The science of a RTW
Trip Start
Sep 17, 2007
1
4
272
Trip End
Oct 08, 2008
Ellicott City,
Maryland,
United States
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Many people are scared away from their dream trip by the amount of planning
it requires. I had to do a lot of research and figure out a lot
of things for this trip. I want my effort to be useful to future
travellers, so in this entry I've put a bunch of information about what
needs to be done before one can embark on a RTW trip.
NOTE: This is a lot of information and probably won't be that
interesting unless you want to plan this yourself or you are very
curious. I won't be offended if you skip it. I promise
things will be better on the road.
PLANNING A RTW TRIP
Do some research
This is the best part. What places have you dreamed about since
you were a little girl and/or boy? For my part, I've always been
fascinated with Egypt and the pyramids. Maybe for you its an
African safari or seeing Mount Everest. Take a map and start
making a list of countries that you want to visit. Then, read
some travellers accounts of these places (travelpod is a good place to
start). Find out what amazed them and what they found slightly
underwhelming. And then take it with a grain of salt.
Because all travellers are different, and most are opinionated.
Check a couple sources before you cross something off your list.
Map out an itinerary
Plot out the countries that you want to visit and see if a natural
route emerges. If you've picked a single place on every
continent, then you need some work (unless you have a private jet and
lots of money). The most economical way to travel is to focus on
regions and bordering countries so you can travel overland. There
are very established trails through Central and South America, India,
Africa, and Southeast Asia. Read about travellers' accounts to get
an idea of how long to spend in a country. This part isn't easy,
but its generally a good idea to give yourself as much time as possible
so you don't end up feeling rushed (pretty sure I didn't follow my own
advice here in certain sections).
You'll need to at some point come to terms with the traveller's dilemma:
How do I see all the places I want to see in the time and with the
money that I have? You can't do it all and you most likely don't
have unlimited resources. Plan your dream trip, then fit it to
your time schedule, then to your budget. We had to take out trips
to Madagascar and Mongolia because of both time and money issues.
At the last minute we took out an expensive Galapagos cruise. Sad
yes, but they'll be around for a while, and we'll be back.
Save some money and make a budget
Once you have an itinerary you can start to get an idea of how much
this is going to cost you. It will always be more than you
think. This is hard because two travellers can spend enormously
different amounts of money in the same city. To make an accurate
estimate you need to know how you travel. Do you pick the 50 cent
local bus that takes five hours and packs in 101 people and several
chickens? Or do you take the 5 dollar air-conditioned tourist
shuttle? It doesn't seem like much of a difference but over a
year it can add up to a couple thousand dollars. Cheap hotel
rooms or five star hotels? Grocery store or expensive western
restaurant? Guided tour or guidebook paragraph? In spite of
all of this, the biggest indication of how much money you'll spend is
where you travel. Southeast Asia and South America are the
cheapest places to travel; Australia, the US, and Europe are the
worst. This ranges from as little as ten dollars a day in India
to over a hundred in expensive European countries. This is why
most rtw focus on developing countries.
Get daily estimates for the countries in guidebooks or online and you
can rough out an average. To this you need to add pre-trip
expenses and flights (discussed next). Once you have this number,
save that money.
Flights
Another travel controversy here. One school supports the "buy
flights as you go theory," which allows the most flexibility in
travelling. Of course, it also means a lot of research and the
possibility of getting stuck for weeks because you can't get a
flight. It's also a lot more expensive this way. The other
option is to buy from a rtw ticket specialist, who can purchase flights
up to a year in advance. This is cheaper and easier, but places a
lot more restrictions on your itinerary. Rules vary widely, but
generally these tickets are valid for only a year, and locations and
dates need to be set in advance. You can usually change the
dates, but this requires 50-100 dollars a change. Places are
usually not flexible. We went for this option because we had
already planned out the itinerary pretty well, but we could also be
flexible within the flight dates. It was also significantly
easier and cheaper.
Pre-trip expenses
The sad part is that a large chunk of your hard earned trip money is
spent before you even leave the door. Here is an estimate of some
pre-trip expenses:
Flights - $3000-$5000
Insurance - $500-$1000
Vaccinations - $300-$500
Gear - $300-$500
(depending on how much you already have)
Camera - $200-$800 (optional of course)
Of course, add to this everything required at home, such as storage,
mortgage, loans, etc. Just make sure you include most major
expenses in your budget and have a little extra for those unexpected
purchases.
Medical stuff
Make sure you start vaccinations early because some require multiple
visits. These can be quite costly, so be prepared. If
you're travelling through a lot of countries most doctors will just
give you everything. A little research can help you to avoid
paying for unnecessary things. Generally, you'll need Hep A and
B, Typhoid, Tetanus, Polio, and Yellow Fever (plus the ones you
generally get as a kid). We got another meningitis shot because
we were going to Ethiopia. Doctors might recommend rabies and
Japanese encephalitis as well. The rabies vaccine doesn't
actually prevent you from getting rabies, it just means you need to get
fewer shots when you do get it. Japanese encephalitis requires
three shots that are over $100 a piece, and it is extremely rare.
Malaria is another controversial topic for travellers. Some
choose not to take the medication at all, since it is not completely
effective and cannot protect against every type of malaria
anyway. They just cover up and use the bug spray. We are
bringing doxycylcine pills with us. They are taken daily and are
effective almost everywhere we are going. Relatively cheap
too. There is also Larium, notorious for giving travellers
hallucinations, which is weekly. Do some research to find out
which is best for you.
You should definitely have some type of insurance when you
travel. A very popular and inexpensive insurance company for
trips like this is World Nomads, which offer a policy for around $500 a
person. We went with tripplus insurance, which specializes in
young adventure travellers. Hopefully we won't have to make a
claim. Check for medical evacuation coverage, repatriation of
remains, theft of property (if you have expensive equipment you might
want to insure it separately), and coverage for activities like
trekking, safaris, and scuba diving.
Also get all prescriptions for other medications or arrange to have them shipped to you.
Gear
An oft-quoted saying goes: "Take half as much luggage and twice as much
money." Everyone over packs. But the lighter you go the
easier it will be. There are entire websites devoted to the
"pack-lite" philosophy of travel. Again, this is personal
style. But when you're scrambling all over town to find a place
to stay, you'll want the lightest pack possible. At least be
fairly certain that you're going to use the things you're bringing on a
regular basis or in an emergency. If you find yourself needing
something, you can always buy it. Here is an approximate list of
what we're carrying. We are travelling very light, so don't get freaked
out if you can't handle this. You can get away with a lot more.
Clothes:
2 cool max shirts
1 long-sleeve shirt
1 fleece jacket
1 rain shell
2 pair zip-off pants
1 swim suit
2 pair REI super underwear
1 pair gym shorts and shirt (for nights)
2 pair hiking socks
2 pair regular socks
1 pair Teva sandals
1 pair hiking shoes
1 pair flip flops
1 hat
Personals:
sunglasses, ear plugs, watch/alarm clock, flashlight, compass, spork, journal and pens, money belt, zip loc bags.
Toiletries:
toothbrush and toothpaste, soap/shampoo, comb, deodorant, quick-dry
towel, pack of toilet paper, wet wipes, chapstick, insect spray, universal sink
stopper (for washing clothes).
Documents
passport, copies of passport, yellow immunization card, several
passport pictures (for visas), insurance information, emergency phone
numbers and contacts, etc.
Money
The world is pretty much covered in ATMs at this point. At least
you can stock up in major cities before you head into the
countryside. ATM and debit cards are our primary source of
cash. Make sure you have a backup account in case your card gets
eaten by an ATM, lost, or stolen. Inform your bank not to cancel
your card when charges start showing up in strange countries. It's
probably a good idea to have both VISA and Mastercard, and I believe
VISA is accepted in more locations where Mastercard isn't. You
should always have a couple hundred dollars in cash (generally US
dollars) tucked away for an emergency. Travelers checks won't
hurt either, although they are becoming less useful. Make sure
someone back at home has power of attorney over your accounts so they
can resolve issues locally without you paying 10 bucks a minute in
Indonesia on hold.
Visas
These things are a pain and can add up to major cost. Check to make sure if you should get a few problem visas in your home country.
Central and South America are generally a piece of cake, and visas can be found at the border or aren't even necessary. The exception is Brazil, which has a policy of reciprocity. They do to you what your country does to them. In our case, it means we need to apply for a visa and pay them $100 dollars. It's not always great to be an American citizen. China just started this too. India can also be a problem. Syria as well. We plan on getting our Brazilian and Indian visas before we go, and getting everything else as we go. Make sure you bring a bunch of passport photos, and research the rules before you go.
Last minute details
If you made it all the way down here then you're almost ready to
go. Make sure you pay all bills, forward your mail somewhere,
leave itineraries and contact information with a friend, and hop on the
plane. If there's one thing I can be absolutely sure of, its that
all this trouble will be worth it.
~Travis
