BOOKED: Ecuador

Tickets: $670 on Delta

Does anyone else get a sudden bout of indigestion, heart burn, and debilitating anxiety the moment an airline offers you travel insurance? It can't be just me, right? No matter how many times I travel internationally (and domestically), that silly little question grips me right in the deepest part of my rational brain and taunts me, "I'm just $50... aren't I worth it?" And I suddenly imagine every scenario possible that could cause me to cancel a trip and thus wish I had insurance for a refund on the ticket: I break both my legs, a rattlesnake gets me mid hike and I'm on my poisoned death bed (my fear of snakes is unparalleled), or I lose my job or have a family emergency. Essentially, that one question brings to light everything that could ever go tragically wrong, and I spend several minutes completely depressed before I decline it, hit "Yes, I'm for sure. Please book this trip for me." Then the excitement takes back over.

If there's one word to describe how I feel about this trip, even six months out, it really is plain and simply - excited. I'm stoked. I smile so big my cheeks start to hurt every time I think about it. This trip is going to be a great one. 

A few of my takeaways from this process:

Travel does not have to be nomadic or long-term. I know that while I'm in a "9-5" career, I can travel. I can even do it for a few weeks at a time. So can you. It requires planning and a few sacrifices (for me, that means spending the holidays abroad and not with family).

Travel flexibly to reap the greatest benefits. We are flying out of Quito at 12:30am on January 1, 2014. We'll be able to spend New Year's Eve day in the city, but we'll ring in the New Year at the airport. By being willing to be flexible on that day, we saved hundreds of dollars. (I fully plan to buy a bottle of duty-free champagne and pop it right there!)

When you know you've found a deal, take it. I kicked myself endlessly for not booking our flights to Bolivia when I saw tickets for $795. My instincts told me it was a steal. If you don't want to trust your gut, look at the other flights: are there multiple listings for the inexpensive flight, or only one? How does the price compare to other flights around the same time? I learned my lesson and grabbed the cheap flights to Ecuador while I still could.

Be open to adventure. To meet our budget of $800 for flights, most developed, first world countries disappeared from even our periphery. I looked almost exclusively in South and Central America. Instead of beach side villas, we'll be exploring the Amazon basin, white water rafting, seeing animals in the Galapagos, and hunting for waterfalls in the jungle.

Research your face off (or hire me to do it for you). Flights are only the first piece of the puzzle. Do you need vaccinations? How much are visa fees? Is it rainy season? Summer? Winter? Croatia initially met our flight budget, but it's known for its beautiful beaches, and December would be too cold to enjoy them. Next. Bolivia is the cheapest in-country destination I researched, but the visa fee alone is $135. All of these factored into our choice. Make sample itineraries and budgets (and + $500 for South America) to get a true sense of how your trip will go. Plan time for road closures, delays, and days when you just need to rest.

I'll be posting the itinerary and budget I created for Bolivia, along with the highlights we plan to hit in Ecuador in the coming weeks. A really special thank you to everyone who played along with my silly riddle yesterday and tried to guess the country to which I'm traveling! I received several texts, Facebook messages, and twitter guesses. Kudos to those who guessed it correctly!