about their travel adventures have appeared in The Christian Science Monitor, Entrepreneur Magazine, and many others. Wayne has a burning passion for travel and being a former Economics professor, also has a sincere desire to inspire others to travel and see more for half the cost for all trips from a weekend getaway to longer vacations and trips, experience more adventure and romance, and safely realize their travel dreams with comprehensive planning tools and resources. You can arrange a Plan Your Escape™ travel seminar for your organization about great travel tips and inspirational stories. Wayne was a business owner, executive of high-tech companies, and an Economic professor after his PhD program at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). He is listed in Who's Who Among American Professionals. Pat is a winner of Entrepreneur of the Year for San Diego and says: "Choosing to run away with my husband and best friend, has been the most rewarding lifestyle change one can make and has brought us closer together." You can learn more about the Dunlaps and their worldwide travels and sign up for travel tips and cost-saving bargains at their: World Travel Adventures blog: http://www.UnhookNow.com Travel Book Website: http://www.PlanYourEscapeNow.com

Book preview

Contents

Acknowledgments

Preview

Introduction

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Appendix A

Appendix B

Appendix C

Appendix D

Appendix E

About the Author

I dedicate this book and the love and gratitude from which it was written to my wife, Pat. It is to her I owe much of my happiness and without her continued support this book would not exist.

Acknowledgments  

First I would like to thank all those travelers we have met and who enhanced our travel experience and knowledge. A special thanks goes out to travelers over the centuries that have blazed a path for the rest of us.

My wife, Pat, and son, Alden, have been instrumental in inspiring, contributing, and supporting the creation of this book. Alden did a great job designing the book cover. I offer thanks to Diane Uke and Tom and Kathy Lafleur who let us stay with them between trips while our home was rented and to Bill & Pat Allen who provided valuable editing comments.

I would like to express my gratitude to Sarah Gamber, David & Anna Smith, Bob & Susan Kovitz, Susie & Steve Ladow, Pat & Bill Allen, Joe & Dolores Mos, Aki & Kay Sasaji, Cheri Sogsti & Greg Retkowski, Andy Achterkirchen, Noelia Da Mata, Kristy-Lee May, and Bruce Sherman who have provided their travel insights that appear in Appendix A. This book is better because of them.

Finally, I acknowledge Ariela Wilcox, a literary agent in Del Mar, California, who believed in this book from the first time we met in line at the post office and has expertly coached me through the process of getting it published and into your hands.

Preview  

Do you dream about traveling the world or living somewhere for a few weeks to a month or more but don’t know how you could afford it or even think it is possible? Now you can do it! We reveal proven secrets the travel industry would prefer you did not know and how to give your life more meaning through travel.

Plan Your Escape, Secrets of Traveling the World for Less Than the Cost of Living at Home is a comprehensive step-by-step how-to-do-it guide essential for turning your travel dreams into reality making travel an adventure, not a problem. We show you how traveling the world or living somewhere for 1-2 weeks or 2-6 months can be safer, easier, and more affordable than you think. This book gives you the practical resources and advice missing in travel guidebooks.

We reveal hundreds of cost-saving tips and bargain-finding strategies so powerful we were able to travel the world for months, which we could never have afforded otherwise. With these tips, worth 100’s of times the cost of this book, you can stretch your typical vacation costs to cover a month or more of travel. In many places in the world we learned how to do it for less than a $100 a day for the both of us and we show you how you can too!

My wife, Pat, who joined me on our worldwide travel adventures calls this the how-to-do Eat, Pray, Love book. She says: Having had it all, but choosing to run away with my husband and best friend, has been the most rewarding lifestyle change one can make and has brought us closer together.

My wife and I sold our business, rented our home, and traveled the world for 2 years visiting 51 countries and are members of the exclusive Travelers’ Century Club. In total we have visited 100 countries and island groups on 6 continents as well as 43 states in the U.S. We have done home exchanges and taken 26 cruises on 12 different cruise lines on ships ranging from 10 to 3,000 passengers as well as over 70 trips together taking cars, trains, buses, organized tours, and independent travel all over the world. Traveling is our passion!

We met scores of people along our worldwide journeys who asked hundreds of questions. We realized many people dream of taking a travel adventure but felt it would be too expensive with too many unknowns or didn’t know the best way to pack or where to begin to make it actually happen. This detailed book combines real-life answers with countless hours of research from travel experts. We address the concerns you may have as well as the ones you may yet be aware of. We wish we had this book when we started.

We show you how to start out slow, choose the right trip for you, and work up to longer trips or stays. We present ideas about how to get a reluctant partner interested in travel and how to bring you closer together even on a 24/7 basis. Plan Your Escape is the travel-planning guide Americans need. You too can unhook from your current routines and live your travel dreams.

In addition to having hundreds of practical ideas with easy to follow step-by-step planning and organizational guidelines, Plan Your Escape addresses many other concerns Americans have about traveling and living away somewhere. It starts with a focus on fears and uncertainties. It goes on to refute the myth that extended travel and stays are just for the rich. Included to assist Americans in achieving their travel dreams are comprehensive packing check-off lists for women and men, a five-month planning and preparation guideline for getting started, practical travel advice from other experienced travelers, and ways to save time and money from extensive up-to-date hidden secrets from the best Internet travel websites and smartphone apps. Also included is the most current information on how to: pack less and have more, save money, stay safe and healthy, choose your designation, plan your trip, avoid tourist scams, pay your bills, stay in touch, set up a travel blog, take travel photos like a pro, and deal with your home and possessions.

We went to see the world and were pleasantly surprised how the experience improved our life. Plan Your Escape also provides insight for the wonderful life changing aspect a travel or living-away adventure can have on you and will greatly improve your enjoyment of your life and give it more meaning. It is no longer the exclusive privilege of the young to leave behind responsibilities at home and work to seek adventure.

Numerous research studies have shown that the natural high that comes from dopamine flooding your brain when you buy something new is temporary. The high from stuff goes away and you have to continue buying more to get the high again. These studies also show your pleasurable memories of travel experiences remain with you the rest of your life.

Now is the time to learn how to take and how you can afford a travel or living-away adventure that will improve your life forever!

Plan Your Escape Now!

Introduction  

We had it all! We studied and worked long and hard for decades and achieved the American dream-beautiful home and furnishings, successful business, good friends, lovely parties and dining out, luxury cars, wonderful vacations, and a comfortable routine. But we spent our lives working to pay for all of it with much of our weekends maintaining all the stuff. One day we had enough. We wanted to fill our car with gas, drive anywhere until it stopped, and start a new life.

Why? Is the American dream enough? There had to be more to life. We learned much more about ourselves traveling around the world for two years visiting 51 countries (and are members of the exclusive Travelers’ Century Club, having visited 100 countries and island groups on 6 continents as well as 43 states in the U.S.). Believe us, there is so much more to life than we thought.

Come take a dream journey with us. Close your eyes. Remember it’s just a dream. Image you are traveling the world cruising the islands of the Caribbean, having a margarita under a palapa on a warm sandy Mexican beach, staying a couple of weeks in the Alsace wine villages in France, visiting beautiful exotic island beaches in Thailand, wandering the Champs Elysees and the Eiffel Tower in Paris, enjoying sexy tango dancers in the streets of Buenos Aires, climbing the steps of the Great Wall in China, admiring the grand spectacle of the Great Pyramids of Giza, hiking in a rain forest in Costa Rica, witnessing the glory of Argentina’s Iguazu Falls or America’s Grand Canyon, adventuring the ancient rock-carved city of Petra or the magical ruins of Machu Picchu, living a month in a villa in Tuscany, and more.

How about simple delights like falling asleep on a white sandy beach under a palm tree while listening to the waves gently wash ashore, pulling into an exotic port of call on a cruise ship, watching the sun set over the ocean while having a wonderful dinner, swimming with dolphins in warm ocean waters, learning to cook real Italian food (or just eating it!), having a picnic on a sunny day tasting fine wines overlooking elegant vineyards, or waking up to days full of promise and excitement? How about not having to go home after a wonderful vacation?

Keep your eyes closed… your dream continues. Imagine places you have always wanted to see. In your dreams, the world is at your feet and month after month you travel to places you have only dreamed about, spending time to get to know the place and people not as a tourist but as a traveler experiencing and learning much more how to enjoy your life. The world is a wonderful place! Now, stop reading. actually close your eyes and take a dream travel journey-you know the one you have wished for.

Finished dreaming? Welcome back to the reality of your job, errands, meetings, traffic, long days, bills, family, house, shopping, cooking, cleaning, laundry, mortgage/rent, pets, maintenance of your yard and stuff, repairs, projects, the ringing phone, demanding people, negative news, obligations, commitments, expectations, worries, routines, and everything else keeping us from living our dreams.

One day is much like the next wishing for the weekends that end too soon because we need to take care of so many things. We change jobs or routines, take short vacations, move the furniture around, buy new things, stay busy with errands, and try to relax watching too much TV. In spite of everything we do it never seems quite enough. Think about it. if our coveted ‘lifestyle’ routines were so fulfilling and desirable, wouldn’t there be shelves of books about The Joys of Living a Routine?

Something is missing. what about our dreams? What if your dreams can actually be your reality where everyday is an experience you choose and you wake up excited about the day? Can you really live your dream?

You can! My wife and I did it. We unhooked from what was expected of us and traveled the world for 2 years visiting 51 counties. In total, 100 countries and island groups in our lifetime. The experience has permanently improved our lives. much more than we ever could have imaged!

Plan Your Escape Now!

Chapter 1  

Don’t Wait Until ‘Someday’

In this chapter…

Why We Procrastinate-Inertia and Fear

Overcoming Fear of Travel

Turning Dreams and Goals into a Plan of Action

We have all said it… Someday I will      . You can fill the blank.

Because you are reading this book, you probably have also said "Someday

I would like to travel to and see      ". Many of us dream about traveling the world or experiencing living somewhere for a while. All too many people get to a point in their lives when achieving travel dreams is impractical, resulting in regrets. What holds us back from realizing our dreams while we are healthy and still able to do so? Something we take for granted that can change at any time.

Why We Procrastinate-Inertia and Fear

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.

~ Mark Twain

Without new experiences, something inside of us sleeps. The sleeper must awaken.

~ Frank Herbert

Procrastination can come from several things such as disinterest, inertia, and fear. You have already expressed an interest in travel by reading this book leaving inertia and fear.

Inertia

Inertia keeps us in familiar routines. We have spent a large portion of our lives doing what others tell us to do-school, college, job, marriage, children, house, and work to pay for all of it. It becomes more difficult to start something new than to keep doing what we are familiar with. Beliefs are easier to hang onto than to reevaluate.

Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.

~ Mark Twain

Many of us believe a travel adventure would be wonderful but we worry that major changes are not going to be easy. This causes us to be intimidated and uncomfortable. So we make excuses and put our dreams off to another day. We continue doing the same things in our comfort zone. Tomorrow quickly becomes next month, next year, never, or even worse; past the point in your life when you have health and physical problems so you must live with regrets.

You are born, live, and then die. These are the cards we have been dealt-no way out. Our human mortality is not something we like to think about, but we should. Instead of ignoring or fearing our mortality we should view it as a wake up call. Yes, our time alive on this earth will run out and before that we will become unable to do many of the things we want to do. If we had infinite time we could take all the time we want to live this wonderful experience but the reality is we don’t have unlimited time. So, we should make use of every day before physical and other limitations start to exclude possibilities.

Fear

Fear is not a sign of weakness. It affects all of us. If we let it, fear can paralyze us into inaction. There are so many possible fears.

•   Isn’t the world a scary place?

•   Do we have the abilities to do this?

•   How can we afford a travel adventure?

•   Won’t we miss our friends and family? Don’t they need us?

•   What about our home and possessions?

•   How do you plan for a longer trip or stay? How do I make time to do so?

•   What will we do if we get sick?

•   What if I make a mistake?

•   Are we worthy of such an adventure?

•   What if your family and friends start disliking you for doing something different with your life?

•   Can anything be better than our current lives?… and the list goes on and on.

Most of these ‘fears’ are actually uncertainties-fear of the unknown. In this book, we provide realistic answers to these unknowns and many more travel challenges. When it comes to travel, countless millions of people have done it before you, making it straightforward to follow them. Also, there are millions of people dedicated to the travel industry everywhere in the world to help you.

I’ve had many troubles in my life, most of which never happened.

~ Mark Twain

All too often we let rationalization of fears overwhelm us causing us to take the safe path. It is usually the case that most of what we perceive as fears never happens. It’s the concerns and beliefs we project onto every situation that create our fears. The important thing is to avoid mistaking our thoughts for reality. Playing it safe can kill your dreams by telling yourself they were never worth pursuing and you were only kidding yourself because you were never good enough to make them real.

It is often safer to be in chains than to be free.

~ Franz Kafka

We do not recommend foolish or risky behavior. Sometimes playing it safe is important but when we let ourselves be held back because of uncertainties or not wanting to be different from others is when we opt for playing it safe over living our dreams. This causes us to feel unfulfilled where dreams and happiness remain out of reach.

We have been conditioned to think we should avoid anything that causes any fear. In many cases, this is too strict of a rule. Fear is a natural emotion that comes up in many situations and should be respected to save us from bad experiences. Sometimes venturing into the unknown can be good because it lets us know we are exploring the potential of our time on this earth and makes us feel more alive.

Nothing will ever be attempted, if all possible objections must first be overcome.

~ Samuel Johnson

Fortunately, you are much more capable than you think and your dream of travel is achievable. With the practical ideas presented in this book and a little determination, you can overcome possible hurdles (real and perceived). Once the decision is made and you achieve your dreams of travel, you will discover most of your ‘fears’ were just not as insurmountable as you believed.

Overcoming Fear of Travel

Whether you believe you can or you can’t, you’re right.

~ Henry Ford

We need to learn the difference between the fear that keeps us alive and the fear that keeps us from living. The first can save you from potential dangerous things like dark alleyways and sleazy characters. The fear that keeps us from living is of the unknown. It limits our potential for wonderful things

There are several varieties of fears we have about traveling to new places. First, the numerous issues involved with the practicalities of travel keep many from considering travel adventures. This book offers practical solutions to many concerns you may have as well as the ones you may yet be aware of that may keep you from traveling the world.

Isn’t the World a Scary Place?

Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood.

~ Marie Curie

When negative things happen, it is natural for us to worry and plan around it. It is unfortunate this natural human tendency also keeps us from doing some of the most rewarding things in life. Sometimes it causes us to go out of our way to avoid possible danger we read about in biased and sensationalized media stories.

Real or exaggerated, we cannot change our media’s reporting of stories. What we can change is our reaction to the fear. We can accept fear is a natural human emotion, understand it, and move on without letting the daily news imprison us.

Hollywood movies and TV shows are exported all over the world. Guns, shootings, explosions, car chases, and scandals influence people around the world about our daily life. We had a wonderful guide in Japan who showed us some interesting things in her city for a day. When we took her to lunch, we learned her favorite American TV shows were Real Housewives and OC. She believed most Americans lived this way and was surprised when we explained to her it was just ‘Hollywood’. Our media gives us the same impression of people living in other parts of the world.

Photos of the worst part of any disaster or disturbance are shown and stories are often exaggerated to seem shocking in order to ‘sell’ the story. We can overcome knee-jerk reactions with perspective, not reaction. It is better to understand the circumstances by reading several sources about an event or place with a bad reputation and decide for yourself. Keep in mind that many events are isolated within a small area. The whole country is rarely affected. In time things return to normal. We view many ‘disasters’ as opportunities to achieve great travel bargains-see the section Follow the Disaster in Chapter 7 (Finding Great Travel Bargains).

People seem to need the stimulation derived from fear so the news media dishes it out to us daily making the world appear to be an awful place. Think about it. in a world of nearly 7 billion people, is the real ‘news’ only about crashes, killings, wars, disasters, scandals, and hate?-of course not. We have found the best way to overcome the fear initiated by our negative media is to turn off the ‘news’.

We have learned the world is a much less scary place than we were led to believe. We have traveled to 100 countries and island groups as recognized by the exclusive Travelers’ Century Club including several months in Islamic countries. All over the world people have been friendly and kind to us. Their values are not much different from ours. They want to live their lives well, support their families, and be good human beings.

We have met hundreds of world travelers and not a single one has told us the world is a scary place. Quite the contrary, they tell us how lovely people around the world are and what a beautiful wonderful world we live on. And we agree!

We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.

-Jawaharial Nehru

Turning Dreams and Goals into a Plan of Action

Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.

~ Henry David Thoreau

We are all busy so how do we have time to prepare and plan a travel adventure? Start by cutting back on the distractions. Be honest with yourself and evaluate your daily schedule. How much time do you spend watching TV and movies, reading escape novels, shopping, chatting on the phone, reading and sending e-mail and text messages, surfing the Internet, or playing video games? For most of us it is hours each day that could easily be devoted to making plans to achieve our dreams and goals. Tim Ferriss, author of the best selling book The 4-Hour Workweek, reminds us to ask: Am I inventing things to avoid the important?

Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle.

~ Abraham Lincoln

To accomplish new goals and dreams, you have to get off autopilot and change goals to plans. If you do not plan for a travel adventure you will never get there. Start by focusing on the wonderful experiences you will have instead of fears. Write down what you want to do and where you want to visit. Then tell yourself you deserve to live your life to the fullest and you can do it.

Dreams are messages sent by talent.

~ Barbara Sher, author, It’s Only too Late if You Don’t Start Now

Go to Chapter 6 (How Planning Can Enhance Your Experience) to help you formulate a travel plan best for you. Then go to Chapter 17 (Getting Started on Your Travel Adventure-A Step-by-Step Guide) and follow the step-by-step guidelines. By taking action to change your goals into a plan you are on your way.

Take the first step today and you will be on the road enjoying your dream travel adventure before you know it.

To get you excited, in the next chapter we describe how travel can improve the rest of your life.

Chapter 2  

Travel Can Improve Your Life

In this chapter…

Renew Your Playful Spirit and Love of Life Improve Your Health and Creativity Have an Adventure

Letting Go-A Reevaluation of What is Important A New