Tips for a 4 month sabbatical

Last year, I needed to decompress and recharge, and I did, I took a 4 month sabbatical around the world. Which is probably one of the best ways to improve your mental health.

One of the biggest pleasures in life is to travel, discover new places, new cultures, new flavors and new friends. I have done my fair share of backpacking, but I also know the good things in life. I love planning big trips, the farther, the better it gets for me, it gives me joy. Planning this escaped was not complicated for me; I Understand how to do it, and I know how to make the most out of each trip in terms of enjoyment and savings. And I wanted and needed this trip to be just as balanced.

I carefully planned my sabbatical around the world, alternating between splurges and savings, where and when it made sense. It took me weeks to put this together, so I hope all my research can help you to plan your own adventure. I have put together a list of tips and tricks that could help you save some time and thinking next time to have the travel itch, here is what I did:

Tip #1: The Itinerary 

Discovering New destinations and revisiting my favorite places on Earth. 

I wanted to visit completely new destinations such as Japan, Thailand, New Zealand and Qatar, and some Mediterranean towns; But also I wanted to reconnect with friends and family. I purposefully included  places that are not new for me, but that I enjoy very much and consider my favorite places on Earth. Thus, saving on accommodations in portions of my trip to Australia, Portugal and Spain made a difference and helped me to stay for a little bit longer. Here is the itinerary: 

• 12 days in Japan (Tokyo & Kyoto)
• 15 days in Thailand (Bangkok, Chiangmai Mai, Krabi ) 
• 25 days in Australia ( Sydney, Brisbane, Tasmania)
• 12 days in New Zeland (Auckland, Plymouth)
• 5 days in Qatar (Doha)
• 10 days in Turkey (Istanbul and Bodrum) 
• 20 days in Spain ( Madrid, Rioja, Basque Country + Bordeaux/France, Malaga, Seville, Granada, Cadiz) 
• 20 days in Portugal (Lisbon, Sinatra, Douro valley) 

Tip #2: The airfare 

My Oneworld Explorer Business Fare Details

I am disclosing the logistics of my trip and will shared my itinerary in detail. I have been a loyal one word customer for decades. It makes sense for me to keep my miles with them, so my itinerary used One world alliance partners for my own long term benefit.

After reviewing all the available options, what made the most convenient and affordable alternative was to purchase The World Airline Ticket, a Multi-City Flight ticket that is offered by Oneworld Member Airlines to facilitate Round The World travel.

After playing with the Oneworld booking website, I realized that I could choose between three types of Round The World trips:

• Oneworld Explorer: a continent-based fare,
• Global Explorer: a distance-based fare,
• Circle Pacific: an inter-continental journey to explore continents that border the Pacific Ocean.

Next, the Oneworld system suggested the Oneworld Explorer Fare, a continent based fare that covered my desired itinerary. The ticket had a lot of rules but my itinerary meet all the requirements, for example: 

• Segments: 5 (maximum allowed is 16), 

• Stopovers: 4 (minimum allowed 2, maximum 15), 

• Total Miles: 26,910 (max 39,000)

 Then, I realized there were 2 ways of doing the trip 

Option 1: To Save 

• Oneworld Explorer Fare: $5k USD

• Cabin Class : Economy Class 

• Routing: Miami – Chicago – Tokyo – Sydney – Doha – Madrid – New York

Option 2: To Splurge 

• Oneworld Explorer Fare: $10K USD

• Cabin Class : Business Class 

• Routing: Miami – Chicago – Tokyo – Sydney – Doha – Madrid – New York

First, I researched the cost of each segment on a normal  Oneworld airfare  and realized that the business ticket on the Oneworld explorer fare was a steal. Each segment ended up being around 2K on business class. You could never find a regular fare ticket on business class for such a low price.

I even went down the rabbit’s hole and researched the cost for economy class tickets on a regular fare (not the Oneworld explorer fare) for my itinerary as follows: 

• MIA- TYO: USD $2.8K

• TYO-  SYD:  USD $1K 

• SYD – DOH: USD $ 2K

• DOH – MAD: USD $ 1K

• MAD – NYC: USD $ 1K 

At that point, I felt certain about booking the business class tickets.

I also  choose to “splurge” with Business Class because each segment was unbelievable long, specially on the first half of the trip. And at this point in my life, I value a comfortable airplane seat and good night sleep more than I did 10 years ago. It can really make a difference on the entire journey and is a great way to kick off a sabbatical. My old self would have been super exited about option 2 but, this time I passed considering the flighting time, see details below: 

• MIA- TYO: 17 hours (1 stop) 

• TYO-  SYD:  10 hours

• SYD – DOH: 15 hours

• DOH – MAD: 7 hours operated by Qatar Airways) Booking Class: Business

• MAD – NYC: 8 hours 

Save by using local discount airfare

You can save money by booking discount airfare on economy class whatever you are, and for short leg flights, instead of booking it here in the U.S. In addition it gives you the flexibility to modify your trip as you go, here is what I did:

• Tokyo- Bangkok USD$300

• Brisbane – Auckland: USD $225

• Doha- Istanbul: USD$300

• Madrid- Lisbon: USD $60 

I also used my AA miles for the very last leg of the trip

• NYC – MIA: AA miles 

Tip #3 

Save by getting around without renting a car.

I have learned by trial and error that I do not enjoy renting vehicles on my travels. I have plenty of stories about driving in narrow roads, not finding parking, getting questionable tickets and “extra fee’s” when I returned some vehicles. The point is that traveling should be all about disconnecting from these kind of stretching situations and being able to have too many drinks of you feel like it. So I use public transportation and it helps me to learn more about the people and culture. It also leaves some funny memories…

I took the trains and ferry in Japan and it was surreal, 1/2 of the time It was confusing, 1/2 of the time it was ok because I had a tour guide. It was not cheap but it was Japan…

Thailand was very affordable and I kind of used one of each, taxis, moto taxis, river boats and flights…except for the flight get ready to negotiate it all before getting in…

Doha was all about taxis. Also, I took cabs in Istanbul, and one flight; Got confused buying the metro tickets, purposefully walked everywhere and got lost to rediscover one of my favorite cities…

I borrowed my relatives car in Australia when driving was strictly necessary and took some flights as well. and a campervan for most of the New Zeland trip and it was amazing in terms of experience and savings…

In Spain and Portugal, I used trains, cabs and Cabify, or Uber, but when these options were not available, I walked or took the bus. I saved hundreds of dollars by taking roadtrips in local buses and got to meet some locals.

It’s so hard to share 4+ months in here but I will continue updating the post on my free time,

to be continued….