Round the World (RTW) Trip: How do you do it?
I am a mere few weeks away from embarking on my dream trip around the world, and it almost doesn’t feel real. I’m beyond excited, but also plagued by anxiety that comes with saying goodbye to the city I’ve called home for the past five years, my friends and the stability that comes with a job and a home. I know the moment I hop on that plane, my anxiety will quickly fade, and I will thoroughly experience life to the fullest as I explore the world. After all, when am I going to have another opportunity like this? When will you?
If the idea of packing up your life and traveling around the world sounds appealing to you, but you’re absolutely overwhelmed with the complexity of planning a RTW trip, well then, you’re in the right place! It can be overwhelming, but it is very manageable if you focus on one task at a time.
Route Around the World
When I first started planning my trip around the world, I was so excited about seeing everything that I created a very unrealistic travel plan of visiting three continents and about 25 countries in six months. Sure, it may be doable, but it may be harder to enjoy the experience when you’re running through the trip always trying not to be “behind-schedule”. When planning a trip, you should start with your bucket list and figure out what is most important for you to see and experience. My favorite travel resource is Lonely Planet, their website is a great resource, but my personal go-to is the Travel Book. It details every country, so you can take a journey through every country in the world. 850 images. 230 countries. One complete picture. Take this opportunity to dream big, and then you can narrow in your focus on what is reasonable and most practical.
For example, I wanted to explore Eastern Europe, experience all of South East Asia, and then get active with some extreme sports in Australia and New Zealand. This gave me about two months in each region, barely enough time to fully experience the culture. Not to mention I was spending four months in Westernized regions, which was going to inflate my budget tremendously. Now with my newly revised travel plan, I’m spending three months in Central and Eastern Europe, followed by thoroughly traveling South East Asia for three months, and finally, there’s a good chance I’ll get a working holiday visa and live in New Zealand after my trip.
Once you have a broad outline of your trip, that’s when you can start doing research on bus routes, train schedules, flights and other modes of transportation around the world. This type of research will enable you to figure out the most efficient and cheapest route across the globe (which is typically by bus). I would recommend having the first couple weeks of your trip planned out, so you’re not worried about logistics once you arrive abroad. During my planning, I focused on researching what I wanted to see and experience in each country and city, so I wouldn’t miss out on a once in a lifetime experience due to lack of knowledge. Especially as a solo female traveler, I would recommend looking up at least a couple hostels and/or hotels that are well-reviewed, cheap and safe for each city you’re traveling to. Don’t be overwhelmed by the nitty-gritty details, a rough route of the cities you want to see will suffice. I promise, it is easier than you think to move between countries and regions.
Some websites that I found to help tremendously for planning routes are:
https://tripplanner.airtreks.com/#/search
These sites are helpful to get an idea of what route around the globe or country makes the most sense, and they provide an overall cost of transportation for the entirety of your trip. You’re able to construct an itinerary and discover how adding on a side trip to another country can add 1000 to the overall cost, or make very little of a change. Check it out!
This site was great for planning my European travels. It allows you to plug in two cities, and it will let you know the cost, length of time and schedules for travel across Europe for bus, train and air travel.
Budgeting
As a general rule of thumb, it is agreed upon that a certain amount should be budgeted for each region per day. Tight budgets will fall on the beginning of the spectrum, while a more moderate lifestyle will fall on the end of the spectrum. Everyone travels and spends differently, but this is a great general guideline. For most regions, with the exception of Oceania, budgeting around $1,000 per month is reasonable.
Western Europe: $70-100/day
Eastern Europe: $40-$70/day
South East Asia: $25-$40/day
Oceania: $75-100/day
South America: $25-$45/day
Once a general budget goal has been made for your travels, the next (and most challenging) step is saving money. It’s important to set a goal each month, and make an active effort to meet it. This will also give you a timeframe towards when you’ll have enough money to leave for your trip. Everyone’s financial situation is different, but in general these options will assist in boosting your income.
There are apps such as Qapital that I used to save up for my trip. It takes money directly out of your account and hosts it on a separate account so that you can’t access it as easily. There’s different “rules” that can be utilized to save money. Me personally, I have Qapital take $20 out of my account every week, along with rounding up to every dollar I spend. They also have a “guilty pleasure” rule, which I loved. Starbucks is my weakness, and even though I cut back on going significantly, I still craved it occasionally, and this guilty pleasure rule meant that every time I bought Starbucks I was penalized $5, that went directly into my savings account. It’s a very trustworthy (and insured app). I personally also took all of the cash I earned during my babysitting gigs and put it into an envelope that I never touched. It’s important to separate the money you’re saving for your trip from your general account, so that the urge to spend it isn’t there. I would also recommend Wrapify, which turns your car into an advertisement for money. You can earn more than $300/month just for driving your car! A great way to get ready for your trip, and make some money is by going through your stuff and selling whatever you don’t need or use. Facebook, Craigslist, Amazon and ebay are all great and well known options. I would also recommend picking up a flexible side gig to increase cash flow, such as tutoring, babysitting, housesitting, dog walking, bartending or driving for Uber/Lyft. If you have any special skills, such as data entry, coding, graphic design or resume editing, then Fivver is the best place to advertise your skills for freelance job opportunities.
I’ll be continuing to update this page throughout my travels. The next update will be on pre-trip logistics and what to pack! Let me know if there’s anything else you want to know.
XOXO,
Lexi
