Hello and welcome to my March update for my Year Long Honeymoon! My husband, Andrew and I will be quitting our full time jobs in May of 2022 and embarking on the journey of a lifetime! Read my Year Long Honeymoon Announcement post to see our full planned itinerary.
January and February involved a lot of booking flights and Airbnbs which you can read about in my February Update post. In the post I go into detail about costs, our budget, and credit card point redemptions. In March I was more focused on what we’re packing, which I discuss in detail below, plus I’ll give an update on our airline and credit card points!
As a member of the Amazon Affiliates program, I may receive a commission to support my travels if you click on link in this post at no additional cost to you.
Packing for a Year Abroad
The Bags
We both got Osprey 55 Liter bags. They come with a 40L main backpack and a detachable 15L day bag/small backpack. The women’s version of the bag is call Fairview and the men’s version is called Farpoint. The bags fully zip open on the front, so you don’t have to dig everything out from the top. We thought the bags were a great deal, since you’re basically getting two bags for one price!
I also have Away brand packing cubes to put in my bag, and Andrew still needs to pick out and buy his packing cubes. Mine came with 4 different sizes and I think almost all of my clothes will fit in the 4 bags. I am also planning to bring a small purse and the fanny pack above which fits my camera, wallet, and phone!
Kailyn's Packing List
I think I definitely have too much on my list, but as long as it all fits, I’m going to pack it all! I’m meeting up with friends and family about a month into my travels so if I really think I have too much then I will send some stuff home with them. I’m hoping the stuff on my list should be good for all our travel locations, but I might have to buy a nice dress before our cruise in October. I am also planning to buy a pair of hiking boots in Georgia that I’ll use for hiking in Georgia and Nepal, then donate them after our Nepal leg.
Clothes
2 x Athletic type dresses, one from Outdoor Voices and one from Girlfriend Collective
1 T Shirt Dress and 1 cute sundress
2 x black leggings – 1 full length, 1 capri
1 x Athletic skort from Beyond Yoga
5 x Shorts – 1 jean, 2 athletic, 2 cotton
2 x Pants – 1 jean, 1 travel type pants
4 x Short Sleeve Shirts – 2 Cotton, 1 athletic, 1 wool
1 x Long Sleeve wool shirt
5 x Tank tops – 1 cute top, 2 bra tops/crop top, 2 workout tops
8 x Underwear
7 x Socks
4 x Bras – 2 regular, 2 sports bras
1 x North Face Rain Jacket (I’ve had this one forever)
1 x Patagonia Nano Puff coat (it folds up into its own pocket!!)
1 x Zip up hoodie from Vuori, one of my new favorite brands
1 x Cardigan
2 x Swim suits
2 x Hats – 1 baseball cap, 1 beanie
Shoes
I am going to pack two pairs of sandals and two pairs of shoes. I’m definitely packing a pair of Birkenstocks, and an old pair of running shoes. I think I’m also going to pack a pair of Veja sneakers so I have something cute but comfortable. I haven’t ordered them yet but I’m looking at their V-10 and V-12 styles. For my final pair I am between Tevas and Chacos for my active/water proof shoes. I think Chacos are cuter and sturdier but Tevas are so much more lightweight.
Andrew's Packing List
Andrew has the same plans as I do, to possibly buy a nice outfit before our cruise, and a pair of hiking boots in Georgia. He also has to consider that he’s running the Berlin Marathon in September.
2 x Pants – 1 Jeans, 1 nicer style
1 x Sweatpants
4 x Everyday shorts
3 x Running Shorts
2 x Long Sleeves – 1 Wool Shirt, 1 button up
6 x Short Sleeves – 2 athletic, 1 cotton, 3 polos
3 x Athletic Tank Tops
1 x Swimsuit
8 x Socks
8 x Underwear
1 x Light Pullover
1 x Rain Jacket
1 x Packable Down Coat
1 x Hat
4 x Shoes – Running shoes, Allbird Sneakers, Birkenstocks, Chacos
Other
Some of the items in the other category we will each need to carry, and some items we only need one of.
Water Bottles – We’re both packing a GRAYL GeoPress 24 oz Water Purifier Bottle and a regular water bottle
First Aid Kit – bandaids, ibuprofen, cold meds, Neosporin, etc
Computers – We are both bringing a laptop
Cameras – I have a Olympus PEN E-PL9 which is a mirrorless camera that can bluetooth the photos to my phone, and a GoPro
Kindle/Tablet – I have a Kindle and Andrew has a tablet for reading
Packable Travel Towels-I just ordered these but haven’t used them yet, hopefully they work well for us.
Tripod – I ordered this Portable tripod from Amazon but haven’t tried it yet!
Dry Bag – For the beach, boat, or just another day bag. We bought this for our Thailand trip in 2019 and it was great
Eye mask/ear plugs – so we can sleep on busses or in hostels
Portable Chargers
Deck of Cards
Head Lamps
New Travel Bookings
I didn’t have any new point redemptions in March, but I did make a few cash bookings. I reserved an Airbnb in Bratislava, Slovakia for 7 nights at $46.57 per night plus an Airbnb in Innsbruck, Austria for 3 nights for $66.32 per night. In addition to the two stays, I also booked two tours. I booked a five hour walking tour of London for $60 per person, and a full day trip of the countryside in The Netherlands for $140 per person.
Credit Card and Airline Points Update
The most important thing I accomplished this month in the points world is calling Chase to link my Sapphire Preferred account to Andrew’s Sapphire Reserve account. I had over 100k Chase points on my account from my Preferred welcome bonus I received last year. The reason this was important is that if you redeem your Preferred points in the Chase travel portal you get a 1.25 cent per point (CPP), but if you redeem your Reserve points for travel you get 1.5 CPP. Moving my 116k points to his account will net us about $300 more in free travel!
Updated Points Balance:
Kailyn American Express: 275,090 points worth ~ $3,301
Kailyn Chase Ultimate Rewards: 0 points + Andrew Chase 118,982 points worth ~ $1,784
Kailyn IHG: 130,005 points worth ~ $695
Kailyn Delta : 25,247 points + Andrew Delta: 20,800 points worth ~ $598
Kailyn United: 1,705 points + Andrew United: 41,269 points worth ~ $485
Kailyn American: 4,253 points + Andrew American: 63,500 points worth ~ $813
Kailyn Citi Thank You: 86,395 points worth ~ $1,296
Total Rewards Points Remaining: 767,238 redeemable for about $8,929
An increase of 10,759 points and $151 from last month!
Spending/Savings Tallies as of the End of the Month
Our goal for this trip is to spend less than $50,000 on our 12-13 month trip. As of the end of March 2022 we’ve spent $2,660.81 and 36,000 points on 50 nights of lodging ($53/night average), $724 and 38,500 points on 3 flights for each of us, $1,162 on 7 night cruise, and $404 on tours. That totals $4,950.81 and 74,500 points, which leaves us $45,6049 and 767,238 points (and counting) for ~325 nights of lodging, countless flights, busses, trains, taxis, museums, food, beer, coffee, tours, wine, more food, and whatever else we decide we need. This really will be the adventure of a lifetime, I can’t believe it’s happening in 2 months!
9 Comments
I’m so excited, it’s coming up really soon!! I love that you are keeping track of points and sharing budgeting tips for any other newlyweds who might want to do something similar! Those travel towels seem like a great idea, I might have to buy one and try it!
Hey Kailyn,
This is the first time I am reading your blog and really find it refreshing.
Loved the way how you guys have accumulated points in Credit cards. That’s an amazing way to save and then spend.
Wish you guys all the best and look forward to hear more from you.
Sounds like one Awesome adventure! A trip of a lifetime, glad you can take the time off to enjoy it !
Thank you, I can’t wait!
You might consider packing a large but very lightweight scarf that folds down into your purse in case you are wearing a sundress and you end up near a place you want to see that requires you to cover your shoulders. Particularly religious sites can be very conservative about this and they take up very little room, plus you can use it to put up your hair or your things together if you need to. They’re very useful!
Yes, that is a great idea, I definitely need to get one! Was considering buying one in Europe because I don’t have one now.
It’s hard to pack for so long and it sounds like you did a great job. Remember, you can buy more t shirts anywhere! Have a great time!
Year-long honeymoon? wow! That’s not common and it sounds exciting. You are lucky to be able to do so. Your post is detailed. It will surely help anyone who is planning a long holiday. If not a year, at least a few months.
I am not a light packer so I did not think your packing list was too long. But good that you have an option to send some stuff home if you find you have overpacked. So great that you are looking to use your travel points in the best way on this trip.