Why you should take a trip around the world

So you are ready for your first trip around the world, or maybe you are still in the process of thinking about it. Well, speaking from personal experience, I’d say just do it! Because you will have the trip of your life.

Now there are some problems that people seem to have when it comes to planning a trip around the world. First of all, the cost involved, after all, if you don’t plan to work, taking all those trips will hit your bank balance. Second on the list is finding someone to go with, be it a friend or boyfriend/girlfriend. Then the last main problem seems to be the enormity of the task at hand, I mean navigating all those places and staying in hostels, isn’t that dangerous and daunting? I will answer all these questions in turn.

Granted, money will always be an issue, as it is with everything you’d like to do in life. But I think you would be surprised at the cost of a trip around the world, it may not be as expensive as you think.

You can get a round the world ticket for around £1200 and that has 6 stops included. Then for accommodation, if you stay in hostels, you’re looking at around £10 a night. As for meals, most hostels have separate kitchens, so if you cook your own meals you can eat for as little as £5 a night (or less).

I budgeted around £50 a day for food and attractions (or bars) and it was pretty spot on. In some places you need more (US) and in some places you need less (Thailand), but it averages out. You may also want to get 3-day attraction passes for major cities. Things like the New York Pass can get you to all the attractions for 3 days for a single fee (saving you around 30% total).

Basically for a 2 month trip to Thailand, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the US it cost me £4400 for everything. That even included some internal flights and extra expenses, like climbing the Harbor Bridge in Sydney (a must do if you go there). So it’s a lot of money, but since it’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing, it’s worth it. A good tip is to remember to look for family or friends of friends who live abroad because the best type of accommodation is free accommodation.

Now the next problem is finding a travel companion, well this can be difficult for some people as not everyone they meet has a passion for travel. Many of my friends just said that they would like to travel “someday”, I still have no idea when that will be! I ended up going alone, as do many backpackers, both male and female.

This may seem very daunting, but really after a couple of cities you get used to it and it’s not a problem anymore. It also encourages you to meet new people, after all you don’t want to be alone for the whole trip. What you find is that in the hostels there are many like-minded people who are very easy to get along with. Don’t think that because you’re going alone, the whole trip is going to be a solo experience, it definitely won’t be.

Oceania

Finally, the topic of staying in hostels and navigating foreign cities can be daunting and perhaps a bit scary. First of all, if you’ve never stayed in a hostel before, don’t worry. the majority of them are clean and quite fun places. The best way to describe hostel backpacking is that it’s like your first day of college, repeated every day for a few months!

By that I mean that you tend to meet friendly people who are a similar age and in a similar situation as you. They are all primarily looking to meet new people and share their experiences from their journey so far. This can also be a great resource for finding good off the beaten track places to visit. Don’t worry about the guides, just keep your ears open around the hostel and you’ll get all the tips and information you need.

As for navigating foreign cities, for the most part it’s not that difficult. All you need is a city map (which most hostels provide for free) and then feel your way around. Just take a walk around the local area and continue from there, have your hostel address handy so if you get lost you can always catch a taxi back!

Once you’ve mastered a couple of cities, you can do pretty much all of them using the same principles. The only exception is when you visit Africa or South America, which tends to have a more foreign feel. But even with those places the same principles apply, after the first few places you adjust to your new surroundings and it gets easier as time goes on, it just might take a bit longer than in westernized settings.

I hope that all this information has been useful to you and that you make that once-in-a-lifetime trip around the world. I met so many great people on my travels and got to do some great things like drink some tequila in Tijuana and go shark diving in Hawaii! You’re sure to come back with great stories, just keep an open mind and if things go wrong don’t worry, that’s a good story to tell later!