Helpful Tips For Men Who Want To Take Their First Overseas Trip

It has now been more than a month since I returned to the United States from my trip around Europe.  In that time, I’ve had a lot of time to reflect on it and where I’m going with my life.  I’ve written about it in great detail, laid out a plan to leave California, and am taking steps towards building income sources that will give me more freedom.

Hopefully, the posts here at ROK and at my personal blog have inspired you to want to take your own trip around the globe.  Since releasing this blog series, I have received numerous comments and emails asking me how I did it.  Common questions include:

• How did I get the time off of work?
• Why the countries I chose?
• How much did I spend?
• What are the best resources for cheap shit?
• What are your general tips?
• Does it get lonely?
• What would I do different?

I’m going to answer all of these questions once and for all.

How did I get the time off of work?

I am fortunate enough to work for a company that gives me three weeks (nearly four after other holidays we are given off, such as founder’s day and our own birthday) of paid vacation off of a year.  For the record, I work as a data systems engineer for a large company.  I understand that it will not be that easy for everyone.  Firstly, three weeks of vacation is nearly unheard of in today’s world.  Most people consider it good if they get two weeks off, much less close to four.  I’m also lucky enough to have a cool boss who let me take such a large chunk of time off in total.

If your situation is not as good as mine, don’t fret.  You can still make a world trip possible, but understand that it may just be shorter.  Even if your first trip is only a week long, it will at least whet your appetite for more.  If you really enjoy it, and want to start traveling more; well, you may have to consider a job move within sectors or perhaps an entire career change.

Why the countries I chose?

Well, when I first planned the trip, I didn’t have a girlfriend.

I am very much attracted to white girls, especially the girls of Europe.  I find their accents sexy, their generally slim bodies irresistible, and their mannerisms impeccable.  My initial plan was to spend a week in Wroclaw and Prague and just try to nail as many chicks as I could during that time frame.  My plan was to arrive on Thursday, go out Thursday-Saturday nights, and then try to line up dates for the following week.  I had also planned to daygame every day and see where that led me.

Then, though, I decided to be exclusive with one girl of my small harem – and I am still very happy with her.  Once we got together, I decided I would shift the focus of trying to bang European sluts and check out a few tourist spots that I had always wanted to see.

So, how should you choose a country?  It depends what you want to do.  Do you want to nail a bunch of chicks?  Well, pick countries that have women you’re attractive to.  From there, do research on sites like the Roosh V forum,  and other expat websites and see what cities have the best situation for your preferences.  Only after you have done this should you even consider booking a flight.

How much did I spend?

Here is a breakdown:

• Round trip from California to Europe = $1,300
• Apartments – $50/night (rough estimate) for 14 nights in Europe (I’m excluding NYC because I splurged for a nice hotel) = $700.  Note: I had private rooms in every country, but shared an apartment or B&B in Poland, London, and Rome)
• Flights within European countries = $200 (average $50/flight)
• Everything else (food, drinks, public transit, souvenirs, etc.) = $1,200

Grand total = $3,400

That’s for two entire weeks.  Understand, these are rough estimates.  This should show though, that it is really not that expensive to travel overseas for a brief period of time.  It is also important to note that I was not trying to budget at all – I was using my credit card very willingly, eating out constantly, spending a lot of money on tour bus passes, souvenirs, and more. In addition, I also waited until the last minute to book some of the flights and apartments.

The $1,200 I spent on “everything else” could easily have been reduced had I given a crap.  But I make good money and wanted to enjoy myself, but I recognize not everyone is in the same situation.

Look at it this way, if you can save a couple hundred bucks a month you could easily save enough to take a trip in a year.

You have no excuses not to.

What are the best resources?

• For flights, see Skyscanner.com or Kayak.com – these apply to transcontinental flights, as well inner-Europe flights.  I would imagine they are the best resources for flights within other continents, too.
• For apartments, see AirBNB.com or if you prefer, couchsurfing.com
• For picking a city, check out the Roosh forum for detailed logistics and field reports.

What are your general tips?

Firstly, pick a place that you are genuinely excited to see – don’t just go somewhere because some other people tell you that you should go there due to the ease of women, nightlife, etc.  I had always wanted to go to Europe, much more so than South America or Asia.  So, I went.

Secondly, try to get in a position where money is not a huge object.  I’m not saying you should be racking up massive bar tabs every night of the week, but you shouldn’t feel bad about splurging for a couple of nice meals out or a ticket to see something you are passionate about.  Understand, too, that the American dollar goes very far in a lot of places.  For example, a three course meal with beers, soups, and wild boar was a $27 for two people in Poland.

Lastly, try to find someone to go with, at least part of the time.  It is critical to find someone who has similar interests as you.  If you want to game, bring a wingman.  If you want to do tourist stuff, bring someone interested in history.  While spending time alone on a trip is awesome, it can get lonely and take you into a negative state.

Does it get lonely?

It absolutely does, and anyone who tells you otherwise is simply a liar.  Like I said in the previous paragraphs, bring a wingman to help with this.  On a positive note, being alone gives you time to self-reflect and to push yourself to the limits.

What would I do different?

There is no way in hell I would visit as many countries as I did in the short period of time.  I would be much more inclined to visit a country for at least a week, maybe two.  It takes at least that long to get familiar with the people, to learn the nightlife spots, and to start to feel comfortable.

After all, the whole point of travelling is to push you out of your personal comfort zone and to immerse yourself into other cultures.  It is quite literally, a culture shock.  This takes time to adapt to, so you won’t get a true impression of a country, and whether you’d like to come back, without adequate time to do so.

I would also take trains to opposite countries as opposed to flying.  The reason?  If you want cheap flights, you better be prepared to be taking off at 6:00am.  This means you have to be at the airport by 5:00am, meaning you have to leave for the airport from the city center by 4:00am.  The problem is, most public transit doesn’t run then.  So you’re stuck with taxis or shuttles, which can get expensive.

Plus, the time saved is not all that:

• Time to the airport from city center: 1 hour
• Time waiting for flight in the airport: 1 hour
• Time in flight: 2 hours
• Time to get off plane, get baggage, and get to shuttle/taxi/train: 1 hour
• Travel from airport to city center: 1 hour

Total: 6 hours, assuming no delays

You can take a train, which has far less bullshit than flying.  You can show up ten minutes beforehand, don’t have security to deal with, you’ll have plenty of room in your seat, and most trains stations are right in the middle of the city – meaning you’re often within walking distance to your apartment or hotel.  On top of that, trains are less likely to be delayed than flights, and you aren’t forced into taking early times due to price.  I definitely would have taken trains from country to country rather than flying, in hindsight.

The website Seat61.com is excellent for train information throughout Europe.

Other than those two points that I mentioned, I wouldn’t change a damn thing.

You can get my new memoir, Trouble’s Travels, A Memoir Of Global Debauchery for free by going here.  The memoir is all posts of my travels series, as well as a few more chapters about planning a trip and more.

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