So, you want to take that “Bucket List” trip of your lifetime, but there’s so much to consider.  And while it sounds really romantic to plan that unique trip to The Australian Outback, Mongolia, The Galapagos, etc., there are a number of factors that one should consider before making that significant commitment in time and money.  These factors include: 

1. The time you have to get away. 
2. How difficult it is to get there. 
3. Your budget. 
4. The experience you want to have.
5. Are you traveling alone or with a significant other or friends?
6. How independent are you?
7. Where to go for information?
8. Insuring your investment.
9. Identifying which destinations suit your photography.
10. Workshop travel.

I thought about a single article for these issues.  But as I wrote this piece it became clear to me that I should break this up into a few parts.  Part One will be factors 1-3.  Part two will be for factors 4-6.  And part 3 will be for items 7-10.

Part 1: 

1.     TIME, our most precious asset and sometimes the most limiting factor when planning that special journey.  It’s one thing for me to pop down to Florida to go birding for a couple of days where I can get in a couple of shoots, and be back home in a couple of hours.  This actually takes less of my time than driving to the Carolina shore.  Either way, I’m pretty blessed.  So, the time and financial cost is nominal compared to say jetting off to places like Patagonia, The Arctic Circle for Auroras, Australia, or Africa.  Having been to Africa many times and Australia a couple of times, I can say with great confidence that even though the financial cost is significantly greater to spend a couple of weeks in these very remote destinations, the travel time is so significant that I would NEVER consider doing these only to stay there less than 2 weeks.  Even IF you’re an expert at timing your sleep schedule on the flights, the physical toll that these long trips take may impact your enjoyment for at least a day or two.  In addition to being at your destination at LEAST ONE DAY before your tour or workshop begins, most of my clients want to spend a day or two resting and acclimating to the time zone changes.  Also, since you’re flying so far (and who knows IF or WHEN you’ll ever return, perhaps doing a little touring of the destination city (i.e., Buenos Aires (if Patagonia), Stockholm, Oslo or Helsinki (if The Northern Lights), etc. might be a trip’s highlight.  Some of us plan our lives well in advance (I’m booking trips into 2024 right now).  On the positive side of this issue, you have the most choices and options, and most likely the best pricing by being a “planner”.  On the flip side of this issue, it sometimes makes for less flexibility.  That being said I would say that IF the trip we’re talking about is a life’s “Bucket List” destination, planning well in advance is the way to go.  With this comes the possible “uncertainty” of what obstacles could come up.  I’ll be discussing the topic of insuring your investment in another article.

2.     How difficult is it to get to where you want to be?  This is another important factor for a couple of reasons.   In addition to the obvious time issues,  IF you are planning on bringing a lot of gear, and you have to fly to your destination, how will you get it all on board safely?  When I’m driving to my destination, I’ll bring EVERYTHING, BECAUSE I CAN.  BUT let’s say I’m flying through a city that only has commuter-sized aircraft (i.e. a 2 and 2 or 1 and 2 seating arrangement with limited overhead space).  Then what, as generally, I won’t gate-check my photo or computer gear?  You had better KNOW when planning your trip what your plane options are for your destination.  Sometimes I’m forced to take an extra flight to ensure I can do this.  And for that rare occasion where I might be forced to gate check something of value, generally, I’ll ALWAYS have a number of TSA locks on my carry-on baggage, and everything I have is insured.  I will also be sure to have my hard drives, MacBook or laptop, and some gear on my person, even if on smaller planes.  I have a couple of fairly large camera backpacks that will fit in the overhead compartments of these small planes, and I will ALWAYS try to bring it on with me before surrendering the bag to a gate agent.  Also, be sure you leave adequate time for connections, especially if you have to clear immigration and customs (and even in some airports, when transferring from one terminal to another, they put you through another round of security. London Heathrow is notorious for this, amongst a few others).  Be certain that what you have in your carry-ons are compliant with all the airports you travel through as I’ve had things confiscated by some “TSAs” or their equivalents  (Brisbane, Australia took my cool little hex wrench kit).  And just because you purchase something in one airport after clearing their security doesn’t guarantee it will make it through others on the same trip.  Some cities’ international airports are nowhere close to their domestic airports, i.e. London Heathrow and Gatwick or Buenos Aires’ airports.  So you must plan on extra time when planning trips that include this possibility.  AND some trips will not wait for you if you show up late (i.e. all cruises, and many tours like my Patagonia tour, which requires us to be in certain places by certain times.  And if you don’t make it, it’s very difficult to catch up to the group.  SO, THE BOTTOM LINE IS, DO YOU HAVE THE CONSTITUTION TO DEAL WITH WHATEVER OBSTACLES THAT COME UP IN GETTING TO WHERE YOU WANT TO BE? This may be an overriding issue that would gravitate you towards group tour or workshop travel over independent travel, as leaders are used to “herding cats.”

3.     What’s your budget?  Such a simple question, and even though I should know better by now, some of us don’t have the discipline to live within this budget as the excitement of the destination is just too much for us to resist.  This is especially true for places you think you’ll never return to (one-time bucket list thing).  That was what I said the first time I went to Africa over 15 years ago.  And now I’m on trip #12, and do NOT see any way that Africa will not be on my radar annually for as long as I physically and financially can go.  Budgeting is a personal thing, and not too much for me to discuss other than it’s a factor for most of us (good, bad, or ugly:-).  For workshop attendees, beware of leaders who get you to sign up for a nominal deposit, and then take low to moderate monthly payments for many trips. The next thing you know, you’ve signed up for 3 or 4 workshops, which cumulatively may be well over your budget!  It’s a genius marketing and business model that follows what my X-colleagues do (orthodontists, when they treat more than one of your kids).  But while it fills their “pipeline” for cash flow and profitability, it may not be in your best interests.