Want to see the world? You’re not alone. The problem of course is that there’s so many great places to go and experience, but it’s tough to fit them all into one trip. In this post we’ll look at how to plan a round the world trip.
We’ve had this problem in the past with a couple of our family holidays. Competing interests meant that although we wanted to go to Europe, we also wanted to see parts of the United States.
Added to that was a fairly tight schedule. When this happens it’s time to sharpen the old pencil and start making plans. In both cases we were able to fit in stops in Europe, America and Australia, into a 7-week time frame.
As you cross from northern to southern hemisphere, you’re also able to move through the seasons. So, let’s have a look at how to put together a plan.
The Best Time of Year for a Round the World Trip
Figuring out the best time of year for your trip is an important first step. You may want to start with whichever season you enjoy most and work your way around the world from there.
One great option is to take a round the world trip during winter. This time of year offers some incredible opportunities, like skiing in the Alps and exploring historical sites in Central Europe.
The downside of this is not just the cold, but also the shorter daylight hours. This can affect how much you get to do each day, and what’s actually open.
Another great option is traveling during spring or fall as they transition into summer or winter respectively. This will give you a good mix of different climates and allow you to experience the changing of seasons as you travel.
It also means a more moderate climate, which is easier to pack for. It can be difficult to transition through 4 seasons and still travel light.
Whatever you choose, remember that timing is everything. If you’re looking for a more specialized trip, research which countries offer what and try to plan your journey around those opportunities.
Basic Flight Rules
There are several different flights that will take you around the world. There are some that are the base model. Which means that you need to travel less than 26 000 miles, and only have stops in 3 continents.
The next one up allows more miles and 5 continents, and then there are unlimited miles, and unlimited stops. In all cases, you must keep moving in the same direction. East to west or west to east. This means no backtracking.
Different airlines will have slightly different rules, but generally speaking, they all work on a tiered approach like this.
Some fares will also allow you to have an extra flight thrown in. In our case on our first holiday, we flew Perth, Singapore, London, Los Angeles, Sydney and back to Perth. But they gave us a free flight in Europe, so we went London, Jersey and London to allow us to catch up with family.
Planning Your Round The World Trip
So how do you get started? Well first up, lets decide which continents you want to focus on.
I like to pick a stop on a continent, then arrange separate transport to radiate from there. I can then come back to the initial stop and continue my round the world journey.
This approach works well in Europe and Asia for example. You can have a stop at a major hub like London or Singapore. Travel out in a circle from there in the region you want to explore, then head back to London or Singapore to continue.
It gets trickier in North America and Australia. That’s just because of the vast distances involved. You may need a stop on the west coast, and another on the east coast. This having two stops on one continent will generally not be allowed on the basic RTW fare, so you may need to move to the next fare.
However, the principle remains the same. You could stop in New York, spend some time exploring the east coast of America and Canada. Then Fly to San Francisco and do the same thing on the west coast.
At the end of your journey you should end up with one unbroken line that circles the globe, and a series of circles that radiate off points on the line.
This principle works regardless of whether you are away for six weeks or six years.
What You Need to Know About Working While Traveling
Travel isn’t cheap. Even if you are doing it on a shoestring budget, it still has a considerable monetary cost. For journeys of less than a year, a lot of travelers have spent time working and saving in order to fund that travel.
Planning travel longer than this time period, you will probably need a different plan. For most people that plan involves picking up some work on the way.
Covid-19 was a horrible time for everyone, there’s no doubt of that. However, there may have been a very small silver lining for people who want to travel.
The world now understands that having a job doesn’t necessarily mean having to travel to the office every day. For a large percentage of our population, they learnt to work from home.
The question is, does that home have to be in this town? This Country? Or this continent?
If you have the ability to carry out the functions of your job effectively, why can’t you do it while sitting under a palm tree on a tropical beach somewhere.
A laptop computer and an internet connection mean that you can carry out data related work, as well as attend meetings remotely.
On top of this there are numerous companies that offer bit pieces of work online. Just type working online into Google and see what happens.
How to Save Money on a Round the World Trip
Firstly, forget about staying at the Ritz. What you need are hostels. There’s a couple of reasons for this.
Hostels are generally the cheapest accommodation option, especially if you are willing to sleep in a large dormitory.
The other people staying at the hostel, are usually on a tight budget as well. This means they get to know where the cheap food and drinks are, and all the deals are to be found. This information gets shared around freely in the hostel environment.
The last point is that some hostels employ their guests to work at the hostel. This might be in reception or at the bar. You might exchange 3- or 4-days’ work for free accommodation.
If this is something you think you’d like, then research ahead of time to see what qualifications and experience are required.
When it comes to food it always makes sense to eat where the locals eat. That means don’t use the flash restaurant right on the beach. Head back a couple of streets and look for the smaller place.
If a restaurant is tucked out of the way and still able to stay in business then it generally means that the food is good, as are the prices.
The other option is to have the ability to prepare your own food. Most hostels have a communal kitchen so this helps if you can buy food at the grocery store and cook for yourself.
Cheap Flights and Hotels
Everyone wants a bargain. And why not? You’ve worked hard to save for your holiday and you want your money to go as far as possible.
It is rarely going to be cheapest to head straight to your favourite airline or hotel and book direct with them. Even if that’s who you intend to book with, there’s a couple of steps to take before that to ensure you get the best prices.
Start with some comparison websites. Booking.com, Skyscanner, Webjet, Expedia, and the list goes on. Skyscanner and Booking.com are always my first stops.
Check your fight prices. Experiment with dates to see how that changes the numbers. Vary the destinations as well. Airports charge vastly different local prices, and this can affect your ticket price.
Once you find the best deal, go for it. However, if you want to book directly with your favourite airline, then use this information to your advantage.
Contact the airline directly, tell them the flight and times that you want to fly and see how they go. If their price is higher then tell them the price you have been quoted. They may ask to see the price, but generally they will match it.
The same works well with hotels and car hire. These companies know that the ticket will be sold at that price anyway, so they might as well cut out the middle man and leave their cut for themselves.
Car Hire
There are a couple of rules here that you need to know about that will save you money in the long run.
The longer you hire a car for, the cheaper the daily rates are. I try to arrange my car hire so that I hire in blocks. For example, If I was going to England for two weeks, I wouldn’t spend a couple of days in London then hire a car for a couple of days, then come back to London.
There’s no point hiring a car for two weeks, if one week will be spent in London, as the public transport is fantastic and you won’t need a car.
Far better to spend the first week seeing London, then hire a car for a week to travel the countryside.
The next point is that you should always try to return the car at the same place you got it from. If you drop the car off in another town, then the hire company will charge you an extra fee to have the car returned to its point of origin.
And don’t even think about dropping it off in a different country. At that point you may as well have bought the car, for what it’s going to cost you. This why I mentioned earlier that your side trips should look like circles. Always bringing you back to a start point.
Lastly, always fill up the fuel tank as close to returning the vehicle as possible. If the hire company has to put fuel in the tank, their prices are eye wateringly high.
Travel Light
This can be tricky, but backpackers have been doing it for years. The basic problem is that you may well be traveling through a variety of climates. It seems odd to be packing bathers and thermal underwear, but that is a reality.
There are some simple rules to obey which will make it easier for you.
Take only what you NEED. This is important. If you think, this may come in handy, then leave it at home.
Travel shouldn’t be a fashion show. Yes, you need to have clothes that are presentable and in a good state of repair. But they don’t need to be the latest from a high-end fashion shop.
Stick to 4 tops and 4 bottoms. The only people that you are likely to see more than once on this trip, are people just like yourself who have had to cut back their wardrobe.
The vast majority of people that you meet will probably not notice, and definitely won’t care, that you wore that outfit the last time you met. In the grand scheme of things, it’s just not that important.
If you would like to learn more about packing, then check out this post;
How to pack for overseas travel.
Lose The Baggage
I love to collect souvenirs along the way. Generally speaking, it was books. I would pick up a guidebook from everywhere we went. By the end of the trip, I could barely lift my bag.
These days I collect bottle openers, which are an awful lot lighter, and I’ve learnt to post things home. Every couple of weeks I put a package together and post it back.
It may cost a couple of dollars but it’s far better than getting overloaded. Not only will the airlines charge you a fortune, but overloaded bags can really sap your morale. It’s the kind of thing that can bring you down mentally.
Conclusion
Well, that’s about it. Follows these steps and you should be able to get yourself around the world with no problems.
I would share one last word of caution. International travel comes with it a measure of culture shock. Suddenly finding yourself in a totally different environment, different language, currency and customs, all while trying to figure yourself out.
So do yourself a favor. If you’re from a western first world country, start your journey in another first world country. Traveling from America, start with London, then Europe and finish up in the jungles of the Amazon.
This way you get to know your equipment, how you like to pack, sleep, eat, and generally find a routine. If you jump straight into deepest darkest Africa, it may be too much and cause you to plan an early escape.
Anyway, get out there and give it a go.
If you liked this post, here’s a couple of others that might help as well;
How to travel the Greek Islands.
Cheers and happy travels.