Where on earth are you off to?

Go Globetrotters: Pamela Duncanvisited the USIT offices in Dublin to find out where people were heading to – and discovered that some won't be coming back any time soon

Anne Kirkwood from Melbourne, Australia, has lived in Ireland for the past five years but is thinking about moving to Canada.

Where are you travelling to?"I'm looking at the work Canada programme: maybe the Toronto, Montreal area."

Why there?"I've left Australia permanently so it's a case of where do I want to go next? I'm exploring my options."

How long will you be away?"I don't know, I think the programme only goes for a year."

Are you hoping to work?"Yeah, that would be the plan."

How long have you planned it?"It's been off and on in my head for about a year and a half."

Is this the trip of a lifetime?"Well, living here in Ireland is so it'll be a continuation."

Des O’Hara and Aoife Gallagher are planning to take two trips together.

Where are you travelling to?Des: "We're going to go to Cyprus for a week and then hopefully, in January, we'll go off travelling for a year."

Why did you choose these places?Des: "We're going to Cyprus because we heard it's really hot at the moment and because the sea temperature's supposed to be the hottest in Europe and we're into a lot of swimming."

Aoife: “Then next year we were thinking about Vietnam because it’s really exotic. Then Thailand – just really exotic places that you’d never think of going – mostly Asia.”

How long will you be away?Aoife: "I kind of want to go for a few years. Well I personally would like to go for the year and then see after."

How are you financing the trip?Aoife: "Saving at the moment and see what happens."

How long have you been planning it?Aoife: "For ages."

Is this the trip of a lifetime?Aoife:"Yeah."

David Walsh from Clonmel in Tipperary was getting his vaccines booked for what is a fairly spontaneous working holiday to Saudi Arabia.

Why did you choose the destination?"I'm going to teach English as a foreign language for a year. I've got a lot of experience in that work but not in Saudi Arabia. It's good money, tax free; really good conditions."

How are you financing the trip?"Once I get there I'll be paid well enough and that will cover everything else."

How long have you been planning it?"Three weeks. I applied for the job and I leave as soon as possible – within a week."

Is this the trip of a lifetime or do you just want to get away?"No, it wouldn't be my ideal to go working in Saudi Arabia but the money's good.

Bríd Costello from Mullinahone in Tipperary is planning to go around the world with a friend which she hopes will be the trip of a lifetime.

Where are you going?"I'm doing a bit of a round trip. I'm going to Thailand, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Hawaii and a few other places."

How long will you be away?"Hopefully a year."

How are you financing the trip?"I've been working but I've also got my working visa for Australia and New Zealand so hopefully I'll get some work when I'm over there. I'll come back unless I get work and stay over there. If things work out really well I've nothing to bring me back. If I had the opportunity I'd stay."

How long have you been planning it?"We've been talking about it for I don't know how many years but I suppose really kind of planning it in the last year."

Is this the trip of a lifetime?"Basically yes."

Suitcase or rucksack?"Oh it's a rucksack holiday."

Eamonn Browne Carey from Westmeath, Ian Butler from Goatstown in Dublin and Shaun McGowan from Gweedore in Donegal are all heading to New York and don’t plan to come back for years.

Why are you going there?Eamonn: "Work and the fact that the graduate visa allows you that opportunity – you've got 12 months to do it after you graduate and if you don't you can't go again."

Ian: “I’m looking for work in biomedical science. On the internet there seems to be a lot of jobs there.”

Shaun: “I have a degree in drama studies but – even to teach drama or to act either in film or television – there’s just no work. We have friends there and they’re all getting bits of work to keep them going whereas here none of my friends are working. I’m going primarily for work.”

How long will you be away?Eamonn: "12 months."

How are you financing the trip?Eamonn: "I got a job this summer two days a week and that paid pretty well so that gave me my spending money. Over the last year and a half I was saving bits for going."

How long have you planned it?Ian: "Two years."

Is this the trip of a lifetime?Shaun: "Absolutely. It depends if we can get work but anywhere would be better than here in Dublin at the minute."

Are you planning to come back, or will you stay as long as possible?Shaun: "I would love to stay over there but I would never stay there illegally. It wouldn't be worth it. I would love if I got a company to sponsor me to stay over there but if they don't I'll head for London after. I'm not coming back to Ireland for at least four or five years."

Ian: “Same.”

Eamonn: “Yeah, four or five years.”

Laiz Maiochi from Conchal near Sao Paulo is planning one big trip around Europe before heading home to Brazil.

Where are you travelling to?"I've been living here almost 11 months and now, before I go back to Brazil, my friend and I are going to go backpacking. We are going first to Paris – we are going to spend some days in France – and after we are going to Rome, Pisa, Florence, Milan, Venice, Budapest, Prague, Vienna and will finish in Berlin."

Why did you choose these places?"Because Eastern Europe is so different and there is much history and culture and Italy and France I have always dreamed of."

How long will you be away?"Thirty-five days."

How are you financing the trip?"Work and with my parent's help."

How long have you been planning it?"Almost two months."

Is this the trip of a lifetime?"Yes, a trip of a lifetime."

MONEY, JABS AND OTHER ESSENTIALS

IF YOU'RE going to work your way around the world, the most cost-effective way to do it is on a round-the-world ticket.

There is a variety on offer but, even for non-students, USIT (usit.ie) is a great place to start because its staff is familiar with every permutation of itinerary as well as all the mileage and time limitations that apply.

Basically the more stop-offs you look for, the more expensive the ticket. USIT's World Walkabout ticket includes up to six stopovers in a year and a 29,00 mile allowance, with prices starting from €1,311. Your year starts on the date of your first flight.

Alternatively, Roundtheworldflights.com allows you to plan a range of itineraries and compare prices online. Or keep it simple with Trailfinders' (trailfinders.ie) Nice and Simple fare, departing Dublin for LA, Auckland and Hong Kong, starting at €899.

ACCOMMODATIONis usually the next biggest expenditure. If money's likely to be tight before you find work, check out couchsurfing.com for a spare rooms on offer worldwide.

Since it was set up in 2004, around 1.7m couches have been surfed, all offered voluntarily and for free. If you're leaving a house or apartment vacant behind you, you might want to check out home exchange options on stay4free.com.

ADEQUATE COVERfor travel andmedical expenses are essential wherever you go. Hospital bills in the US are renowned for being unhealthily high but even treatment within the EU can cost an arm and a leg so remember to bring your European Health Insurance Card (formerly E111) to avail of free public health treatment in the EU, EEA and Switzerland if required.

After that, Worldnomads.com has basic travel insurance, including €3.75 million in emergency medical expenses cover, for €450 for a year.

If you're going to undertake high risk activities such as snow sports or bungee jumping, make sure it's not excluded from your travel insurance policy but it will add to the cost.

USIT has a comprehensive backpackers policy which covers all sorts of hazardous activities.

Remember however that no insurance company will pay out if it reckons you endangered your own life recklessly.

Take photocopies of your policy and bring them with you when you travel.

CHECK THE VACCINATIONSyou'll need, if any, when travelling. Your GP will know what's required, or check out The Tropical Medical Bureau (tmb.ie), which has offices around the country. Irishhealth.com will tell you what's required across the globe.

Certain courses of inoculation and vaccination have to be taken weeks before travelling, so give yourself time to complete a course.

When you travel, bring proof of these immunisations with you, since they are required at point of entry to some countries.

BEFORE YOU GO, decide how, and how often, you are going to keep in touch.

It may be best not to promise calls home at fixed regular intervals.

If you call every Friday at noon, the day you don't is the day the folks back home think you've been kidnapped and killed.

The really assiduous will bring a laptop and, if they're staying in an area with broadband, will have set up said folks back home with Skype (skype.com).

Not only does this allow you make cheap phone calls over the internet, it also lets your mother see that you're eating properly. You can download the software to your smart phone now too.

If brevity is your thing, keep them posted via Twitter (twitter.com) or with uploads to your social networking site of choice.

It's worth contacting your service provider to ensure your mobile phone will work on your travels.

If you are staying in one place for a long time, it will be cheaper to buy a local SIM card.

Com Reg (askcomreg.ie) has a range of tips on keeping mobile call costs low while travelling.

Smart phone owners will stock up on travel apps (apple.com) for everything from translation services to hotel vacancies and flight information. Many of the most useful – such as the invaluable toilet finder Sit or Squat (sitorsquat.com) – are free.

WITH MONEY, one of the best options is to travel with a pre paid currency card. Payzone (payzonemoney.ie) offers a Mastercard one that can be loaded up and used worldwide in both shops and ATMs.

Not only are they a good value option compared with credit or debit cards but they are more secure. Because they have no connection to your bank account they don't give rise to identify fraud if lost or stolen.

But if you do plan on relying on your credit card, inform the card company of your travel plans. If you don't they'll think your card has been stolen and will cancel it.

Finally, if you plan on moving around a lot, keep an eye on the Department of Foreign Affairs (dfa.ie) website for regularly updated and comprehensive travel advice about far flung places. Its less dramatic than your mother.