The sole document required (if only this were true).

1. Passport. OK, so lets get the obvious one out the way :  your passport.  Forget it and you will be staying at home. The only thing to note regarding this document is that in some countries you are required to have 6 months remaining on your passport before you leave that country. So if yours is going to be expiring soon, or fall into this period whilst away, then get it renewed before you go.

2. Tickets. Another obvious one, as you won't get far without your tickets. Although you do have some options regarding your flights: you can either buy a round the world ticket or simply pay as you go. There are pros and cons to both,  so I'll list them below.

Round The World (RTW) Flight Ticket Vs Pay As You Go (PAYG) Flight Ticket

 

RTW Vs PAYG Flights : Planning

 

• A RTW ticket requires a lot more planning. It's not set in stone, but changes aren't always straight forward and there is usually an administration charge per change (around £20 GBP) . So you need to decide roughly how long you plan to be in each country and when your entry and exit points are. 

• A  PAYG ticket gives total freedom. You book flight when you need them and spend as little or as long as you want in a country. 
   

 

RTW Vs PAYG Flights : Cost

 

• A RTW ticket is usually cheaper than PAYG. RTW tickets can range between £800 to £1700. 

• Once a RTW ticket is paid for in full, then the price cannot change.  

• PAYG can be expensive, single flights can actually cost more than returns and late bookings can work both for and against you. 

• With PAYG, if the price of flying increases in general (say the price of oil goes up) then your ticket prices will rise too. 
   

 

RTW Vs PAYG Flights : Limitations

 

• A typical RTW ticket has the following restrictions: You must choose a maximum of 7 destinations (stops) around the world, you are limited to 30,000 miles of flying, you must continue to fly in the same direction (i.e. east to west or west to east).  Note: Figures may vary from airline to airline : some airlines allow you to top up the 30,000 miles flying limit at additional cost, some allow a 45,000 miles limit, some allow more stops, etc. 

• RTW tickets can still be combined with any other transport you may wish to use, including other flights.

• A RTW ticket is always there for you. If you run out of money whilst travelling you will still have a flight home. 

•  PAYG is only limited by the amount of money available. Of course, if you run out of money whilst travelling then you won't be flying home. 
   

It's a tough choice, and a lot depends on the type of trip you are planning. If it's a trip that involves lots of stops on different continents, something like  Europe to N. America, N.America to S. America, S.America to Oceania, Oceania to Asia and Asia back to Europe then I'd use a RTW ticket to take care of the major long haul flights and then take advantage of local operators for any internal flights. Budget airlines exist on most continents, so once there, if you have a good distance to travel across a country, then you can always book a budget airline.

Obviously you can travel overland too, but what ever you book, it can all be sorted out closer to the time of arrival in that specific country. A RTW ticket places a basic route in place, it may take you to Australia but you won't have to decide what to do there until you arrive, so the adventure still remains. The cost can be paid for and forgotten about once the trip is underway, which is also a good thing. For those reason I'd choose a RTW ticket over a PAYG ticket nearly every time.

Accommodation - No Tickets Needed

It depends on personality, some people like to book everything and everywhere they stay well in advance, others like to book nothing and just turn up. Hostels allow you to do both, but the latter does not guarantee you a bed.

The Internet makes it incredibly easy to find and book hostels, so you can always find a happy medium between the two and simply book places online a few days in advance. That way the adventure and freedom remains and yet you know you have a bed when you turn up. And the great thing about booking online is that you get zero weight e-tickets.

Too Many Tickets?

If you don't have an e-ticket and only have the paper variety (common with round the world flight tickets) then all of these must come with you. Now, you may find you have quite a few e-tickets in your inbox too, so just print the ones that you are going to be using in your first week away.  Although they may not be necessary, it'll just make the 1st week that bit easier whilst you find your feet.

So here's a brief list of tickets you'll probably be taking:

• Flight Tickets
   
• Train Tickets
   
• Trip Tickets \ Vouchers
   If you have a group trip planned then don't forget to take proof of purchase.
   
• 1st Weeks Worth of Accommodation e-Tickets
  If you are wondering what you'll do after the first week, don't worry, it's easy. Everywhere you stay will require proof of id and many will require a booking reference. The former is your passport and the latter can be jotted down from an e-ticket . Internet cafés are everywhere in the world, so you will always have access to your e-tickets and any advanced booking you have made.

3. Visas. Next to consider are visas, visas and more visas. Put simply, depending on the passport you carry, some countries require you to have a visa before you can enter that country.  The easy part is the visa itself , it's usually just a piece of paper that is attached to your passport. The hard part is finding out firstly if it's necessary to have a visa, and if so, how are you going to get one. I'm afraid this requires quite a bit of research so here are some tips on working out which visas you need.

 

Visa Tips

 

• Make a list of all the countries you will be visiting and others that you just might visit.
   

• Visit your government's website, search online or try  http://www.projectvisa.com to see if you need an entry visa. 
   

• If you need a visa then check the following :
   

  • How long is it valid for once you've applied for it? You don't want it to expire before you even arrive.
     

  • Does it cater for multiple or single entries into the country? If you are to be popping in and out of the country then you'll require multiple entry. 
     

  • Does it allow for the duration that you are planning to be in that country for? No point having a 1 month stay if the visa will run out after 3 weeks.
     

  • Does it have any other strange requirements? i.e. Must you show an exit ticket with your visa?
    
     

• Check if you can apply for the visa online? You can for Australia and other countries are sure to follow suit.
   

• If you are away for a long time then you may find that you will have to apply for visas whilst en-route. This can be done at the countries embassies. If this is the case then you have more leg work to do and will have to consider the following:
   

  • You will have to find where the closest embassy is to your trip itinerary.
     

  • How long will it take for them to process your visa? You may find yourself staying somewhere longer than expected while you wait for a visa to be processed
     

  • Does the embassies offer an express service, i.e. You'll get the visa within 24 hours, but how much more does this cost?
     

  • Don't just assume that if you're in town for a week, at the right place, at the right time, then you can walk in the Embassy and collect your visa. Embassies can have 2 sets of public holidays: one for the country they represent and one for the country they are located in. So check all these dates.
    
    An excellent way to find out when the public holidays actually are is by using a Google Calendar (NB: Google \ Gmail account is needed). You can find a list of public holidays by country in the Google Calendar settings page.
    
    This really is a must check as the last thing you want to do is travel across town to find out an embassy is closed for the next 4 days because of a pubic holiday backing onto a weekend. 

  • How many passport photos does the application require? It's not always easy to get passport photos whilst travelling, so make a note of  how many you'll need and take them with you before you go.   
     

  • What will it cost? You won't want a $100 USD visa price shock to break your budget when you are only in the country for a day!

 

Now this can be a real headache, and travel agents or visa agents will offer to arrange your visas for you.  This is great, but they are still going to ask you "Which countries you want a visa for?" , "When do you enter that country?" and "How long are you staying in that country?". Now with that information, you could fill the form in and apply for the visa yourself! 

As long as companies offer a visa service some people will use them as it seems that bit easier. However, remember that they will not do it for free. They may well charge you considerably more than just the cost of the visa. It may not be obvious, but there will always be a fee for what can be a very simple administration task. I knew one such company who charged people more than double for an Australian visa : a visa that takes a few minutes form filling and is done entirely on-line. 

4. Insurance. Don't even think you can leave home without your travel insurance certificate or schedule . This is an absolute must have. If you are planning on doing some adventure activities then let the insurer know as this will affect your policy. You'll probably get a lot of paper work associated with your travel insurance, but you shouldn't need to take it all, so have rummage through and dispose of unnecessary documents. Cost can vary tremendously, so have good look online and pick carefully.

For an abridged printer friendly list of everything regarding documents please visit The Check Lists.

The big four documents will get you country hopping, but these others are also rather handy too:

Vaccination Book & Vaccine Certificates

When you have a vaccination your travel clinic or doctor should record the event in a vaccination log book or on a certificate. It's important to take these with you as proof that you have had the vaccine. 

These are important for two reasons. Firstly, if you get taken to hospital they will aid the staff and tell them what medicine you have had prior to arrival and secondly, not having proof of a particular vaccine may mean that you are not allowed into the country. For example, if you cannot provide proof that you have had a Yellow Fever vaccine, then the border guides of Brazil can actually refuse you entry to their country!

Driving Licence

If you plan on renting a car or a camper van then don't forget your driving licence. International Driving Permits can act as an alternative, however, knowing which countries will accept this can be uncertain. It's safer therefore to have a driving licence provided from your country of origin as few will argue about it's authenticity.

Glasses Prescription

If you need to get new glasses, providing the optician with a recent prescription will stop you from having to pay for a eye-test and should make the process a lot easier.

Trip Dossiers

If you know you are going on an organised or group trip, then it is often nice to carry the dossier or itinerary with you as you go. These can be quite long, so it may be better to print it before you leave. You can always print it in a Internet café whilst en-route, but they will of course charge you on a per page basis.

Passport Photocopies

Take photocopies of your passport. If it gets stolen having a copy can assist the authorities. If you don't want to, but are asked to leave your passport with a hostel, then at least you can offer to leave a photocopy instead. And similarly, if you feel unsure taking your passport out with you, then you can always take a copy and leave the original in a safe.

Passport Photos

These aren't  always the easiest thing to acquire whilst travelling, so it's better to leave home armed with a wad of passport sized photos. Depending on how many countries you are going through and how many visas you need (remembering that some border crossings require you to fill forms and apply for visas as you cross)  then  you may need as many as ten!

And Finally...

Now that you have all your documentation, don't forget to invest in a water proof wallet (available to buy from Walkabout Travel Gear here* and  here*) or bag to keep the main papers safe and dry in. The last thing you want is to be handing over a once wet, now distorted passport at customs, as it really doesn't help your chances of getting into the country.

Have a kind of online safe that can be accessed anywhere in the world.

And if things go missing, having a copy online will help in most situations. So use a scanner and scan the whole lot into a computer. Once scanned, email the digital copies to yourself or create a special email account (one with lots of storage) just to store these scanned documents in.  It's better to create a new account, one that you won't access everyday as this account will have your entire identity in it, and you wouldn't want someone gaining access to that. Have a kind of online safe that can be accessed anywhere in the world.  Just a few clicks will give you access to copies of your visas,  your tickets, your passport, etc. This will provide peace of mind just in case something unforeseen happens and those all important documents do happen to go missing. 

For an abridged printer friendly list of everything regarding documents please visit The Check Lists.