BootsnAll Travel Community

Hello all,

I am planning my RTW trip and have been doing a ton of research. I am planning on leaving in late Sept of 08 and start in the South Pacific (Fiji, New Zealand & Australia). I have put plans together for a daily budget ($50), travel insurance and shots. I am leaving the itinerary open as I plan to stay in each place as long as I feel the need to stay or a Visa runs out. After the South Pacific I will move on to SEA then Europe, Africa and South America.
I basically have been saving for this trip my entire life and now that I am about to turn 40 I have plenty of funds.
Does anyone have recommendations on travel plans that last longer than 1 year? Most of the threads I have read are 1-2 years in duration and I would like to talk with some others that have been on the road for a longer time and what I might need or see.
Maybe there is no difference between 1-2 year trips and longer ones, just looking for some overall advice.

The main thing I'd worry about is making sure you renew travel insurance all the time. Most policies that i know of will only cover up to 12 or 18 months, so you'll need to buy new policies/renew as you go. Apart from that, your plan sounds awesome! I'd love to be in your shoes (not that i want 24 years of my life to disappear).

If you wanted to go longer than 40 years, you could also consider working along the way, etc.

Apart from that, start a blog and keep us up to date!

Well that certainly sounds like a dream!

I think the biggest difference in terms of what to do while gone would really be that you could really stop and indulge in a culture. Personally i would rent an apt. in certain areas and maybe have a little checklist of things i would want to learn. Say living in a cottage in France and learning about wine or living in Spain and learning the tango - that type of thing.

It gives you time to really meet people instead of just cruising thru. Also, I would def. spend some time volunteering or working in certain areas - sounds like a blast!

how long were you thinking about? Ballpark? I have some thoughts...I have never done something like this, but maybe my thoughts/opinions could help you out

Sounds amazing!

I think if I did something like that, I'd try and find something in each country to do as a goal. Learn cooking in Thailand, surfing in Bali, get all my scuba certifications somewhere? Maybe spend some time learning to rock climb or hang-glide. Drive around Australia in a camper van for a few months and then get an apartment somewhere and learn how to do something particularly Australian Buy a bike in New Zealand and spend my time there biking around the country.

Assuming you have family in the United States, I would still try and fly back every year to 18 months. I'd also make an effort to settle down whenever you can because being on the move constantly can burn you out.

My dream is to do something like this in the far future - have an amazing time!

Eppyboy,

I am thinking about 8 - 10 years. I would really like to submerse myself in the local culture of where ever I go and see how other people live in this world besides the fast pace environment of North America. Any thoughts you have would be great.

I'm looking at doing a somewhat similar trip. Anywhere from 3-10 years, longer if I like it. Coincidentally, I have a very similar budget to work with. Unfortunately, my trip is still years off, so I can't really give you any tested advice. "Andy the Hobo Traveller" is really the only long term traveller I've been able to find and it sounds like he does extreme budget travel. Most of the other blogs that I've read, it seems like they all end up going home, starting a family, or starting a career at about the 2-3 yr mark.
But, for whatever it's worth, I don't think you can 'plan' for a trip that long. Ppl that go on 1-2 yr trips can, to a certain degree, pack most of the stuff they'll need, semi-plan ahead for visas, have a rough itinerary, etc. But, I think (and again, I haven't DONE this), you plan for the first year or so and figure everything else out as you go.

Spiceman, theres some advice that may not be totally enthusiastic but practical-
Wherever you go, there YOU are.

You say five years like it may be some kind of panacea for a yearn to be somewhere else for a lont time and see everything, but after a few years, you may need a recharge, or even 6 months.

If you go for over a year, you're making a lifestyle and life choices, not just popping off to see a place. So I agree with some others here.

Make a list of some life skills you've always wanted to obtain.

Learn to dive
Learn one or more foreign languages WELL.
Make friends, and learn to relax
Learn to teach
Learn to help other people along the way
Volunteer, make yourself useful to yourself and others, make a social PLACE to be, not just wander ineffectively being the tourist.

You don't need to make a list of all the goals, or rather, fulfill them all, but make that list and fulfill what you can.

As someone who has travelled a lot, timewise, around th world(placewise I will NOT take out my passporft and compare stamps with half the people on this board)

I can say with some confidence I've seen a lot, and am looking forward to going HOME to work. Sound cynical? Its not. Travel makes home look better, if you have a good life there and plenty of money. So by all means travel, but have some goals besides checking off tourist site lists. That gets old fast.

Also, start out packing light. Its taken me years to learn that lighter is far better, so if you start out light, you won't waste time like I did.

i mean 8-10 years I would not consider an RTW trip...i would consider that a "pick up and move your life somewhere else" trip...would you want to live in this place forever? not sure about personal life, but spending several years in a place you are bound to meet a partner, could you stay where that person lived?

If you are ready to move from canada to wherever you end up after taking 1-2 years traveling the world then I would say end up in a place where you can speak the language or at least learn...make sure you can obtain a bank account, job, cell phone, health insurance etc...I mean unless you are telling me you have the budget (it is certainly possible) to travel and live abroad for 8-10 years then good on ya...

If that is the case and you will not be working, i would consider teaching english in a place for a year...that will enable you to certainly immerse yourself in the local culture and way of life...I think that after a year of traveling I would get bored and want to go to a place I could call home...i mean lets say you moved to bangkok...you could rent an apartment and live there, but what would you do after 6 months? 8 months if you didn't work...I mean you could write your memoirs, a book, watch stocks? There are things definitely possible...

I guess my whole point is for a trip of 8-10 years, what do you expect to see and do? Most people who go 1-2 years have an idea like spending 6 months in australia, 4 months in asia 5 months in south america, go to africa for 5 months, etc...

To me you are talking about moving not traveling, at least after 1-2 years...

also if I read your initial post correctly if you are thinking of going from 8-10 years and you have budgeted roughly 50 USD per day we are talking about a budget of about 16,000 usd per year, and about 130-160K USD total for your trip? I'd say if you stayed in one place and rented an apartment like in asia you could certainly live off that

I think 8-10 years in not a RTW travel unless you are moving constantly...every 4 weeks or so.

Are you going to be "working" in those 8-10 years or have your saved up the money upfront.

If the latter then I feel you could chunk the 10 years in 2 year stints in each continent...maybe less or more in each place.

If you really want to immerse yourself and still be a useful global citizen you could work as a volunteer. In cananda there is a organization called VSO...something like the peace corps. You will need to do something otherwise travel might loose its charm.

I think once you are on the road for such a long period you need to have a home base...park yourself someplace for a while.

The other thing I can see is that you will have to plan things around medical care, taxes, and other things which plauge us back home.

I would recommend reading a book called the "global soul" by Pico Iyer...in that he talks about living around the globe. The author is Indian origin, born in UK, lived a long time in California, traveled around the world as a writer...now lives in Japan with his partner and step children and has freinds on all the continents.

Thank you all for you great information.

I will try some work along the way, just not sure what that will be at this point. It will all be under the table and the volunteer thing is very appealing to me. I do have the funds to do this with out working so I will only work if I really want to. I like the idea of trying to accomplish different goals in each country and have started to put together a list. I also will be looking for my paradise to retire to. If I have seen everything I want in 5 years then I will just go back to my paradise for how ever long I want.

Look at solbeam's blog. She's been at it for years.