Originally published on January 27, 2024 | Last updated on March 24, 2025
What’s the thing you’re most scared to do? What would it take to get you to do it?
I am now quite a seasoned traveller, if I must say, but once upon a time, there was a time I haven’t travelled at all! I did start quite young, when I was just 17, to study in the UK. Someone must start somewhere, right? Maybe you’ve seen a lot of beautiful pictures, or hear your friends travelling and you want to go. Don’t worry, we’ll break all the steps down to manageable chunks, and we’ll go through the exact steps on how you can also travel abroad for the first time!
Step 1: Where Do You Want to Go?
Pro Tip: Start Small.
I highly suggest to pick a neighbouring country instead of travelling across the globe for your first travel destination. For example, if you are in the UK, perhaps fly to France, or other western European country. And instead of travelling for 2 weeks, perhaps start with a weekend trip! Then you can learn on what you like, what you dislike, and implement that on the next trip. I know that this article is about travelling abroad – but if you’ve never travelled before, it may be worth travelling domestically first before travelling abroad.
Secondly, I suggest that you travel to somewhere you don’t need a visa, if possible. Visa makes travelling slighty more complicated. You can always check by Googling “[destination] visa requirements for [your country] passport”. For example, if you are Indonesian and you want to go to UK, you’ll google “UK visa requirements for Indonesian passport” (you DO need a visa). If you google “Singapore visa requirements for Indonesian passport”, you’ll figure out Indonesian citizens don’t need a visa to enter Singapore.
Make sure you find the page for the embassy of your destination country or government website for the most accurate information. Don’t just trust the first website you see and trust blindly. Nowadays AI overview may be generated by the search engine which can be useful as a starting information. However, always recheck with the government or official website.
Step 2: Plan in Advance
People have vastly different way of travelling. Some completely spontaneous, some completely planned. If you haven’t travelled before, I highly suggest doing some research and plan in advance. Buy flight tickets and reserve accommodation in advance. Make a list of things you want to visit and if you like to try different food, perhaps even a list of restaurants you like. Plan how you would get to the airport, both in your destination and your home country. Allow yourself plenty of time to pack.
That sounds a lot isn’t it? Don’t worry, we’ll break it down for you.
#1 Get a Passport
If you want to travel abroad, generally you will need a passport. There are a small exception such as EU citizen travelling to other EU countries, where an ID national card is sufficient. But generally, you’ll need to apply for a passport if you haven’t got one. You can google on how to apply for a passport in your country, in your own language. For example “applying for UK passport”.
Note that applying for passport may take some time – for some countries it could take months. To be on a safe side, don’t book any plane tickets or hotels, especially non-refundable, before you get your passport.
#2 Plan Your Rough Itinerary
We need to answer 2 questions here:
- Which date are you going?
- Which city or area you are going?
With these 2 questions, you will be able to book your accommodation and your flights. If you haven’t got any idea, you can google around or search on Pinterest. Hopefully you’ve got some rough ideas on where you want to go!
#3 Book your Flights and Accommodation
Accommodation
I’ve primarily used Booking.com to book my accommodation for many years. They give me great discounts, and it’s very easy to find an accommodation according to the criteria I need (budget, location, whether breakfast is included, etc). You only need to write the location where you want to go, the dates, and how many people, and click search. It’ll then show you all the options and you can find what you need quite easily.
Other places where you can also find accommodation includes:
- Hostelworld.com is great if you want to find hostels – great cheap option if you are travelling by yourself
- Many people also use Agoda, Trip, Expedia which are all good companies. Trip are newer and sometimes have good discounts.
Flights
The best way to find discounts is through Google Flight. You put where you are flying from, your destination, your dates and it will give you many options. One thing I like is that Google Flight will suggest dates where the flight can be much cheaper too. You can play around with different dates, and also multiple airports if you live near multiple airports.
Insurance
It’s a good idea to book travel insurance once you have your flights booked. Google travel insurance – there will be different companies depending on where you are based. Don’t forget to compare quotes! They are typically quite affordable but can offer a great peace of mind. Also, I find that quite often the annual rate is not that much expensive compared to a single trip rate.
Once you have flights and accommodation sorted, you’ve sorted the big stuff! Give yourself a pat and relax.
Vaccinations
Some countries will require you to have travel vaccinations. You can check by Google or through travel vaccination clinic.
#3 Sort the Finer Details
About a month or so before the flight, I suggest that you finalise the finer details of your travel. Some people figure this out as they go, but if you are travelling for the first time, it may lessen some anxiety.
Activities
Plan what you want to do during the day. Perhaps you want to visit the local attraction (Eiffel Tower in Paris? Buckingham Palace in London?). Don’t feel pressured to see absolutely everything especially if you are going only for a few days. Pick what you like and don’t feel pressured to see things you have no interest in.
I use GetYourGuide, Viator and Klook (Klook especially for Asian destinations) to book activities. Refund is quite easy if your plan changes, and they have activities in pretty much any destination in the world.
Transportation
It may be a good idea to research what transportation options are available to get around in the city. Do they have good public transportation? Do you need to rent a car? You can google these information. If you are travelling in the UK, for example, Trainline will be a great place to book all your train tickets. For rental cars, you can use RentalCars.
Don’t forget transportation between airport and your accommodation! I quite often find Booking.com to have good deals for airport taxis, especially if you are travelling with multiple people and where public transportation option to airport is not great.
#4 Pack and Go!
Please always triple check your flight details. Pack what you need – clothes, travel chargers, etc. There are so many advice online on what to pack for specific destinations. Obviously, you’ll need winter clothes for winter destinations and summer clothes for tropical destinations. Google them and start packing a week in advance if you can.
Pro Tip: Just Do It!
Start small, research, and … just do it! It may seem scary, but travel has never been easier and cheaper than it is now. The first is always the hardest. I was scared for my first trip. But it was so great and so rewarding. I get to see the world, and I love it. I got addicted to travelling ever since and have seen so many great countries. I moved to New Zealand, saw the Northern Lights, learn how to make batik, swam with manta rays… My life has changed so much since I’ve travelled. I hope this blog post helped you. If you have any question, please feel free to pop it in the comment section. Also, please do tell me your stories of your first travel, I would love to hear about them! Do pop them in the comment section below. Happy travelling!
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