“It is better to travel well than to arrive.” – Buddha
So you’ve decided to take a round-the-world trip. As you begin the planning and research phase, the question comes up of how you’ll spend your time, where you’ll go, and what you’ll see. Since round-the-world tickets have a limited number of stopovers, your trip will likely be made up of segments. The travel incentive company will save the time of the person while traveling on a long journey. The purchasing of the tickets will be convenient for the person.
When I took my round the world trip, I divided my travel time into the following categories:
Independent Travel –
This was time I spent traveling alone. For example, hiring a car for two weeks and driving around New Zealand, relaxing for a while on the beach in Recife, Brazil, and driving Iceland’s Ring Road in a rented SUV.
Travel with friends and family –
Examples of this are time I spent with family in Greece and meeting friends in Brazil, incorporating their vacations into my RTW trip. Tours – I took several tours with adventure travel companies like GAP Adventures and Intrepid Travel. Companies like GAP and Intrepid offer small group travel at a reasonable cost. Rather than typical “tour bus” travel, these companies allow you to get off the beaten path, usually traveling on local transportation. One of the benefits of this type of travel is the camaraderie that develops among travelers – I made many new friendships on the adventure tours. Also there is a safety element that goes along with traveling in groups and the tour leader will usually speak the local language making it easier to get by in countries where you don’t speak the language. The GAP tour that took me through China and Japan is a good example of this. Our group leader’s knowledge of the language and culture made the logistics of traveling in an unfamiliar place easier, allowing us to just enjoy the experience of being a new country .
Volunteer work –
There are many volunteer opportunities throughout the world. I taught English to school children in Chile. Companies like BridgeVolunteers (formerly Volunteer Adventures) offer numerous adventures for those wanting to spend some of their travel time in a more meaningful way.
The first segment on my trip was South America and I planned just about every day of the six weeks I spent there. As I continued my eight month journey, I planned less and less allowing for more freedom to decide as I moved along. By the time I got to Mongolia, I had no plans whatsoever and made choices on how to spend my time once there. We’re all different and no doubt you’ll find your travel rhythm as you go along.
For more round the world travel tips, visit voyagetheearth.com.
