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Not a generic list of deals — real answers to the questions we asked ourselves before and during our 526 day journey across the world. Looking for the gear behind the photos instead? See our travel gear.
Every packing list for a long trip assumes you're packing for every climate you might hit along the way. We didn't. The actual strategy behind 526 days across 20 countries was routing the trip to chase good weather season to season, and buying or swapping pieces on the road when a leg didn't match what was already in the bag, rather than hauling a suitcase built to survive every climate on earth at once.
Read more →Short answer: no, not legally. A US driver's license is in English, and New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) rules let visitors drive on a valid overseas license without an IDP or translation, as long as it's in English. Where this gets confusing is that some rental companies ask for one anyway as their own policy, separate from the legal requirement — here's both, plus the actual time limit on how long you can drive on a US license before you'd need something else.
Read more →"Cover your shoulders and knees" gets repeated for every religious site on earth, but the real rules — and how strictly they're actually enforced — vary enormously by region. Morocco doesn't let most non-Muslims inside a mosque at all; Bali requires a specific sarong at nearly every temple; Japan barely enforces anything. Here's the real breakdown, region by region, from an actual trip through all of them.
Read more →Before a long trip, "do I need travel insurance" isn't really the question — the answer is yes. The real question is what it should actually cover, and how to tell a policy that's worth the cost from one that just looks reassuring on a comparison page.
Read more →Every hotel, café, and airport lounge on a long trip asks the same question — "connect to this WiFi?" — and the honest answer is that public networks are exactly as risky as people say, just easy to get complacent about after the fiftieth one. Here's what actually matters.
Read more →US passport holders still don't need a visa for a UK tourist trip — but this is one where the rules genuinely changed recently. Since 2025, visa-free visitors including Americans have to get an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) before they fly, and since February 2026 that requirement is actually enforced at check-in. Here's what it is, what it costs, and what to do before you book. (For US citizens visiting for tourism; confirm the current fee and process at the official gov.uk site before you travel.)
Read more →Landing in a new country and needing data before you've even found the exit is a solved problem three different ways now, and the annoying part is that none of them is universally best. Here's how eSIMs, physical local SIMs, and roaming on your home plan actually differ, and which one made sense on which leg of a 526-day, 20-country trip.
Read more →Search "travel insurance" and the results assume you mean a one- or two-week vacation, because that's what most people are buying. A multi-month or round-the-world trip isn't a bigger version of that same policy — it's often a genuinely different product, and buying the wrong type is how people end up with a real gap in coverage on week nine.
Read more →This is general orientation, not medical advice — the only reliable answer for what you personally need is from a doctor or travel medicine clinic who can look at your own vaccination history, your actual itinerary, and current outbreak advisories, all of which change and none of which we can assess for you here. What follows is the categories worth asking about, and what we personally got before a 526-day trip that included a fair amount of rural and off-grid travel.
Read more →Every camera bag looks reasonable in the week before a trip and ridiculous by week three. What follows isn't a generic gear list — it's what actually stayed in rotation across 526 days and 20 countries, and what got mailed home or sold off once it became clear it wasn't earning its weight.
Read more →"Just use your card" is decent advice in maybe two-thirds of the places we went, and actively wrong in the other third. Here's how cash and card actually split across 20 countries with very different payment norms, not a one-size-fits-all answer.
Read more →There's a real sweet spot for booking international flights, and it isn't the same number for every leg of a trip. Here's the actual timing that worked across 20 countries, and why the long-haul flights and the regional hops between them got booked on completely different schedules.
Read more →New Zealand is unusual in that it genuinely works well both ways — as a cruise stop and as a self-drive road trip — but the two aren't really comparable trips. One gets you a scenic look at the coast on a fixed schedule; the other gets you the whole country on your own timeline, at the cost of doing the driving and the logistics yourself.
Read more →These three get treated as one region, but tipping expectations shift as you move south. Croatia and Montenegro are fairly close to each other; Albania, the newest and least tourism-developed of the three, runs noticeably lighter. None of them are US-style mandatory-tipping cultures — think "not obligatory, but appreciated" everywhere, with the amount that actually gets appreciated varying by country.
Read more →These two get lumped together as "Southeast Asian temple etiquette," but they're genuinely different in practice. Vietnam's dress code exists but is enforced loosely almost everywhere; Bali's sarong-and-sash rule is specific, consistently required, and backed by an actual government tourist-conduct guideline, not just custom.
Read more →After Thailand's guarded checkpoints and Bali's sarong requirement, Japan is a genuine surprise: there's no enforced dress code at almost any temple or shrine, and no gatekeeper checking outfits. South Korea sits in between — a stated preference for modest dress that's rarely actually enforced.
Read more →Tipping has no traditional roots in Indonesian or Balinese culture, but tourism has made it increasingly common in Bali's visitor-heavy areas — think of it as genuine appreciation rather than an obligation, since that's closer to how it's actually treated locally.
Read more →Morocco works differently from most of the Muslim world on this: non-Muslims are barred from the interior of the vast majority of mosques, full stop, not just discouraged. There are two real exceptions where a non-Muslim can actually go inside, and Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca is the one nearly every visitor means when they ask about this. Here's the real dress code, plus what happens if you show up in shorts.
Read more →The rule at Thai temples (wat) is the same for everyone, not just women: shoulders and knees covered, full stop. The Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew in Bangkok enforce this the most strictly of anywhere in the country, with staff actually checking at the gate — smaller neighborhood temples are looser, but the baseline rule doesn't change.
Read more →This is written for US passport holders traveling to Japan for tourism, which is the good-news case: you don't need a visa arranged in advance. But "no visa" doesn't mean "nothing to know" — here's what actually applies at the border, and the situations where a visa does come into play. (Visa rules change, and they depend on your nationality — always confirm against Japan's official Ministry of Foreign Affairs guidance before you book.)
Read more →For US passport holders visiting Thailand as tourists, the short version is that you almost certainly don't need a visa arranged in advance for a normal trip. Thailand grants US citizens visa-exempt entry, and in 2024 it extended that window substantially. Here's what that actually covers, how to stretch it, and where it stops. (Entry rules shift — especially in Thailand, which has changed its exemption periods more than once — so confirm the current position with an official Thai source before you book.)
Read more →Like Vietnam, this is a yes — but an easy one: US passport holders need an ETA (Electronic Travel Authority) to visit Australia, and it's a quick app-based approval you get before you fly, not a consulate visa. The part that trips travelers up isn't the visa at all — it's Australia's biosecurity, which is some of the strictest on earth. Here's both. (For US citizens traveling as tourists; rules change, so confirm against the Australian Department of Home Affairs before you go.)
Read more →New Zealand works much like Australia: US passport holders don't need a full visa for a tourist trip, but you do need an NZeTA arranged before you fly — and you'll meet the strictest biosecurity check most travelers ever encounter, the one that really cares whether you've been near a farm. Here's how both work. (For US citizens traveling as tourists; rules change, so confirm against Immigration New Zealand before booking.)
Read more →Morocco calls it baksheesh, and it covers more ground than a restaurant tip — riad staff, desert guides, private drivers, even the person who carries your bags through a medina with no vehicle access. Here's what's actually expected where, and where it genuinely isn't (souk vendors don't expect a tip on top of a haggled price).
Read more →Tipping genuinely isn't part of traditional Vietnamese culture — it's rooted in a service-as-pride, not a service-for-profit, ethos, especially among older generations. That's changed unevenly: it's still optional at a local noodle stall, but close to expected for a multi-day tour guide. Here's where each rule actually applies.
Read more →Unlike Japan and Thailand, this one's a clear yes: US passport holders do need a visa to enter Vietnam. The good news is that it's an e-visa you apply for entirely online before you fly — no consulate visit — and since 2023 it's become genuinely straightforward. Here's how it actually works, and the one thing to be careful about. (This is for US citizens traveling for tourism; rules and the official portal change, so verify against Vietnam's official immigration site before applying.)
Read more →South Korea is a case where the technical rule and the practical rule are different, and it's worth knowing both. On paper, US travelers have needed a K-ETA (an electronic pre-travel authorization) since 2021. In practice, that requirement is currently suspended, and has been for a while — but the suspension has an end date, and it's worth knowing when it comes back. (For US citizens visiting for tourism or short business trips; confirm the current status close to your travel dates, since this has already been extended more than once.)
Read more →Spain is part of the Schengen Area, so the visa question for US travelers comes down to one rule shared across nearly 30 European countries, not something specific to Spain. The rule itself hasn't changed — but how it's enforced at the border has, with a new EU-wide biometric system that finished rolling out in 2026. Here's the actual mechanics, not just the headline answer. (For US citizens visiting for tourism; confirm current details at an official EU or Spanish government source before you book.)
Read more →Italy doesn't ask US tourists to sort out a visa before arriving. The real question, here as everywhere in the Schengen Area, is how the shared 90-day rule actually works, what changed recently with the new EU-wide biometric registration system, and a few things around hotel registration and city tourist taxes that genuinely are specific to Italy. (For US citizens visiting for tourism; confirm current details at an official EU or Italian government source before you book.)
Read more →US tourists don't need anything arranged in advance to visit Germany. Most of what matters here is the shared Schengen mechanics rather than anything unique to the country, but one thing is worth clearing up directly: Germany's residence-registration system (Anmeldung), which trips up a lot of longer-term expats and remote workers, doesn't apply to a normal tourist trip at all. Here's the actual detail. (For US citizens visiting for tourism; confirm current details at an official EU or German government source before you book.)
Read more →A trip to Prague, or anywhere else in the Czech Republic, runs on the same visa-free Schengen rule as the rest of the bloc for US tourists. Here's how that actually works, plus one genuinely Czech-specific registration rule that only matters if you're staying somewhere other than a normal hotel. (For US citizens visiting for tourism; confirm current details at an official EU or Czech government source before you book.)
Read more →Hungary follows the same Schengen visa-free framework as the rest of the bloc, with one genuinely distinctive exception: a longstanding bilateral agreement between the US and Hungary that lets Americans stay longer in Hungary specifically than the standard Schengen allowance permits elsewhere. That's the detail most "Schengen visa" articles miss entirely. (For US citizens visiting for tourism; confirm current details at an official Hungarian government source before you book.)
Read more →Romania is visa-free for US tourists under the standard Schengen rule, same as the rest of the bloc — but Romania is also one of the newest full Schengen members, having completed accession in stages through 2024 and 2025. That's a genuinely recent change worth understanding precisely, since a lot of older articles still describe an outdated, in-between status. (For US citizens visiting for tourism; confirm current details at an official EU or Romanian government source before you book.)
Read more →Croatia is visa-free for US tourists and, unlike Romania, has been a full Schengen member for a few years now — accession completed in early 2023. That makes Croatia a good example of what the other side of that transition looks like once it's fully settled, plus a couple of Croatia-specific rules around guest registration and tourist tax worth knowing before you check in anywhere. (For US citizens visiting for tourism; confirm current details at an official EU or Croatian government source before you book.)
Read more →Montenegro isn't in the EU or the Schengen Area, so its rules for US tourists run separately from the Schengen countries covered elsewhere in this series — but the practical answer is the same: no visa needed for a normal tourist trip. Here's what's actually required, including a registration rule that's automatic if you're staying somewhere licensed. (For US citizens visiting for tourism; confirm current details at an official Montenegrin or US government source before you book.)
Read more →Albania stands out from every other country in this series for one reason: US passport holders don't get the usual 90-day visa-free allowance here — they get up to a full year. It's a genuinely distinctive policy, and worth understanding precisely rather than assuming it works like everywhere else in the region. (For US citizens visiting for tourism; confirm current details at an official Albanian government source before you book.)
Read more →If you've read an older article about visiting Turkey, there's a good chance it told you to apply for an e-Visa online before you fly. That's out of date: as of January 1, 2024, ordinary US passport holders don't need a visa or e-Visa for Turkey at all for a normal tourist trip — a genuine reversal from the system that had been in place for years. Here's the current rule, correctly. (For US citizens with an ordinary tourist passport; confirm current details at an official Turkish or US government source before you book.)
Read more →Morocco is a straightforward visa-free destination for US tourists, with a stay limit that covers the overwhelming majority of trips people actually plan. Here's what the Moroccan National Tourist Office and the US State Department actually say, including a couple of points where the two sources don't perfectly agree — worth knowing rather than picking whichever number sounds better. (For US citizens visiting for tourism; confirm current details at an official Moroccan or US government source before you book.)
Read more →The Philippines is visa-free for US tourists, but with one real difference from a lot of other visa-free destinations: the onward-ticket requirement here isn't just something written into the fine print and ignored in practice — it's genuinely enforced. Here's what's actually required, and how a short visa-free stay can be extended into something much longer if you need it. (For US citizens visiting for tourism; confirm current details at an official Philippine government source before you book.)
Read more →Indonesia, including Bali, sits in a middle category a lot of travelers get wrong: it's not visa-free for US citizens, but it's also not a traditional visa you need to apply for at a consulate. It's an electronic Visa on Arrival (e-VOA), arranged online, and there's a separate one-time tourism fee specific to Bali that catches people off guard because it isn't part of the visa at all. Here's exactly how each piece works. (For US citizens visiting for tourism; confirm current details at an official Indonesian government source before you book.)
Read more →