Happy Fall!

We’re at about 3 months away from departure-day, and it’s getting very real in the best of ways.

Due to our full-time work status we can’t go too far off the grid.  We need to be in relatively developed city because we need that sweet sweet internet to connect to work.  More importantly, we need to work to get paid and continue the trip.  This has helped narrow down our city options and was a blessing in disguise since we were struggling with an entire globe of options.  It is another added factor we had to consider and another layer of research that is now included part of decision making.  I’m sure more little factors will pop up along the way, and I’m okay with that.

Another big revelation in the planning process?  Booking the entire year in advance isn’t the best way to go.  It really appeals to my checklist mentality, but Kevin smartly pointed out a few things.  First, flights aren’t necessarily cheaper this far out, it’s best to wait for the sweet spot about 8 weeks out.  Second, let’s say we can’t imagine leaving Barcelona, this way we have the flexibility to build it in again to the back end of the trip without having to cancelling anything major. We’re doing about 3 months at a time, then monitoring flights for pricing on future trips.

We’re using the Hopper app for flight deals. It’s so helpful.  It’s great for monitoring trends in flights and even sends you alerts for price fluctuations on your exact desired flight dates. That being said, I’ve read about some bad experiences booking directly, so we’re using it as a monitoring tool and not a booking platform.  Still, tracking flights is much easier using this app. I highly recommend it for this use.

Things are coming together, and more updates are coming soon.