A round-the-world (RTW) trip is no simple feat, but it’s definitely doable for most people. There are several ways to approach this goal depending on your schedule, budget, and personal goals.
Most people begin planning their RTW trips in spring or early summer when traveling season is at its peak. At that time of year, you’ll have more options as far as where to stay and how to spend your money.
But if you want to really test yourself, you can start planning during winter! While there may be less travelers, you’ll have the cheaper option of staying somewhere warm while exploring some of the world’s best destinations.
No matter what time of year you choose to embark on your journey, know that one of the hardest parts will be deciding where to go! With so many great destination possibilities, it can become hard to decide which ones are worth your time and money.
That’s why it is important to determine what kind of traveler you want to be. If you are very concerned with having a good time, then looking for fun things to do is a starting place. But if you are more focused on learning new languages or developing skills, then finding opportunities to do so is better.
There are plenty of ways to find the right balance of activities and experiences across different types of travelers.
Make a list of things to do
So, you’ve decided it’s time to explore new places!
Congratulations, you’ve made the most important decision in your life thus far! Now that you’re ready for round-the-world trips, there are some other important steps you’ll need to take.
The first thing you’ll want to do is make a list of everything you want to do during your trip. This includes exploring different cities, taking organized tours, and staying at top hotels or in fancy resorts.
After that, you will have to determine how much money you have to spend on your travels. A good way to do this is by using Expedia’s cost of living calculator. You can also use Numbeo to find out what people around the world pay for food, utilities, and entertainment.
Once you know how much money you have spent, you can start looking into flights, accommodations, and more.
Set up a budget
Before you even consider taking off for an extended period of time, you need to set aside money! This is not something that should be done at the last minute unless you have plenty of money saved up.
You will want to make sure that you have enough money to survive your trip for at least two months. You do not need to spend every penny during this time, so do not worry about it if you run out of cash.
Also remember that most countries require tourists to have proof of health coverage or travel insurance before allowing entry. Make sure to check both of these things well in advance.
Plan your trip using a tour company
As mentioned before, you can choose to organize your own round-trip or one-way travel with no pre-existing connections. But this is not the best way to do it!
Touring alone can be difficult at times. You will have to find accommodations, transportation, and tours for yourself. Plus, there’s always something that needs to happen — like a flight leaving early in the morning or an evening activity that doesn’t work out – making it impossible to coordinate anything back home.
Instead of doing these things yourself, why not use a good tour operator? There are many companies that offer all sorts of guided packages around the world. Some even handle everything: flights, hotels, transport, and more.
An experienced tour organizer will also help you meet other travelers in the area and connect you with locals to get insight into the culture. This way you won’t feel lonely and you’ll get better insights into what makes the place tick.
Pack your bags
Now that you have a plan, it’s time to start packing! If you are traveling in spring or summer, buying new clothing is probably your first task. For example, if you want to take one piece dress clothes, then buy a dress shirt, jeans, and a pair of shoes — all at least half off — so you will have them for later.
If you are planning to do some exploring outside of major tourist destinations, you don’t need very many expensive gadgets. You can usually find plenty of entertainment anywhere you go. Just make sure you know how to use them!
And remember, even though you may not necessarily want these things while you are away, you should pack them anyway because you might want to use them when you return home.
Start saving
Before you even think about planning your trip, you have to start saving! This does not mean just putting away money for your round-trip flights and staying in expensive hotels, it can include all of the additional expenses that come with traveling abroad.
There is no way to tell how much these things will add up unless you do some research. Luckily, there are many ways to save money while traveling so this article contains lots of information to help you get started!
General tips: Visit somewhere at least once a year if you want to save serious amounts of money (think years’ worth of savings!). Find out what products and services work best during your travels by researching them. For example, instead of paying full price for a hotel room, use Google or Yahoo to find whether any discounts are available from visiting the same property twice in a row.
The same goes for flight tickets and restaurants – try finding either coupons or discount codes to make yourself a good deal. By doing this ahead of time, you will only need to spend money when you travel, creating more spending opportunities later in the year.
Additional ideas: Do some light reading before your departure to learn as much as possible about where you plan to go.
Set up an emergency fund
It is very important to have an adequate amount of savings in place before you start planning your round-the-world trip. This can be done through either opening a new bank account that contains enough money for your travels, or by transferring funds from another source such as a credit card or retirement plan.
It is not recommended to use all of your available cash to fund your round-the-world trip because this may hurt your future travel plans.
Prepare your health insurance card
Before you even think about taking off, you’ll need to make sure your health coverage is in place!
If you don’t have medical coverage, then when you go abroad, there’s no way to get treatment locally, so it can be very expensive.
Many people don’t realize this until they try to take their trip. Luckily for them, we have info here on how to plan a round-the-world (RTW) trip without too much hassle.
You will want to at least check out the laws in each country that relate to medical coverage before traveling. Some require proof of medical coverage or documentation, but not all do.
There are also ways to easily verify if you have international healthcare coverage. Check out our article: Best Way to Find Out If You Have Health Coverage.
Practice safe spending
A round-the-world trip is definitely an expensive dream, but you can do it with money in control if you are aware of your income levels and how to save efficiently.
Planning a round-the-world trip is expensive! Starting with the cost of traveling itself, there are always additional fees for things like credit card rewards programs or airline loyalty cards.
Another large expense is staying. Depending on where you want to stay, travel costs will vary per area. Renting a room or house away from home makes sense only if you know you’ll be around to care for it and use it frequently. If not, you could be paying more to own a place than traveling.
If you’re budget conscious, try looking at online sites that compare hotel rates across genres, areas, and time frames. This way, you’ll know which hotels are affordable and well managed, and you can choose whether to risk being overcharged or not by going through one site as opposed to calling each one directly.
