Tips and trick for planning your big lap

Are you wanting to hit the road full time but are not really sure where to start? Well here is a few tips and tricks we have learnt along the way.

Tip #1 - Go with the flow

We understand that some people like to pre plan and book their travels but let me tell you that life on the road is often unpredictable so the less set plan you have the better. Many things can go wrong when travelling both mechanically and weather wise so being able to customise your travel plans at the drop of a hat is a must for us. There are lots of caravan parks that will not offer a refund for changes in bookings etc. so if you’re a pre booker make sure you make note of the cancellation policy for each booking as this will help save you $ in cancellation fees.

Tip #2 - Don’t set the bar too high

Thanks to social media we often have unrealistically high expectations of destinations before we get there which more often than not leads to us being let down by a place. I know this might sound crazy but as a full time traveller in Australia I think we are spoilt when it comes to beautiful beaches and I often have to remind myself that every beach can’t be as picturesque as Esperance. So my advice is to not set your bar too high and allow yourself to be pleasantly surprised by a destination rather than let down. Also bare in mind that the weather plays a HUGE role in many destinations.

Tip #3 - Follow your gut

Im a big believer in this one. When we arrive in a town I like to take a look around and get a feel for the place. If you get a bad vibe in a town my advice is to follow your gut and move on. Luckily this doesn’t happen often but when it does we always move on. Much of Australia is remote and so you have to be aware of your surrounding and look out for your safety. Likewise if you love a town make sure you extend your stay. There is nothing worse than moving on and wishing you stayed longer.

Tip #4 - Love your set up

There are so many different types of set ups available from tents throughout to fancy caravans with all the bells and whistles. I highly recommend getting to know your set up in all weather conditions before you set off full time. In my opinion there is a big difference between weekends away and living full time in your set up. We know many people who have changed their set up whilst on the road and that’s fine as our needs often change but the more comfortable in your set up the better especially in not so desirable weather conditions.

Tip #5 - Get social

Instagram and Facebook are an amazing way to connect with the travel community but if your not on social media I recommend chatting to your neighbours or visiting the communal camp fires etc. Chatting to fellow travellers is not only amazing for the social element but its also a great way to find out about things to do and not do in the area. We have made so many amazing friends on the road so far. Travelling full time can get a little lonely so it’s nice to chat to others who are going through the same thing you are.

Tip #6 - Use Wikicamp or similar

We couldn’t survive without Wikicamps. For those of you who don’t know about this app it’s basically a travellers bible. It list all camps, their pricing and allows the users to leave reviews. Whilst I like to make my own mind up about a place the reviews can be a great guide. You can often find out things like how good the phone reception is or how rough the roads in are. So if your thinking of hitting the road I would say Wikicamps or Campermate is a must have.

Tip #7 - Document your travels

Documenting your travels or preserving your memories can actually be a really time consuming and often stressful experience. There are many different ways to do this and it’s important to find what works for you or else you will struggle to upkeep it. Many travellers like to use instagram as a digital travel journal which is nice however you need to be mindful of the fact that if you loose your account your memories will be gone. Personally I like to save all my photos onto 2 separate external hard drives as well as store a copy on a cloud based app like I cloud or google photos. I feel like this is a pretty air tight way to ensure that all our photos are safe. We use YouTube as a form of digital journaling and upload a weekly recap of our adventures. This is also a great way to keep family and friends in the loop without having to individually email everyone.

Tip #8 - Clear out your cupboards

This is a bit of a weird one but we have found that the longer you are on the road the less you find you actually need so we like to do monthly clear outs. There is no better feeling than clearing some room in your tiny home but let’s be honest it doesn’t take long to fill it back up. We love to donate items we no longer need to fellow travellers and most campsites have a camp kitchen with a FREE section. If we are not in a campsite we find a local opshop. Ladies (or Gentlemen) hot tip if you don’t have room for that many close in your van the more you pass on the more room you have to buy new ones - i'd say that a win wins.

Tip #9 - Stop to smell the roses

This is one thing we are not very good at. I think that this lifestyle can often be quite fast paced and we tend to fill up our days sight seeing and planning our next moves. One thing that we have learnt over the past year is that downtime is just as important as adventure time. We are also learning to not look forward to where we are going and instead be content with where we are. Like I said this is something we have no yet mastered but we’re working on it.

Tip #10 - Enjoy the journey

This ones not always easy especially when it feels like everything is going wrong but life has it’s ups and down and life on the road is no different. In fact life on the road is often more testing than life at home. The weather isn’t always in your favour and let me tell you when you live in a tiny home days of rain just sucks! I don’t think that any of us chose this lifestyle because we thought it would be easy I think we all wanted an adventure so when things feel like there going wrong try to embrace the adventure and know that everything will turn out ok.

If you have any tips and tricks of your own please pop them in the comments below we would love to hear them. Also if you would like to follow our daily adventure jump over and say hi @life.in.olli on instagram.