Resource Travel Articles

Worldtour Basics

An overview of planning and surviving a world backpacking journey. All the basic, general information you will need to plan a budget world tour in the right direction.

Many of the resources noted here can be found on the Key Links page of this website, or in the online Europe guide.

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Budgeting

This is the Holy Grail of the trip because it determines how long you can roam. You should be able to travel to most places in the world for US$50 or less. Not that it will be easy. And in many places, such as Japan, the USA, or Norway, it will be nearly impossible. A tent helps in expensive countries, as done a little burner to cook your own meals.

You may be able to travel on as little as $10 a day in places in Africa and Asia, but generally you will need at least $20 a day through Asia and Africa, $20-30 through South America, $35-50 through North America and Europe. Australia and New Zealand can be done for $20 up to $50 depending on how you travel.

These figures are very general and will probably not be borne out by your own travels. Once you get into a travel rhythm, though, it gets easier to save.

Getting There and Getting Around

Do you get an around-the-world air ticket or go point to point? Many airlines offer deals in alliance with other carriers, but you usually have to complete travel within a year. If you deviate much or backtrack, it can cost extra. The pass generally includes unlimited stopovers with some backtracking allowed to destinations the airlines in the group serve. If you know your route and want to be home within a year, you might be in luck. You should be able to get a ticket for under US$3,000.

You can also go through consolidators, or bucket shops, which can cobble together a ticket using a variety of airlines on different travel segments. Try STA Travel (www.statravel.com), for example, to see what they can arrange. (Fares are much cheaper for students and those under 26.) Stops in Africa and South America usually increase fares considerably.

Spring is a good time for finding bargains, with fares dropping in April. On the other hand, the recent state of airlines and fuel prices lends lots of unpredictability.

You can also simply travel point to point, buying air tickets along the way and/or going overland. But, you might end up paying half-again or double the combined fare. Another potential wrinkle is that some countries require you to have an onward ticket upon arrival, although there are creative ways of dealing with this. The advantage is you have the flexibility to go where you want and when, changing your plans as you go. Also, there are some well-known cities to pick up cheap flights when needed: London, Athens, Cairo, Bangkok, Hong Kong, and Penang in Malaysia are a few.

Getting around overland has many options; trains, buses, boats, hitching, etc. Rail and bus passes may create the urge to run around like crazy making them pay for themselves. The Eurail pass is no longer a great bargain, but the student pass probably is. In large countries such as India and Australia, air passes are offered to help cover the large land areas between major cities.

To go overland through Africa or to reach South Asia from Europe, contact Trailfinders (http://www.trailfinders.com/), an organization that puts together lots of adventure tours and offers cheap flights from London. If you are in London you will find lots of other cheap travel outfits in the area.

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