Whether you’re new to digital nomad travel planning or just want an easier, stress-free way to travel, we can help. Odyssey App’s goal is to empower you to take control of your journey to design an unforgettable experience that reflects your budget, preferences, and wanderlust. We put together a step-by-step approach to planning your next international trip as a digital nomad.

1) Assess Your Budget

Figuring out your budget sets up your entire trip, from the destination you choose to the day trips and places you’ll explore. Although it’s commendable to try and keep your trip as financially lean as possible, it’s not wise to head off on a nomadic adventure with no wiggle room. You need to factor in emergencies or unexpected misshapes, whether you realize your accommodations are far from advertised or need an expensive car ride to another airport when your flight cancels.

Beyond emergencies, make sure to consider indulgences along the way. You want to have some freedom to splurge on the unexpected wonders of wherever you’re headed.

2) Choose a Destination

Once you have an idea of how much money you have to work with, you can narrow down your destination of choice accordingly. More expensive spots, like Tokyo, may necessitate a shorter stay or a lucrative freelance contract to align with your budget. Meanwhile, an option like Mexico City will prove more affordable, but it all depends on your preferences for luxury vs. frugal living.

While you’re choosing a destination, consider:

• Time of year: The best time of year to go, from weather to festivals and pricey tourist seasons
• Visa requirements (if any): Whether or not you need a visa, how long it lasts and how much it costs
• Internet availability: The reliability of the wireless connection for where you’re going (if your destination of choice has tons of digital nomad coworking spaces and coffee shops with WiFi, you should be good to go)
• Transportation logistics: How easy is it to get around your destination, and are public buses, rideshares, and affordable taxis available?
• Safety: Even hardcore adventurers need to know how safe an area is to prepare accordingly.

Not sure where to go? Read some of our round-ups on the best places to go for digital nomads.

3) Find the Right Neighborhood to Stay

With your winning destination in hand, you also need to know where to stay. Research what neighborhoods make the most sense with your preferences, budget, and desire for convenience. A budget-friendly place on the outskirts of town or in the suburbs may work fine but require a longer commute and a budget set aside for those transportation costs. If you want to stay in the middle of the city, you need to consider the potentially higher price tag and how close you want to live to a coworking space or cafe with good WiFi access.

If you don’t have much of a preference for where to stay and have a decent budget, choose a quiet and safe neighborhood that’s central to your city. You’ll have more options for everything, from where to eat to festivals and sightseeing.

4) Use the Right Tools to Book Your Trip

Sure, you can book a flight, accommodations, tours, and more directly through an airline, but it doesn’t pull together your trip in one cohesive place. Instead of trying to cross-reference everything in your digital nomad journey, try booking your travel through the Odyssey App instead.

We empower your journey with a convenient way to:

• Build your travel itinerary
• Enjoy tailored plans
• Book flights with over 250 airlines
• Find a place to stay
• Discover new experiences
• .. and more.

We store everything for your digital nomad travel planning in one place so you’re not frantically searching for booking confirmations or flight info in your inbox. Your app stores everything for you and lists it chronically for a stress-free, seamless triangle experience.

5) Consider Travel insurance

Once your accommodations and flights are booked, it’s time to protect your investment with travel insurance. If you choose a refundable flight and have some breathing room with a generous cancellation policy for your accommodations, you may not need a robust travel insurance policy. Perhaps more important than canceling and getting a refund is understanding what happens if you need medical care while you’re globetrotting.

Some areas of the world are known for their inexpensive, well-regarded hospitals and clinics, but that’s not universally true everywhere. You also never know what kind of medical emergency could come up and you need options to get the help you need and get home. Some travel insurance covers stolen possessions, cancellations, political emergencies, and natural disasters, to name a few.

6) Research Places to Work Remotely as a Digital Nomad

You should have already done a little research while picking your destination to ensure the area you’re headed to has good WiFi. But there’s more to the story than firing up your laptop. If you plan to stick around for a while, you may want a flexible coworking desk or even your own office space. Look into coworking spaces that offer weekly or monthly plans in neighborhoods convenient to where you’re staying.

Some coworking spaces also double as a place to network and unwind. It’s not unusual to find coworking spaces that double as a place to work out, swim, and join planned events to meet your fellow digital nomads.

7) Get On Top of the Logistics

Your digital nomad travel planning is coming together, but figuring out some of your day-to-day will reduce the learning curve and stress when you arrive. Spontaneity is always welcome on a digital nomad-inspired trip, but you should at least have an idea of how you’ll get around your new city, where you’ll work, and where the grocery store and local clinic or hospital is. With a loose structure in place, you’ll know how to handle yourself so you can hit the ground running on your digital nomad adventure.

8) Plan for Fun

Work is part of life as a digital nomad and it’s easy to get caught up in 10 x’ing your goals and building up passive income and a robust client list to fund your travels. But remember why you wanted to travel in the first place—to see the world, meet new people, and have some fun along the way. It probably wasn’t to work 12-hour days.

Stick to a healthy work-life balance by scheduling in down time and fun. You’ll need days to do nothing but lie around at the pool and snooze to recover from all your hard work abroad. And there should be days set aside to soak up your new destination and make the most of your digital nomad lifestyle.

9) Maximize Your Location to Explore New Destinations

Digital nomads know that wherever they land is never their final destination. Even before you depart for somewhere new, there are plenty of mini-trips and adventures to be had in your current location. Look for cities, beaches, towns, and attractions that are a few hours away by bus to see more of the area. Remember, some destinations are just a few hours away by plane. Heading to New Zealand means opening up new opportunities to see Australia and Tasmania while you’re on that side of the world.

10) Book Your Next Trip with Odyssey App Today

Ready to hit the road (or the skies) and explore somewhere new? Simplify your digital nomad travel planning experience by booking everything in one convenient place. Download the Odyssey App today and start planning.