BootsnAll Travel Community

Ok, so I'll admit that I'm a little nervous/apprehensive about my first trip around the world. That being said, I'm really excited about it and am prepared to leave at the end of this year.

I have so many questions, have read so many books/forums, and yet I still feel a bit lost in it all. I'm curious if there is anyone out there that would mind helping a first timer through it all. I would really like to have someone answer my questions that I know has been there before.

My ultimate goal is to travel for ~6 months and work my way through the trip. I will be traveling alone (I'm hoping this trip not only will allow me to see the world, but gain a new perspective of myself).

I have been trying to plan the trip for a few months now, but I just seem to get lost in all the things I need to do. I would like some advice on where to start and help not feeling so overwhelmed with what I need to do.

Please let me know if you would like to help. If not, I still very much appreciate all of your posts. They are very beneficial and hopefully I'll run across some of you on my holiday.

Planning a trip can be great fun but most of us go through what you're experiencing at some point.

It all gets too much, the more you learn about places and things to do the more you actually want to do and the sheer number of places/activities/ways to get around and routes can be mind boggling! So..here's a wee bit of advice...

1. Are there any major sights, attractions, cities that REALLY spring to mind as must dos. For me it was baseball in St Louis, Grand Canyon, Macchu Piccu, Uluru and Angkor Wat Mark the most vital..cant miss ones down.....You've got your basis for your trip right there.

2. Look at your interests. This is perhaps THE most important one. Nobody can tell you what to visit. Only you know what YOU like...what intersts you. Are you a sports fanatic? Maybe tailor some parts of the trip so you go and see some games of whatever (be it catching some Aussie Rules, Cricket, baseball, Thai Boxing). Maybe you're into music? Maybe trekking is your thing (look for great places to do some hiking/walks and so on) How about cooking? Maybe try a cooking course or 2...SE Asia or China maybe? Just look at your intersests and it'll give you more of an idea where you are going!

3. Think about how you want to get around. Are you going to buy a rtw ticket or just buy as you go (there are several threads on teh advantages and dissadvantages of both so I wont go into any more detail here). Do you plan on doinga lot of flying? Where you want to go will have a real impact on this.

4. Dont try and do too much. Burning around seeing as many different places as possible sounds like fun but really, its burn out City and just wont be enjoyable. Focus on points 1 and 2 here and you'll have some idea of teh continents involved and can take it from there. Just dont try and cram EVERYTHING in.

Thats about it really...read these boards...post, ask questions, even if they seem pretty dumb to you, thats why we hang around here so we can help.