travel around the world how much

UK spot with stunning mountains and lakes named 'happiest place in the world'

The much-loved tourist destination boasts so much to see and do - from towering mountains to glittering glacial lakes, with plenty of picturesque villages dotted around

• 14:39, 29 AUG 2024

A UK destination , adored by both tourists and locals, has been declared the 'happiest place in the world', outshining locations such as Australia's Gold Coast and Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia.

Going on holiday, whether within the UK or overseas, often involves capturing memories through photographs of the various adventures that you experience.

After examining thousands of these joyful holiday photos shared on Instagram, travel insurance experts at InsureandGo have unveiled the holiday destinations that host the happiest tourists - with the Lake District securing the top spot.

READ MORE: The seaside holiday destination that's warm year round and four hours from the UK

The researchers scrutinised 100 popular global holiday destinations, gathering a selection of photos from renowned tourist attractions in each location. They then used facial recognition technology to analyse the expressions of visitors, subsequently assigning each an average 'smile score'.

The Lake District emerged as the happiest holiday hotspot worldwide, followed by Lofoten in Norway and Queenstown in New Zealand. Cumbria's National Park leads the rankings with an impressive smile score of 88.4 out of 100, with most photos depicting visitors smiling and relishing their visit to the area, reports Devon Live .

Being home to England's highest mountain, Scafell Pike, and boasting countless picturesque villages and stunning views, there's plenty to smile about. It appears that even the typical British weather can't dampen the spirits of visitors posing for the camera.

Scafell Pike may be a renowned attraction in this region, but there's an abundance of other sights and activities that consistently impress visitors. Wastwater, the deepest lake within the national park and indeed all of England, is a must-visit.

Stretching over three miles long and reaching depths of 260 feet, the lake is nestled amongst towering mountains, providing the perfect backdrop for some stunning photography.

The Lake District also boasts some of the UK's darkest skies, making it a prime location for stargazing once night descends. Ennerdale, a secluded valley in the North West of the Lake District, offers some of the darkest skies in Cumbria and a true sense of natural wilderness.

No trip to the lakes would be complete without partaking in some water-based activities. With over 16 lakes across the region and a stretch of coastline, opportunities for boat hire, canoeing, swimming, windsurfing and paddleboarding are plentiful.

Accommodation is abundant in the Lake District too. For instance, the quaint market town of Keswick presents a variety of attractions for visitors, from shopping and dining options to cultural sites like the Keswick Museum and Art Gallery.

In Keswick, you can also arrange boating trips around Lake Derwentwater. With numerous bike hire shops available, it's an ideal base for a picturesque cycle ride.

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To tip or not to tip? Travel expert shares the dos and don’ts around the world

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It’s the age-old question: to tip or not to tip?

In the US , tipping is de rigueur on everything from coffee to a haircut, but how much is appropriate?

Elsewhere, the protocol is more nuanced – gratuities are expected in certain places but not others, while the amount you add to the bill may be dependent on the level of service you receive.

To add to the confusion even more, in some countries, tipping is actually considered disrespectful.

It’s a minefield when you’re travelling, with a new study by  Saga Holidays  revealing that 73% of Brits find international  tipping etiquette confusing when on holiday.

Travel money expert Laura Evans-Fisk at  eurochange says: ‘On average, Brits typically tip between 6% and 10% of the total bill if they enjoyed the meal, with a further 22% tipping between 1% and 5%.’

But since this could be seen as stingy or excessive depending on where you are, doing your homework before a trip can help you avoid awkward situations, as well as ensuring staff are suitably remunerated for their efforts.

Here, Laura shares her top tipping tips for the countries whose rules we Google search most, so next time you jet off, you can get the check without fear of offending.

Tipping is expected.

With 18,000 monthly UK searches for what to tip in the US, it’s the one we worry about most.

‘The United States is notorious for its strict, almost mandatory tipping customs,’ says Laura.

Here, she advises a standard minimum tip of 15% in restaurants – ‘even if you didn’t particularly enjoy the meal’ – which can increase up to 18% for a ‘great’ meal and 20% for an ‘excellent’ one.

‘When at a bar you are also expected to tip the bartender,’ Laura adds. ‘Usually at least $1 per drink, although for cocktails this can be higher.’

Tipping is seen as a generous gesture.

While gratuities are more of an ad hoc thing in Italy, you will often see the words ‘Servizio Incluso’ on your bill, which includes the price of the tip and means it’s not necessary to leave extra.

Laura says: ‘“Coperto” is another common sight on receipts which translates to covered. It refers to the expense of any complementary bread or olives and goes directly to the restaurant rather than the staff, so in these circumstances, leftover tips will be appreciated by wait staff.’

General tipping advice

Cash is preferred

Although three quarters of Brits use their card to tip, Laura advises: ‘Cash tips are usually preferred by hospitality workers for their immediacy, and because card tips often come with deductions. Make sure to always tip in the local currency.’

Check for service charges  

‘In many places, the classic tipping method is being replaced by service charges,’ says Laura. ‘While in some countries it’s mandated that this get shared by the staff , in others, the money goes directly to the establishment.’

If in doubt, round-up  

Aside from in Japan, if you’re unsure of the tipping customs in that country, Laura says, ‘it’s always a safe option to round up the final bill to the largest whole amount of note.’

Always tip tour guides  

Laura adds: ‘The one exception to tipping etiquette which is almost universally recognised is to tip your tour guides.’

Continuing the European tradition, tipping is neither expected nor required in France, but you may see a service charge of around 15% on your bill – ‘Service Compris’ in the language of love.

‘Big tips are considered strange or flashy in France,’ Laura continues. ‘It is much more acceptable to leave behind some change or to simply round up the bill when it comes.’

According to Laura, ‘the golden tip rule in Spain is 10% of the bill.’

She adds: ‘Like the French, the Spanish find large tips strange so anything over 15% can be seen as awkward. Again, like other European countries, you will typically see a service charge or “Servicio Incluido” has been added to the total amount.’

Taxi drivers and porters typically do not expect a tip in Spain, so it’s entirely up to you if you decide to give one to say thanks – but you won’t be seen as stingy if not.

You may see a service charge labelled ‘κουβερ’ added to your bill in Greece, but this ‘doesn’t imply or substitute for a tip’, so an additional 10% to 15% is common and seen as a gesture of appreciation.

Laura says: ‘It is not expected in taxis or hotels, but again, if they have provided help or assistance to you, it would be seen as a way of saying thank you.’

Locals in Portugal are likely to leave around 5% or 10% as a tip, or round up the bill, but you aren’t expected to leave extra if a ‘Taxa de Serviço’ service charge is included.

The hard work is also done for you in tourist destinations like the Azores, where Laura says, ‘a bag handling fee may be automatically added by any taxi drivers or hotel porters.’

Like their American neighbours, Canadians typically tip 15% to 20% for servers in restaurants and $1 per drink for bartenders.

‘However, in Canada, a goods and services tax (GST) is printed on the bill and can be used to work out the tip,’ advises Laura. ‘In most cities this is 5% of the bill, so you can times this number by three to work out your amount.’

Tipping is expected in some circumstances.

Laura explains: ‘In Turkey, as a rule of thumb, you are expected to tip 5% to 10% in restaurants, cafés and bars – especially in tourist or business areas.’

Turkish baths or Hammams are slightly different though; here, you should share 10% to 20% of your total between the attendants before you leave.

Tipping is seen as insulting.

Not only is a tip not required in Japan, it can be considered impolite or rude, suggesting the establishment isn’t paying its staff well enough or you don’t agree with the price.

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‘The golden rule of Japan is to not leave a tip and simply be polite, and to show your gratitude by thanking the restaurant or hotel staff,’ Laura adds.

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How to travel around the world: our complete guide

Last Update: 08/04/2024 5 COMMENTS

Planning a round-the-world trip (or long-distance trip) is not necessarily a small task! It can even be scary at first! You certainly ask yourself tons of questions like:

• Is it really a good decision?
• How much does it cost to travel around the world?
• Where to start between paperwork, vaccinations, insurance, and equipment?
• What about my résumé ?
• What to do with my apartment, my stuff, my furniture?
• It all seems very complicated to me…
• Aren't there dangerous places in South America?

Does this sound familiar to you? We reassure you right away, we asked ourselves these questions before leaving for our trip around the world ! To tell you the truth, we were a little bit lost when this project emerged… But after spending a lot of time on travel blogs and forums, we managed to gather a maximum of information to stop making excuses and to start without any worries .

With the experience of this first long-distance trip (and the others that followed 😉), we can now share with you what we would have done differently, the mistakes not to make, the equipment that we think is essential, the useful tips, etc.

So, you want to start your round-the-world trip adventure? Follow the guide!

So we have created a complete ebook that details all the important steps to plan a round-the-world trip . This ebook is a project in which we put all our heart, it is now part of " our babies ". We hope it will help you to take the plunge and organize your world tour to make the most of this wonderful experience!

To consult the ebook, you have the choice between browsing the different pages created for each chapter (we give you the summary below) on the blog or downloading it directly in PDF format to read it quietly on your computer, smartphone, tablet, or even print it if you want!

Here is the summary of the festivities:

• Leave everything and travel
• The Itinerary
• Round-the-world Tickets
• Health and travel insurance
• Travel gear
• Checklist and schedule

Chapter 1: How to leave everything behind and travel

In this first chapter, we come back to all the reasons that push you to travel but also to the excuses that are still holding you back from quitting your job and leaving everything behind to travel around the world ! We will break down each excuse and give you solutions to solve these problems. We also discuss an important question: should you travel alone or with someone?

Chapter 2: How much does a trip around the world cost?

It's all very well to travel, but how much does a round-the-world trip cost ? In this chapter, we detail all the expenses related to a long-distance trip. Daily budget, accommodation, insurance, vaccines, equipment, transportation, visas, bank fees, budget for the return trip… Everything is covered! So you will find all our tips to save without sacrificing everything. Yes, a round-the-world trip is within your reach!

Chapter 3: How to plan your round-the-world trip itinerary?

Now that you have the budget, you will have to plan the itinerary of your travel around the world … or not! There are two different ways of doing this… We give you all the advice and all the elements to take into account so that you can establish YOUR itinerary for this trip around the world.

Chapter 4: Travel round-the-world ticket

Here again, there are 2 choices: take your plane tickets as you go or buy a travel round-the-world ticket . In this chapter, we review the advantages and disadvantages of these special round-the-world tickets and we give you all the tips to buy your plane tickets cheaper!

Chapter 5: Travelers' health

Health is an important point when you plan a journey around the world because you have to think about it beforehand with insurance and vaccines , but also during the trip with specific treatments (your usual medicine, anti-malaria medication) and the backpacking first aid kit , which is essential for the trip. In this section, you will find all our pieces of advice to be prepared for any eventuality during your round-the-world trip and leave serenely!

Chapter 6: The gear backpacking checklist

What equipment should I take for a world tour? How much clothing should I take? If this is your first long-distance trip, you may be wondering how to carry everything you will need for 6 months, 1 year, or more. It's like your home that you'll be carrying on your back for all that time, so you might as well choose each item carefully. In this chapter, we open our backpacks and give you a backpacking checklist to help you prepare your gear!

Chapter 7: Risks of traveling

Even though it has many benefits, travel still has its share of risks , and knowing about them will help you avoid or overcome them. Whether it's about diseases , security , or encountering all kinds of bugs or ailments (homesickness, motion sickness), we go over all the risks of traveling around the world!

Chapter 8: Planning your round-the-world trip and checklist

OK, you have all the cards in hand to plan your round-the-world trip, all you have to do is to establish a checklist before the big departure ! We have established a summary schedule for you, spreading out all the preparations over 1 year before D-day .

Download our free pdf E-book!

Subscribe to our Newsletter and get a free E-book with more than 100 pages to help you prepare your trip around the world

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Reader Interactions

5 years ago

I LOVE your site design! You have such a beautiful theme and color scheme. And the dropped anchor on the right side of the page is a nice touch! Keep up the great work and keep living your dream life!

A Word To The Wise Poem

Thanks Wayne! We’ve put a LOT of work into our website so we are glad you like it! You too keep doing your best to chase after your dreams 😉

3 years ago

I am not sure if I’d like to travel around the world, but I’d like so much to spend some months travelling in Asia. Hope to do it soon!

Your presentation is beautiful, fun and very practically insightful. I am right now in Bansko and am able to compare your notes with reality. You have done excellent job reporting and describing many aspects of how things are. You are fresh and inspirational. Thank you.

8 months ago

I’m almost seventy years old And still have that itching in my soul to go places and meet new people, did a lot of traveling in my life (40 countries on 4 continents)my advice to young people, is don’t let life pass you by, you only live once and after thirty, time goes by so fast and never returns

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How to plan a trip around the world

 Making the fantasy of a global odyssey an achievable reality is not as impossible as it might seem.

Combining a series of once-in-a-lifetime experiences into a single around-the-world trip can feel like the ultimate expression of luxury travel. It can be a daunting prospect though, with many contending factors to consider. Here's how to start planning the ultimate round-the-world trip.

1. Take to the sky

Air travel is, predictably, the simplest way to traverse the globe. Start by purchasing an around-the-world plane ticket through an airline alliance — coalitions of different airlines which let you pay for all of your flights in a single transaction. The alliance offers regional passes which might work better should you want to devote the bulk of your time to one or two continents.

There are three main players: Star Alliance, OneWorld and Skyteam; the latter, however, has suspended sales of RTW tickets. Star Alliance is a confederation of 26 airlines covering 1,200 airports in 98% of the world’s nations, while OneWorld’s 13 airlines serve 1,000 destinations across almost as many countries.

The small print varies, but fliers must always keep to one global direction, east or west (the latter better suits your circadian rhythm), with no backtracking; must only cross the Atlantic and Pacific oceans once each; must start and finish in the same country; and must travel for a period between 10 days and one year.

Convenience is a benefit here, allowing you to minimise paperwork. It’s worth noting that some countries, such as China, also require proof of an outbound air ticket before issuing visas.  

How to do it:   Star Alliance offers a 133-day itinerary from London via Istanbul, Dubai, Bangkok, Sydney, Los Angeles and New York from £2,580 per person.  

2. Ride the rails

A century ago, taking extended rail journeys was one of the only means of long-distance travel. Today, trains are a great option for travellers looking to minimise their carbon footprint and take a slower, more measured route.

Recapturing the romance of the past, around-the-world specialists Travel Nation can tailor-make odysseys involving   separate train journeys. Vietnam’s Reunification Express, an Outback crossing aboard the Australian Ghan and a ride on the Rocky Mountaineer in Canada can all feature.

How to do it:   Travel Nation ’s 74-night, rail-focused global tour costs from £17,760 per person, including flights, trains, accommodation, most meals and some excursions.  

3. Go Private

For those who truly want to travel in style, it’s possible to circumnavigate the globe by private jet through National Geographic Expeditions. These trips are based around epic itineraries whose remarkable destinations are brought to life by a experts and groundbreaking researchers in various fields, who most travellers never get to meet.

On the 24-day Around the World by Private Jet expedition, you can visit 10 UNESCO World Heritage sites. Among the trip’s standouts are Easter Island’s Moai statues, Angkor’s jungle-flanked temple complexes, rock-carved Petra and a Serengeti safari. Departing from Washington, DC, up to 75 passengers will travel VIP-style in a customised Boeing 757, bedding down throughout the adventure in five-star hotels or lodges.

How to do it: National Geographic Expeditions ’ 23-night Around the World by Private Jet trip starts from £77,100 per person, all-inclusive, including medical evacuation insurance. Departures on 10 March, 29 October and 28 December 2024.  

4. Head overland

Travellers who don’t mind hitting the open road can try Oasis Overland, a tour company specialising in overland travel. Its longest offering is a 293-day trip from the UK to Cairo via an anticlockwise loop along much of the African coast, plus Victoria Falls and Zanzibar. The slew of highlights include the Sahara desert, the Giza Pyramids and East Africa’s wildlife-rich plains.  

The 16 (or fewer) group members will ride in one of Oasis Overland’s bright yellow trucks, built for traversing bumpy roads while offering as much comfort as possible. Nights are almost exclusively spent camping, and everyone is expected to contribute by pitching tents or cooking dinners.

You could also combine trips by flying from Cairo to Istanbul and then joining another overland tour all the way to Singapore, for example.

How to do it: Oasis Overland ’s 292-night UK to Cairo expedition starts from £9,495 per person, including all transport (except flights from the UK to Gibraltar or Malaga) and a selection of excursions.

5. Do it yourself

Arranging everything yourself is an option — most easily accomplished by purchasing multi-destination flights through a comparison website such as kiwi.com or Skyscanner.

A big upside to this is that you can work out something closely aligned to your specific needs; it’ll require a fair bit of time, though, and you’ll lose out in terms of flexibility — changing dates can be tricky — and cancellation cover.

It’s usually more convenient to aim for large airport hubs — the likes of Bangkok, Dallas, Dubai, Heathrow, Paris and Singapore — as the many competing services provide more options. A typical around-the-world ticket will involve something along the lines of London — Istanbul — Bangkok — Singapore — Sydney — Los Angeles — New York — London. From these hubs, you’ll be well placed to add in more obscure destinations in between.  

It’s also worth bearing in mind that you don’t have to fly between each stage. For instance, it’s possible to travel from London to Istanbul by train, lowering your carbon footprint in the process. Or, rather than flying from Bangkok to Singapore, you could get a boat from the Thai capital to Koh Samui and continue from there instead. A reliable tool for establishing train, bus, boat or taxi costs is the website Rome2Rio, and it’s worth investigating the likes of Amtrak rail passes in the US, Eurail Passes for European trains or Greyhound coach tickets covering Australia’s east coast.

Accommodation is something to decide on in advance. Be sure to have all hotel bookings locked in place well ahead of time. Hostels are a good bet, especially if you’re travelling solo or planning an ad-hoc approach during each stage of the trip, but can be lacking in privacy and comforts. House or apartment rentals can be much more comfortable and convenient, particularly for longer stays.  

How to do it: A sample 147-day itinerary from London via Istanbul, Dubai, Bangkok, Sydney, Los Angeles and New York from kiwi.com starts at £2,189 per person, including checked luggage.

6. Enlist a pro

One of the best ways to arrange an air-based around-the-world itinerary is by booking with a specialist agent or operator such as Trailfinders, Travel Nation or AirTreks. This can cut out a lot of organisational stress, while also enabling you to take advantage of these companies’ many years of experience. These firms often have access to special deals and aren’t constrained to particular airlines or alliances, allowing them to further improve the offerings to their clients.

The AirTreks website even has a trip planner tool listing a series of suggested activities, interests and attractions such as hiking, beaches, meditation or family travel, providing an extra level of choice at the planning stage.

If you’re interested in earning air miles, specify this to the agent so that they can concentrate on finding flights that qualify. Agents will also be able to suggest tempting additional stops — Taiwan, maybe, or a pause in Oman — which can be a great way of adding an extra bit of excitement to burgeoning itineraries.  

Finally, a specialist company can also take care of — or advise on — vaccinations (such as malaria), and certification and visas you’ll need, saving you plenty of legwork.

How to do it: AirTrek s’ nine-stop ticket from London via Paris, Florence, Venice, Athens, Singapore, Sydney, Auckland and Los Angeles costs from £1,325 to £1,770.

7. Learn to sail

Land ahoy! You might just get to utter those words by signing up for a unique sailing adventure with London-based operator Another World Adventures, which can arrange for you to join a classic, square-rigged tall ship for 90 days as it makes its way around the world on a 455-day voyage. Once on board, you’ll learn how to trim the sails, haul mizzen spinnakers and lean on trade winds to cross the tropics. No experience is required, and participants will become part of a tight-knit crew and make friends for life.

It doesn’t matter at which point on its itinerary the ship happens to be, as it’s entirely possible to join subsequent legs. Setting sail from Bali on 6 November 2023, leg three sees the ship call at the Indian Ocean islands of Rodrigues and Reunion before arriving in Cape Town on 6 February. Beginning one day later, the fourth and final stage is via Namibia, the British overseas territory of St Helena, several Caribbean islands and, on 13 July, Nova Scotia in Canada.

If you’d prefer to wait and tackle the whole trip — the other two legs are Nova Scotia to Tahiti, and Tahiti to Bali — then Another World Adventures (which also offers other, similar experiences) expects it to start in 2025.

How to do it:   Another World Adventures offers 90 nights, full board, from £13,600 per person, including transport, port fees and instruction.  

8. Cruise along

Ever more around-the-world voyages are being offered by cruise lines. To join one, you’ll need one important thing: lots of spare time. The circular itineraries are mostly more than 100 days in length, with Royal Caribbean’s Ultimate World Cruise maxing out at 274 nights via seven continents and around 150 stops. These kinds of journeys really fit the ‘trip of a lifetime’ tag, running up to £100,000 per person.

Notably, 2023 marks a century since the world’s first continuous passenger cruise ship completed its pioneering journey. Chartered by the American Express Company, Cunard’s SS Laconia arrived back in New York City after completing a monumental six-month sailing via Japan, Singapore, India and Egypt.  

They also sell out quicker than almost any other cruise, partly due to having a limited number of departures. Holland America Line, for example, opened bookings this summer on its new 2025 Grand World Voyage. Departing from Fort Lauderdale in Florida, this is a six-continent, 124-day round-trip which transits the Panama Canal before visiting Callao (for excursions to Machu Picchu), Easter Island, Tahiti, the Great Barrier Reef, the Seychelles, Cape Town, Kenya, Jordan and Barcelona among 46 stops.  

How to do it:   Holland America Line’s 123-night Grand World Voyage starts from £19,900 per person, full board, including complimentary airport transfers, a $500 (£400) air credit and up to £6,700 per person in onboard spending credits if booked by 3 June 2024.  

9. Hop aboard a cargo ship

A rather more adventurous way of sailing the seas is aboard a cargo ship or freighter cruise. Carrying large containers of clothes, electrical equipment, foods and most other things between the world’s major ports, some of these allot space for four to 12 passengers.

Single, twin or double cabins are the norm, usually with sea-facing windows as well as a sitting area, a desk, a shower and a toilet. A few boats come with a pool, but most are very simple — they’re built for work, not pleasure, after all — and you certainly won’t find a spa or casino (though playing cards with the crew members isn't unheard of). All meals are provided in the on-board canteen.

The major appeal is the sense of serenity — watching the ocean drift by and having time to gather your thoughts or write that novel you’ve always planned.  

This can also be an amazing way to tick off some hard-to-reach places. Take freighters travelling to Singapore from New Zealand; be it for fuel and supplies or to make a drop-off, these stop at numerous Pacific islands en route, occasionally for a couple of days. That said, some port calls are too quick for guests to go ashore.

Note that good health and unaided mobility — due to steep gangways and lots of stairs — are mandatory, and it’s not suited for children or elderly travellers.

How to do it:   Cargo Ship Voyages offers a cargo ship crossing from Rotterdam to Cuba (estimated at 16 nights) from £1,880 per person, which includes all meals.  

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Home » Budget Travel » How Much Does it Cost to Travel the World for a Year or More? (2024)

How Much Does it Cost to Travel the World for a Year or More? (2024)

When that dastardly, dangerously, delightful thought first worms its way into your head: let’s travel around the world, leave everything behind and just go…

I’m a travel blogger and a dirtbag at heart, so of course, I’m happy for you. But then you’re asking, well, how much does a round the world trip cost?

The thing is, a year of travelling can be done for as little and as much money as you want . 

At one extreme, you and your hundred thousand dollars can stay in luxury hotels and swan through secluded villas. In which case, why are you reading a budget backpacking guide? Leave us dirtbags alone!

At the other end of the spectrum, you can work, hitchhike, dumpster dive, and camp your way across a continent or two for a year. You’ll spend next to nothing and gain an infinitude of life experience. 

Somewhere in between are those that just want to take a year off and experience budget travel. Your trip has an end date, so at some point you’ll go back to work; you’re not made of money! You’re ok roughing it a little.

The estimates for travelling around the world for one year range from $10,000 – $20,000 depending on how grungy your travel habits are – and where in the world you go.  

So hush to those luxury-influencer-travellers – this one’s for the broke backpackers! 

I’ve got budget estimates, tricks, tips, and just a smattering of ethics to answer the question: how much does it cost to travel the world?

The Broke Backpacker is supported by you . Clicking through our links may earn us a small affiliate commission, and that's what allows us to keep producing free content 🙂 Learn more .

Budget Tricks 101 for Travelling Around the World

Putting a hard number on a round the world trip, working and volunteering around the world, travel around the world responsibly, faqs about how much does it cost to travel the world, final thoughts on how much does it cost to travel the world.

There is just one phrase that defines all budget travel: go local. If you say this fast enough it kind of sounds like go loco which is a pretty accurate motto for the budget travel feels sometimes!

But the answer to the question ‘ how much does it cost to travel the world? ’ depends on which sandbox you’re playing in. Budget travel rules change a bit depending on whether you’re travelling through India or Germany. The India sandbox has a lower cost of living which means the frugal round the world (RTW) trip can be fairly comfortable. The German sandbox requires a larger amount of savings for the same quality of living; or a sneaky side hustle; or a commitment to utter dirtbaggery. 

Luckily, all of us on the Broke Backpacker team have thought long and hard about which sandboxes to go play in. (Don’t worry I’m retiring the metaphor now).

Picking a country that’s cheaper to travel in will mean you can travel comfortably for longer periods of time.

10 Best Cheap Places to Travel to

13 Cheapest Countries in Europe

Still, go local and life becomes cheaper – and more ethical if you ask me. Don’t go for the imported beer and American Spirit tobacco in India – go for Tuborg beer and bidis instead of cigarettes. Or better yet, just give up smoking. It’s a bullshit habit that grabs you by the throat and says, baby please don’t quit me, we had such good times remember?

I digress, probably because I’m trying to quit smoking. Pro tip: stop smoking cigarettes; start saving money. Boom, thank me later ratbags.

Whether you’re planning to slum it around South Asia for a year or dabble in a cheap trip across Europe , there are some common budget tricks and tips to keep your pockets full of coins. Remember, there are 4 major expenses on the road:

• Accommodation

If you can score parts of your expense list for free (like if you have accommodation included with your work) then you can keep your daily budget to a minimum.

These are my tried and true methods for keeping my 4 major costs on the road down. 

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Cheap Sleeps While Travelling

Budget travel and the cost of travel for one year is a spectrum. As I’ve said, you’ve got the pure dirtbaggery at one end and the glitzy, freaking fancy at the other. 

So reducing your accommodation costs are gonna look a little different depending on how you want to spend your year travelling. 

I can assume – if you’re reading this – you’re happy to say (politely) eat a fat one to hotels and fancy travelling . In which case, you’ll be looking at the hostel life ! Hostels are a pretty great way to experience travelling life as well as save some cash while you’re on the road.

But if you wanna get cheaper than hostels, rest assured there are options. You can always get some good camping gear and camp your way across the world. Investing in good camping gear before you travel the world for a year opens up a range of dope, free camping spots. 

Or you can lean into the great networks of Couchsurfing, BeWelcome, or Trustroots. Putting your trust and faith into a stranger in a country to host you for the night can lead to the most epic experiences. Because it’s more than a free sleep: it’s an invitation into someone’s home and, by extension, way of life. 

Finally, you can always try and score free accommodation with your work. Many seasonal jobs that you pick up along the road will offer free or discounted accommodation. If you can’t wrangle this out of your employer, you can also try housesitting . 

Airbnb and the Travel Blues

At some point during your RTW trip, you’ll probably hit some travel blues . Maybe that one guy at the hostel has taken it upon himself to tell you about the time he almost made it as a professional snowboarder yet again, or maybe you’re trying to quit cigarettes for the third time. Whatever the reason is, you need a break. 

That’s where Airbnb shines. In some offbeat travel destinations where there are no hostels, you will lean on Airbnb and Couchsurfing networks exclusively. But even where you won’t need Airbnb so much, it can be a great alternative. There are low to mid-range properties that are a little classier – and a lot more private – than hostels. They might be just what you need after a hectic few months on the road.

However you make it work, squashing the cost of your nightly sleeps greatly reduces your daily budget. If you have $10 a day to spend, expect that accommodation can quickly add up to half or more of your budget – even in cheap countries. 

Aiming for free accommodation, and a tonne more memories, is the way to go!

Cheap Eats While Travelling

Generally speaking, if you’re in a country that’s cheap to travel to: eat street food .

If you’re in a country that’s more expensive: cook for yourself .

If you want to go full dirtbag: dumpster dive . 

I could go on and on about how good food made me question the Universe about God again… I have had some truly divine meals while travelling. And no, they haven’t been had in the fancy restaurants! In fact, done right, food can be the cheapest part of your whole travelling day. 

You could venture deep into the bowels of a marketplace in Mexico, pet chicken in tow (I was going through something – don’t ask), and score a plate of tacos for $1 . You bite into this magical, mystery meaty, pico de gallo topped taco of goodness. Goddddddddamn, if that isn’t the best dollar you’ve ever spent.

Of course, if you find yourself on your Europe leg of the RTW trip, street food might not be an option. So it’ll end up being cheaper to cook for yourself. Although tapas, anyone? They can be cheap and delicious!

There’s also something satisfying about learning a few tricks and tips to show off the next time you get to a hostel kitchen.

Pro tip: cover your potatoes in alfoil, slather them in butter and herbs, bake. Cheap, and damn delicious. 

Want to save money on accommodation?

We got you. For reals.

Cheap Transport While Travelling

Remember: go local! If the bus is crammed from window to windscreen with local passengers, chances are it’s the cheapest transport in town. 

It’s practically a backpacker rite of passage to let themselves be absorbed by the madness of squeezing 35 passengers into a 10 seater bus that careens its way through Kathmandu! Now, on the one hand, sometimes you’re not going to want to share your seat with a chicken, an elderly woman, two backpackers, and a stereo. 

Sometimes, you’ll book the air-conditioned bus and it might even come on time.

And remember that walking is free! If you can’t walk, then you sure can hitchhike . And if you can’t hitchhike, you can haggle for the price of the chicken bus. 

I think the biggest factor that determines your transport cost though is how committed to a fast-paced itinerary you are. The faster you move, the more transport will cost. The more inflexible your itinerary, the less time you have to haggle or shop around for a cheaper option. When it comes to the actual travelling throughout your round the world trip, go slow . 

Cheap Budget Activities While Travelling

Jump on those free walking tours. Start hiking in the local area. See the landmarks from the top of a hill in the city rather than from inside. 

There are lots of ways to reduce the amount of money spent on activities. But, usually, it simply means not doing something.

Now, things like the Eiffel Tower, I’m happy not “doing”. I’d rather see it from the metro and maybe picnic in the park with it in the background. I don’t need to go to the top of it and hope my partner isn’t overcome with the need to propose to me.

Occasionally though, the Lonely Planet lists attractions for a good reason: they’re pretty awesome! Other times, there will be once-in-a-lifetime experiences that are part of the reason you left to travel the world in the first place. Like, learning to freedive , or bungee jumping in New Zealand. 

So some days you won’t need to spend a cent on daily activities. On others, it’s nice to have a little extra money set aside to do something epic. 

Ultimate Budget Travel Hack

When you’re considering how much does it cost to travel the world, know that your route and speed will largely determine your expense . The faster you go and the more expensive the cost of living is in a country, the more you will spend.

The number one way you will save money when you travel the world is being flexible. When you don’t have anywhere to be, you have the freedom to pick a cheaper, slower option in order to get there. 

When you have a less packed itinerary, you will spend less money ticking places off. A less packed itinerary allows you to engage in slow travel and save your money, and sanity, as you travel the world.

Wanna know how to pack like a pro? Well for a start you need the right gear….

These are packing cubes for the globetrotters and compression sacks for the  real adventurers – these babies are a traveller’s best kept secret. They organise yo’ packing and minimise volume too so you can pack MORE.

Or, y’know… you can stick to just chucking it all in your backpack…

Okay, so we’ve got some budget travel tricks and tips under our belt. Now we’ve got to try and put a number on this whole excursion. Oof, I can hear the dirtbags tuning out of the hard numbers. They just want to dumpster dive their way through Europe and then go chill in Nepal for a bit – and that’s ok!

But the RTW backpackers want to put a hard number on their budget. So. I’d say if you’re travelling mostly through Europe, Oceania, or North America , you’ll spend around $20 000 in a year. If you’re travelling through Southeast Asia or Eastern Europe you’ll spend around $10 000 . 

See, these are pretty arbitrary numbers when I just type them out. And the longer I spend not smoking, the more attracted I am to structured data. There’s just something so satisfying and distracting about a table.

The most impressive breakdown of how much one year of travel costs is this bad boy . Sharon did not fuck around when it comes to tracking every last dollar she spent on her first year abroad. I think it’s important to remain realistic about your route and the speed that you will conquer your RTW with. 

But even a back of the envelope calculation like my one shows how far you can stretch a few dollars by being savvy. Travelling around the world for a year isn’t necessarily expensive. 

The Back of the Envelope Calculations

Look, when the numbers are crunched, travelling the world for a year costs less than what you might think . Saving up for the legendary RTW is suddenly a little less daunting.

These back of the envelope calculations don’t include flights, internet costs, or a lot of the gear that you might want to buy beforehand. Still, it’s not that expensive. 

Yet, the broke backpacker’s whole dealio is that we travel the world on less than $10USD a day . And we do do that. (Or at least I do!)

Once you’re on the ground haggling new prices , busking, dumpster diving, and hitchhiking it’s quite easy to not spend more than $10USD a day. It’s the flights, the broken laptops, the good quality backpacking gear, the stint in an Indian hospital stricken with dengue fever that pushes the cost up. 

Also, if you build a bit of wiggle room into your budget you don’t find yourself in a shit hot mess (financially speaking).

Also, even if you spend $10 a day, I would still recommend investing in good quality gear from the get-go. This limits the amount of time you spend sewing your pants back together – and reduces the risk that your bag goes kapootz in the middle of a busy street in Hanoi.

The fact is, many people will fall somewhere between a grunge-cat and a full-blown live-off-your-savings RTW, by getting a working holiday visa or working remotely along the way as a digital nomad.

In this case, not only can you deploy budget hacks to keep your daily costs below $10 a day as a weapon against a depleting bank account, but you have an income too! Even the grungiest of dirtbags will admit that it’s nice to be able to afford a fat joint every now and then!

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Maybe you’ve got $20 000 set aside for an EPIC RTW. You’re happy living the hostel life and splurging on the occasional SCUBA diving trip.

Or maybe, you’ve got a more humble budget in mind. 

In this case, you’re probably going to want to work a little to bring down the cost of your year of travel. You can always find the shitkicker backpacker jobs if you’re willing to get your hands dirty. Speak a little of the local language and a construction site will be hard-pressed to say no to your help for the day.

Most hostels will look for backpackers to run the front desk, do some cleaning, or run the bar in exchange for a bed and some pocket money. Then there’s the seasonal work or teaching English that you can pick up along the way. 

I’ve done everything from picking fruit to working on a fishing vessel to bartending for a little extra cash for the travels ahead! Now if you’re planning to turn your one year on the road into multiple years on the road, the hustling and seasonal work will appeal to you. 

But eventually, you might start to think about a more sustainable way to bring down the annual cost of your travels. You might even start to think about how nice it would be to earn some kind of income again…

Alrighty, here’s the dirty little secret of long term travellers: you don’t just quit your job to travel ; you bring it with you . 

Digital Nomadism

Location-independent work is not so unusual these days – and it’s likely going to become more popular as people get a taste of going remote. These days the team that makes up the broke backpacker would all mostly consider themselves digital nomads of some kind and have plenty to say about getting started as a digital nomad .

Many backpackers will start off as freelancers or entrepreneurs of some kind when they begin their digital nomad journey. As with any industry, there are some people who will try it out for a few months and quit; and then there are the lifers. 

It’s just so addicting to have the ultimate flexibility and freedom of travel paired with the undeniable goodness of regular income, no matter how much digital nomadism changes your travel .

Just a few of the digital nomad jobs include:

• IT and tech jobs – web and software development, UI/UX design
• Creative jobs – photography, creative writing
• Writing jobs – copywriting, blogging
• Marketing jobs – e-commerce, product management
• Language jobs – teaching English, translation, transcription

Volunteering on Your Trip Around the World

If you want to lower some travel costs but aren’t sold on the whole hustling, capitalist beast (or maybe you just want to do a little good) I’d suggest thinking about volunteering! You’ll lower your travel costs, connect with local communities, and give back all your best vibes and smiles while you’re at it.

Whenever you are volunteering, do stay vigilant, especially when working with animals or children. Volunteer programs, like Workaway , run through reputable work exchange programs are more well-managed and reputable.

At The Broke Backpacker, we recommend Worldpackers : a review based program that connects well-meaning volunteers with reputable programs worldwide.

You can rest easy knowing you’re doing a little good for the community that you’re in.

Worldpackers: connecting travellers with  meaningful travel experiences.

8 Steps to a Successful Round the World Adventure

What’s sexier than a budget table or a very detailed spreadsheet? An infographic!

• Get some destination inspiration . This is what’s going to carry you through the hard, hustle times. That beautiful sunset over a beach that you have to yourself; that epic trek through the Andean Highlands. Stay inspired!
• Save some coins . Even the dirtbags have got to buy the odd plate of tacos! However, you save up for your trip, keep that inspiration fresh in your mind.
• Create your budget . Know the hard limits. Know when it’s time to hustle again. 
• Have a loose itinerary . Remember, less is more! The slower you can go, and the more flexible your itinerary, the cheaper your round the world trip becomes. 
• Get some dang insurance . Yeah, even you grungy broke backpackers should consider this! No one thinks they’re going to die of dengue fever in a Guatemalan hospital until it’s too damn late. In which case, good travel insurance saves you a shit tonne of money.

6. Pack up yo’ shit! Investing in good gear means that sexy camping spots open up for you and your underwear doesn’t have holes in them after 4 weeks. Get that good gear, yo!

7. Stay healthy . Travelling is a liminal space between who you were and who you will become. There’s a helluva lot of transformation going on, along with some serious physical stressors. Stay hydrated, eat well, and take care of yourself – including staying fit on the road.

8. Work on the road . Inevitably, you’ll get more destination inspiration. And then you’ll need to save up some money again so that you can set a budget, make a new itinerary, get more insurance, and pack all over again! Getting a job on the road makes it possible to keep this dream machine going.

The Ultimate Adventure Packing List

Get a load of this in your backpack and you’ll be well on your way to getting the perfect packing list . You don’t want to be the kid with luggage that’s 20kg too heavy, but there’s no point skimping on the essentials either!

Osprey Aether 70L Backpack

Ya can’t go backpacking anywhere without a blasted backpack! Words cannot describe what a friend the Osprey Aether has been to The Broke Backpacker on the road. It’s had a long and illustrious career; Ospreys don’t go down easily.

Feathered Friends Swift 20 YF

My philosophy is that with an EPIC sleeping bag, you can sleep anywhere. A tent is a nice bonus, but a real sleek sleeping bag means you can roll out anywhere in a and stay warm in a pinch. And the Feathered Friends Swift bag is about as premium as it gets.

Grayl Geopress Filtered Bottle

Always travel with a water bottle! They save you money and reduce your plastic footprint on our planet. The Grayl Geopress acts as a purifier AND temperature regulator – so you can enjoy a cold red bull, or a hot coffee, no matter where you are.

Petzl Actik Core Headlamp

Every traveller should have a head torch! A decent head torch could save your life. When you’re camping, hiking, or even if the power just went out, a top-quality headlamp is a MUST. The Petzl Actik Core is an awesome piece of kit because it’s USB chargeable—batteries begone!

First Aid Kit

Never go off the beaten track (or even on it) without your first aid kit! Cuts, bruises, scrapes, third-degree sunburn: a first aid kit will be able to handle most of these minor situations.

If you spend any time in a tourist hotspot, you’ll take no convincing that some tourists are dickkkkkkkkkkks . 

I think that ultimately, no matter how cheaply we’re travelling, we have a responsibility to travel sustainably . There’s no need to throw your garbage out the window just because the country’s waterways are already full of garbage. You don’t gotta be that guy. 

In fact, if you’re looking to reduce the amount of plastic you use, you can always go for a filtered water bottle . This way you aren’t spending needless money on plastic bottles AND you aren’t contributing to the landfill problem. Heaps yeah! The turtles say thankyou, homie!

And then there are the little things that stem from a little cultural awareness. Dressing modestly where necessary, not carving your name into sacred temples, using your manners; you know, the stuff that would make your mum proud.

I think that the slower you travel, the more that you can grasp the intricacies of cultural awareness and reduce your environmental footprint – AKA the two core components to travelling sustainably. You will fly less and say please more when you travel slowly and have nowhere you need to be.

Travelling slowly is less stressful for you as well, and I believe, you have a responsibility to yourself and your mental health when you travel too. Because at the end of the day, if you neglect your mental health you’re more likely to act like a dick and travel less responsibly. 

It’s all connected!

Basically, if you can nail responsibility to yourself, to others, and to the environment you’re probably doing your bit to make sure travelling remains a net positive force in the world.

I’ve got your burning questions about the cost of travel for one year answer RIGHT HERE!

How much should I save if I want to travel for one year?

While most estimates put the number at $20,000 per year , I think it really depends on your style of travel and whether you think you’ll be indefinitely on the road afterwards. If you are committed to a year of budget travel that might include a few splurges and no proper working, then yeah, I’d say $20,000 is accurate.  If you hustle or get some seasonal work or become a digital nomad, you may end up travelling for far longer and your yearly costs are going to be significantly less.

Can I travel with no money?

Helllllll YES! Well, it depends on what you mean by “no” money. You can gain income along the way by seasonally working or becoming a digital nomad and offset everything you spend with your income. Or you can straight up not work and travel like an absolute grunge-cat hitchhiking and dumpster diving and still not spend any money.

Is it worth travelling around the world for a year?

I think it’s, hands down, one of the most transformative things you can do. The perspective you will gain and the memories you will make are second to none. Book that ticket!

So should you do it? Should you quit your job and travel the world for a year? Well I dunno, I’m not your life guru. 😉

But now you know that travelling the world for a year is really rather achievable. You don’t have to sacrifice everything for your once in a lifetime round the world trip. It’s perfectly feasible to save up and take the trip of a lifetime! A year’s worth of travel may only set you back $20,000. 

And when you inevitably catch the travel bug, you can find budget hacks and jobs on the road to keep you going. Soon you will realise that you don’t need that much money for a year to travel. You can go full grungy dirtbag and hitchhike your way into a new adventure. Orrrrrr, you can take the happy medium and enjoy an exciting RTW adventure for a year.

Through it all, you’ll let in the transformative power of travelling . 

Because ultimately, travelling opens you up to many new perspectives on the world and really drives home that we have one Earth. We have more in common with each other than we think and we have a responsibility to pull ourselves together to keep this planet in good knick. 

Stay golden team, and I’ll see you out there on the road!

Made it this far? You get 15% OFF to book a place to stay ! Offer valid exclusively for Broke Backpackers 😉

Indigo Blue

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Hi. This is a really useful blog thank you. ? My partner and I are planning to setting off on our travels from England in January 2025. We will definitely have £40,000 between us when we go. potentially £45-47,000 (but this will be a bonus if so!). We want to travel South East Asia, then over to Mexico and travel through Central and South America (for Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador). I am worried our £40,000 will not be enough money given inflation costs post-covid. We will be happy to travel overland, quite slowly. We can stay in hostels… we don’t really like to camp (with the odd private room where its cheaper – we are a couple after all!). We do like yo do a bit of diving and Trekking. We aren’t limited on time. Do you have any thoughts on our budget? I have been wondering if we should postpone and save up more but I really don’t want to!

Hi Alisha, I often lament that you need at least 2 of the 3 following to travel, time , money, motivation to make it work should you be lacking either of the first two. You are super lucky and appear to have all three. Don’t wait, go in Jan 2025. More importantly than what you have in the bank is making a realistic daily budget and sticking as best you can to it. Really decide what things you are willing to splurge and sacrifice on.

In my experience drinks (of all types) can be a daily budget breaker, so you can do things like forgo fancy coffee and just have the local brew. Living and travelling like a local will always stretch your money further.Getting involved in projects or workaways will also help. Try to get some interest on the cash you do have in the bank and make sure you find a least two banking products that allow you free access to your money abroad and have them fully set up before you set off. Wishing you a great trip!

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Round the World Tickets: The Ultimate Guide (Updated 2024)

Y ou've probably heard about round the world tickets, a one-stop shop approach to cross-continental flying. But let's be real: it's never been easier to book flight tickets yourself, and round the world tickets are pricey. So why do people book round the world tickets, and are they  actually worth the cost?

The quick answer is, it depends . If you're pressed for time, have a seriously fixed itinerary with many international stops to make, it can be cost-wise. However, if you have a whimsical, budget-conscious trip in mind, or are focusing on just one part of the world, there are cheaper options out there that you should know about  (like finding fares yourself on Skyscanner on Kiwi.com ).

So, here's everything you need to know about round the world tickets, followed by our DIY approach that could save you even more money!

• 1 How do Round The World tickets work?
• 2 How to book a round the world ticket
• 3 What are the restrictions and/or setbacks?
• 4 The alternative: book separate flights yourself
• 5 How to book your own round the world trip
• 6 So, what's the cheapest option?
• 7 A Thrifty Case Study: A Round the World Trip from New York City
• 8 What are the alternatives?
• 9 So, is a round the world ticket worth it?

How do Round The World tickets work?

Round the world (RTW) tickets are flight packages that let you visit a number of destinations around the world for one price. These tickets are offered by airline alliances like SkyTeam, Oneworld, and Star Alliance. All the flights in your itinerary must be served by airlines within the chosen alliance.

RTW tickets require you to select your destinations and departure dates in advance. This means you prepay for the pass and book all of your flights before your trip. Note: you don't have to actually fly “around the world” with these tickets , they're also sold as multi-city flights, continent-based travel, or by miles.

The perk of RTW tickets is the ability to book all flights at once at a discounted price, plus ensures a mass accumulation of frequent flyer miles since you'll only be flying partner airlines. You can even purchase part or all of your RTW ticket with relevant miles, where permitted.

How to book a round the world ticket

Round the world tickets can be purchased directly with airline alliances or via  travel agents .

Airline Alliances

• OneWorld Alliance
• Star Alliance

Each alliance offers an online trip planner that allows you to put in every stop of your itinerary and get a price quote. It also makes it easy to work around the restrictions of round the world tickets, warning you when your planned route doesn't meet the requirements. All alliances offer online booking, or you can call one of the participating alliance airlines directly.

Travel Agents

• AirTreks (U.S. – our top choice & has 32+ years experience in RTW planning)
• Liberty Travel (U.S.)
• Flight Centre ( Australia , U.K. , Canada )
• RoundAbout Travel (Australia)
• Student Flights (Australia)
• A travel agent local to you

Travel agents have exclusive access to flight deals, plus receive discounts accessible only via their IATA code. They also save a great deal of time and money whilst adhering to your budget and needs. Find an agency that specializes in round the world tickets, so they're aware of the restrictions and can secure the best price.

What are the restrictions and/or setbacks?

RTW tickets often more expensive than a DIY approach (covered later), especially given they exclude budget airlines. Furthermore, there are restrictions to follow, so ensure you've read the fine print. Such restrictions typically include:

• A minimum number of flights to book (typically three), as well as a maximum
• Flights usually must be within the same airline alliance. This can sometimes result in obscure stopovers to stay with partner alliances.
• Restrictions on the direction of travel (e.g. East to West only) and/or requiring you to cross both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans at least once
• All flights must end in the city you started from and connect from city-to-city (i.e. you can't fly into London, then take a train to fly out of Paris)
• A minimum number of stopovers
• Additional surcharges for itinerary changes and/or flying to certain destinations
• Missing a flight in your itinerary could result in the remaining flights being cancelled, even if days or weeks away

Whew! Though there are many restrictions, most will come up when making your booking . Simply use the round the world ticket planners provided by each alliance, put in your desired destinations, and the options and costs will be presented automatically.

The alternative: book separate flights yourself

The value of a round the world ticket depends on the route you're taking and the flexibility needed. More often than not, you'll find it's cheaper, easier, and more flexible to book your own round the world trip online across several bookings using multi-destination flight search engines like Kiwi.com  and Skyscanner . You also can mix and match airlines, and aren't confined by the restrictions that accompany an actual RTW ticket.

Credit card points programs also allow multi-city flight bookings, effectively allowing you to book your own round the world trip via points or a combination of cash and points. You can readily rack up a significant amount of miles just by hitting the minimum spend within a set time. The Chase Sapphire Preferred is our top pick as a beginner card. On hitting its minimum spend, you can earn up to 60,000 points worth $750 – more than enough for an international flight .

Flight deal subscriptions like Scotts Cheap Flights compile discounted airfare to your inbox, based on the desired departure airports. Whilst this doesn't include RTW flights, this could help you cover some of the legs of your trip, as it has majorly discounted international flights departing the U.S. For those outside America, similar services exist in the U.K. ( Jack's Flight Club ) and Canada ( Next Departure ).

The only major drawbacks with booking a RTW ticket yourself is the time and patience needed to make the booking. Additionally, you may end up with frequent flyer miles spread across a variety of programs, without enough miles in any program to use them. Most likely though, you'll come out ahead financially doing it yourself.

How to book your own round the world trip

Kiwi.com  and Skyscanner are the two flight search engines we recommend for booking your own tickets for a round the world trip. They include budget airlines and let you search multi-destination flights, letting you see prices for your entire itinerary at once.

The key difference between the two is that Skyscanner prefers results from partner airlines , while Kiwi.com will always  mix and match airlines (including budget airlines) for the cheapest price . Either booking site can be beneficial depending on your trip, so to get the best price, be sure to compare results and follow these tips:

• Experiment with  the order of your destinations for the best price. Just because a flight is shorter doesn't mean it will be cheaper.
• Experiment with the  dates of each flight . This can be time consuming, but if you're dedicated, you can shave hundreds of dollars off your total cost by simply finding the cheapest dates for each flight.
• Multi-city and  return flights are often better value than booking many one-way flights when they can all be fulfilled by the same airline/alliance. For example, Virgin Atlantic has routes from New York to London, London to Shanghai, and Shanghai to New York, so making one multi-city booking with this single airline will be cheaper than several individual bookings with different airlines.
• Skyscanner prefers partner airlines that can fulfil the entire itinerary you submit, which doesn't always get you the best price on complex itineraries. So if you have a lot of destinations, split your searches into 3-4 destinations at a time . For example, instead of submitting New York > London  > Paris > Beijing > New York as a single search, try searching New York > London > Paris as one search, and Paris > Prague > Beijing > New York as a second search. You don't have to worry about this on Kiwi.com , which always mixes and matches airlines to get the best results.

So, what's the cheapest option?

In our tests, the DIY approach is always cheaper, but it depends on the kind of trip you're taking. Round the world tickets can cost anywhere from $1,500 USD to $20,000 USD . The price varies greatly, and depends on your departure point, number of flights, distance flown, continents flown to, and flight class.

On the other hand, regular flight ticket prices are all over the map, dependent mostly on supply and demand. Sometimes a flight across continents can be even cheaper than a flight within your own country. Since regular flight tickets include budget airlines , sale and error fares , and you can still take advantage of discounts with partner airlines,  booking your own flight tickets has always been cheaper for us .

The only way to know for sure is to compare. Use the links provided in this guide and see what gives you the best result!

A Thrifty Case Study: A Round the World Trip from New York City

As an example, let's find the best price for the following round the world trip:  New York City > London > Paris > Prague > Beijing > Hong Kong > New York City . We want to go in  April and May , and we are booking now in  January . We'll start on Tuesday, April 10, and schedule each consecutive flight for the following Tuesday.

Option 1: A round the world travel agent

Booking with AirTreks also gives you a team with over 32 years of experience in RTW planning, all your tickets in one spot (instead of many confusing separate bookings), 24/7 support, and better routes (less layover time, more baggage, etc.) If you do find a cheaper fare yourself, let them know – AirTreks tells us they're confident they could beat it!

Option 2: A round the world ticket booked directly with airline alliances

Putting in the same itinerary into each of the airline alliances' round the world trip planner gives us the following totals:

• OneWorld: $3,738.86 USD
• SkyTeam: $3,904.28 USD
• Star Alliance: $4,543.84 USD

Not exactly thrifty, and up to 3x the advertised price of the travel agent! True round the world tickets require strategic planning, so using a travel agent's expertise can save you time and money. But let's take a look at booking regular airline tickets yourself…

Option 3: Book your own tickets using Kiwi.com and Skyscanner

Using the Kiwi.com multicity search feature, we enter our full itinerary, and within minutes, we have a variety of options from $1,390 – $1,434 USD .

As we mentioned, Skyscanner usually just shows results from  partner airlines that can fulfill a ticket for the entire route. This route is pretty complex, and it's unlikely one airline alliance could fulfill it all, so let's  break it up .

After half an hour of trying different combinations of multi-city and one-way searches, the cheapest combination I could find for these dates was

• New York City > London > Paris > Prague: $390 USD
• Prague > Beijing: $283 USD
• Beijing > Hong Kong: $119 USD
• Hong Kong > New York City: $493 USD
• TOTAL TRIP COST: $1,285 USD

This is the cheapest option, beating Kiwi.com by only $105. What's going on here? In short, trial and error. The first batch of airlines aren't partners, but Skyscanner sometimes lets you mix and match airlines by using Kiwi.com for booking. And although there are partner airlines to fulfill the rest of the route, Hong Kong Airlines is an independent budget airline with competitive pricing, so it ended up being cheaper to book the flights separately in order to include their fares.

You can take this even further by testing different dates in your itinerary, as well as the order of your flights. As you can see, the process can be time consuming, but a little time rewards you with hundreds or thousands of dollars saved!

What are the alternatives?

Regional flight passes.

While not a round the world ticket in itself, this type of flight pass might be more sensible for your trip, depending whether you'll be flying a lot in one region versus globally. For instance, if you are planning to take more flights around South America than across continents, then you may be better off investing in one of their regional passes (check our guide here ).

Some examples of regional flight passes include:

• OneWorld single-continent passes: available for Africa, Asia, Japan, Australia & New Zealand, Malaysia, South America, Europe, North America, Middle East, South Asian Sub-Continent
• OneWorld multi-continent passes: rather than flying all the way around the world, these passes let you fly in a circle around one smaller area of the world
• SkyTeam regional passes : available for Asia & Southwest Pacific, Africa, Asia, Europe, Greater China, Russia, and USA & Canada
• Independent airline passes in South America : these work within specific South American countries (check our comprehensive list and guide here )
• Qantas Explorer pass : a flight pass for exploring Australia and New Zealand

Building your own stopover

A stopover – that is, an extended layover where you can actually leave the airport for 1 or more days or weeks – can be added for cheap or free to any trip, all by yourself. Our how-to guide here explains exactly how to do this.

Essentially, you find a flight fare that includes a layover, but instead of rushing to your connecting flight, you spend days or weeks in the layover destination, visiting 2 destinations for the price of 1. Whether you go round the world or not, it's a great way to squeeze more travel value out of your flight costs.

So, is a round the world ticket worth it?

In short, for most travellers, the answer is probably no. There are a certain set of criteria where it could be more cost-effective, and some travellers may prefer the ease of having all of their tickets booked in one pass anyway. However, the fixed timing, many restrictions, and high price are likely to be unappealing to those who are seeking a thriftier approach, especially when it's so easy to book yourself for less with Kiwi.com and Skyscanner .

The Thrifty Gist

• Round the world tickets are usually pricier than self-booking, but offer peace of mind and a pre-set itinerary
• A dedicated RTW agent such as AirTreks can save you a lot of time, with the added benefit of 24/7 support, having all of your flights in one place, established airlines with shorter routes, and over 32 years of experience in RTW planning. AirTreks tells us they're confident they could beat the other prices in this post, so if you find a cheaper fare yourself, let them know!
• Round the world tickets can be booked with airline alliances or travel agents, while self-booking regular flight tickets can be booked using the multi-destination features of Skyscanner and Kiwi.com
• Self-booking is usually the cheapest approach to a round the world trip, but can also be more tedious
• Reasons to self-book include the abundance of available error/sale fares , budget airlines, the ease with which self-booking can be done, and that stopovers can easily be added to any trip

Our website contains some affiliate links in relevant areas. This means we get a small commission, at no extra cost to you, for recommending a product we personally use, trust, and own.

trying to fin d the cheapest country to start a Oneworld 4 continent ticket July 2022, it used to be South Africa or Jordan, any update links?

Please send complete information for my round the world travel for 2 – up to a year.

Skyteam RTW tickets are not available currently, and haven’t been since the start of COVID. The Star Alliance RTW business ticket I just booked was half the price of using the DIY method.

I booked a OneWorld RTW ticket in 2015. The huge benefits were: – change any arrival/departure date at any time with no fee or fare difference – email with a dedicated RTW agent who manages your itinerary during the trip – mileage credit for using AA-linked credit card for the fare and the trip itself

My agent was great. She helped me out on a critical date change that I had no control over, and fixed a problem created by a gate agent that deleted the entire rest of my trip!

I’m planning another RTW Sep 2024 – Feb 2025 and will price out all of the options you’ve listed above, but my gut tells me to go with OneWorld again.

The Star Alliance site is filled with 403 Forbidden pages that the site is not usable. I want to use them for my RTW tickets since I bank my mileage with UA but the site is so broken.

looking forward to trying this amazing experience all over the world.Next summer would like to do eastern europ and south-east Asia!

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How to Plan an Around the World Itinerary in 8 Steps

Last updated on January 5, 2024 by Shannon

You’re planning an around the world trip . Congrats! My one-year trip turned into a decade of wandering and it transformed my life . My own one-year trip itinerary took me through 15 countries and countless experiences—but narrowing down my dream countries to just 15 was hard.

After so many years on the road—and after several round the world trips since that first one—I have some hard learned advice for anyone planning their own route and building their own trip around the world. If you’re planning a world trip, it’s usually a long-term route of at least a few months and up to a year around the world, or more.

These are eight ideas—eight steps really—to help narrow your travel itinerary down to those stops along your route that will fit your budget, highlight the most memorable places to you, and make sense for the trip you’ve always dreamed of taking.

Table of Contents

1. Make an itinerary bucket list for the entire world.

The inspiration phase of planning your round the world trip itinerary is one of the most fun. Maybe you already have a laundry list of places you hope to cram into your world trip itinerary. Or perhaps you’ve nailed down a few key experiences but you’re open to more inspiration. You should absolutely start with a long bucket list of locations all over the world, because weather and route might automatically strike a few off the list for you.

If you’re curious for more travel ideas, browse the  best travel books sorted by destination , or search for long-reads and podcast recommendations on my Destination Travel Guides . Use these books and resources for inspiration on not only places to add to your round the world route, but activities, too.

Perhaps you read The Devil’s Picnic and subsequently add Paris to your list for that stinky but toothsome Époisses de Bourgogne cheese, or you add Bhutan because of its intriguing portrayal in The Geography of Bliss (that’s what has it on the itinerary for my next around the world trip!).

Books and podcasts are a phenomenal way to expand your idea of what is possible on your trip.

Once you have a list of dream destinations for your travel itinerary, highlight up to five that are your absolute priorities—these will become the bedrock of your around the world trip. The rest of the places on your list will slot in around those stops based on timing, weather, and more.

How granularly you plan is personal—some travelers leave with a precise list of destinations and timelines, while others plan the first couple of months of their round the world trop.

My three key travel destinations:

For my first year, I had three key activities on my list. The first was diving the Great Barrier Reef —that’s why my trip started in Australia . The second was meeting my cousin in India and backpacking north from Mumbai together for two months before ending our time together at a volunteer placement in Nepal . The third was time-sensitive as I had always dreamed of attending the Edinburgh Fringe Festival , which takes place every August in Scotland.

Later, when I traveled with my 11-year-old niece for six months in Southeast Asia , I led her through some basic Google searches so that she could see what was on offer. We planned our joint world trip itinerary together centered around her three biggies: an ethical elephant encounter , ziplining somewhere, and visiting Angkor Wat .

2. Pick a direction around the world.

From your home country, your travel itinerary will take you either east to west, or west to east around the world. Backtracking is not ideal—it’s expensive, causes more jet lag, and is bad for the environment. Use this strategy whether you use a round the world ticket (which requires this stipulation) or if you book flights as you travel.

Pros and cons of traveling east:

• Science says this direction is harder on your body and produces more jet lag . The short of it is because you are losing time when you fly through time several zones, but your body actually prefers cycles slightly longer than 24 hours, not shorter.
• You’ll need to become a pro at minimizing jet lag so you don’t lose several days to it in each new location.
• If you’re planning a very long RTW trip, perhaps 18 months or more, and your itinerary creeps around the world, then you will likely not notice the difference much.

Pros and cons of traveling west:

• As noted, your body actually prefers days that run longer than 24 hours, so your internal clock has a much easier time adding hours into your day. This means fewer nights adjusting and staring at the hotel ceiling at 3am.
• Your body can do at least two hours of time zone jumping in this direction without having a noticeable effect on you, so it’s ideal to slowly hop west around the world. And if you’re crossing the Pacific from the U.S., your largest time zone change will likely occur at the beginning of your trip, so you can then enjoy more relaxing travel for the many months afterwards.

How I decided my world trip direction:

I was lucky that two of my key experiences could bookend my trip. Scotland and Australia are not close, so it was easy to plan many of my other dream destinations to fill the space between these countries.

Since I planned to leave the U.S. in November, it was easy to surmise that starting my trip in Australia, which was entering summer, made the most sense. Then I would make my way west toward Scotland for Edinburgh Fringe, handily skirting both winter in Europe and summer in Asia.

3. Find creative overland routes.

Whew, you now have a list of dream destinations for your world trip and a direction of travel. Now it’s time to fill in the space in your itinerary. And you’ll do that by using local transportation, which is a lot more fun than flying—you’ll see more of the country and culture, and you’ll have richer travel experiences .

Go back now to those handful of key destinations from your bucket list that. These are the foundational bedrocks of your world trip itinerary. These dots on the map should lend a rough overview of a route. If they don’t, if one is just an outlier that makes it hard to see logical jumps, narrow your list down to four, and see if that helps—if you truly love the idea of an experience, but it doesn’t fit this trip it might make a great trip on its own in a couple years time.

Now, your world trip itinerary needs the details, and those usually come from visiting clusters of bordering countries—you’ll be crossing overland among many of these destinations. (For that to work, however, check visa restrictions for your nationality as some countries require visas in advance, or don’t allow crossings at certain borders).

Popular routes ( backpacking Southeast Asia , for example), have only a few restrictions and those are easily handled online, or in the days before your border crossing.

Start dotting the map with the countries that are very close to your bedrock destinations. That looks like this: If trekking in Nepal is a bedrock item, and India’s Golden Triangle and Sri Lanka were both on your dream list, then it makes sense to add them into your route, since you’ll definitely be in the region.

My creative overland routes:

As I planned my itinerary, a dear friend announced she wanted to meet me in Florence, Italy in June. That became another bedrock item with a firm date, so I now had a time I had to leave South Asia and head to Eastern Europe.

Nearby Croatia was on my tentative list, and I had a friend in Bosnia , so both of those became stops on my itinerary that helped give it shape. Prague hadn’t been on my list, but I decided to move north through Eastern Europe after leaving Bosnia.

I filled in adventurous stops that would take me from my friend in Italy in June to Scotland in August—plenty of time for rafting in Slovenia , finding charming towns in Czech Republic , biking Amsterdam like a local, and walking through the Lake District of England first!

Research activities in countries you’re considering.

If there are countries nearby your “must-visit” locations, use a site like GetYourGuide to research the types of activities you could see and do if you visited these adjacent destinations as well. I like checking out the day tour sites more than a guidebook at this stage because it’s a very quick overview of the must-dos in each location.

4. Research festivals in your favored locations.

Local festivals around the world are amazingly full of life, culture, and fun. It’s a huge letdown when you learn too late that you missed a major religious and celebratory festival by just a few days. And it’s also a shock if you arrive thinking it’s shoulder season but you really arrived during Brazil’s carnival.

Plan your route to coincide with the dates of festivals that seem most fun for you (this is especially important for trips with kids, because they love the excitement, colors, and foods at these types of events. You’ll need to book accommodation early depending on the event, so that may take some flexibility from your world travel route, but it’s worth it.

Here are a few favorite annual festivals that many travelers plan around: La Tomatina in Spain in late August; Holi the Festival of Colors  in India around early March; Thailand’s Songkran Water Festival often falls within April and its Loy Krathong Lantern Festival falls in late October or early November.

Festivals around the world I sought out:

When my cousin told me should could only meet in India in February, and I knew we’d be there for two months, I went into planning mode to decide where we should celebrate Holi the Festival of Colors . It was a real highlight of my trip and I am so glad our world travel itinerary allowed us to experience this incredible Indian festival.

Then, of course, was the Fringe Festival —that was one of my bedrock destinations so it was definitely on the planned route.

5. Play Tetris with locations to fit your travel budget.

I stuck to an amazing year-long world travel budget that came in under $20,000. The only way I could do that was by carefully planning my time to favor budget-friendly countries, and then add in high-cost countries in smaller supply.

Research each of your dream destinations ahead of time because some places you might assume are budget actually cost more than you imagine (a safari in Africa is not cheap, nor is accommodation in much of Africa, but visiting a dream destination on the continent is worth it). Japan may be in Asia, but it’s pricey, too. Central America and Mexico are easy on your budget, as are parts of South America.

How I made my RTW travel budget work:

Australia , England, Scotland, and Ireland were mega expensive and represented three of my eleven months on the road. India and Nepal were, by far, the cheapest places (even cheaper than backpacking Southeast Asia ), and it was actually difficult to go over budget during the three-and-a-half months that I backpacked South Asia.

I spent the other months in Southeast Asia and Eastern Europe, two regions that are in the discount to mid-range. All told, I was able to easily average $50 a day, even though some days in Europe topped $100.

6. Plan around weather trends.

On your trip, research destinations ahead of time and plan according to your own weather preferences. While it’s not likely you will hit every destination in your preferred season, you should know when monsoon season makes a paradise island unenjoyable, or when blizzards will thwart a planned ski trip.

Research using this great rundown of shoulder season locations around the world, and this European shoulder season list , and this very cool map of a a sample round the itinerary featuring perfect weather in every location.

Why I chased summer around the world:

I planned my trip itinerary to chase summer around the world. As a native Floridian, my tolerance for heat is higher than most others, and I deeply enjoy warmth. A year of summer was lovely.

Whether your around the world trip chases summer or snow—and note it’s way easier to pack for long-term travel when you can leave behind thick jackets and boots—you’ll want to pack effectively using packing cubes .

I have probably 20 packing cubes after 15+ years of travel—cubes of all shapes, sizes, and uses to fit every trip. This eight-pack starter set is well-priced, durable, and will give you a worthy introduction into the sheer magic of packing cubes.

7. Consider how you will fly.

When planning your itinerary, you have to consider more than just major long-haul flights. On my travels, I research local budget airlines too, and I always have a good idea of which regions of the world offer affordable puddle-jumper flights. If you’re considering buying round the world tickets , read my insider tips and advice first!

Southeast Asia has AirAsia and Vietjet, among others. Europe has many budget carriers: Vueling, Ryan Air, and EasyJet. And JetStar has good flight deals in South Asia. By checking for budget airline routes, I know that I can easily visit more countries in a region if there are sub $100 flights around the area. (Tip: this is an amazing interactive map of low-cost airline routes ).

My transportation choices:

I priced out my year on the road and found it was cheaper to combine overland travel with local carriers than it would have been to buy a RTW ticket up front. I also have a guide to how I find good flight deals , since I never buy round the world airfare.

Generally, flights are likely necessary unless you plan an entirely overland route around the world , but flights are harmful if you solely rely on this form of transportation, so truly consider how you can incorporate other options, such as buying a Eurail ticket in Europe, or a Greyhound bus ticket to travel down the east coast of Australia.

Don’t forget to  book travel insurance for your trip —a great policy provides coverage in case of medical emergencies, lost or stolen gear, adventure sports riders, and more. I’ve used  IMG Global  for more than a decade  highly recommend it !

8. Remove some destinations from your world trip itinerary.

There is no wrong way to plan your route around the world, and there is no perfect number of places that you can visit in a year—it all depends on what you’re looking for on your trip. And no matter how carefully you plan, you will love some places, feel mediocre toward others, and perhaps even leave early from a few. You won’t know until you set out which type of places and experiences best fit your long-term travel style.

But please keep in mind that the pace of short-term travels is very different from a multi-month trip. Create a route that travels slowly, avoids the dreaded travel-fatigue , and includes destinations you have long dreamed of visiting. To do that, you now need to take a critical eye to your trip and trim the fat.

Is there something you added it because it seemed fun and was moderately close, but it wasn’t a bedrock item? Or perhaps it’s a location you love the idea of so much that you know you will plan a trip there in the future if you skip it now. Snip those from your world travel itinerary right now and you will be shooting me an email of thanks once you’re on the road.

The countries I cut from my around the world trip:

The best advice other travelers gave me when I asked for itinerary advice in a travel forum was to remove an entire leg of the trip. I had hoped to backpack Scandinavia between my time in the Czech Republic and Amsterdam, but long-term travelers assured me that I would be grateful for wiggle room in my itinerary by that stage of my trip (nine months into it).

Plus, they accurately pointed out that I just couldn’t swing these very expensive countries on my limited travel budget.

Turns out that I burned out a month before reaching Czech Republic and camped out in Slovenia for an extra two weeks—if I had been dead-set on Scandinavia, I would have never had time to do that while still making it to Edinburgh Fringe in time! (And let’s not even think about what Scandinavia would have done to my travel budget!).

If you’re overwhelmed about planning the nitty-gritty details on a months-long trip around the world, know that a rough route suffices. All you truly need before you leave home is logistics for the first couple of weeks—you can easily sort out the rest on the road. I promise.

Really, I promise. It seems scary but I swear to you that you will be grateful for flexibility once you land, and that it’s completely possible to plan the smaller details as you go. Moving between countries and regions was infinitely easier than I had anticipated before my first round the world.

Your Next Steps for Planning an Around the World Itinerary

Research places around the world and assemble a dream list of locations. That’s really the first step and should be a lot of fun.

While my travel books selections are a starting point, you can also peruse guidebooks for inspiration. I always buy a Lonely Planet or Rough Guide for my first planned destination (and then I swap it along the way for each new country), and before my first round the world trip I checked out a stack of 25 guidebooks from my library. Do your research and dream big before you even begin selecting an itinerary and paring down your list of destinations.

This is my core page compiling resources on How to Travel the World and here are a few other pages sharing advice specifically for long-term travel planning.

• How Much Does it Cost to Travel the World
• How to Save for Travel
• Free Destination Travel Guides
• Best Credit and Debit Cards for Travel
• How to Pack for Long-Term Travel
• How to Pick the Right Travel Insurance

How to Travel the World

Free resources and first-hand advice on how to plan long-term and round the world travels.

Essential Travel Planning Resources

❗ Yes, you need travel insurance . IMG Global is the travel insurance I’ve used for well over a decade of traveling solo, and with kids. Here’s why .

🧳 Smart packing can save your trip. Shop my favorite travel gear , including all of the packing essentials for world travel , gear to keep you safe on the road, my favorite travel books , and more.

🛏️ Find great accommodation . Booking.com is essentially the only hotel booking site that I use. It has a wide and affordable selection of traditional hotels, but also hostels and vacation rentals, too. Use these pro tips to find the best travel accommodation .

📍 Navigate more effectively. Rome2Rio is super handy to assess the full range of transport options between two cities—shows everything from flights to trains, buses, minibuses, and more. If you’re booking a rental car, I’ve always found the best deals on RentalCars.com .

✈️ Book affordable flights. Expedia is one of the first places I look for low-cost flights .

☕ Peruse all of my tips for round the world travel , or learn how to move and live abroad .

Here's what you need to know to plan a trip around the world

Dec 29, 2021 • 7 min read

Don't start planning your round-the-world trip without reading this guide © Getty Images

In 1924, a team of aviators from the USA successfully completed the first-ever circumnavigation of the globe by airplane, a feat that took 175 days, 76 stops, a cache of 15 Liberty engines, 14 spare pontoons, four aircraft and two sets of new wings. This achievement ushered in an era of international air travel, and nearly a century later, travelers are still creating their own round-the-world itineraries. 

You might not have the same worries as those early aviators, but planning a round-the-world trip has never been a more complex process. As COVID-19 continues to alter world travel , heading out on a multi-country trip might be more complicated than it has been in decades. While it might not be the right time to hit the road, luckily it's never too early to start figuring out the logistics of a trip around the globe. After all, who doesn't have a lot of pent-up wanderlust at the moment? 

When it comes to booking your trip, there are several options for booking your airfare, as well as flexibility on timing, destinations and budget. But don't let that overwhelm you – start here with our handy guide on how to plan that round-the-world trip you’ve always dreamed of.

Where and how to get a round-the-world plane ticket

The most economical way to circumnavigate the globe is to buy a round-the-world (RTW) plane ticket through a single airline alliance. These are confederations of several different airlines that make it simple to maximize the number of places you can travel and pay for it all in one place or with points. There are three primary airline alliances to choose from: Star Alliance, OneWorld and Skyteam.  Star Alliance is a coalition of 26 airlines that fly to 1300 airports in 98% of the world’s countries.  OneWorld includes 14 airlines traveling to 1100 destinations in 180 territories.  Skyteam is made up of 19 airlines that serve 1000 destinations in 170 countries.  

Read more:   How to save money when you're traveling

Once you pick an airline alliance, whether because of a loyalty program you’re already a member of or because you like its terms, conditions and destination list, you can purchase a single RTW airline ticket made up of several legs fulfilled by that alliance’s partners. The RTW ticket rules vary between each of the airline alliances, with particulars like Star Alliance’s rule that a RTW ticket can include two to 15 stops. But there are some general principles that apply to most RTW tickets, no matter which airline group you go with. 

You typically must follow one global direction (east or west – no backtracking); you must start and finish in the same country; and you must book all your flights before departure, though you can change them later (though this could incur extra charges). Typically you have one year to get from your starting point to the finish line.

How long do I need for a round-the-world trip?

You could whip around the world in a weekend if you flew non-stop, especially with the advent of new ultra-long-haul flights that can clock in at 20 hours of flight time. However, the minimum duration of most RTW tickets is 10 days – still a breathless romp. To get the most out of your round-the-world ticket, consider stock-piling vacation days, tagging on public holidays or even arranging a sabbatical from work to take off at least two months (but ideally six months to one year). Because most airline alliances give you up to a year to use your ticket, you can maximize your purchase if you plan well.

When should I travel on a round-the-world trip?

The weather will never be ideal in all your stops, so focus on what you want to do most and research the conditions there. In general, city sightseeing can be done year-round (escape extreme heat, cold or rain in museums and cafes), but outdoor adventures are more reliant on – and enjoyable in – the right weather.

Research ahead of time if any must-see destinations or must-do activities will mean facing crowds. For example, if you’re hoping to be in Austria for the famous Salzburg Festival, you’ll want to plan ahead and book your tickets months in advance. If you’re hoping to fit a shorter thru-hike into your round-the-world trip, you’ll want to make sure you’re going in the correct season and starting in the right spot. You won’t get far or have as enjoyable an experience if you’re, say, attempting the Tour du Mont Blanc during the dates of the annual winter marathon or headed northbound on the Pacific Crest Trail in July, missing most of the warmer months. 

Accept youʼll be in some regions at the "wrong" time – though this might offer unexpected benefits. For example, Victoria Falls has a dry season each year , which means a slightly less thunderous cascade, but it does open up rafting opportunities and a chance to swim right up to the lip of the falls in The Devil’s Pool. Going to Venice in the winter might mean grayer skies but fewer crowds. Heading to Kenya and Tanzania in April is likely to mean fewer humans, but not fewer chances to spot wildlife, all while saving money on safari.  Also keep in mind that mom-and-pop locations have their downtime and holiday seasons as well; don't be too surprised if your local bakery in Paris is closed for a holiday week or two in August.

Where should I go on my round-the-world trip?

The classic (and cheapest) RTW tickets flit between a few big cities, for example, London – Bangkok – Singapore – Sydney – LA . If you want to link more offbeat hubs ( Baku – Kinshasa – Paramaribo , anyone?), prices will climb considerably. The cost of the ticket is also based on the total distance covered or the number of countries visited.

Remember, you donʼt have to fly between each point: in Australia you could land in Perth , travel overland and fly out of Cairns . Or fly into Moscow , board the Trans-Siberian railway  and fly onwards from Beijing.  Pick some personal highlights and string the rest of your itinerary around those. For instance, if youʼre a keen hiker, flesh out a Peru ( Inca Trail ) – New Zealand ( Milford Track ) – Nepal ( Everest Base Camp ) itinerary with stops in Yosemite , Menz-Gauassa and the Okavango Delta .

If budgetʼs an issue, spend more time in less expensive countries and plan budget city breaks along the way. You’ll spend more in metros like Paris, Dubai and San Francisco than in Nusa Tenggara , Budapest  and Buffalo . 

Tips, tricks and pitfalls of round-the-world tickets

Talk to an expert before you book a round-the-world ticket: you may have an itinerary in mind, but an experienced RTW flight booker will know which routes work best and cost least. A few tweaks could mean big savings in time and money. Hash out a budget well ahead of time, not only for your RTW ticket, but also for the whole trip. Reach out to friends or travel bloggers who have done a round-the-world trip or are full-time travelers because they can offer tips on how to budget for a trip around the world .

Be flexible: moving your departure date by a few days can save money. Mid-week flights are generally cheaper, as are flights on major holidays such as Christmas Day. Avoid days and times popular with business travelers to escape higher prices and more crowded cabins.

Think about internal travel: it can be cheaper to book internal flights at the same time as booking your RTW ticket, but with the global increase of low-cost airlines, you may find it better (and more flexible) to buy them separately as you go.

Be warned: if you donʼt board one of your booked flights (say, on a whim, you decide to travel overland from Bangkok to Singapore rather than fly it) your airline is likely to cancel all subsequent flights.

You might also like: 10 destinations perfect for solo travel Can visiting lesser-known places offer a better travel experience? 6 things I learned from flying 6 days in a row

This article was first published Mar 20, 2012 and updated Dec 29, 2021.

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How to Plan a Trip Around the World in 7 Steps

By: Author Zachary Friedman

Posted on Last updated: June 22, 2024

Categories Travel Budgeting , Travel Tips

Home » Travel » Travel Tips » How to Plan a Trip Around the World in 7 Steps

Planning a round the world trip is overwhelming. Hours of research and thought go into making a trip like this a reality. You must consider your route, visas, your budget, accommodation, transportation, activities, and much more. This guide will give you an outline to follow to help you plan a trip around the world. It also includes useful tips and advice to make your journey a little smoother, safer, and more affordable.

Over the past 12 years of traveling, I have made 2 trips around the world and have visited over 60 countries. On my first round-the-world trip, I traveled for 6 months through 15 countries on 4 continents. On my second trip, I visited 12 countries on 3 continents over the course of 5 months. In this guide, I’ll share my experience in planning round-the-world trips. Currently, I’m in the middle of my 3rd round the world trip.

Key Takeaways: How to Plan a Trip Around the World

-Step 1: Decide where you want to go. Try to choose 3-4 continents to visit and choose 2-3 destinations on each. -Step 2: Plan a route. Try to find the most efficient and cost effective route between your destinations. -Step 3: Plan a budget. Calculate the costs of airfare, accommodation, food, drinks, sightseeing, entertainment, travel gear, etc. Determine how much money you have to save. -Step 4: Do your research. Research visas, entry requirements, travel documents, transportation, accommodation, security, things to do, points of interest, etc. -Step 5: Determine how long you’re going to travel and which direction you’re going to travel in. -Step 6: Re-evaluate your plans. Try to streamline your itinerary. Eliminate or re-arrange sections to avoid having to backtrack. -Step 7: Book your round-the-world trip. Book your flights and accommodation for the first leg of your trip.

Table of Contents

• Route Planning- Where do you want to go?
• Budgeting- How Much does a Round the World Trip Cost?
• Visas and Entry Requirements- What documents do you need?
• Transportation- Info on booking your flights as well as ground transportation
• Accommodation- Where will you sleep?
• Money- Banking and finances
• Packing and Travel Gear- Preparing for departure
• Sample round-the-world trip itineraries- A few ideas to help get you started

Step 1: Decide Where You Want to Go and Plan a Route

Choosing your route is the most exciting and important part of planning a round the world trip. You need to know where you’re going in order to calculate costs and plan activities, accommodation, and transportation. At this point, let your imagination run wild.

I recommend you start by researching the various regions of the world that interest you and make a list of potential destinations. While making your list, you may want to consider:

• Cities- Are there any major world cities that you’ve always wanted to see? Maybe you’ve always dreamed of visiting London, New York, or Tokyo. Add it to your round-the-world itinerary.
• Countries- Maybe there’s a particular country that you’ve always dreamed of visiting. While planning my round the world trip, I knew I had to include India and Thailand in my round the world itinerary.
• Major tourist sights – Which world wonders do you want to visit? For example, maybe you’ve always dreamed of visiting the Great Pyramids of Giza, Angkor Wat, the Great Wall of China, the Taj Mahal, or Macchu Picchu. One of my bucket list activities was going on an African safari. I ended up visiting the Serengeti and Maasai Mara parks.
• Foods- Consider your favorite cuisines. Maybe you really like Italian or Thai food and want to taste authentic flavors.
• Activities- What types of activities do you like to do? Do you enjoy hiking, diving, surfing, laying on the beach, dancing, extreme sports, or visiting museums ?
• People- Do you have family or friends in another country? Your around-the-world trip is an excellent opportunity for you to stop in for a visit.
• Culture- Maybe you’ve always wanted to experience a particular culture. For example, maybe you’re fascinated by Japanese culture and you want to learn more about it.
• Parties, festivals, and concerts- Another valid reason to choose a destination. Maybe you’ve always wanted to attend a particular music festival, for example. Maybe you’ve always wanted to visit Rio de Janeiro for Carnival or Munich for Octoberfest.

If you need some inspiration, you can check out my destinations page. Also, read some travel guides, blogs, or books, or watch some travel vlogs.

How to Make a Rough Around the World Itinerary

After making your list of potential destinations, it’s time to put together a rough round-the-world itinerary. This itinerary will probably change multiple times throughout the planning and research process. This is just a rough draft so you have something to start with for budgeting purposes. You can always add or remove destinations as you plan your round the world trip. You can even change plans mid trip. Nothing is set in stone.

To make a round the world itinerary:

• Prioritize your list- Chances are, you can’t hit every destination in one trip. Move the ‘can not miss’ destinations to the top of your list and place the lower-priority destinations toward the bottom. I recommend you select 3-5 dream destinations that you can not miss. These will be the base of your round the world trip.
• Look at the location of each ‘can not miss’ destination on the map- This gives you a rough overview of your general route. You’ll travel from one destination to the next either east to west or west to east until you return home. If one destination is too remote or out of the way, consider saving it for a future trip.
• Find the closest ‘can not miss’ destination either to the east or west of your starting point- That will be the first region that you visit on your around-the-world trip.
• Look for nearby countries and cities to visit in the same region- You will visit these destination on this leg of your journey. If you’re unsure, research nearby cities and countries. You want to visit all of your desired destinations on each continent or region before moving on. If you don’t have any other destinations to visit in that region, you can move on to the next region.
• Find the next closest ‘can not miss’ destination in the same direction of travel- It’s time to move on to the next another continent or region. This is the second leg of your journey. Research the region and look for activities, events, and points of interest in nearby cities and bordering countries.
• Continue plotting a general route around the world- As you go, research each destination to find potential activities and other nearby destinations. The number of stops that you make depends on your budget and the amount of time that you can travel.

By now, you should have a rough around-the-world trip itinerary. If you’re having trouble, look at a map. I found it really helpful to study the world map while planning my trip. Looking at the map made it much easier for me to plot out my travel path.

Consider the Timing of Your Round the World Trip

Some destinations are seasonal. When planning your around the world trip, you’ll need to consider the season you’ll visit each destination. You may need to be in a specific place for a specific date. This can determine the direction you travel or the order you visit each region.

For example, you may not want to visit Europe during the winter because most of the continent is cold and snowy. You might travel to Asia for the winter, then head to Europe in the spring when the weather warms up.

if you’re planning a particular activity, you may need to visit during a particular season. For example, if you’re planning on going skiing in Colorado, you’ll have to visit during the winter.

Also, keep in mind that the seasons are flipped in the southern hemisphere. If you’re visiting the southern cone of South America, Australia, or southern Africa, summer runs from December-February. These are the warmest months. If you’re visiting the global south, you may need to take this into consideration.

If you’re planning on traveling for a particular holiday, festival, or event, you’ll have to time your visit. For example, maybe you want to visit Oktoberfest in Germany. You’ll have to plan your trip so you’re in Germany in October.

Traveling East Vs West on a Round the World Trip

When planning your around the world itinerary, it’s important to decide whether you want to travel East or West and stick with this decision. You want to minimize backtracking. Many round-the-world tickets don’t allow you to backtrack. Backtracking also increases costs and travel time. It’s inefficient.

If you have the option, traveling west is better. Traveling west produces less jet lag because it disrupts your circadian rhythm less. This is because your days will be longer when you travel west. This makes it easier to sleep at night. If you travel east, you’ll deal with more jet lag.

It’s also important to consider the dates. When you cross the international date line, you will gain or lose a day. Consider this when making bookings.

Scheduling Your Round the World Trip

You’ll have to calculate how much time you need to see every country you plan to visit. Spend some time researching each attraction and how much time it takes to see. Don’t forget to consider transport time.

Exactly how many countries you can visit on your round-the-world trip depends on which countries you’re visiting. In some countries, you can see all of the main tourist sites in a week. In some countries, you might need a month or more to see everything you want to see.

When planning your around the world trip, it’s important to remember that you can’t see everything. Pick and choose the sites that you want to see. Save the rest for a future rtw trip. You can always find something to do if you have some extra time. If you want to visit a country to see one world wonder, you can.

Also, try not to pack your around the world itinerary too full. You will burn out if you’re running from one site to the next every day of your rtw trip. You need some rest days. Another problem with packing your schedule too full is that you can easily fall behind if you hit a setback such as a canceled flight or missed connection. Many new world travelers on their first trip try to visit too many countries and see everything.

Plan Overland Routes

Most around-the-world travelers fly into a region and then take overland transport between destinations. Traveling overland is cheaper and more adventurous than flying everywhere. You’ll also get to see more when you travel overland.

For example, maybe your first ‘can not miss’ destination is London. You might fly into London, then take a train to Amsterdam and Paris before moving on to the next destination. Maybe your next ‘can not miss’ destination is Los Angeles. From there, you might rent a car and drive to the Grand Canyon.

Step 2: Create a Budget

Before you start calculating how much your rtw trip will actually cost, you need to know how much money you have to work with. Most travelers don’t have an unlimited budget for world travel. Look at your finances and calculate how much money you are able to spend. Consider your occupation, your age, your savings, and your income.

The average round-the-world trip costs somewhere between $1500-$2500 per month or $18,000-$30,000 per year. This budget includes all costs including airfare, accommodation, food, ground transport, activities, and entertainment. Basically, all costs associated with an rtw trip.

A good budget for a one-year round-the-world trip for one person is $25,000. That gives you $2083 per month or about $68 per day. That is manageable if you budget correctly.

You will have to watch your spending to stick to this budget. You’ll have to limit your time in expensive countries, shop for affordable airfare, stay in hostels, and cook some of your own food. You will have some room to splurge on some more expensive activities.

Of course, your budget can be significantly lower or higher than this depending on the style of travel that you prefer and the level of comfort that you require.

If you’re a frugal traveler, you may be able to travel for a year for $15,000-$20,000. If you’re on a shoestring budget, you can take a round the world trip for as little as $500-$1000 per month or $6,000-$12,000 per year. In this case, you’ll be camping for accommodation, hitchhiking or bicycle touring for transportation, and cooking all of your own meals.

If you prefer to stay in hotels every night and eat in restaurants every day, you might have to budget $35,000-$40,000 for a year of travel. If you prefer to travel in luxury, the sky is the limit. A round-the-world trip could easily exceed $100,000 for a year of travel. In this case, you would be staying in luxury hotels and resorts, traveling in business or first class, and eating in restaurants for every meal.

In the following sections, I’ll give a brief outline of each of the major costs associated with a round-the-world trip. This will help you form a rough idea of your total budget. We’ll cover flights, accommodation, food, transportation, and entertainment.

Flights for an Around the World Trip

Most round-the-world travelers fly between continents. This cost of flights depends on the number of flights you plan to take, the countries and cities you plan to fly into, when you plan to fly, and how far in advance you book your rtw ticket.

To purchase round-the-world flights, you have two options . You can book your flights individually or you can buy a rtw ticket. There are benefits and drawbacks to both options.

Booking your flights individually is usually cheaper because you can take advantage of budget airlines. In Europe, you have Ryanair and Easy Jet. In Asia, you have AirAsia, IndiGo, JetStar, and more. On these budget airlines, you can find flights to nearby countries for less than $100. Booking flights as you go allows you to be more spontaneous. You can change your plans as you go. It is slightly less convenient to book your flights individually because you must do all of your own planning and booking.

A number of companies offer round-the-world airplane tickets. Buying a rtw ticket is slightly more expensive because these tickets offer more flexibility. You can generally change the date of departure without an extra charge on round-the-world tickets. You can also change the airports but there will be an extra charge. This makes it a bit harder to change your plans as you go.

If you’re traveling for a year or more or if you’re booking a very simple around the world itinerary, buying flights as you go is probably the best choice. I always book my own airfare because I appreciate the spontaneity. I can also save money by taking advantage of budget airlines.

Sometimes buying a rtw ticket can be more convenient. Particularly for round the world trips that are shorter than one year or trips with many stops. Some travelers find that having all of their flights booked brings peace of mind.

Most travelers who book flights individually spend $2000-$3000 on airfare for a simple round-the-world trip stopping on 2-3 continents. This includes 3-4 international flights. If you want to fly more frequently or visit more remote destinations, like Africa or South America, you might spend $5000 or more on airfare.

Travelers who book a rtw ticket typically spend $2500-$5000 on airfare. This includes 3-4 stops on 3-4 continents. You can spend up to $15,000 or more on a rtw ticket if you want to make lots of stops, fly into smaller airports, or fly first class.

To save money on airfare, try to fly into and out of major cities in each region you visit. Flights are cheaper if you fly into major hub cities. For example, if you’re flying to Europe, fly into London, Paris, Amsterdam, or Frankfurt. If you’re flying to Southeast Asia, fly into Bangkok, Singapore, or Kuala Lumpur. Every region has large hubs. Once you’re in a large hub, you can easily catch a budget flight, train, or bus to your next destination. This can save you a good amount of money on flights.

Accommodation

Accommodation is probably the biggest expense of your rtw trip. If you plan to stay in budget accommodation like hostels, guesthouses, and campgrounds, you can expect to spend $20-$30 per night in expensive countries and $10-$15 per night in cheap countries.

If you prefer to stay in private accommodation like hotels or Airbnb, you can expect to spend $20-$40 per night in inexpensive countries and $60-$150 per night in expensive countries.

To more accurately estimate your accommodation budget, I recommend you go to your favorite booking site like Booking.com or Hostelworld.com or Airbnb.com and price out accommodation at your destination.

Take note of the prices and consider the number of nights you plan to stay at each destination. Multiply the price by the number of nights and add them all up. This will give you a pretty good idea of what you’ll be spending on accommodation.

Try to book your accommodation at least a couple of weeks in advance. If you’re traveling to a particular destination during the busy season or during a holiday or festival, you might need to book a couple of weeks in advance to ensure that you get a decent room at a reasonable price.

Food is a nother major expense. Your food budget depends on how often you plan to eat out, the types of food you like to eat, and the destinations you’re visiting.

If you plan to cook most of your own meals, eat street food, and eat in restaurants occasionally, and you can get away with budgeting $10-$15 per day for food. You can get by on this budget pretty much anywhere.

If you plan to eat out at restaurants for most meals, you can plan to spend $25-$40 per day in inexpensive countries and $40-$60 per day in expensive countries. If you cook almost all of your own meals, it is possible to eat for $5 per day.

I have found $10 per day to be a pretty comfortable food budget. This assumes that I prepare most of my own meals with the occasional restaurant meal.

Another major expense to consider is alcohol. To get an idea of how much you’ll spend on alcohol, look at some restaurant menus in the locations you plan to visit to see how much drinks cost. Consider how much you drink, how often you drink, and what you drink when calculating your alcohol budget.

Drink prices vary greatly around the world. In some countries, you can buy a drink for $3. In other countries, a drink costs $15. If you like to drink, you could spend as much on alcohol as you spend on food.

Drinking too much is one of the easiest ways to go over budget. If you’re on a tight budget, you’ll need to be careful with drinking and partying. The easiest way to save money or extend your trip is to limit your drinking.

Activities, Entertainment, Tours, and Admission Tickets

You need to budget for all of the activities you plan to do and the sights you plan to see during your trip. This includes admission tickets, entrance fees, tours, permits, guides, tips, equipment rentals, entertainment costs, etc. This cost depends on where you travel, what types of activities you enjoy, and your personal preference.

To calculate your activities budget, it’s best to price out each activity individually. If you plan to safari in the Serengeti, go online and price out the tour you plan to take. If you plan on diving the Great Barrier Reef, go online and see how much tours cost. Don’t forget to factor in the cost of transport, entry tickets, parking, a guide, tips, etc.

You don’t need to calculate the price of everything you plan to do. Just research the price of big-ticket ‘cannot miss’ items and add the prices up. You can pay for smaller activities such as museum entry or snorkel rental out of your daily spending money. It’s important to budget for big-ticket items to make sure you leave room in your budget.

Ground Transportation

Most travelers only take flights for the long-distance or overseas sections of their around the world trip itinerary. You can cut costs significantly by taking the bus or train between cities within one region.

The best way to calculate this cost is to research each journey that you plan to take and add them up. Generally, a full-day bus ride or train between two major cities costs $30-$100 depending on the region and distance. In the developing world, expect to spend $3-$3 per hour of travel. In the developed world expect to spend around $5-$10 per hour of travel.

A great resource for finding bus and train routes and prices is Rome2rio.com. This site makes it easy to research transportation options and estimate ticket costs. Another great booking site for finding bus ticket prices is Busbud. For train routes and ticket prices,  Seat61.com  is a great resource.

You must also consider the cost of local travel around the cities you’re visiting. Depending on the city, you may have a choice between taking a taxi, Uber, public bus, metro, tuk-tuk, rickshaw, motorcycle taxi or cycling or walking.

This cost is difficult to estimate. Generally, a one-way public transit ticket or rickshaw ride costs $2-$5. In cheaper countries, a taxi or Uber ride across the city costs $5-$10. Consider the sights that you plan to visit in each city to determine how many intercity rides you’ll have to take.

For more help budgeting help, check out my guide: How to Create an Accurate Budget for Long-Term Travel.

This is one budget item that many travelers forget to consider. Visa costs vary depending on the country that you’re visiting and your nationality. They can really add up in some regions.

To calculate visa costs, simply look up the visa requirements for each country that you plan to visit and add up the visa prices for your nationality.

Visa costs vary widely. Many are free. If there is a charge, the average visa costs around $20-$50. There are a handful of countries that charge upwards of $150-$300 for a tourist visa.

For most round-the-world trips, your visa costs will be minimal. In some instances, the costs can be substantial. For example, while traveling through East and Southern Africa, I spent over $600 on visas over the course of 5 months.

Travel Insurance

For a round-the-world trip, buying travel insurance is a good idea. In most countries, travel insurance is optional but highly recommended. Travel insurance will be one of your major expenses so it’s important to budget for it.

Travel insurance can cost anywhere from $25-$200+ per month. The cost of travel insurance depends on the kind of coverage you buy, the amount of coverage, the deductible, and your age.

The more coverage you get, the more the policy will cost. Most round-the-world travelers should buy a minimum of $100,000 in coverage. If you’re traveling to the United States, you should have at least $250,000 of coverage.

Travel insurance can cover you in the event of an injury or unexpected illness. Some travel insurance covers. Some policies can cover theft, damage, or loss of your belongings and trip interruptions. 

If you’re on a budget, you can opt for medical-only travel insurance. Travel insurance that covers your luggage and trip interruptions is significantly more expensive.

I use  SafetyWing Nomad Insurance.  They offer affordable insurance for long-term travel.

Travel Vaccinations

For many destinations, you’ll need a couple of travel vaccinations to protect yourself from various diseases that aren’t common in your home country. You may need a vaccination for Yellow Fever, typhoid, and hepatitis B. You may also need malaria prophylaxis if you’re traveling to a malaria zone.

This cost depends on which vaccines you need and where you live. To calculate this cost, find a local clinic that offers travel vaccines and malaria consultations. They probably have a price list online.

Add up the cost of all of the vaccines and prescriptions that you’ll need to buy. For most round-the-world trips, expect to spend $100-$400 on travel vaccines and malaria tablets.

Factors that Determine your Total Round-the-World Trip Budget

• How long you plan to travel- Every day, you must at least pay for food and accommodation. If you can cut a month off of your rtw trip by traveling faster, you might be able to save $1000-$2000.
• The number of destinations you plan to visit- The more stops you plan, the more your rtw trip will cost due to the additional cost of transportation. Airfare is one of the most expensive parts of the trip. Train and bus tickets also add up.
• Where you travel- Some regions are more expensive than others. If you plan to visit expensive places like Western Europe, Australia, Japan, the U.S., etc., you’ll spend a lot more than you will if you visit cheaper regions like Southeast Asia, Central America, and Eastern Europe.
• When you travel- Many destinations are seasonal. Prices are higher during the busy season. You can save money by traveling off-season or during the shoulder seasons.
• The transportation that you choose- Do you plan to fly everywhere or are you comfortable taking buses? Will you take taxis around the city or walk?
• The type of accommodation that you choose- Do you plan to stay in budget accommodation like hostels, guesthouses, and campgrounds, or do you plan to stay in hotels, Airbnbs, and resorts?
• The foods that you eat- Will you cook for yourself and eat street food or do you plan to go to a restaurant for each meal?
• The activities that you plan- You’ll spend more if you plan to ski, dive, take tours, etc. If you want to save money, there are plenty of free things to do while traveling.

How Long are you Traveling?

After determining how much you have to spend and learning about the costs associated with a round-the-world trip, you must consider the duration of your trip. How long do you want to travel?

Your trip’s duration affects your costs. The longer you travel, the more money you will spend . The duration also determines your around the world itinerary. The longer you travel, the more destinations you can visit.

When deciding how long you want to travel, consider your future obligations. Do you need to return home by a specific date for work or school? Also, consider your ability to find employment. Remember, a long gap in your resume can be problematic in some industries.

Most likely you only have a limited amount of time to travel. In my experience, 3-6 months is the ideal amount of time for a round-the-world trip. Anything less will feel rushed. Longer trips get exhausting. You will start to slow down after you’ve been on the road for 6 months.

Trips lasting 1-2 years are great but you will notice diminishing returns. After 6 months of travel, you may begin taking things for granted and get sick of sightseeing.

Updating your Round the World Itinerary to Fit Your Budget and Trip Duration

At this point, you may have found that your initial round the world itinerary is too expensive. Take some time to re-evaluate your plan. A few ways you can cut costs include:

• Substitute expensive countries for cheaper countries- For example, instead of going to Japan or Korea, go to Thailand or the Philippines. Your money will go much further.
• Eliminate expensive activities- Skip the SCUBA lessons and just go snorkeling. Instead of hiking the Inca Trail, just go for a free hike.
• Reduce the number of flights by traveling some sections overland- Take a bus or train across a country instead of flying.
• Reduce the total trip time- Cut a month off of your rtw trip. That will save you $1000-$3000.

For help reducing your budget further, check out my guide to ultra-low budget travel.

Step 3: Consider Visas, Travel Documents, and Entry Requirements For the Countries You Plan to Visit

The next step in the planning process is to research the entry requirements for each country that you plan to visit. Continue refining your round the world trip itinerary through this process. Items you need to research include:

Visa Availability

Look up the visa requirements for each country that you plan to visit during your round-the-world trip. Remember to look at the requirements for your specific nationality. Also, consider any countries that you are transiting through. Occasionally, a transit visa is required.

If you need a visa, find out if you can get the visa on arrival or if you must you obtain the visa in advance. If the visa is available on arrival, make sure that it is available at the port of entry that you plan to use. Some countries only issue visas on arrival at international airports and not at land borders. Some smaller land borders don’t have the capability to issue visas.

If you find that you must obtain a visa in advance, find out if you can get it online or if you need to get it from an embassy or consulate. These days, many countries offer e-visas. You apply for the visa and pay online then print your approval letter. When you reach the point of entry, you receive the visa in your passport.

If you have to apply at the embassy, find out if you can apply in a neighboring country or if you must apply in your home country. Some countries only issue visas to foreigners from the embassy in their home country. If you can get the visa in a neighboring country, I recommend you wait and do it there. It’s often easier and cheaper to go to the embassy in person to apply for the visa.

If you must obtain a visa in your home country before your rtw trip, consider the logistics and costs. Find out how long the visa takes to get and how long it is valid. Find out if you can apply by mail or if you must visit the embassy in person. Consider the cost of the application including postage or travel. Having to travel to an embassy to apply for a visa can be expensive.

While researching visas, take note of the amount of time the visa takes to obtain. Sometimes you may have to wait up to a month for an embassy to process the visa. You also have to account for shipping time if you must mail your passport to an embassy for a visa.

You may also need to shift your round the world itinerary based on the visa’s validity. Some visas are only valid for 3 months beginning on the date of issue. Some expire after 3 months if they are not used. You need to use the visa before it expires. You may need to adjust your round the world trip itinerary.

If you find that a visa is too expensive or complicated to obtain, consider cutting that country from your round the world itinerary. Personally, if a country’s visa process is too complicated, I skip it.

Proof of Onward Travel

Some countries require that you have a confirmed ticket out of the country to prove that you have plans to leave the country. This ticket can be back to your home country or to a third country. It can be a flight, bus, or train ticket. Oftentimes, the airline checks for proof of onward travel before they allow you to board your flight. Sometimes immigration checks this before allowing you to enter the country.

Proof of onward travel is often a problem for those traveling long-term or those planning to exit a country overland. Sometimes, it’s impossible to buy bus tickets in advance. Sometimes you don’t have a confirmed booking when you enter a country.

Luckily, there are several solutions to this problem. Some are free and some have a minimal cost. To learn more, check out my guide How to Provide Proof of Onward Travel

Vaccine Requirements for World Travel

A handful of countries require that you have a Yellow Fever vaccine in order to enter. This is a common entry requirement in most countries in Africa and a few countries in South America. All you need is proof that you have been vaccinated in the form of a Yellow Fever vaccine certificate.

If you have been traveling in an area where Yellow fever is a risk, you may be required to show your vaccine certificate in order to enter another country. For example, when I flew from Nairobi to Bangkok, I had to show my Yellow Fever vaccine certificate in order to enter Thailand.

Financial Requirements

A few countries require you to show proof that you have enough money to sustain yourself for the duration of your stay in that country. They do this to make sure that you don’t plan to stay and work illegally.

A bank statement works fine for this. Sometimes, a credit card is sufficient. Countries that have this requirement usually expect you to have at least $5000 in your account. This is a common requirement for those who plan to travel on a working holiday visa in Australia or New Zealand, for example.

A Note on Border Crossings

Be sure to research the entry requirements of the exact border crossing that you plan to use. There are a few instances of borders between two countries being closed due to a conflict between those two countries. For example, you can’t cross between Armenia and Azerbaijan. You must transit through Georgia if you plan to visit those two countries.

Occasionally, borders are only open for locals. Sometimes visas on arrival aren’t available at smaller border crossings. Some border crossings are notorious for bribes or scams and should be avoided if possible. Some are simply hectic. Research each border that you plan to cross to make sure that it is open and crossable without too much hassle.

Updating your Around the World Itinerary

After researching entry requirements, you may have found that some visas are overly complicated or just not possible logistically with your round the world trip itinerary. At this point, revisit your itinerary and re-evaluate your plans.

Consider changing the order of the countries that you plan to visit. You could also substitute countries with other nearby countries with visas that are easier to obtain.

While planning my round-the-world trip, I really wanted to visit Russia. I found that the visa was too expensive and time-consuming to get. After researching, I decided to visit St. Petersburg by ferry because a visa wasn’t required. I then visited the Baltic countries instead of traveling around Russia. This was a nice compromise.

Step 4: Plan Transportation: Round the World Tickets and Ground Transportation

You should have a pretty good idea of your round the world trip itinerary by this time. Now it’s time to begin researching flights. When it comes to arranging your flights, you have two options. You can buy a round-the-world ticket or you can buy your flights separately. In this section, I’ll outline each option and list the pros and cons of each to help you decide which works best for your itinerary.

Round-the-World Tickets

In this case, you book all of your flights before you leave home. A round the world ticket is essentially a flight pass with one of the major airline alliances. The three alliances include One World , Star Alliance , and SkyTeam . Another company called Air Treks offers round-the-world tickets on a wide range of airlines.

Each ticketing company has slightly different terms and conditions. If you choose the rtw ticket route, you can only fly airlines in the alliance that you choose.

Generally, tickets are sold in terms of miles or segments. If you’re buying a rtw ticket based on miles, you can choose from 26,000, 29,000, or 39,000 miles for economy tickets. Each rtw ticket has a maximum number of stopovers that you can make.

If you buy a rtw ticket based on segments, 1 flight=1 segment. If your flight includes a stopover, that counts as 2 segments. In this case, miles aren’t counted. You can maximize the utility of your rtw ticket by using each segment for the longest possible flight.

Pros of Round-the-World Tickets

• Saves time- You don’t have to spend time shopping around for each flight during your journey. You can easily book everything with one company.
• Can be cheaper- If you choose the right rtw ticket for your trip and you’re smart with your booking, you can save around 25% by buying a round-the-world ticket. This is particularly true if you visit a lot of obscure or less popular destinations.
• More convenient- You book all of your flights before you leave home. It’s one less thing to worry about while you’re on the road.
• You can make changes without a charge- Generally, you can change the date of travel for free on round the world tickets. If you want to fly out of a different airport or change your destination, you’ll be charged a fee of around $150 or so.
• You earn points- You can rack up a decent amount of points and gain some nice perks by making so many flights with the same airlines.
• You always have proof of onward travel- If you’re asked for proof of onward travel when checking in for a flight or passing through immigration, you always have a valid ticket to show.

Cons of Round-the-World Tickets

• Can be more expensive- If you buy the wrong rtw ticket or you use flight segments for shorter trips, you can end up spending more than if you had just bought your tickets separately. This is particularly true if you fly between major hubs where flights are inexpensive.
• You can only fly certain airlines- When you buy a round the world flight ticket, you’re committing yourself to only flying the airlines in the alliance that you choose to buy your rtw ticket from. Of course, you can buy additional tickets on other airlines but this adds to the cost.
• You can’t fly budget airlines- None of the major budget airlines belong to any of the alliances. When buying a round-the-world ticket, you can’t take advantage of low fares on Ryanair, Air Asia, Southwest, or Tiger, for example.
• Less flexibility- You need to have a solid round the world trip itinerary before you can book your tickets. You won’t know which rtw ticket to buy if you don’t have an itinerary planned out. This means you can’t be as spontaneous.
• You must start and end your RTW trip in the same country- Most round the world flights have this rule. You can usually start and end in a different city, but it they must be in the same country. For this reason, you can’t really buy a round the world ticket if you’re already traveling.
• Not ideal for those traveling longer than a year- Most round the world tickets have a maximum validity of one year.
• You can only make a limited number of stops in each country- The maximum is usually 3.
• You can’t backtrack in some cases- The rules usually state that you can only backtrack on continents. Backtracking over an ocean usually isn’t permitted.  Sometimes you can’t backtrack at all. Sometimes there are penalties.

Remember, the exact rules depend on the round-the-world ticket that you choose. Some of the above points may not apply. You’ll need to do a bit of research in order to choose the ideal rtw for your particular itinerary.

Buying One-Way Flights Separately

In this case, you simply book each flight of your journey by yourself. You can book as you go or book them all before you leave. You can fly any airline that you wish.

Pros of Booking Flights Separately

• You can fly any airline- You don’t have to stick to the members of one alliance. This gives you more flight options.
• You can fly with budget airlines- This can save you a good amount of money. Most budget airlines don’t belong to an alliance.
• Usually cheaper- Most travelers save money by booking their own tickets. The reason is that you can wait for discounts and deals. Taking advantage of budget airlines also helps cut costs.
• You don’t need a set plan- If you’re the kind of traveler who likes to keep their plans open, you’re better off booking as you go. You can be as spontaneous as you want.
• More freedom- You can fly wherever you want, whenever you want. There are no restrictions in terms of the number of stops, the amount of time you travel, backtracking, where you start or end your rtw trip, etc.

Cons of Booking Flights Separately

• More time-consuming- You must shop around for each flight that you want to book. I’ve spent hours trying to find the right flight.
• Can be more expensive- If you’re traveling to unpopular or obscure destinations, flights can be expensive. In this case, you may end up spending more if you book your own flights.
• You’ll be charged for any changes- If you want to change the dates or destination, you’ll end up paying a fee. I was once charged $250 to change the date of a flight.
• You won’t always have proof of onward travel- If you try to enter a country without first booking a flight out, you won’t have proof of onward travel.

Shopping for Round the World Tickets

Whether you book a round-the-world ticket or book your own really comes down to the type of traveler that you are and your around the world trip itinerary. To determine which option is best for your itinerary, I recommend you price out both options. You’ll also want to consider flight times, durations, layovers, and the airlines you fly with.

Spend some time shopping around on Google flights or Kayak for each of the flights that you plan to take. Add up the cost. Remember that flight prices vary depending on the season and how far in advance you book.

Next, price out around the world tickets. You can buy them from a major airline like United or American Airlines. Alternatively, you can also buy them through a booking company like AirTreks or STA travel.

You may also want to consider playing around with your round the world trip itinerary a little bit. Maybe you can save some money or take better flights by making a minor adjustment. For example, you may have better flight options if you fly from Los Angeles to Tokyo rather than from San Francisco to Tokyo or vice versa. After shopping around for a bit, you should have a pretty good idea of which tickets offer the best value for your specific itinerary.

Tip: Consider making a stopover to break up long journeys

Scheduling a stopover is a good way to visit some places that you otherwise might not get to see. It’s also nice to rest between long flights. May airlines offer free stopovers in the country they are based in. You can also schedule your own stopover by buying multiple tickets with a few days between flights.

I have done this on several occasions. When I flew home from Australia, I made a stopover in Beijing. I visited the Great Wall and enjoyed some incredible Chinese food . I made a similar stopover in Dubai while flying from Europe to India. In this case, I saved some money by booking two separate flights. I also scheduled a stopover in Island when flying from the U.S. to Europe.

For more info, check out my list: 21 free stopover options and how to make them.

Ground Transport

At this point, you can begin planning overland transportation. This includes transportation within cities and transportation between cities. Ground transport can mean buses, trains, taxis, rickshaws, rental cars, shared minibuses, walking, or riding a bike.

Transportation Between Cities

When planning your ground transportation, the most important thing to do is to verify that some form of transportation actually exists between each of your destinations. For the most part, buses or trains can take you a lmost everywhere.

Sometimes you encounter a route where direct transportation isn’t available. In this case, you may have to make a transfer. You don’t need to know the exact route. You just want to find out if your desired route is possible.

Occasionally, you’ll run into a route where transportation isn’t offered every day. Maybe a bus only passes through once per week. In this case, you’ll want to plan your around the world trip itinerary accordingly or find a different way to your destination.

You may find that some routes aren’t possible during a particular season. Maybe a road floods during the rainy season. Maybe heavy snow causes a road to close during the winter. Take the season into consideration when planning your route.

During your round-the-world trip, you’ll probably visit dozens of different cities. You don’t have to waste time researching and planning transport for every leg before you leave. Just make sure that each leg is possible and not prohibitively expensive.

If you encounter a leg that’s just not doable for whatever reason, adjust your around the world trip itinerary accordingly. Maybe you can make a detour and transit through a third city. Maybe you can fly that section.

Some legs you don’t even have to bother researching. It’s pretty safe to assume that you can easily travel between any two major cities in any particular country. For example, you don’t need to bother researching transport between Berlin and Munich until you’re ready to make the trip.

Travel tip: Travel By Night

Consider traveling by night when possible. Traveling by night saves you money on a night of accommodation. When you arrive, you have a full day at your new destination. You aren’t wasting an entire day on a bus or train. As an added bonus, you often arrive at your destination faster because traffic is lighter and borders are less busy during the middle of the night.

It’s important to note that some routes are not as safe to travel at night. When traveling through an area that is considered dangerous, travel by day instead.

Transportation Within Cities

You don’t need to put much time into planning intracity transport. It’s safe to assume that you can easily travel anywhere in the city by bus, metro, tuk-tuk, or on foot.

Consider researching transport between your accommodation and your arrival and departure point as well as any major sites that you want to see. You may also want to research transport options from the airport into the city and back. Airport transportation can be surprisingly expensive. Particularly if the airport is located far outside of the city.

Step 5: Plan Your Accommodation

Next, start considering where you will sleep. Chances are, you will use a mix of different types of accommodation. Your accommodation options include:

• Hostels- Every budget traveler’s favorite. As a long-term traveler, you’re probably going to stay in quite a few hostels. For help deciding where to stay, check out my guide: How to Choose the Best Hostel. Also, check out my guide to hostels vs hotels.
• Hotels- In smaller towns, hotels are often your only accommodation option. Be sure to shop around and negotiate. Sometimes budget hostels are cheaper than hostels.
• Airbnbs- If you’re staying in one place for longer than a week, you can often score a nice long-term discount. Sometimes Airbnb is your cheapest accommodation option. One major benefit to stayin in an Airbnb is that you’ll usually have access to a kitchen where you can cook your own meals. For more info, check out my guide to Airbnb Vs hotels.
• Couchsurfing- Staying with a local host is a great way to get to know a city and make new friends. You can also save a chunk of money by Couchsurfing. Couchsurfing isn’t exactly free. You will have to spend some time with your host. You’ll also be expected to take them out or cook them a meal.
• Camping- Camping really opens up your options in terms of where you can sleep. You can wild camp, stay in campgrounds, and even find free camping in some destinations. I recommend you always travel with a tent during an around the world trip. A tent really opens up your options. It also saves you money.

Research your accommodation options in each of your destinations so you know what to expect in terms of price and facilities. Accommodation is a major expense so it’s important to know what to expect.

The only accommodation that you need to book before your rtw trip is the first night or two at your first destination. There are two reasons for this. First, immigration will probably ask you where you’re staying. You need to have an answer to avoid any hassles. Second, you’ll probably be exhausted, jetlagged, and possibly not thinking right after a long flight. It’s nice to have a place to go after you arrive at the beginning of your trip.

During your rtw trip, I recommend you book accommodation as you go. Just plan ahead a few nights or whatever you’re comfortable with. If you prefer, you can book a month in advance. Most of the time, you can just show up and find a place to stay.

The exception to this is if you’re headed to a particularly busy destination. For example, if you’re traveling during peak season or attending a large event. In this case, you may need to book several months in advance to secure a decent room. Plan ahead.

If you plan to couch surf, you’ll want to start looking for a host at least a week in advance so you can be sure to find a place to stay. Good Airbnbs tend to be booked up early as well. You may wish to make reservations at least a couple of weeks in advance if you can.

While crossing borders, you should always at least have the address and phone number of a hotel or hostel where you plan to stay that night. One of the questions that immigration forms and officials usually ask is ‘where are you staying?’ You need to have an answer to avoid looking suspicious. You don’t want to give them any reason to deny you entry.

Travel tip: Whenever you check into a new room, do a quick check for bed bugs. C heck out my guide How to Avoid Bed Bugs While Traveling to help you out. 

Money and Banking for a Round-the-World Trip

Before you set off on your trip, you want to ensure you always have access to your money. The best way to go about this is to carry several credit cards and debit cards . If one is lost, stolen, or eaten by an ATM, you always have a spare. I like to travel with 2 debit cards and 2 credit cards.

Before opening a new account, shop around for travel cards. Travel credit cards are usually free of foreign transaction fees. You can save a nice chunk of money by avoiding these fees. Also, search for new account perks. Some companies offer enough points for a free flight. I flew round trip from the U.S. to Africa on credit card points.

Before your RTW trip, you should also call your bank and credit card company to let them know that you will be using your card abroad. They will put a travel advisory on your account. They need to know the general dates that you plan to travel and the countries where you will be using the card.

If you don’t notify your bank, a fraud detection system may shut off your card when you try to use it. When this happens, you have to call the bank and ask them to turn the card back on.

If you don’t know all of the dates and countries that you plan to visit, that’s fine. You can always call the bank and update the travel advisory during your rtw trip. Just make sure that you can use your card whenever you arrive in a new country so you can withdraw cash from the ATM.

These days, most banks require two-factor authentification (2FA). After entering your password, the bank sends a code to your phone that you must enter to log in. You need to be able to receive calls or texts to receive the 2FA code. You can use your regular number if your phone company offers international texting. Alternatively, you can use a VOIP service like Google Voice.

Y ou should also carry some cash . I usually carry around $300-$1000 depending on my destination. I try to carry enough to sustain myself for at least a week . That gives me enough time to sort out any problems that may arise with my cards or banking.

You want to carry a currency that you can easily exchange everywhere. US dollars are the best. Euros and British Pounds work fine as well. Carry bills in denominations of 20, 50, or 100 that are new and in good condition. Smaller bills are harder to exchange.

Step 6: Packing

If t his is your first big trip, you may need to buy a couple of items in preparation. Travel gear that you may need includes:

• A backpack or suitcase- For a round-the-world trip, I recommend a backpack instead of a suitcase. Make sure you buy a quality one as you’ll be putting it through a lot of abuse. Look for a pack in the 40-65 liter range. For most travelers, a 40 liter pack is ideal. If you pack camping gear and a lot of electronics, you’ll need a larger pack. I have traveled with my Osprey Talon 44 hiking backpack for about 10 years and am really happy with it. Read my full review here.
• Outlet converters- These allow you to plug your electronics into the various types of outlets found around the world. I recommend you only pack electronics that can be used in 120-240v outlets so you can avoid carrying a heavy voltage converter.
• Good shoes and sandals- You’ll be walking a lot. Probably multiple miles per day. Buy quality footwear before your around the world trip.
• A smartphone with a good camera- Modern smartphone cameras are good enough for travel photography. You’ll also use your phone for navigation, communication, and entertainment.
• Travel clothing- Consider buying some quality travel clothes. Travel clothes are durable, breathable, and quick drying. I like merino wool clothing because it is odor resistant.
• Money belt- This is a hidden pocket that you wear around your waist. The idea is to hide your cash, cards, passport, and other valuables from pickpockets and muggers. I use the Eagle Creek Silk Undercover money belt. Read my full review here.

If you forget anything, it’s not that big of a deal. You can buy pretty much whatever you need at your destination. You don’t really need much gear to travel.

Try to pack a week or so before you set off on your round-the-world trip. I recommend that you live out of your travel backpack during that time. This way, you’ll notice if anything is missing. If there is anything that you didn’t use after that week, you can most likely leave it at home.

If possible, try to stick to a carry-on bag only. This can be a challenge for some travelers but makes the trip much smoother. Being able to carry your bag on a plane, bus, or train saves time and money. It’s also more secure. When you want to walk long distance with your backpack, you’ll be happy that you packed light as well.

For more help packing, check out my Ultralight Travel Packing List. Here, I outline everything you need to pack for a long-term trip. The guide includes info on clothing, toiletries, electronics, camping gear, backpacks, and more. Also, check out my guides to packing cubes and rolling vs folding clothes for more help packing.

Step 7: Re-Evaluate Your Plans and Refine Your Itinerary

Chances are, you’ve overscheduled yourself. Try to streamline your trip. If you have sections that require backtracking, consider eliminating them or re-arranging your itinerary a bit. If there are some destinations that you’re unsure of, eliminate them. You can always visit them on your next trip.

If you overschedule, you’ll feel exhausted and rushed. It’s better to give yourself some extra time so you can slow down. You will never feel bored. You can always add destinations during your trip if you choose.

Sample Round the World Trip Itinerary

If you already have a solid round the world trip itinerary picked out, you can skip this section. If you’re inexperienced with travel or if you’re just undecided, I’ll try to outline a basic itinerary in this section to help you get started.

A basic round-the-world trip itinerary includes stops in North America, Asia, and Europe. Some travelers include South America and Africa. Many travelers choose to skip their home continent because they’ve probably already spent a bit of time traveling there.

The round the world trip itinerary that I’m about to outline starts on the West Coast of the US and travels east around the world. This itinerary starts here simply because that’s where I live. You can pick up this round the world itinerary wherever you live and adapt it to make it work for you.

Start by choosing a large European city to fly into. London, Paris, Amsterdam, and Frankfurt are great choices. Next, choose a region of the continent to travel.

An example of a good Europe itinerary might be to fly into London and then travel to Amsterdam, Paris, Berlin, Prague, Venice, and Rome.

Alternatively, you might choose to travel through Eastern Europe. A good Eastern Europe itinerary would be to fly into a large city in Germany then travel to Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, and Romania.

From a large European city, fly to your next continent, Asia.

Choose a region of Asia to visit. Most first-time visitors choose to visit Southeast Asia. From a large European city, choose a large city in Southeast Asia to fly into. Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, or Singapore are good choices.

An example itinerary around Southeast Asia would be to fly into Singapore and then travel overland through Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam.

From Southeast Asia, fly to the next continent, North America.

North America

From A large city, fly into a Coastal city in North America like Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, or Vancouver on the west coast or New York, Miami, or Washington DC on the east coast. From your starting point travel North or South along the Coast.

Alternatively, you could travel overland across the country by bus or train or rent a car and take a road trip. Some popular stops include Las Vegas, Chicago, Memphis, and New Orleans .

From North America, you could fly home. If you want to continue your trip, fly to South America from a large city.

South America

Most round the world travelers choose a region of the continent to travel.

If you prefer to visit northern South America, fly into Colombia, travel through Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia.

If you prefer to visit southern South America, fly into Buenos Aires, Santiago, Sao Paulo, or Rio de Janeiro and visit Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Uruguay, and Paraguay.

The best way to get around in South America is by bus. You can also fly longer distance sections if you choose. From a large South American city, catch a flight home.

For more info on this region, check out my guide here.

For whatever reason, most round-the-world itineraries skip my favorite continent, Africa. If you decide to include Africa in your round-the-world trip, a decent itinerary would be to fly into Nairobi and then travel overland to Uganda, Rwanda, and Tanzania. Alternatively, you could fly into Cape Town and travel around South Africa, Namibia, and Botswana.

Consider visiting Africa After visiting Europe or Asia. You’ll find affordable flights to many destinations around the continent from Paris, London, and the Dubai.

For more help planning an Africa leg for your round-the-world trip, check out my guide to planning a Cairo to Cape Town trip. Also, check out my other Africa guides for more inspiration.

Many round-the-world trips also include a visit to Australia or New Zealand in their round the world itinerary. Alternatively, you could visit some Pacific Islands. Oceania would be a convenient destination to visit After Asia or North America. You can find affordable flights to Australia and New Zealand from many large Asian and North American cities.

My Round-the-World Trips

In my travels, I have made 2 round the world trips. I made my first trip around the world in 2013. During the trip, I traveled for around 6 months and visited 15 countries. I visited many of my dream destinations and saw some wonders of the world in person. I started at home in Southern California and traveled East. My around-the-world trip Itinerary was as follows:

• Los Angeles to Reykjavik, Iceland- I made a 4 day free stopover by flying IcelandAir.
• Reykjavik to Helsinki- I continued my flight and spent a few days exploring Helsinki.
• Helsinki to St. Petersburg- I caught the ferry to St. Petersburg and took advantage of the 72 hour visa free visit program .
• St. Petersburg to Tallinn, Estonia- I returned to Helsinki and then caught a ferry to Tallinn on the same day.
• Tallinn, Estonia to Riga, Latvia- I caught a bus to Riga , Latvia.
• Riga to Dubai – I made a 3 day free stopover in Dubai.
• Dubai to India- I continued my flight on to Delhi , India.
• Train travel through India- I spent about a month traveling in India by train. I traveled to Varanasi, Agra, around Rathastan, and Goa, then flew out of Mumbai.
• Mumbai to Bangkok- I caught a flight to Southeast Asia and explored Thailand for a month.
• Travel through Thailand- I visited Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Koh Tao, Koh Pha Ngan, and Koh Phi Phi, traveling by bus and train.
• Thailand to Cambodia – I caught a minibus from Bangkok to Siem Reap, Cambodia. I spent a few weeks visiting Siem Reap, Phnom Penh, and Sihanoukville.
• Cambodia to Vietnam- I caught a bus from Sihanoukville, Cambodia to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
• Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi- I bought a motorcycle and rode the length of Vietnam. I visited Ho Chi Minh City, Nha Trang, Hoi Ann, Hue, and Hanoi.
• Vietnam to L aos- I took a bus from Hanoi, Vietnam to Luang Prabang, Laos
• Travel through Laos- I spent a few weeks visiting Luang Prabang, Vang Vieng, and Vientiane, Laos.
• Laos to Thailand- I returned to Thailand by bus and traveled there for a couple of weeks.
• Thailand to Malaysia- I took the bus to Malaysia and spent a couple of weeks in Penang and Kuala Lumpur.
• Malaysia to Singapore- I caught a bus south and spent a few days exploring Singapore.
• Singapore to Melbourne, Australia- I caught a flight to Melbourne and spent a month traveling up the East Coast of Australia until I reached Cairns.
• Australia to Beijing- I made a free stopover in Beijing while flying Air China.
• Beijing to Los Angeles- I flew home from Beijing.

I completed my second around the world trip in 2017. This one just focused on Africa. I flew from Los Angeles, California to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. From there, I traveled overland through 11 countries until I reached Cape Town, South Africa. From Cape Town, I flew to Bangkok where I relaxed for about 10 days. I then caught a flight back to Los Angeles, making a short stopover in Seoul on the way. This wasn’t originally intended to be a Round-the-World trip but the flights were cheaper if I stopped in Asia so I did.

Currently, I’m in the middle of my third around-the-world trip. I started this rtw trip in South America, visiting Peru, Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, and Paraguay. From there, I flew to Uganda, where I currently am. I will continue to the Middle East and then to Southeast Asia before returning home.

Tips for Planning A Round the World Trip

It’s important to accept that you’re not going to see it all in one around the world trip. Most round the world travelers visit 10-20 countries. There are 196 countries. You can’t go everywhere. You have to carefully pick and choose where you want to go during your RTW trip.

Also, avoid counting countries. I have met quite a few travelers who like to brag about the number of countries that they have visited on their trips. Most of the time, these people don’t really get to see or experience much of anything in the countries that they visit. They’re always in a rush. I used to be like this. Now I travel slowly and enjoy each destination so much more.

The best advice that I can give while planning your own round-the-world trip is to travel where you want to go. You can take the advice of other travelers and your friends and family but it’s important to plan your own route Don’t travel somewhere just because you feel like you have to go because it’s popular. Don’t avoid a country just because a family member tells you it’s too dangerous. Do your own research and make an informed decision.

Also, d on’t feel bad about visiting touristy places or participating in cheesy touristy activities. It’s your around the world trip. You are spending your own time and money. Do whatever you want to do. The best part of travel is the absolute freedom that it gives you.

Final Thoughts

Planning a round-the-world trip is an exciting and rewarding experience. Taking the time to research your destination, arrange visas, secure transport, and accommodations, and plan activities ahead of time can help ensure a safe and enjoyable journey. Whether you’re looking to venture off the beaten path or simply relax in some of the world’s most beautiful places, having a round the world trip itinerary prepared will give you peace of mind as you explore all that the world has to offer. Wherever you plan to travel, I hope this guide has helped you plan.

Are you currently planning or have you taken a round-the-world trip? Share your around the world trip itinerary in the comments below!

More from Where the Road Forks

• How to Stay Healthy While Traveling
• 35 Types of Tourism
• Should I Travel With a Laptop: Pros and Cons
• Backpack Vs Suitcase for Travel: My Pros and Cons List
• How to Meet People While Traveling Alone
• How to Avoid Pickpockets While Traveling
• 19 Common Travel Scams and How to Avoid Them
• How to Take Your Own Passport Photo for Free
• 30 Free Things to do While Traveling

Zachary Friedman is an accomplished travel writer and professional blogger. Since 2011, he has traveled to 66 countries and 6 continents. He founded ‘Where The Road Forks’ in 2017 to provide readers with information and insights based on his travel and outdoor recreation experience and expertise. Zachary is also an avid cyclist and hiker. Living as a digital nomad, Zachary balances his professional life with his passions for hiking, camping, cycling, and worldwide exploration. For a deeper dive into his journey and background, visit the About page. For inquiries and collaborations, please reach out through the Contact page. You can also follow him on Facebook.

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mahmoud salah

Monday 6th of January 2020

What a guide!! Very informative thank you, im planning on doing cape town to cairo early 2021

wheretheroadforks

Glad you found it useful! Check out my Cairo to Cape Town guide as well if you get the chance. I think you'll find some good info in there to help you plan the trip.

Round The World Airline Tickets

Fly rtw with one world member airlines.

one world's Round The World tickets give you unprecedented access to hundreds of destinations in 170 territories. We offer three types of Round The World trips:

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Global Explorer: a distance-based fare,

Circle Pacific: an inter-continental journey to explore continents that border the Pacific Ocean.

Where to first? The whole wide world is waiting for your Round The World trip.

one world Explorer

Continent-Based Air Travel

No matter where business or pleasure takes you,  one world's vast network means your Round The World trip via  one world Explorer fare makes it easy to travel from city to city, and continent to continent. And, for every dot you connect, you earn more miles and points to spend across the  one world Alliance.

Global Explorer

Distance-Based Air Travel

For an even wider choice of where to travel, book your Round The World trip via Global Explorer, which grants you access to an even more extensive list of airlines, including Aer Lingus, Bangkok Airways,  one world  connect   partner  Fiji Airways , Jetstar, Jetstar Asia, Jetstar Japan, Jetstar Pacific, WestJet, and  Qantas  code-share flights operated by Air Tahiti Nui.

Circle Pacific

Multi-Continent Air Travel

If you prefer to visit multiple continents without actually flying all the way around the world, our Circle Pacific fare lets you explore the continents that border the Pacific Ocean. You can choose to start and finish your journey in one of the following continents:

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Southwest Pacific  (Australia and New Zealand)

North America  (USA and Canada)

South America

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is a round the world ticket.

The one world Alliance offers a way to visit many countries, around the world, all in a single itinerary.

On oneworld.com, you can choose to book either one world Explorer, where the fare depends on the number of continents you visit, or Global Explorer, where the fare depends on the distance you travel.

Circle Pacific, an inter-continental journey to explore continents that border the Pacific Ocean, can be booked by your travel agent and is not currently available for booking on oneworld.com.

Where Can I Fly With Round The World?

For one world Explorer and Global Explorer, one world member airlines and affiliate airlines cover six continental regions: Europe/Middle East (including Algeria, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Egypt, Georgia, Libya, Moldova, Morocco, Sudan, Tunisia, and Yemen); Africa (excluding countries listed above); Asia (including the Indian subcontinent, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, but excluding countries named above); Australia, New Zealand, and the South West Pacific; North America (including the Caribbean, Central America, and Panama); and South America. Currently, it is not possible to begin your itinerary through Doha Hamad International Airport (DOH) through one world member Qatar Airways. Book both one world Explorer and Global Explorer on oneworld.com.

Through the one world Circle Pacific fare, one world member airlines and affiliate airlines cover four continental regions: Asia (including the Indian subcontinent, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan); Australia, New Zealand, and the South West Pacific; and North America. Ask your travel agent about booking a one world Circle Pacific fare. Routes are subject to change.

Where Can I Travel Now, Given COVID Restrictions?

View entry restrictions and COVID-19 travel requirements for countries around the world on our the one world Travel Requirements Information Portal . Use the map to get information on travel restrictions by country, including entry restrictions, as well as COVID-19 vaccination, testing, and quarantine requirements.

Is Round The World Ticket Business Class An Option?

Yes, Round The World tickets are available in Economy, Business, and First class. On our oneworld.com booking tool, there is a drop-down menu to select your preferred cabin class. Premium economy upgrades will show where available when you select flights.

Is Round The World Ticket First Class An Option?

How much does a round the world ticket cost.

Your Round the World fare is based on a few factors: the number of continents you visit or pass through or the distance travelled, the travel class selected, and the number of travelling passengers. Read on for more information about full fare rules and conditions [Note: Links open PDF in browser]:

What Are The Round The World Rules?

Read on for Round The World rules and conditions [Note: Links open PDF in browser]:

What Should I Know To Help Me Plan My one world Explorer Itinerary?

When planning your one world Explorer itinerary, here are tips to keep in mind:

Destinations are grouped into three zones and six continents:

Zone 1: North & South America

Zone 2: Europe, the Middle East and Africa

Zone 3: Asia and the South West Pacific

Your trip must be in a continuous forward direction, East or West, between Zone 1, Zone 2 and Zone 3. Backtracking within a continent is generally permitted, however some exclusions apply.

Your adventure can last from 10 days up to a year. Travel must be completed within 12 months of your original departure date.

Your trip must start and finish in the same city.

You must cross both the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean on your journey.

Your journey can include three to six continents, and anywhere between three and 16 flights.

Review complete one world Explorer fare rules and conditions .

Can I Change Or Update My Round The World Itinerary?

Yes, one world Explorer, Global Explorer and one world Circle Pacific itineraries can be modified to accommodate changes to your Round The World plans.

If you booked your Round The World trip through oneworld.com, contact the ticketing airline (the airline you are flying on the first leg of your journey) to make changes to your itinerary.

If you booked your Round The World tickets through a travel agent, please contact the travel agent to make changes to your itinerary.

Will I Earn Frequent Flyer Points On A Round The World Trip?

Short answer: Yes, you will earn frequent flyer points on your Round the World trip.

Long answer: Yes. one world works in collaboration with all of our partner and member airlines to ensure that you’re rewarded no matter where you travel. On all eligible flights, you will accrue points or miles toward the airline of your choice and toward your one world tier status .

How Can I Pay For A one world Round The World Trip With Frequent Flyer Points?

Currently, it is not possible to use frequent flyer points to pay for a one world Round The World trip.

Does Your one world Explorer ticket include checked-in baggage?

Two free pieces of 23 kilos each shall be permitted. Additional allowances may apply. Refer to individual carrier websites.

How Much Does a Round the World Trip Cost?

It’s one of the first questions asked by anyone considering a round the world trip: how much will it cost?

This is our best shot at nailing down just how much it costs to travel around the world. It’s tricky to give an exact answer to this question, because every trip is based on different variables like destinations, timing, and traveling style. If you want to see our hard number, jump to that section . Otherwise, read on to see why a hard number shouldn’t always be trusted.

Which variables affect costs?

• When you go – Timing has a huge influence on the overall cost of an around-the-world trip. Prices in a given location can vary wildly depending on the time of year you’re there (also known as seasonality ).
• Where you go – Some parts of the world are more expensive than others. Europe, the United States, Australia, and Japan are going to cost more. India, Southeast Asia, and Central America will bring the cost down.
• What you do when you’re there – Going out for adventures every day will bring up the total cost of your trip. Skydives, snorkeling, dune buggies, and ski slopes aren’t cheap!
• Your accommodations – hostels, hotels, guest houses, long-term rentals. The level of luxury you choose will have a huge effect on your trip’s cost.
• The type of food you eat – Eating at street vendors, supermarkets, restaurants, local homes or Buddhist monasteries…where you eat will alter your food budget.

What’s generally included in the cost of a round-the-world trip?

There are really only a few things that people spend their money on when they travel: Plane tickets – Getting from region to region. The average cost of an AirTreks ticket tends to be in the $2500 – $3500 range per person, including taxes. Over the last twenty years this number has remained fairly consistent. You can estimate the cost of your airfare with our TripPlanner . If you need a generalized price for your budget, use $3300. If your trip comes in lower, that’s a bonus! Of course, business class will run a little extra . Accommodations – These can range from the most barebones dormitory-style hostel to a fairly luxurious hotel or resort. Of course you can mix and match over the course of your trip. After plane tickets, accommodations will be the most expensive part of your travel budget. Plan on $20-40 per night in inexpensive regions and $90-150 in expensive ones. If you plan on hostels every night, much less. In cheap areas you can find a dormitory for under $5 and even in the most expensive areas, it’s rare to find one over $25. Food/Drink – This item can range from supermarket picnicking, to street food, to restaurants. This will vary from meal to meal. Plan on $1-5 per meal per person in inexpensive regions and $5-20 per meal per person in expensive ones. Activities – These are things like tours, museums, adventure activities, elephant riding. Of course you’re going to spend money on doing things. Can range from $5 to $200 each, depending on the activity and location. Ground transportation – This includes buses, trains, ferries, taxis, moto-rickshaws, regular rickshaws, tuk-tuks, barges, speedboats, motorcycle rentals. Costs vary depending on how far you’re going and how fast. Taking a moto across town in Africa costs less than a dollar. Renting a Mercedes in Dubai might cost $500. Generally, though, ground transportation is a small fraction of your expenses.

Here’s how much a round the world trip will cost*

The general consensus from travelers who’ve done these trips is that a year on the road costs somewhere between $20,000 and $30,000. However, that is just the middle of the bell curve. If you prefer to live in the lap of luxury, flying in business class and staying at the Four Seasons, you’re going to have to pay a lot more than that. But if you’re a lowly backpacker, you could potentially travel the world for a year on $6,000 (it has been done!) For the sake of argument, let’s average a comfortable RTW year-long trip at $24,000. If you break that down monthly, a Round the World trip will cost one person around $2,000 per month,  taking everything into consideration. For many people it’s cheaper to be on the road than staying at home. *This shouldn’t be taken as a hard and fast number, since variables for your particular traveling style are numerous. Keep in mind that the longer the trip, the less you spend on a daily basis simply because you don’t need to fill each day with activities or spending expensive time in airports. This is the reason why we’ve said that longer trips can actually be cheaper on a relative basis . If you want some further hard numbers on how much a round the world trip cost, there’s a selection of travel bloggers who have posted their numbers online for all to compare and to evaluate. The travel blog Jack and Jill Travel has compiled some of the best . The blog RTW Expenses put together a yearlong tally of their personal costs for a RTW trip. And finally, AirTreks producer Gil Gildner wrote an extensive account of his 40 day, 6-destination trip around the world along with how much it cost per day.

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Love and Road

1 Year traveling around the world – Our costs and secrets

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I can’t believe, 365 days have passed since we started our nomadic life! Love and Road is celebrating 1 year of life, 1 year of traveling around the world. The biggest life decision we have ever made, and we never imagined we would be so happy with it! So raise your glass and have a drink with us! Now it’s time to look back and realize how far we have gone!

In October 2014 I wrote our first Love and Road review, six months traveling around the world. The post was written during a bus trip from Pamukkale to  Cappadocia in Turkey. This time I’m putting my ideas together on a train trip from Amsterdam to Berlin, and from Berlin to Barcelona [you can include some awesome parties between my work]. Not sure why, but long trips make me more thoughtful and the stunning landscape passing by my window makes me realize how lucky I am.

I believe you already know how this story started, our wake-up call, how we sold everything, packed our bags and left Brazil.   So now let’s go to the point: our travel costs and secrets of 1 year traveling around the world. How we did, how much we have spent, best moments, curiosities and misadventures. Laughs, tears, fears, and achievements. A true roller coaster of emotions with breathtaking views from different corners of the world. Now I can proudly say that Rob and I are professional travelers, digital nomads, travel writers, and happy people!

1 year traveling around the world – Love and Road in Figures

A world map, many dreams, and some money in the bank account. That’s how Love and Road started. To celebrate our first anniversary we gonna share with you our best and worst travel moments, and at the end of the post, you are going to find our travel bill. I´m sure you will be surprised by the amazing things we have done and the amount of money we have spent.

Continents – 3 – Africa, Asia, and Europe

Countries – 15 – Cambodia , Croatian Islands , France , Germany, Italy , Malaysia , Mônaco, Morocco , Netherlands , Philippines , Portugal , Spain , Switzerland , Thailand and Turkey .  

Cities – 83

Different Languages – 13 [Arabic and Thai were damn difficult]

How to travel around the world? Always searching for the cheapest and smartest way!

To cross all the 15 countries, we traveled by different methods. Our backpacking trip around the world can be split in:

By Bus – 28 trips

By Car – 2 trips

By Flight – 17 trips

By Train – 11 trips

Hitchhiking – 8 trips

Boat – 7 trips

To search for the best prices for flights we use Skyscanner , it´s perfect to compare routes and fares. Most of our train trips were done in Europe with Eurail Pass ,   super easy, flexible and we could travel everywhere with just one ticket. Bus and boats are usually run by local companies, so the best way is to check with travel agents or at bus/boat terminals. For car rentals have a look at Discover Cars.   What we like about them is that they don’t have hidden fees, so you can book without surprises.

BUY YOUR EURAIL PASS HERE!

Where to stay while traveling around the world? Our home far away from home!

We are big fans of comfy + clean + well located & cheap accommodation. Following these features we stayed in:

Airport – 2 nights [Marseille and Kuala Lumpur]

Apartment – 76 nights

Boat – 1 night

Bus – 4 nights

Campervan – 2 nights

Car – 1 night

Friend’s house – 16 nights

Hotel – 101 nights  (We always use AGODA and BOOKING.COM to book our hotels)

Hostels – 25 nights

House Sitting – 50 nights [Best way to travel and get free accommodation. We wrote a comprehensive guide to introduce you to the secrets of House and Pet Sitting ]

Shared House/Apt – 78 nights

Tent – 9 nights [ Moroccan Desert and SONUS Festival]

Most of our accommodation is booked through Airbnb [be smart and  get 20% off on your first booking] and two of our favorite websites for hotels and hostels: AGODA and BOOKING.COM . They definitely have the best offers, good properties and you can trust in their service.

JOIN TRUSTED HOUSESITTERS TODAY!

Long term travel X Shopping X Packing

The world is our address, but our house is tiny, tiny. Everything needs to fit in two 50L backpacks and two 5L small front bags. That’s it, nothing more!! Clothes, shoes, toiletries and electronic stuff. Talking about shoes, our friend Sarah put together great tips on how to choose the best travel shoes . Said that you already assumed that we can´t buy souvenirs or new clothes everywhere we go. All our purchases need to be done wisely, and every time we buy something new, an old one needs to go away. That´s what I call a minimalist style. 😉

We can’t accumulate stuff, nor carry an extra backpack . Our backpacks can only weigh 15 kg [the weight allowed on most of the low-cost airline companies]. So what did we do with our used stuff? We donated. We put everything in plastic bags and give it to people on the streets. A simple way to help and say thanks for all the blessings we received during the year.

So far, in this 1 year of traveling around the world we bought:

» New clothes:

Rob – 4 T-Shirts + 2 pair of jeans + underwear + socks + 2 jumper + more jackets [He lost two jackets this year] + gloves + 2 pair of runners.

Nat – 4 tops + 2 pair of flat sandals + 1 skirt + 1 pair of jeans + 2 legging + 1 jacket + gloves + woolen hat + 1 pair of a fashion Converse + 1 pair of flip-flops.

When we left Asia at the beginning of April, we bought some warm clothes to face the springtime in Europe. Thank God we got more jackets and gloves because in April the weather was pretty chilly on the old continent. For the first time on this trip around the world, we got temperatures below 5ºC. To travel light you always need to think about the weather of the places you will travel to, spring and summer are definitely the best seasons for backpackers.

» Electronics:

1 Notebook Asus F200M

1 MacBook Air [Rob´s old notebook stopped working while we were in Bangkok 🙁 ]

1 Power Strip [one of the most clever and useful purchases. We became heroes at airports and stations]

1 Computer charger

1 Go Pro Hero 4

» Toiletries:

I’m a nomad but never a dirty and smelly traveler [keep this in mind when you travel]. During 1 year of traveling around the world, I managed to keep some of my everyday beauty routines – body moisturizer, facial cream, and my black/grey nail polish… Not just me, Rob is also looking after himself… Age is coming!

» Travel Gear:

1 Small Backpack

2 Dry Fast Kingcham Towels

This past year was dedicated to learning about travel and blogging, so all our energy was focused on exploring the world and write about it. Among the many online books and articles we read, three of them have a special place in our bags [these are the only printed books we bought. Sometimes we are old school]

– Travel Writing (Lonely Planet) by Don George

– Travellers French by Elizabeth Smith

– The Greatness Guide by Robin Sharma

Medical issues in a nomadic lifestyle

After 1 year of traveling the world, I’m the one who got sick more times. On our journey, we had some scary moments.

» Sickness Scores:

Rob – 6 (3 times flu, cold sore crises, diarrhea and a twisted ankle)

Nat – 9 (I won!!! Back pain, mosquito bites allergy , urinary infection, keen injury, 2 times flu, diarrhea and migraine crises)

Most of the problems were sorted out with medicines we bought at the local pharmacy. We have travel insurance but didn’t need to use it. Although when I got really sick in Boracay, Philippines, we contacted our travel insurance to ask how we should proceed in case I needed to be removed from the island. World Nomads assisted us with everything. Luck me, the doctor solved my problem at the local clinic. More about international travel insurance here . 

Impressions from the Road

» Food – As much as we love Italian food, the title of best food goes to the mouth-watering Papaya Salad we ate in Thailand.

» City – Barcelona is still on the top of our favorite cities. It has everything we love!

» Beach – Boracay Island. My favorite is Puka Shell and Rob’s is the White Beach. One word can describe the Philippines: Paradise!

» Best Party – Hard to choose, but the unpretentious Best Bar at Khao San Road stole our hearts and feet. Many nights dancing with good music, cheap drinks and awesome people. I´d say Berlin comes in second place!

Long-term travel is made of people, not places!

This is definitely not a travel resource, it´s more our impression from the people we met. In 1 year of traveling around the world we made many friends, some just for a few days others for a lifetime. Each one has made a special contribution to our story, helped us to be better people, to travel wisely or blog with more professionalism. I don’t have words to say how thankful we are for meeting you, new and old friends. I’m sure we’ll catch up soon, somewhere in this beautiful world, because friendship is stronger than distance and time!

» Most Handsome Men – Dutch [OMG!!!!]

» Most Beautiful Women – Dutch [I think there are no ugly people there]

» Friendly People – Pinoy. Filipinos are the most friendly and helpful people we ever met. SALAMAT!!!!

» People with strange behavior – In Porto   [Portugal]   people talk to themselves all the time.

» Party Animal People – Spanish and Berliner. Different styles of parting but both of them know how to have fun!

The dark side of a nomad life

Some people think that being a full-time traveler is just fun, parties and beach time. Actually, our travel adventure goes much further than just joy and happiness. Doubts, fears, sadness, and homesickness are feelings that haunt us from time to time.

During this year we lost one of our cats and the other one is battling cancer. She is with Rob´s parents and I´m sure they are giving her lots of love and cuddles. The feeling of being far away hurts, and it makes me think that if something bad happens with our beloved family we’ll be too far to help them.

Money issues are always on our way too. As our long-term travel is funded by our savings, our money is running out. Every day we try to find ways of earning some cash and make the blog our main income. [So please, help us keep the blog running by booking your hotels, flights, tours and insurance here on the blog].

Worst Moment of  Traveling

The worst moment in 1-year backpacking around the world was when we crossed the border from Thailand to Cambodia. It was our second trip to Cambodia and after 7 hours on the bus we refused to pay a bribe to the Cambodian Immigration Officer. We knew he was charging everybody more than the correct amount of money and we said “No”. As a consequence they held our passport for 1 hour, we couldn’t leave the border or go back to Thailand. We felt threatened and unsafe. In the end, after a lot of discussions, they let us go.

It’s not about money. It is about principles, about right and wrong. We had money to pay the bribe but we refuse to do it.

Best moments of traveling around the world

It´s not easy to choose the best moment, during this 1 year of traveling around the world so many things happen, so many dreams came true, adventures of a lifetime and experiences that transformed us deeply. After a long talk, we figured out that our Best Moment was the day we started traveling, the day we left our comfort zone and faced the nomadic life. Our best moment is the day Love and Road was born, the beginning of our adventure.

We are not ashamed to say: we have regrets

It was our first week in Thailand, we were overwhelmed by the beauty of the culture and style of life in Chiang Mai. As silly tourists we booked a day tour including rafting, hiking to waterfalls and Elephant ride. That was an awful decision! I regret we booked the riding elephant tour. At the moment was fun, but after I discovered what they do with the animals and how they are horribly treated.

Lesson learned, now I always try to check the background of the tour company we choose. Elephants Farms in Thailand are a big issue and many animals are in danger. If you want to be in contact with these beautiful giants you can visit rehabilitation centers, help and learn. Nomad is Beautiful wrote an amazing article about Elephants and Tourism in Thailand.

What makes us proud:

We have done so many things in this 1 year of traveling that I´m happy with who we are and what we have achieved. One thing that makes us really proud is that every place we came back, like Bangkok, Istanbul, Reggio Emilia, and many others, we had an open door from a friend. People we met during this journey that keep helping us, treating us as family and friends. No words to express how happy and blessed we feel… This is what travel and friends are all about. Thanks so much for believing in us and on our dreams… Grazie, Merci, Gracias, Salamat, Tesekkurler….

Lessons from a long travel journey

Travel changes you! No doubt about it! During this past year, Rob and I learned to be more tolerant and respectful. When you get in touch with different cultures, religions and people, you discover that we are all the same, a person full of dreams, fears and seeking happiness. Our nationality, our color, sexual choices… Nothing matters. We are the same and we need to love and respect each other! When you let the prejudice go you discover that life can be easier, lighter and happier. This is the second lesson: Try your best to be happy and simple. I´m sure you won’t regret it. Simple things can make a big change in our daily life!

Something called relationship – Traveling the world with a partner

After 1 year of traveling around the world together, we are still alive and in love!! So I must say our recipe is working!! What is our love secret? Nothing special, just respect, share the same dreams and support each other. We had bad moments, sadness, crying crises [that was me 🙁 ] and joy… All the time we were together sharing the feelings and looking for the bright side. Not easy to live 24 hours together for 365 days… But with love and fun everything is possible!!! [I don’t want to be cheeky, but I also think that together we are awesome!! 😀 ]

The Bill! How much does it cost to travel around the world?

Now we come to the truth, the figures of 1 year traveling around the world. Since the beginning, we tried to respect our travel budget: $ 50 USD per day – per person. Inspired by Nomadic Matt`s book [How to Travel the World with $50 Dollars per Day] we found cheap ways to travel. We never gave up of fun and good moments, and we discovered a bunch of interesting and smart ways to save money. Another way to save money is to travel slow, there are countries  where you can live for more than 3 months on a Tourist Visa .

 Our cost of 1 year traveling around the world: [all the figures are in US dollars and it´s for two persons]

Transport – $ 9,172 [intercity and local transportation]

Accommodation – $ 6,882

Eating out – $ 6,280

Party – $ 3,542

Groceries – $ 2,611

Attractions – $ 2,117

Insurance – $ 2,200 [one year worldwide coverage]

Purchases – $ 1,222

Pharmacy – $ 660

Doctor – $ 223

Souvenirs \ Post – $ 194

WC – $ 20

Others –   $ 3,526 [internet, lockers, books, beauty, visas…]

The total cost of 1 year traveling around the world = $ 36,532 or $ 18,268 per person. The average per person / per day was $ 50!

During this 1 year of backpacking, we stayed longer in Europe, Turkey, and Thailand. In all of them for more than 2 months. Here is how much we spent on each one:

» Europe, 151 days: $ 13,369 [average per day = $ 88  or $ 44 per day/person]

» Turkey, 78 days: $4,904 [average per day = $ 62 or $ 31 per day/person]

» Thailand, 90 days: $ 5,492 [average per day = $ 61 or $30.5 per day/person]

We traveled a lot and managed to keep our money under control! Congratulations to us!! On the blog you can find the breakdown of our costs by countries, so far our series “How much Does it Cost to Travel to” shows the costs of travel in Portugal and the  Philippines . During the next months, we’ll be publishing more posts about our expenses around the world. Stay tuned 😉

Time flies when we are having fun! It doesn’t feel like one year has gone by, but when I look back I´m proud to see how many things we have done! How many places we visited, people we met, the cultures we experienced and how we became better persons and travelers. I dreamed of this life, but I never imagined it could be so amazing and full of surprises. We finished 1 year traveling around the world, our first year as digital nomads, 365 days of a nomadic marriage , and we have never been so happy!

I can say out and loud: We are Love and Road, we are long-term travelers, bloggers, party and sun-seekers. We are Rob and Nat and we want to inspire you to travel more and better because discovering the world is one of the most rewarding things you can do in your life!

I hope you enjoyed our story of 1 year of traveling around the world, and hope we could help you to plan your dream trip… Would love to hear your opinion about our story and how we can make it better for you! We started Love & Road as our own life project, but now it includes you and all our readers! Thanks for being part of this amazing journey!

195 thoughts on “1 Year traveling around the world – Our costs and secrets”

Such an interesting post! Its no as expensive as I thought actually, and more than worth the money. I definitely agree, the Dutch men are so handsome 🙂

Glad that you liked the post Carissa! And I can see we share the same taste for handsome men… hahahaha

All the best, Nat

I love that you enjoyed the Philippines a lot! I lived in Boracay for 3 years and that is my island home!

Hi Anna!!! You are so blessed for living in Boracay, we love it!! I have to tell you the truth, the beauty of Boracay is not the nature, the beauty of Boracay is the people who live there… We had an amazing time while exploring the island and we made some great friends. Salamat! 😀 Nat

So appreciate all your details and honesty. So many wish they could take off and travel indefinitely but it’s truly not easy. So glad that you two are still in love and will keep going.

Thanks Elaine! I think our biggest achievement of travelling together is to keep our love burning!! Be on the road everyday us not easy, but as long as we have each other I´m sure we can make it through.

All the best! 😀 Nat

Hi Guys – Congratulations on a terrific milestone! What a great summary of all you’ve been through. I love this: “Try your best to be happy and simple.” Great advice to set the stage for curiosity and contentment.

Thanks Betsy!!

This year means a lot to us, not only because of the travels, but especially because we learnt a lot and we become more happier people.

What an amazing year all up but thanks for your openness in sharing both the fabulous and not so fabulous parts with us.

It´s a pleasure to share our story Toni! Most people think a nomad life is just about flowers and luxury hotels… Actually is more about discovering yourself, learning and experience new things.

I’m glad you liked the article 😀 Cheers, Nat

Wow! So much wonderful information and thanks for the financial details on this. Not sure if I’ll be able to pull off a year right now, but this is a wonderful guide.

I agree the Filipinos are the friendlies people, though I’ve not been to Boracay (Palawan and Bohol). I’m happy to have found your blog. Will book through you when I get around to needing AirBnB:)

Hope you can set out on another trip soon!

Take care and hope to keep in touch. Cheers!

Thanks for the nice words and the support!!! You have no idea how read comments like your made us happy! 😀

Keep track of all your expenses east easy, but we had to do, otherwise we could spend to much and end up without money…hahahaha… Also is a good way to prove that you don´t need top be rich to travel! 😉

Stay tuned, because there are much more adventures to come! All the best to you, Cheers, Nat

Congratulations on your year on the road. Traveling full-time isn’t for everyone, but I really love it too and can’t see stopping any time soon…

Thanks Jennifer!!! I think we won´t stop soon either! 🙂 Happy Travels, Nat

Congrats to you both on your great achievements and thanks once again on a detailed post 🙂 Happy travels ox

Thanks for being part of our amazing story!!! You and Ben have an special place in our heart… Hope to see you soon!

Kisses, Nat

Amazing post that covers all of what you did while you were traveling the world! Most of what you did were also things that I have done to continually lead this sustainable travel lifestyle that I have. 🙂

P.S. SO glad to hear that you loved the Philippines! I come from there and I truly miss it! (Especially the beaches!! Aaaaah)

Hey Aileen!!! Thanks for stopping by! You know how hard is to live on the road and how tough is to make our own living from the blog, so your words are really meaningful to us! 😀

This post is great! I could never be this organized. I still have not been able to money from the blog in the two years it has running. I am inspired!

Thanks Orana!!! Travel and Blog is not easy as it looks like, but if do it with passion everything is worth!! We are glad you liked the post!

Wow! You’ve gone through a big big big journey, guys! Congrats and keep doing your job that you love so much 🙂 Looking forward to your next vids, too 😉 Hugs from Granada!

Hey Ivana!!! How are you guys?? Thanks for stopping by, I´m so happy we met during this amazing year. We keep in touch, I´m sure we´ll catch up soon. Big kisses from Italy 😀

Thanks for putting this together guys, I’m always interested in how everyone else manages on the road – massive congrats on hitting the big 365 days!!

Did you face any safety issues hitchiking? Sounds like an amazing adventure and obviously very cheap way to travel, have never had the guts to do it myself though!!!

Hello Megan, Tks! We are very happy with this 1st year on the road 🙂 For hitchhiking we use Blablacar. You pay for the ride but it`s safe and way cheaper than bus/train. Cheers,

congrats on one year! Very inspirational!

Tks Lindsay! Let`s keep travelling 🙂

Congratulations!

What a great little read! 🙂

We also work off $100.00 per day for the 2 of us, but that’s in Australian dollars, so a little bit tougher again (being only worth about $0.80 US cents)

Really enjoyed the snapshot into your 1 year anniversary, we’re 1 week away from 11 months so can relate to so many of the feelings!

Take care as always

Hey Chris! Tks!!! Also Congrats, you are almost hitting the 1 year mark too 🙂 Europe was quite bad to our budget but we could find a balance while in SEA. Flying out the “Euro land” today lol Cheers,

Hey guys, nice to meet you 🙂 And congrats on your first year of travel! I’ve been travelling with my Partner and too and even though there were many challenges on the way, we a re still growing strong and that is the most important! Thanks for sharing this!

All the best 🙂

Hello ! Tks! We hope that it`s the first of many years on the road 🙂 Totally agree with you, our relationship is growing strong & stronger with our travels. Cheers!

Congratulations on one year! That was really inspiring and interesting to read. You experienced so many different cultures in one year! And the amount you spent was about the same one would spend staying at home for one year ^_^ Better to travel!

Hi Francesca! Tks!!!! Also the money we spent was pretty much the same we would spend back home to keep our car,house,bills… As you said, better to travel 😉 Cheers,

Thx for this super post, Natalie! I loved reading about your life on the road over the past year. And congrats on doing it so economically! I will never be a backpacker, but I sure love to enjoy travel adventures on the road. Hope to meet you and Rob sometime along the way …

Hi Doreen, Tks!!! It`s not easy but no impossible to travel the world in a budget. Our recipe is the balance and from time to time we pamper oursselves 😉 Hope that our meeting will be full of chocolates! Cheers,

Congrats guys what a beautiful adventure and definitely an inspiration to us fellow sun and beach loving travel addicts! Here’s to many more years and fun to be had together, all the best.

Tks Carly!!! For sure we`ll keep our search for amazing beaches and parties 😉 cheers,

Congratulations and all the best for the future. One year on the road is a milestone worth a celebration…and some reflection. I think your budget of $50 a day is great especially since you can live like kings in most of the places you visited. Thanks for sharing this with us.

Tks Tim! You are right, time for some reflection. With USD 50/day you really can have fun around the world 😉 Cheers,

Fabulous summary detailing your travel adventures over the past year! Kudos for taking the plunge into a new, fascinating world and for sharing with us here.

Hi Nancy, It was an incredible year! Tks for stopping by 😉 Cheers,

Great post! I loved reading your impressions of a year of traveling. The highs and lows and everything in between. I’m glad you had so much fun!

Hi Tracie, Tks! We believe that the balance is the key. For travels, marriage, friendships….(even blogging) Cheers!

Loved how you described your 1-year travel and how positive you seem. Must be such great memories to have. You inspired me for the 6 months-trip I’m about to make with my husband and daughter!

Hello Aline, Tks for the kind words 🙂 It means a lot to us to receive this kind of feedback. Our advise is : Go for it! You will have memories for life. Cheers,

You Both Truly Amazing and Inspired to travel in Thai.thanks for your sharing you trip details

Thanks!!! If you need any extra tip just drop us a msg 🙂 Cheers,

Hi Rachel, We are old-fashioned lol! Every expense is written down in a notebook and later goes to a Excell Spreadsheet. It really helps with the long term planning. Cheers,

Oh we LOVE us a spreadsheet! That’s what you get when an accountant and business analyst go travelling together…

Hahaha! I bet you two are better on budget management than us! Happy Travels! Nat

Aww this is very inspiring! I’ve been wanting to backpack the world for a long period of time but don’t know when, how and where to start. I’m glad you liked Philippines, my hometown! Also Boracay! I keep coming back to that place. I would recommend to visit Palawan! Paradise, indeed!

Hey Leigh!! So happy that you liked the article!!! Don´t think to much, don´t plan to much… If you want to travel just pack your stuff and go!! The hardest part is to start, then everything falls in the right place. Believe me, it´s the most rewarding thing you can do in life. And definitely we are going back to Philippines, so many amazing places to discover! 😉

You are such a cute couple 🙂 Congratulations on taking travelby the horns and going for it! I love it that you managed $50 a day. It’s really interesting to see what you spent it on: I’ll definitely be keeping tabs on my spending when I head off in 2 months time!

Thanks Alice!!! Travel is one of the most amazing things you can do in life, glad to hear that you are heading off in 2 months, I will be here sending positive energy! Wish you a awesome journey!!

Such a great post and what an amazing year!! So glad I just found your blog. I love the detail, stories and adventures (good and bad) you included. I have always wanted to go to Thailand but am with you on the Elephant riding, I learned that when I was in South Africa. Had to be careful since so many are abused because it is a big tourism market. Thanks for sharing your story, love it! Happy travels.

Thanks for stopping by Alyssa!! And a big thanks for your lovely words. It was a wonderful year indeed, looking back it’s hard to believe that we have gone so far. But this is what happen with people that follow their dreams. Good to have you here! All the best and keep travelling. 🙂 Nat

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Not sure and remember how u get here. But i really amazed by both of you. Is really fun to read your artile about dream and how you pursuit it. About ads i didn’t see you put google adsense in the blog. Would you consider to put that in? i think could earn a little or a lot…depends on traffic n click..☺ which I think could help u! !

Hey Tan!! Thanks for stopping by! Funny enough, but this week will be putting AdSense to our blog. We have been planning it for a long time and now it is the right moment for doing it. Thanks or the tips and keep following our adventure. All the best, Nat

Hey, what a coincidence!!! A saw you have adsense on your top right!!! 1 question, before you make a first step to traveling around the world, did you do math on how much you need to save? and How long you plan to stop ? And Rob, What kind of job you had worked in other country? I’m just curious, how could you solve all this puzzle when you are travel!?

Before we started the trip we planned this Life Project for almost one year. We read a lot other bloggers and realised we don´t need much to live and be happy. 1 – Here is how we saved money for travelling – https://loveandroad.com/how-to-save-money-to-travel/

2 – We sold all our belongings to get money enough for the trip – https://loveandroad.com/wanna-buy-our-stuff/

3- Inspired by other travellers, we choose the amount of $50 usd per day per person as our budget – https://loveandroad.com/how-will-we-survive/

So far we don´t have plans to stop, as long as we are happy and we have money, we´l keep travelling. About work, Rob has done some jobs as a model and he is pretty good on it. Other jobs are mostly online. Hope I have answered your questions! 🙂

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Thanks for your detail answer. (Actually i read before you reply)

Hmmm..ya both of you looks great in term of outlook !!! That’s added value in this blog.

Really obsessed by what you guys doing. Read through all your post (almost) and inspired me on next trip without really need spend too much.

I always do things late and missed bus. So to do what you do it looks impossible to me.. too much things to take care now. ..kids, installment,…etc. and most important thing I’m 36.

You made me laugh…. Your age is not a problem, Rob is 35 & I´m turning 32 in 10 days (OMG!!!)… 🙂

To travel for a long time and spending less money you definitely need to be more organized, but anyone can do it. I´m sure about this!!!

I´m really happy to know that you are interested in our blog and journey. Hope you can find some useful information.

And if you need any more info let me know! Cheers,

Hi I got to say Rob looks older than me… lol.

I been thinking these 3 days since read your adventures. How to increase my blog income so that i can be more relax if i become a digital normad. Well mine still need more interesting content and hardwork.

But i think your site can add 1 more revenue stream other than adsense . Go search “online marketing advertisement “. Sometimes you can get 1k ,5k, even 20k a month depends whether they approve your application or not. Trust me your site is really different from what i read so far. I think publisher like yours too.

Ps. Really want to see both of you continue your journeys.

Hahaha… Poor Rob!! He’s not that old, his grey hair is a charm… 😀 Thanks one more time for the tips about monetizing, and for following our journey. Makes us really happy to know that you liked the blog. Wish you all success, that you find ways to increase your earnings from the blog and travel more too!

We keep in touch, All the best Nat & Rob

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I’ve travelling for 36 years. This has to be one of the best posts I have read. I love your amazing attention to detail.

Thanks Briony!! It’s a really great compliment coming from a well-travelled person! All the best,

it is a lengthy but really interesting article! i love the way you use purple as ththeme color (my color), and i love your presentation of your funny sides so that gives me a push to continue to read until the last paragraph.

you guys look nice too which is a bonus. the logo is beautiful

im going to blog-brag about travelling as well, just starting. your travelling project serves as a good example to me.

i wonder if we could connect via facebook? mine is violetta l wong

Hi Violetta!

Thanks for stopping by and I´m really happy that you enjoy the reading and the Blog. I know it´s a big article, but I just can’t help myself, as a journalist I tend to write a lot. ^_^ Thanks for the compliments! Wish you all the best on your blogging and travel adventure, and I feel honoured for inspiring you. For sure we can connect on Facebook and feel free to reach me. All the best sweetie,

Wow. You guys had an amazing year! I totally agree with you that Thailand has the best food. This post is actually a great resource on what nomadic life and long term travel is really like.

Thanks Bethaney!! When I wrote it I was thinking about sharing our experiences and how life can be great if you you live outside the box and venture yourself… But now, after you comment I realise that it is also a good source of information for nomadic people. Thanks! ;-D

This is completely A-M-A-Z-I-N-G and crazy!! But I’d love to do something like this one day… Very cool and useful post, really appreciated. Great travel!!!

Thanks Silvia!! So happy that you liked our post and our adventures!! All the best to you too! 😀 Nat

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An amazing post, congratulations on your achievements and the amazing year of traveling, even though there were some bad parts. I loved reading your post.

Thanks!! You have no idea how lovely comments like your make us happy!! Thanks for following us and wish you all the best!

Hey, thanks for this interesting summary and your detailed calculations of your costs! I spent 6 months together with my boyfriend in Thailand/Laos last year and we also tried to keep track of our spendings and live on budget but both turned out to be quite hard. Because our savings ended we needed to return but we are already planning the next long term trip 🙂 I’m glad I found your blog and will keep following you! I found qzuite some similarities between your story and ours concerning party and sun seekers 😉 Cheers, Carina

Hi Carina!!! Thanks for stopping by!! So happy that you liked the post and the blog. How was Laos? We didn’t manage to go there yet, but it´s on our plans! I totally understand you, not easy to keep the budget under control if you like parties… That´s our biggest issue with money 🙂 All the best, and hope you start traveling soon, maybe we can meet somewhere around the globe. Cheers, Nat

“Friendly People – Pinoy. The Filipinos are the most friendly and helpful people we ever met. SALAMAT!!!!”

Aww! Salamat! Come back in PH if you want to experience more beaches and waterfalls. :”>

We are going back for sure Aye!!! And that´s totally truth, in total we have already visited 37 countries and the most friendly people we met are the Pinoy! I have to tell you “Samalat” for being so nice with us! All the best!

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Wowww… What an elaborate piece. I was hooked to every bit of it. There was so much to absorb and learn. Loved the picture with the nail paint. Chiang Mai and the elephant farms, I have been there and I totally agree with you on that regret.

Phillipines is where my husband has studied, I am yet to go there but when you say its a paradise, I would want to go soon. There was so much that you achieved in an year along with the health hiccups. Many more travels to you. Will keep reading you more. I am a blogger from India who loves traveling too. 🙂

OOhhhh what a lovely comment! 🙂 Thanks for stopping by and follow our adventure!! Wish you all the best too, lots of travels [to the Philippines soon], dreams, laughs….

Keep travelling and blogging! Cheers,

What an amazing year! What a wonderful feat to achieve! it’s great how much detail you’ve included in this post, and writing actual cost is also quite useful. I wish you another amazing year full of travels!

Thanks Tanja!! Glad that you liked the post, I thought it was a bit long, but I really wanted to include all the information of one year on the road and prove that you can travel and be happy! All the best, 🙂 Nat

You are amazing! So many people will benefit from your experience and very well written blog. Great job!

Thanks Liz!!! Super happy that you liked it! All the best,

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I was awestruck when I read that you both sold everything to hit the road. Reading all about your travels 365 days, its truly amazing.

You are having the best of life one can dream of.

May you both have good health and more joy in your journey. I would certainly follow your posts to learn more about your travelling saga.

Have a blessed day.

Regards, Fayaz

Thank you very much Fayaz!! Wish you happiness and health too!

We are very happy to know that you enjoyed reading our blog and gonna follow our adventure. Welcome to Love and Road 🙂

All the best,

Nat & Rob

I really enjoy this post. With so much useful information in one place. Love is in the air on this blog. Hugs and greetings from Bulgaria! Follow your steps, guys!

Thanks Moni!!!!

It´s so good to read comments like yours, made our day! Wish you all the best, and happy that our story and information can help you follow your travel dreams. Hugs from Bangkok! 😉

Truly an inspiring and realistic post about traveling the world for 1 year! Just found your blog and wish I did sooner. I am a data guy so seeing the “numbers” behind your experiences is great. The costs, how many nights you stayed where, etc.

While I haven’t yet decided to take a complete plunge to travel the world. I have a lot “bigger” travels set for next year, who know maybe I just won’t come home! I am just starting to get my travel going and with my soon to be wife too! It’s awesome that the both of you are traveling the world together.

I´m so glad that you liked the post, especially the “numbers”…hahahaha… For a long term travel keep track of your expenses is fundamental. Wish you all the best on your travel plans, you are more than welcome to follow our journey, and if you need an more info feel free to email or message us! Travel with a wife/husband is a big challenge, but totally worth! Cheers,

You two are such an inspiration!!!Please keep travelling and sharing your experiences! I love a good budget breakdown, (seeing real numbers!). I especially like the House Sitting option!

Thanks again! LP

Hi LP! Thanks for you comment! And don’t worry, we are not planning to stop travelling anytime soon! 🙂 On April, we´ll celebrate 2 years on the road, and we are planning a big post with all the figures and details for our journey! Stay tuned for it! All the best, Nat

Hi, this is such an inspiring read! My girlfriend and I are also planning to travel the world for 1 year to Southeast Asia for 4.5 months, Oz and New Zealand for 5 or 6 weeks overall and then Central America for 2.5 months and South America for 3.5 months. We are still in the very early stages of planning and researching though so none of it is set in stone. But did your 50 US$ per person per day also include air fares and accommodation aswell or was that separate? I’ve read this blog a few times and I’m sure it does say it’s all included but I’m just making sure because it seems impossible. I really hope it’s possible because we are going to have pretty much the same budget as yourselves. Once again, brilliant read! It looks like you are having a fantastic time 🙂

Hey David!! So nice to read your comment! Welcome to Love and Road! And Yes, it´s possible to travel under 50 bucks per day. It seems to be impossible, but it´s real! We do manage to travel around the world including everything (air tickets, insurance, water…) on a 50 usd per day per person! The secret is the balance, some days you spend more, other less, and at the end of the week you do your balance and keep your estimated budget. Southeast Asia is very cheap, you can live well with half of the money. However, places like Europe, Australia, New Zealand are not cheap, so you will have to be more conscious about your spends. The trick is, save money in Asia to have some extra cash for the other destinations. South America is not as cheap as SEAsia but you can live well on a tight budget, and have fun. The best advise is to research a lot before booking and buying stuff. And keep record of all your expenses. Here is some other article we wrote about travel budget and how to save money on the road: How we´ll survive» http://buff.ly/1YLJSO9 6 Months Travelling – Costs and Secrets» http://buff.ly/1QVMqKl How Much does it cost to travel Spain» http://buff.ly/1QVMx8D How Much does it cost to travel to Portugal » http://buff.ly/1mJI7oY

Also, on our “Travel Resource Page” you can find all the websites we use and recommend to book hotels and find the cheapest air fares. I´m sure using them you can find nice deals and save money 😉

Hope this will help you too plan your travels! Wish tons of fun and amazing places! Go and explore the world!!! All the best, Nat

Very inspirational — you two will have a long and happy life together no doubt after such an indescribable experience together!

Can you imagine this trip on your own? Would it be dangerous? Did you meet nomads traveling alone?

Are you planning another trip? Thanks for sharing your experience.

Hi Nora!!! Thanks for the lovely words! Answering your questions, I can imagine doing this trip on my own, I have met a huge amount of people (especially women) that travel solo and they enjoy a lot. I don´t think it would be dangerous, actually this is a misconception, the world is safe, and there awesome people out there, you only need to look after yourself and learn how to behave in different cultures. Most of the solo travellers we met are super happy, healthy and safe. We are still on the road, 1 year and a half of non stop travelling. Now we are in Chiang Mai Thailand, next stop Vietnam. No plans to stop travelling.! 🙂 All the best and thanks for stopping buy. Nat

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What an awesome post! Looking forward to your next year on the road! Oh, and I lived in Holland for 5 months, and definitely agree. Everyone is so amazingly good looking! : )

Hi Dave!! Stay tuned, we are almost celebrating 2 years on the road and the post will be huge, full of information and details! However some things never change, and I still think that the Dutch people are the most good looking one 🙂 Thanks for stopping by! Nat

Nice post! I haven’t seen one that was put together quite like this! I found it extremely helpful! Did you guys do the marathon through Angkor Wat?! You’re photo looked like it near the top of the post! We did that last year! I’m sorry to hear about the frustrating experience at the Thai/Cambodian border. We were able to SE Asia as a couple for an average of $50/ day as well! We are planning a European backpacking trip so to see you guys were able to maintain that budget is promising for us! We are very excited! Thanks for sharing your experiences and finances from your amazing year!

HI Megan!! Thanks for stopping by!! Yes, we did the Angkor Wat Half Marathon and it was a very special experience, made us forget the bad situation at the Thai/Cambodian border. About the budget, it´s not easy to keep in under 50 usd in Europe, but it is possible. Places like Paris, Amsterdam, Rome are very expensive and you end up spending more money, but then you move to small cities or even to Berlin, Barcelona, towns where your money stretches a lot more. In the end you try to keep the balance, this is the secret! Wish you a wonderful journey through Europe!! 🙂 All the best,

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Hi , Such an awesome post. Really inspiring one. But 1 thing I would like to ask you, Y haven’t you traveled to India?

Thanks Hemali!! India is on our plans, we didn´t have the chance to travel around there yet, but I´m sure go soon! 🙂

This was fabulous. You have provided me with a lot of ideas and a lot of inspiration.

Hi Dawn!! So happy to read your comment!! Hope your ideas work perfectly and you have tons of fun travelling around the world! All the best! Nat

Hi We are a 50+ couple who have the same dream to travel the world to experience all the different cultures before we are too old to enjoy it all. Would you suggest taking on this type of adventure in the mid 50’s knowing that parts of your body are not as young and fit as when you are in your thirties?

Hi Kerryn!! My answer is: Go for it!! It´s never too late to travel! Maybe the pace of travelling on your 50´s won´t be the same as our pace of travelling in our 30`s, but it doesn’t matter. We were inspired to travel to world by a Canadian couple we met in Istanbul, during our honeymoon, and they were on their 60´s. They decided to sell the house, quite their jobs and have one year travelling… After spending a few days with them, we decided that we should do the same… 🙂 All the best!

It was very enjoyable and inspiring to read about all your adventures and lessons learned. As fellow full time travelers (in our 60’s ), we can relate to so much of what you shared. It occurred to me that even folks who never venture away from home have experiences that are sometimes sad, sometimes happy and occasionally terrifying. Life is all those things, whatever you do. But the rewards of traveling are so rich. There is so much to experience in this world that we just can’t stay at home! There is always a new adventure just around the corner and it is clear from this post that you both are still thirsty for that.

Hi Neil!! What a lovely message! 🙂 As you said both of us are addicted to travel and I´m almost sure there is cure for that! But I´m not worried, as long as we have energy we will keep going! Wish you all the best! Nat

Just finished reading your blog. You really did a great job!! So many of us dream to travel and discover new places, get acquainted with new culture and new people, but few dare, fewer are able to take the step forward and really do it…you did it!! Congratulations. I particularly liked the part where you said “Travel changes you! No doubt about it! During this past year Rob and I learnt to be more tolerant and respectful. When you get in touch with different cultures, religion and people you discover that we are all the same, a person full of dreams, fears and seeking happiness. Our nationality, our colour, sexual choices… Nothing matters. We are the same and we need to love and respect each other! When you let the prejudice go you discover that life can be easier, lighter and happier. This is the second lesson: Try your best to be happy and simple. I´m sure you won’t regret. Simple things can make a big change in our daily life! ” – touched me to the core…respect! – A fellow blogger

Cheers!! Now that we celebrate two years on the road these lessons are still true. Be happy, live simple and respect the people around you, three little things that make life easier and happier! All the best, Nat

Inspiring post and am really happy to see you both enjoying the world and places, as it should be done. Great tips and love the house sitting options. Smart way to earn some bucks (and the free acco 😉 ). When are you visiting India ?

– A travel Blogger

Glad you enjoyed! India is in our travel list but not sure when we gonna visit it. Cheers!

Very inspiring post. 🙂 But I want to ask are these countries, you visited safe enough to travel alone?

Hi Harshita,

I have never felt unsafe or in danger while traveling through this countries. Of course, if you travel alone you need to be more careful, but I’m pretty sure you will be fine. There are more good people than bad people in the world. My recommendation is always to have a good travel insurance, research about the place you are traveling to, and keep contact with family and friends. Cheers, Nat

I love to read this I hope I can also travel for 1 year.

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Very interesting and insightful post, love the detail in here! Wish you many years of successful travel 🙂

Tks Bruno! A lot of travels to you too! Cheers,

Amazing blog. Really inspiring to read.

Wish you two the best.

Thanks Jay! Wishing you all the best too! Cheers, Nat

So I am looking into doing this with my husband but my biggest thing is the cost and how much we’ll need to save to do it. my question is, my husband is a big ol’ whiner and does not want to stay in Hostels. I know he’s okay with camping and cheaper hotels but he does not want to share with other people like in Hostels. what were your prices including accommodation wise?

Was there any specific reason you stayed in a few placed for longer or was it just personal preference? I am interested in visiting a lot if different places in Europe especially but also Asia, Africa/the middle east, and south America. when it comes to north America, my personal opinion is that we can do that later on when we start a family because we live in north America. (I also wanted to spend a few days down in Antarctica with the researchers!)

also did you always eat places or did you buy groceries? So many questions!

Hi Jennifer!

The costs on the blog post are including everything, from accommodation, groceries, and all the bottles of water in drank in one year, we kept track of everything.

If your husband doesn’t like hostel, no problem, you can find good deals on hotels, specially in Europe and Asia. Sometimes it’s cheaper to pay for a double room in a simple hotel, than for two beds in a hostel. Your choice of accommodation will impact into other costs as food and transportation. If you stay in Airbnb apartment you can cook, so you save by doing your groceries in a local market, but if you stay in a cheaper hotel you might need to eat out every day. It’s all about finding the right balance. There is no right or wrong, it will be your trip, you have to enjoy it.

We stay longer in a few places because we need to stop and catch up with blogging work. Also because after a while we couldn’t handle the pace of changing places every 3 or 4 days. We got tired of packing, unpacking and not having enough time to discover the city we were visiting. Again, you two will find the right balance, you’ll probably start the trip with one pace, but in the middle of the road things can change. That’s the beauty of long term travelling.

Hope I could answer your doubts and wishing you two all the best! Cheers, Nat PS: next month we’ll publish our article with the costs of 2 years travelling, stay tuned. 😉

Guys, you’re awesome and the only thing I would say is that your trip will start when you let go of your money and zero all savings and sources of money that you have available. You will love it!

Sorry Tisho… But that’s not my thing… I always have to have my savings… hahahaha Cheers, Nat

Great post, and very informative. Definitely gave me some ideas for the coming year. I love that you spend a significant amount of time in each country instead of just rushing through to say you’d been there. I never really bought into the travel-on-$50-a-day, and didn’t think it was really possible. But when I see your numbers, I think it is! Thanks for posting those.

You are welcome Mary! 50 is our budget, but you can do it with more or less, it depends on your taste and way of travelling. The secret is to keep note of all expenses and use your money wisely, that’s how we manage to travel for so long. We just published the 2 years travelling the world round up , check it out!

Happy Travels Nat

This is an amazing story that is so honest. I’m glad you kept the story of travelling realistic, Natalie.

Hi Agness, Thanks for stopping by. It was an amazing year, with ups and downs as real life is. Cheers, Nat

Amazing blog . thank you for sharing it

wish you all the best

Thanks Hanna! All the best to you too!

Hi Nat How did you carry your money? did you split the money in-between? We are going to Vietnam, Thailand and couple of other countries and will take cash and cards but worried what is the best way to carry them. Do you leave cash in the accommodation when out and about or always carry with you?

Thank you – you two are an inspiration.

Hi Babu, We have a money belt where we carry our money and passports when we are traveling (buses, trains, flights…). At the hotels we split the money between us and hide in our bags, we always leave the bags locked in the room. While sightseeing the biggest problem is to loose your money and cards, so prefer to have them on your front pocket or inside a bag. In a few places you might encounter some pickpocketing problem, but in general, we found Southeast Asia a safe place to travel, safer than South America and some countries in Europe.

Thanks for stopping by, Nat

Such a Wonderful Travel Description!! Congrats for it and for the choice!!

One of my passions is to travel – And you are just “feeding” this passion with this Blog!!

!!!Bóra pegar umas dicas por aqui!!

Glad you liked Marcos! E bora viajar 😉

My wife and I are retiring early at 59 1/2 years old, we are about 9 years away and will have to live off our next egg for 7 years until social security kicks in. We plan to travel around the world just like you have because it really takes us less money per year to slowly travel around the world than it is to live in the states according to my research. Your “Love and Road” is excellent and right up our alley. Hopefully I will see you guys around the world somewhere in 9 years. lol.

Hi Gerald, So you still have a couple of years for planning your journey 😉 Not sure if you read this book , very helpful for budgeting. Hope to see you on the road! Cheers!

Hey Natalie Woww !! very nice images thanks for sharing with us your 1 Year Travelling life …such a nice blog. Great !!

Glad you liked Nitin!

This breakdown is awesome. It’s cool to see all the ways you traveled and places you stayed.

Hi Kirsten, Glad you liked the post. Cheers!

Thanks for that information, it is actually quite pretty!

Glad you liked!

Nice information. Thanks for this!

You are welcome!! All the best!

Fantastic post, very much enjoyed the details.

Glad you enjoyed! Safe travels!

It is such an inspiration reading this! I am 25 planning my FIRST time traveling for a year! It’s very overwhelming but your blogs have made it much easier! I will be traveling with a then 4 year old which I’m very nervous about! Any tips?

Hi Felisha, We’ve never traveled with kids… but I would say to be smart on your packing. A couple of times we saw mums at the airport struggling with too many bags and the kid. All the best on your journey! Cheers,

I’ve never been more inspired!!! I’m 38 and want nothing more than to quit my job and travel the world with my girlfriend(36). We have no kids and no reason to continue working so hard to get by in our hometown of Anchorage, Alaska. We want to cash in our chips and travel the globe (SE Asia, Central America, Mediterranean, Caribbean,Philippines, Japan, Africa, NZ, Aussie). We don’t know where to start. There are many details that we’re having trouble prioritizing(vaccines?, visas?, health care?, how to protect our money while traveling). Any advice or guidance would be incredible. The fear of making a mistake before we even begin is sometimes paralyzing, but the world still awaits us. Thank you for sharing your journey and for the inspiration. Wishing you continued good fortune. Ben

Hi Ben, I suggest to have a “master plan” to begin with. An itinerary of the places you want to visit and from there you can research about vaccines, visas & other stuff. If I’m not wrong Charles Schwab Bank doesn’t charge fees to withdraw money abroad. Have a budget and stick to it, some days you will spend more, in others a bit less. The most important thing is to find a balance. Regarding insurance we use World Nomads and are happy about it, fair price, good coverage and when needed they were great. Cheers!

This is nice. My wife and I are excited for the vacation we’ve booked in Europe to Spain and definitely we will go to the Canary. Tenerife is one of our eyeing place for our 1st stop 🙂 There so many thing we want to do from a page we’ve read

Canary is still on our travel list!

Hi I am Ibrahim I am also planning to travel around the world Do you have an article that covers the documents you need to travel anywhere, how you carry your money, what to do in case arrested, how to exchange your money and such thigs Thank you

Hi Ibrahim, Regulations change from country to country. It’s easier to decide wich countries do you want to visit and check all the information with their embassies. Exchange money is easy, you can do it in banks or airports. And please, avoid troubles so you wont be arrested 😉 Cheers,

Reading your blog inspired me so much that my gF and I have decided to travel the world in 2019. We have a rough itinerary and are starting to put things into motion. I’m sure I’ll have tons of questions but for now I just want to say thanks.

Thanks for the kind words Nicholas! Wish you guys all the best on your journey!

You share the traveling tips are very useful for me. Your blog is beneficial for tourist. I am glad to find it. There are so many developers working on this part but this is one of the best innovative post ever. Thanks for such post.

Happy to help Jeremy!

Nice travelling experience sharing of this blog stories are very impressive and World travel costs of travel tips.

You have rounded up your 1 one year travel experience in such a beautiful way. Loved reading each part of your blog and yes pictures are amazing. Great write up!

Thanks Leni! Super happy you liked the post. Cheers, Nat

Truly Amazing post, you guys summarized it fantastically. Loved the statistics !

Glad you enjoyed!

Give thanks to you for your details that you’ve distributed. It’s really ideal for me.

great work!

wonderful blog thanks for sharing

You are welcome!

Nice post. I love the way you explained

It’s a great post. Your idea and skilled management during travel are amazing. You did great guys! Thanks

I never found such a good post. Seems your all trips were very interesting. Trip management by teams is awesome. I learned more from this post. Thanks a lot!

Galera! Aproveitando a quarentena pra ler quase todos, senão todos os vossos artigos! Bocês são f*das! ??

Hello Guys! We are a family of 4 people who decided to go on a yearly trip starting summer 2021, just now we started planning the trip. Your blog is just great, very inspiring , thanks for the information and data, really fun to read about your experiences as well as the difficulties you experienced. Do you have any recommendations for a one-year trip with children (15-year-old and 7-year-old). Thank you and keep enjoining your life.

Hi Beny, During our trips we met many families traveling with kids. One thing we noticed is that involving the kids in travel planning is a great way to spark their interest in the journey. Happy travels!

Hi guys Great post, thank you for sharing, so inspiring We are also wanting to travel for a year all over the world, we are wondering how you managed different climates, how to avoid extreme weather, and to create your best logistics pursuing best weather per place. Also helps with the packaging of course.

Thank you!!! please continue writing like this!

Hello Ana, Tks for the kind words! We kept following the summer, mainly traveling between South East Asia and Europe. In 2017 we decided to spend the winter in Europe then we bought bigger luggage and winter gear. If you want to travel light I suggest South East Asia, you will always find warm weather. Nat recorded this video giving packing tips . Cheers,

You have explained very well . It is very helpful for me because I have already planned to travel in my coming holidays. I am very thankful to you!

Awesome detailed post. Hoping to travel the world for at least a year after our dog passes. Reading pieces like this are very helpful. Thank you for sharing!

Great write up! Was fun to read. Just one small suggestion: you should visit tye rural parts of Georgia (Mestia, Zhabeshi, Ushguli etc.) and then review your most beautiful/handsome women/men award 🙂

Tks for the heads up!

Great Blog/Article. I myself would love to break free and do as you did. I think traveling resets people. I think Americans, myself included, enjoy a lifestyle like no other, BUT the world is a beautiful place and i think we could ALL use a little more exposure to lifestyles, cultures, religions, etc…from all over the world 🌎 . It would benefit us all greatly. Keep blogging. Sounds like both of you are pros now. Stay in Love, and most importantly , keep traveling. -Ryan St Louis, MO

Glad you enjoyed it Ryan 🙏

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Round the World

Buying a multi-destination ticket has never been simpler.

Do you want to travel the world? Are you excited to discover and experience different countries and cultures? Are you looking for the best value for travelling to the world’s top iconic cities?

Our Star Alliance Book and Fly tool helps you plan and book multi-destination fares online. Certain exceptions apply. Alternatively, contact a member airline or your travel agent.

One Star Alliance ticket. Limitless travel possibilities.

Imagine embarking on a journey that takes you all around the world. Picture all the places you will go, the sights you will see, the people you will meet. Now imagine doing all of that and more, with just a single ticket.

The Star Alliance Round The World ticket offers you a travel experience unlike any other.

Journey across the world and visit up to 15 cities, while enjoying the kind of seamless flexibility and outstanding value for money that only the world’s largest airline network can offer. Where will your Round The World journey take you? Imagine your trip and make it a reality—all in just a few clicks with our Star Alliance Book and Fly tool. Certain exceptions apply. Alternatively, contact a member airline or your travel agent.

• Terms and Conditions

Book and Fly

• Single ticket valid on all Star Alliance members
• Every journey is different
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How to Map Your Journey

• Start and end in the same country
• Follow one global direction (East or West)
• Cross both the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean
• Have a minimum of 2 stops and maximum of 15 stops
• Travel between 10 days to 1 year
• Transits must be less than 24 hours
• Stopovers are more than 24 hours
• Check the terms and conditions for detailed inclusions

Flexibility

• Save your itinerary at any time
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• Upgrade your flight or entire itinerary at any time, subject to availability

Round The World in Just a Few Clicks

Select your destinations.

Start by entering your Origin City. Then add destinations by entering the city name or by selecting cities on the map.

Choose Your Flights

The system will automatically select the flights for each segment, but you may also pick flights from the Star Alliance network that best cater to your needs.

Enter Your Details

Provide the necessary travel details such as your contact information and identification documents to help us secure your booking.

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Circle Pacific

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A Simplified Guide To Buying an Around the World Ticket [2024]

Christine Krzyszton

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Table of Contents

What is an around-the-world ticket, how to buy an rtw ticket with an airline alliance, how to buy an rtw ticket using airtreks [easier method], how to buy an rtw ticket using points or miles, a do-it-yourself, free-form rtw ticket, earning miles on your rtw ticket, tips for buying an rtw ticket, final thoughts.

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Key Takeaways

• An Around the World (RTW) ticket allows travelers to visit multiple destinations on a single ticket. It is usually offered by airline alliances like Star Alliance, Oneworld, and SkyTeam.
• RTW tickets offer flexibility regarding route selection and date changes, often providing a more cost-effective way to explore multiple continents.
• Booking an RTW ticket requires careful planning, with rules on the direction of travel and the number of stops, making it ideal for long-term or extensive travel plans.

A lifelong fantasy for many travelers is to leave their everyday existence behind and take a trip around the world. Even if you’re fortunate enough to have an extended amount of free time to circumnavigate the world, putting together a round-the-world itinerary can be complicated and potentially expensive.

But let’s say you do have the time, the money, the miles, or the points to make this epic adventure a reality. Where do you even start ? Is it currently possible to purchase such a ticket?

In today’s article, we’ll cover RTW ticket options available with each airline alliance, an affordable third-party RTW provider, using points or miles for an RTW ticket, and some creative ways to build your own around-the-world itinerary.

An around-the-world plane ticket is generally a series of flights that start and end in 1 country after circling the globe in 1 direction and stopping at several cities en route.

You could think of this ticket as a “world airline pass” that allows you to build a custom itinerary of your choice within the guidelines of the airline alliance or another provider selling you a single ticket.

Changes are usually allowed , and you should have the ability to schedule enough time between destination cities to visit the surrounding areas. Most RTW tickets are valid for up to 1 year.

You’ll understand more about whether an RTW ticket is right for you once we’ve explored the possibilities for purchasing an RTW ticket and some of the pros and cons of doing so.

Airline alliances are groups of individual airlines with formal agreements in place that allow cooperation with each other. These alliances facilitate global travel for their customers by utilizing these partnerships to create a worldwide network that connects destinations.

Purchasing an RTW ticket from an airline alliance allows you to leverage the network of partner airlines to visit just about any part of the world, all on 1 ticket.

Another advantage of buying an RTW ticket with an airline alliance is that when changes need to be made, the airline making those changes for you has access to view/change your entire ticket .

Let’s explore the option of building an RTW ticket and purchasing it from 1 of the 3 major airline alliances, Star Alliance , Oneworld , or SkyTeam .

Star Alliance

The Star Alliance network reaches 1,300 destinations in 190 countries, with 50 hub cities, allowing you to reach every corner of the globe with its RTW ticket. You’ll start building your journey at its Round-the-World website .

The price of a Star Alliance RTW ticket is determined by the total mileage and class of service .

Here are the additional requirements for an RTW with Star Alliance:

• Minimum of 2 stops, maximum of 15 stops (defined as 24 hours or more)
• Cross the Atlantic Ocean once and the Pacific Ocean once
• Start and end the journey in the same country
• The minimum journey is 3 days; the maximum journey is 1 year
• 16 maximum flight coupons
• A maximum of 39,000 flown miles

The  Star Alliance Book and Fly planning tool  is user-friendly, but it’s easy to make mistakes, go against the rules, and default to trial and error. The tool won’t let you continue with an itinerary that is invalid but it’s not always easy to determine why it’s invalid. You might want to start by reviewing some sample itineraries to become familiar with the process.

For example, starting out with an RTW itinerary of New York – Madrid – Cape Town – Hong Kong – Sydney – New York, I used the Star Alliance Book and Fly tool to build a sample ticket. The tool was easy to use but quickly priced out an economy ticket at $7,542.

With some practice, and after reviewing some sample itineraries, pricing 2 additional RTW itineraries proved much more productive:

• Athens – Cairo – Hong Kong – Chicago – Brasilia – Athens: $3,173 economy/$7,390 business
• Berlin – Istanbul – Singapore – Seoul – New York – Berlin: $3,181 economy/$7,270 business

You can book the RTW ticket online once you’ve completed an itinerary with which you’re satisfied. Changes are allowed but change fees can apply.

Hot Tip: The Star Alliance  suggested itineraries are worth reviewing because they automatically apply the maximum mileage and stopover limitations that keep pricing under control. Maximizing these restrictions when building your own itinerary from scratch, even using the Book and Fly tool, is more challenging. Customizing the suggested itineraries may serve as a better starting point. 

Oneworld Alliance has 2 options for purchasing an RTW ticket:

• Oneworld Explorer — The fare is based on the class you choose to fly and the number of continents. You can include up to 15 segments and you can build and purchase this ticket using the Oneworld RTW tool.
• Global Explorer — The fare is based on the class you choose to fly and the total distance of the journey with a maximum of 39,000 miles.

Either way, the cost of your RTW ticket will vary significantly depending on where you begin your trip, the number of cities visited, and the class of service you select.

Here are the general rules for a Oneworld RTW itinerary:

• You must travel in 1 direction, east or west between the designated zones, and backtracking may be allowed
• The trip must be between 10 days to 1 year (from your departure date)
• Start and finish in the same city
• Cross both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans
• Include 3 to 6 continents
• Minimum of 3 flights, maximum of 16 flights

The base prices for an RTW Oneworld Explorer ticket depend on the number of continents you visit. Pricing for stops on 3 continents in economy class is $3,599, 4 continents is $4,999, 5 continents is $5,699, and 6 continents is $6,899, plus taxes and fees.

A sample itinerary in business class originating in Chicago and visiting Los Angeles, Auckland, Adelaide, Johannesburg, Cape Town, London, Bordeaux, and ending in Chicago prices out with a fare of $6,506 in economy class and $11,403 in business class .

You can create and price your own itinerary or follow the sample itineraries provided .

Booking your RTW ticket through the alternative Global Explorer option requires working with a Oneworld representative and then booking the itinerary with a member airline.

Hot Tip: The Oneworld Explorer RTW ticket allows you 16 total flights. Since it counts them all equally (whether 1 hour or 12 hours in length), you could purchase inexpensive short flights as needed and utilize the RTW ticket for just the long-haul flights to maximize its value. 

Unfortunately, SkyTeam no longer sells RTW tickets . However, it may possible to book an RTW with Aeromexico using points or miles. We’ll cover that option shortly.

Bottom Line: Star Alliance and Oneworld both offer RTW tickets and have tools to help you construct your own itinerary and provide sample itineraries for inspiration and to make planning easier. RTW tickets purchased via alliances can carry restrictions on the number of stops allowed, maximum distance, number of flights, and the direction of your journey. Tickets expire 1 year from the first travel date. 

The best is yet to come in our quest to find an around-the-world ticket. Now, we’re looking outside of the airline alliances to a popular third-party company known for its expertise in putting together affordable and creative RTW tickets.

AirTreks has been constructing RTW tickets since 1987, so it’s an established company with a wealth of RTW knowledge.

This is one of those sites you should visit when you want to daydream about travel because it allows you to play with different RTW itineraries and see the pricing immediately. It’s also possible you’ll start imagining yourself traveling on one of its sample itineraries !

Let’s look at some of these RTW economy itineraries and see how pricing and restrictions stack up against the airline alliances.

• New York City – Buenos Aires – Barcelona – Berlin – Bali – Chang Mai – New York City: $2,576 to $3,429
• New York City – Milan – Dubai – Johannesburg – Mahe, Seychelles – Mumbai – Bangkok – New York City:  $2,599 to $3,459
• London – Bangkok – overland – Singapore – Sydney – overland – Melbourne – Los Angeles – overland – San Francisco – London: $1,395 to $1,859

As you can see, the prices for RTW tickets booked with AirTreks are much lower than those booked through airline alliances. One reason is that AirTreks can use a combination of airlines and alliances and isn’t restricted to certain partner airlines.

On the flip side, because you select your fixed dates and flights up front, changes to your AirTreks RTW tickets can be subject to change fees. That said, you’ll pay much less for the ticket, so there’s certainly a trade-off here.

In addition to the price, AirTreks tickets allow you to begin and end your journey anywhere , travel in any direction, and fly on any airline without mileage restrictions . You’ll find the most competitive pricing for itineraries with more than 3 stops .

AirTreks will also help you build a custom itinerary if you desire, and support you after you depart on your RTW ticket, should you run into any transit problems along the way.

Hot Tip:  Selecting a sample itinerary and tweaking it to your liking can save you money over building an itinerary from scratch on your own. This is because the airline alliance or third-party seller has factored in all the rules that need to be followed to keep the cost down while maximizing the length and number of destinations allowed. 

While none of the domestic carriers currently offer the option to purchase an around-the-world ticket with miles, there are a few international carriers who do.

Booking RTW award tickets is not for the faint of heart. Finding award availability to complete an entire RTW itinerary can be daunting. Also, keep in mind you’ll be paying taxes and fees in addition to using your frequent flyer miles, some of which can be significant.

With those caveats as a foundation, let’s look at some options for booking RTW tickets using points or miles.

Using ANA Mileage Club Miles

All Nippon Airways (ANA) has, arguably, the best value when using miles for an RTW ticket. Pricing is based on the distance flown and the class of service and it’s possible (but time-consuming) to book the ticket online.

To give you an idea of fare pricing, a 35,000-mile itinerary will cost 160,000 miles in economy, 240,000 miles in business class, and 320,000 miles in first class. An itinerary ranging from 44,001 to 50,000 miles will cost 200,000 miles in economy, 300,000 in business class, and 450,000 in first class.

You can learn more about the rules for the ANA RTW tickets, review the award pricing chart, and find out how to accumulate ANA Mileage Club miles in our guide to the best ways to redeem ANA Mileage Club miles .

Using Singapore KrisFlyer Miles

One of the most popular award redemptions for an RTW ticket is using Singapore KrisFlyer miles . The RTW ticket utilizes Star Alliance partner airlines and includes visits to 7 cities serviced by these airlines. You’ll need 200,000 miles for economy, 280,000 miles for business class, and 405,000 miles for first class .

Unfortunately, you’ll need to call Singapore Airlines (833-727-0118) or complete a form to book the ticket. A reservation fee of $250 has recently been added in order to book the RTW ticket. You’ll also want to consider any additional taxes and fees which can be significant when purchasing an RTW via KrisFlyer.

Accumulating Singapore KrisFlyer miles is made easier thanks to the number of transfer partners, including American Express Membership Rewards ,  Chase Ultimate Rewards ,  Citi ThankYou Rewards , and Marriott Bonvoy .

Using Lufthansa Miles and More

Lufthansa is another Star Alliance carrier that offers an RTW ticket you can purchase with Miles & More miles.

You’ll need 180,000 miles for economy, 335,000 miles for business class, and 500,000 miles for first class .

The RTW ticket with Lufthansa utilizes Star Alliance partner airlines and includes 1 Atlantic crossing, 1 Pacific crossing, a maximum of 10 flight segments, and 7 stopovers. There is also a requirement that beginning and ending intercontinental flights must have at least 10 days in between. You can book the RTW ticket by contacting Lufthansa Miles & More customer service .

There are plenty of ways to earn Miles and More frequent flyer miles .

Using Qantas Frequent Flyer Points

If you happen to have a healthy stash of Qantas frequent flyer points, you can use them to book a Classic Flight Reward itinerary and travel up to 35,000 miles when you combine 2 or more Oneworld partners. You’ll pay 132,400 points for the itinerary in economy or 318,000 points for business class, plus the cost of taxes and fees.

For a Qantas reward itinerary (and other RTW tickets that are distance-based) you can use the Great Circle Mapper tool to plot your course and estimate mileage.

Use the multi-city search tool on the Qantas website to search for availability and even attempt to purchase the ticket online. You may end up having to call Qantas (800-227-4220) to have your ticket issued as reports indicate there can be problems issuing the ticket online.

Using Aeromexico Premier Points

Aeromexico offers an RTW ticket beginning at 244,000 miles (actually, kilometers) in economy class and 352,000 in business class , but you must call (800-237-6639) to book it. And, while it may be possible to book such a ticket, it is not a popular option due to the potential difficulty of booking a complex itinerary with its customer service.

If you choose to go this route, be sure to do your research in advance and have your specific flight numbers, dates, and alternative options ready when calling.

Don’t have Aeromexico Premier Points? American Express Membership Rewards points can be transferred to the program at a ratio of 1:1.6. Don’t do this unless you’ve called and confirmed an itinerary with Aeromexico in advance.

Bottom Line:  It is possible to build your own around-the-world trip using points and miles versus purchasing an RTW ticket. Here’s an example of an incredible journey using a combination of points/miles/cash . 

By now, you’re probably realizing how complicated it can be to build an around-the-world itinerary. But if you’re savvy at booking flights, it’s entirely possible to do it yourself. And, you may save some money when you do so.

If you select all the places you want to visit in advance, you may end up with an expensive adventure. But if you start by allotting a time slot for this journey and are flexible with your destinations, you can begin your trip with an affordable flight and build from there.

For example, let’s say you find an affordable one-way flight or award ticket to Sydney (or any major city) that fits your allotted time frame. With that flight booked, you can use Sydney as the departing airport and utilize Google Flights or Matrix/ITA software to find an affordable flight or use miles to secure an award ticket for your next destination.

The best part of building a free-form RTW ticket is that you can use any combination of :

• Economy tickets or business class tickets
• Budget airlines
• Miles/points to purchase award tickets
• Your own timeframe
• Traveling in any direction
• Overland or water-based transportation as needed/desired

Letting the price of the ticket (miles or cash) determine your next destination could be the most affordable way to build the RTW ticket. While not for everyone, those who have managed to accomplish booking an RTW adventure using this method truly earn their place as world explorers.

Alternative Transport

Building an RTW ticket can be supplemented with ground or water transport between major cities to keep costs down. A good tool for booking alternative transport between cities, including the cost to do so, is Rome2Rio . Just plug it in any 2 destinations and the site will give you all the available options (train, bus, ferry, Uber, taxi, etc.), the associated duration, and the estimated price for each option.

Another choice for affordable alternative transport is a repositioning cruise . Repositioning cruises can be priced at a fraction of retail cost and can transport you across the Atlantic or from Brazil to Europe, for example, for as little as a few hundred dollars (see the actual listing above).

Train travel can be a great alternative for transiting from 1 city to another during an RTW trip. Seat 61 is an awarding-winning site that helps you find the perfect route, provides reviews of seats/trains, and facilitates booking tickets, all in 1 spot.

Hot Tip: Consider beginning your RTW ticket from a different country than your residence as your bottom-line RTW fare could be much lower (even adding the cost of a positioning flight). Try pricing your trip from Malaysia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, or even Indonesia to determine how changing the starting country can affect your bottom line price. 

One question that may enter your mind when building an RTW ticket is whether you’ll earn miles on your journey . The answer is generally yes, but it’s based on the airlines involved and fare classes within your itinerary.

There are several factors that determine the number of miles you earn on an RTW ticket or even whether you’ll earn any miles on a particular flight. Those factors include:

• Fare class of your ticket
• The airline’s rules for partner flights
• Which airline you’re crediting the miles to

When booking the ticket (whether it’s with one of the airline alliances or with a third-party such as AirTreks ), just let them know you want to earn miles and they’ll work with you to find flights that qualify.

You may have to purchase a slightly higher fare to earn the most miles from your trip, but that may be worth it.

No matter how you build and subsequently purchase your RTW ticket, there are a few tips to keep in mind that will help keep costs down, improve your experience, and assist if things go wrong.

• Stick to major cities for your RTW ticket and purchase or use miles for short-haul flights as needed.
• Consider alternative means of transportation between cities to maximize your experience and reduce costs.
• Consider starting your journey in another city that offers less-expensive airfare.
• Be flexible regarding your destinations and dates.
• Use frequent flyer miles for award tickets to supplement your journey, or position to a more affordable city to begin your journey.
• Compare prices between providers.
• Buy travel insurance . After all, you’re going on a trip around the world.
• Make sure you’re using a credit card that has no foreign transaction fees .

Keep in mind that rules change, options become unavailable, and pricing will be dynamic and constantly changing . Booking an RTW ticket takes a lot of work and patience but the results can be more than worth it.

Paying the extra premium to purchase an RTW ticket from one of the airline alliances may or may not be worth it to you. You may be able to save money by purchasing through third-party AirTreks with minimal sacrifice.

With that said, making changes appears more flexible and less costly with the airline alliances’ RTW ticket, but you’ll still have to follow their rules when building your itinerary. For example, you must travel in 1 direction with no backtracking, there is a restrictive number of stopovers, etc.

AirTreks’ RTW tickets aren’t as flexible when it comes to making changes, but you may be able to afford a few change fees and still pay less overall.

Purchasing an around-the-world ticket with miles is becoming a disappearing option — domestic carriers do not even offer it anymore. This is most likely because you can use one-way award flights to duplicate the same itineraries with greater flexibility.

If you want to purchase an RTW ticket, consider using an AirTreks itinerary that is affordably priced and tweak it to your liking. Or go completely wild and build your own free-form RTW itinerary where your destinations are determined by the cost (in points/miles/money) of the ticket.

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Table of Contents

What is an around-the-world ticket?

Which airlines offer around-the-world tickets, how much is an around-the-world ticket, booking an around-the-world ticket with miles, if you're considering booking an around-the-world ticket.

For those who love travel, there may be no more romantic idea than taking off on a long trip spanning the globe. Airlines realize this and offer travelers the ability to book such a trip using an around-the-world ticket.

However, around-the-world tickets can be very complicated and quite expensive. Thankfully, travelers with a stash of airline miles or program points with a bank can book around-the-world mileage tickets.

Here's a guide to your options for booking an around-the-world ticket — both with cash and miles.

An around-the-world ticket is generally a series of flights that circumnavigate the world and start and end around the same general point, all booked as part of one airline ticket.

The rules for around-the-world tickets vary based on the airline, airline alliance or mileage program issuing the ticket.

The price of some around-the-world tickets is based on how many continents you fly through — regardless of the number of stops or distance. Other around-the-world ticket prices are based on the total flight distance.

Generally, around-the-world tickets are much more flexible than regular airline tickets. Some around-the-world tickets even allow free changes if you stick to the same itinerary. Plus, you'll generally earn miles on the booking when purchasing a cash around-the-world ticket.

» Learn more: The best airline credit cards right now

Most airlines offer around-the-world tickets through their airline alliance. Both Star Alliance and the Oneworld alliance currently offer around-the-world tickets. However, the SkyTeam alliance has suspended its SkyTeam Round the World pass.

Oneworld Round The World Airline Tickets

The Oneworld alliance — which includes American Airlines and Alaska Airlines — offers three types of multi-city multi-airline tickets:

Oneworld Explorer prices the around-the-world ticket based on the number of continents you visit.

Global Explorer is a distance-based around-the-world ticket.

Circle Pacific is a not-quite around-the-world ticket limited to continents bordering the Pacific Ocean.

Oneworld recently launched an intuitive new Oneworld Explorer tool that walks you through the city and date selection process. Input your preferred destinations, dates and length. Then, the tool will determine the right pass for your itinerary, help you select flights and book the around-the-world ticket.

» Learn more: What to know about Oneworld multi-carrier awards

Oneworld currently has the following restrictions on around-the-world tickets:

Trips should start and end in the same city.

Fly no more than 16 flights.

Visit at least three continents.

No backtracking allowed — you need to continue in the same general direction of travel.

Complete your trip within 12 months.

Cross the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean

Star Alliance Round The World Airline Tickets

As the world's largest airline alliance, Star Alliance is an obvious choice for around-the-world tickets. Star Alliance's 26 members combine to serve 1,300 destinations in 190 countries. You can build an epic trip to pretty much anywhere through a Star Alliance around-the-world ticket.

Know where you want to go? Start with the Star Alliance Round The World journey builder . Otherwise, get inspired with more than 20 sample itineraries .

Like Oneworld, Star Alliance around-the-world tickets allow up to 16 flights, up to one full year from the date of departure and require you to generally travel in the same direction. You can also book a Circle Pacific not-quite around-the-world ticket through Star Alliance.

If you're booking with cash, around-the-world tickets aren't cheap.

Oneworld around-the-world tickets beginning in the U.S. start at $3,599 for an economy ticket visiting three continents and climb as high as $6,899 to visit six continents in economy. And that's before taxes and fees. Business and first-class fares are even higher, often pricing above $10,000.

Two advantages of booking an around-the-world ticket are flexibility and the set price. Around-the-world tickets are priced at the same price whether you're flying during the off-season or peak holiday times.

If you want to fly on peak dates or pricey routes, it can be cheaper to book an award-the-world ticket than to piece together a trip using individual flight bookings.

Booking around-the-world tickets using cash is just one option. Several airline loyalty programs offer around-the-world mileage tickets.

Around-the-world awards have the obvious advantage of saving you a lot of cash out-of-pocket. However, you'll need to accumulate quite a stockpile of miles to be able to book these tickets. Plus, you'll need to find award availability on every flight segment — which can be a daunting task.

Here's a quick overview of the best around-the-world mileage options for each airline alliance:

ANA Mileage Club (Star Alliance)

All Nippon Airways — better known as simply ANA — offers arguably the best around-the-world mileage tickets. Travelers can book up to 12 flights and eight stopovers between their origin and final destination. The price depends on how far you fly and in which cabin:

Travelers can limit flight mileage by booking up to four "ground transport" segments. These segments don't count toward your total distance. That means you can use a low-price award or cheap cash ticket to keep your around-the-world ticket distance down.

Restrictions to keep in mind:

Limit of one crossing of the Atlantic Ocean and one crossing of the Pacific Ocean.

Backtracking isn't permitted.

The full journey must span at least 10 days.

Must return to the same country you departed.

The best way of getting enough ANA Mileage Club miles for an ANA around-the-world ticket is by accumulating American Express Membership Rewards.

You can transfer AmEx points to ANA at a 1:1 transfer ratio. And you can top off your ANA account with transfers from Marriott Bonvoy, but points transfer at a rate of 3:1.

» Learn more: The best AmEx transfer partners — and ones to avoid

Asia Miles (Oneworld)

Asia Miles — the mileage program of Cathay Pacific — doesn't technically have around-the-world tickets. But you can piece together an epic journey around the world using the mileage program's Oneworld Multi-Carrier Award chart.

Since it isn't a true around-the-world ticket, it doesn't have some of the same restrictions. That means you can backtrack and don't have to end your trip where you began. Award pricing depends on your class of service and the distance of your trip.

» Learn more: Cathay Pacific: What to Know

Maximize your Oneworld Multi-Carrier Awards booking with up to five stopovers. And use the two allowable open-jaws to connect the dots where Oneworld doesn't have a good option.

Make sure to fly at least one flight on Cathay Pacific to remove the limitation of just two airlines. The only major limitations are that premium economy awards aren't available and your journey must be limited to 50,000 points.

Build your Asia Miles balance by transferring points from:

American Express Membership Rewards (1:1 transfer ratio).

Capital One Miles (1:1).

Citi ThankYou Points (1:1).

Bilt Rewards (1:1).

Marriott Bonvoy (3:1).

Aeromexico Club Premier (SkyTeam)

One of the only SkyTeam airlines that offers a compelling around-the-world mileage ticket is Aeromexico. And it's a pretty solid option. Travelers can book a whopping 15 stopovers, meaning you can piece together an absolutely epic trip in the one-year ticket validity.

The cost sounds extremely high, but remember that these are in kilometers instead of miles: 224,000 Premier Points in economy or 352,000 Premier Points in business class.

American Express Membership Rewards transfer to Aeromexico at a 1:1.6 transfer ratio. That means you need 140,000 AmEx points for an economy SkyTeam Around-the-World ticket or 220,000 AmEx points for business class.

While AmEx is the best option, you can top off your Aeromexico Club Premier account by transferring points from:

Other loyalty programs to consider

Several other airlines offer around-the-world mileage tickets — or multi-carrier awards with multiple stopovers. Here's a quick summary of other options and why we didn't highlight them in detail:

British Airways Multi-Carrier Reward Flights . Asia Miles generally provides better pricing and fewer restrictions.

Qantas Oneworld Classic Flight Reward . Allows up to five stopovers. But Asia Miles generally provides better pricing.

Japan Airlines Oneworld Award Tickets . Superb pricing and very flexible, but the only major transfer partner is Marriott Bonvoy.

Korean SkyTeam Round the World Award . Excellent prices, but no longer issued after March 31, 2023.

Lufthansa Miles & More Round the World . Pricey and Miles & More has no major transfer partners.

Singapore Star Alliance Round the World Awards . Up to seven stopovers and easy-to-accumulate miles. Plus, KrisFlyer generally limits award availability to partners. However, ANA generally provides better pricing.

There's a lot to keep in mind when considering an around-the-world ticket.

For cash fares, consider booking through one of the major airline alliances for the best options. Just pay attention to the restrictions. Just as importantly, consider what isn't restricted. You might be able to add additional destinations for no additional cost.

Many airline mileage programs also offer around-the-world mileage tickets, although some are labeled "multi-carrier awards" instead. These can be an excellent deal as long as you can find award availability.

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