The original post: /r/travel by /u/RJDoute on 2024-11-13 19:41:48.

Hi all! I’m 40, a single father, my son joined the Army making me an empty nester. I resigned from my job a couple of months ago, and I am 30-45 days away from being able to cut away and disappear for a while.

I plan to not have much of a plan - I want to take a suitcase, my golf clubs and a passport and just… go for a while. I’ve budgeted $100k for a year of travel and intend to see the world until I get bored or run out of money, whichever comes first.

I have never taken a true vacation before; the reality of what I’m about to do (and my lack of experience) is settling on me. What am I not thinking of that could make this go poorly? What *should* be planned? Is bringing my golf clubs dumb?

In my brain I envision something like this: Go to SE Asia first, Vietnam and Thailand I’d like to visit. I don’t know how long I’ll stay, but I’m confident I can find a place to stay that’s decent and stretches my budget. From there, I really want to learn how to scuba dive in New Zealand and see Poor Knights(edit). I’ve never been to Europe so if after those two stops I’m still hungry for more I figure I’ll just start in Portugal and work my way up to Berlin for what I hear is a great place to go dancing.

I’m not married to any ideas. I love EDM, I want to go dance and see the world and have fun for a while with no responsibilities or obligations - meet new people, figure out who the hell I am, y’know that kind of stuff.

I’ve fantasized about this moment for a very long time. I am equally excited and terrified. If you were in my shoes, what kinds of things are you doing to ensure this year goes smoothly?

EDIT: Golf clubs are out, I was on the fence there thanks all lol