Why are you taking this trip?

For the full story, check out our post on the subject. The short version is that we have always shared a love of travel and while were in the midst of planning our next trip, to SE Asia, we were becoming increasingly frustrated with the constraints on our ability to travel (time off from work, money, etc.). After consulting our “list of places we want to go” and doing some simple math, we realized that the only way to go where we wanted to go with our lives was to take some risks and throw ourselves into travel full-time. As Danielle often says, “go big, or go home.”

Doesn’t it cost a kazillion dollars?!

Nope! With some careful planning and saving, combined with some work to earn a few hundred thousand frequent flier miles, we were able to put together the required funds over the course of several months. We made sacrifices: we sold almost everything we owned, moved into a smaller rental house in a less convenient location, micromanaged our spending and saving, and took advantage of every single offer we could to get free money: “Open a bank account here and get $50 free!” Sure, thanks! “Sign up for this credit card and get 30k frequent flier miles!” Ok, great!

The bottom line is this – if you want to travel and you have a job, you can make this happen. Travelers have been getting trips like this done on $40/day (or less!) for decades, and we’re no different: we set a maximum budget during the trip of $85 dollars per day, did some math, and saved up the money.

Where are you going?

Our initial plan is to visit India, Morocco, South Africa, Turkey, Jordan, Israel, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. But a year is a long time, and plans change. We’re hitting India, Morocco, South Africa, and Turkey for sure (the tickets are already paid for), but we’ll be going with the flow and traveling to the places that interest us.

What’s with the name?

In August of 2013, we went with some friends to Sunset Cliffs Natural Park in San Diego to watch the sun set over the Pacific. While we were milling about, waiting for the sun to get lower in the sky, we noticed the phrase “Depart to Arrive” carved into the rock, and we loved it. We later learned it was carved by traveler and musician Kevin Miles, whose work you should immediately check out at www.departtoarrive.com. For more on the name, check out our post on the subject.

What kind of backpacks/luggage are you using, and what did you pack?

We’ve each got a 46 liter Osprey backpack. For all the details, check out our Packing and Planning page.

What kind of vaccines did you get, and what medicines are you traveling with?

In addition to the typical vaccinations you receive while growing up in the United States, we have been vaccinated against: Hepatitis A/B, Polio, Typhoid, Rabies, Japanese Encephalitis, and we got flu shots. We’ll be traveling with doxycycline to prevent malaria, which we will take in India and parts of SE Asia.

I have other questions!

Shoot us an email and we’ll be happy to answer them. We’ll be adding to this FAQ as the trip goes on, so be sure to check back from time to time.