1988 ā a year of many historic moments. Phantom of the Opera opened on Broadway, Liverpool were the champions of English football, Celine Dion won the Eurovision song contest, George Bush won the 88 US presidential election but most importantly was the birth of an English baby boy on the 7thĀ of August. I was always a bit of an early riser as a kid so typically I was two hours early to deny myself the perfect birth date of 8/8/88.

Fast forward 29 years and that little baby is quickly approaching his 30thĀ birthday! Thirty!
Those 30 years have taken me to some incredible places. For starters I was born and grew up in London so life began in one of the best cities in the world, certainly my favourite anyway. Iāve since been to the likes of New York City, Sydney, Berlin, Madrid, Amsterdam and manyĀ manyĀ more destinations. I canāt deny Iāve done a lot of traveling but it would be easy to forget I didnāt really start taking traveling seriously until 2013.
I was lucky growing up that I had been on family trips, the odd school trip and then had annual one week holidays of my own in 2011 and 2012 but going into 2013 Iād barely scratched the surface of all there is to see on this planet.
It wasnāt until 2013 that I really started focusing my efforts in to traveling more. So barely five years! People often suggest traveling is for your 20ās, if that was the case Iād arrived pretty late to the party! Iāll let you in on a little secret though ā you can keep traveling at 30 and beyond! I know itās hard to believe but itās true! Iāve seen it with my own eyes! Apparently they donāt confiscate your passport on your 30thĀ birthday!
So with that shocking revelation in mind, the planning for my own 30thĀ is underway. On the 3rdĀ of August Iām due to attend a wedding on the West coast of the USA, with a 30thĀ birthday four days later how could I not spend it in the US? The timing was perfect and thereās so much of the US I still want to see ā particularly down that West coast! A big adventure was on the cards.
I floated the idea with my boss at work about taking a longer trip and asked how much time Iād be able to take off in one go. I optimistically put forward the idea of four weeks and Iāve had the OK this week!
If it comes to fruition this will be the biggest trip Iāve ever taken and is therefore going to require a lot of planning! Iāve done a couple of multi city breaks before, including in the US, so Iām not a complete novice in this area but itās a little daunting nonetheless.
Hereās an insight in to the early stages of planning a trip like this.
Itinerary
One of the most important decisions of a trip like this is obviously deciding where you want to go!Ā Ā You donāt necessarily need a finalised list but a draft list of destinations so you can start planning everything else out is helpful. The more flexible you can be the better but itās also always good to have some set destinations in mind to help map out a route.
So stick a little pin in Seattle. Thatās locked in to the itinerary for the wedding and gives me somewhere to either start my trip or aim to get to later on in the trip. Having other āmust visitsā will help plan out a route. Portland and San Francisco tick that box on the West coast and from there Iām pretty flexible. If everything goes to plan Iāll have 30 days in the country so the possible destinations can spread right across the country. Seeing more of California is certainly one option Iāll explore but similarly I have a number of friends in the US and I feel like that could dictate some of the destinations I choose to visit.

Getting around!Ā
Thirty days in the USA very much screams āROADTRIP!!!ā ā what a perfect opportunity for thatĀ bucketlistĀ item many people dream of. Road-tripping across the USA definitely has its temptations. Travel the famous Route 66? Maybe! Iāll just rent a car and see where the road takes me!
However there is one tiny little flaw to this almost perfect plan ā I canāt drive. Unlike in Europe, traveling the US without a car is a little more challenging but Iāll be making good use of what available transport there is. The AMTRAK train line, greyhound buses and potentially even domestic flights dependent on the distance should get me so far and will still help me reach some incredible destinations.
Personally I love this part of the planning process as you have to weigh up the cost and convenience of getting from destination to destination. Do I go from A to B or B to A? Bās actually too expensive so what if I go to D? Well if Iām going toĀ DĀ maybe stop at C on the way? Oh, flying toĀ DĀ is actually cheaper. Or you could get an overnight bus to E which would mean one less nightās accommodation to pay for. Decisions, decisions, decisions!

Accommodation
This will likely play some factor in which destinations I visit too. Hotel prices in the US are quite expensive. Some cities are of course worse than others but it could be a factor between visiting one place rather than another. This is the area of the trip Iāll certainly be looking to cut costs. Aside from the occasional ātreatā Iāll probably be steering clear of hotels and exploring hostel andĀ AirBnBĀ options instead.
Iām also hopeful that I might have some US based friends I can stay with along the way, if Iāve got somewhere I can stay then the probability is Iām going to make more effort to visit!

Objective
Something else to think about is what I actually want from this trip. The USA is huge which also makes it incredibly diverse. On previous trips Iāve been to Disneyland, Iāve been to small college towns and Iāve been to crazy cities like New York City. They’re all completely different type of trips. The US is so diverse as a holiday destination and has so much to offer, just deciding what type of holiday you want is a dilemma in itself. Do I want to concentrate on visiting cities? Could I squeeze in some beach time or visit one of the USā many national parks? Is a Disney / Universal trip a possibility? Iām often attracted to big cities but with a much longer trip in mind perhaps mixing it up a bit is the better way to go!
Company
My last big thing to think about at this early stage is who is joining me on the adventure. I enjoy solo travel but Iām also thinking about who Iāll be spending time with whilst in the US. Would anyone come with me? Which US based friends do I try to visit? Do I see them in their hometown or might they meet me somewhere? Even if it only ends up being for a portion of the trip opposed to the entirety, itās an important aspect to think about and plan for.
On a related note – that road trip I joked about? If there are any willing drives / adventurers then step right up, Iām more than happy contributing towards āgasā costs.

Budget
I didnāt want to completely omit a mention of this but at the same time itās a little early to accurately budget at this stage. Itās an important part of the trip but probably comes in the next part of the planning stage. You can budget an estimated amount based on accommodation per night, spending per day plus return flights to the US but really itās very much guesswork at this stage.
The budget really overlaps with some of the above stages once Iāve started āconnecting the dotsā.
At the minute my only definitive ādotā is Seattle with much more planning to do!
Anyway that rounds up the early planning stages of the big 3-0 celebrations. Stay tuned for updates on how the planning goes and hopefully Iāll soon have a final itinerary!
Iād love to hear your input. How did you celebrate your 30th? Where should I be looking to visit? If youāve planned a longer-term trip of your own Iād appreciate any tips you have.
Or maybe youāre just tempted to tag along? Get in touch!
All the best!
Jason