Can I do round the world trip for 50K? (camping, hostels, plane)

[fluffythewondercat]

Originally Posted by himain

While I appreciate the info-I'm looking for info on a RTW trip-not financial advice.

Good for you.

Will you be happy with a "If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium" whirlwind trip or did you want to stay longer in some places and sample local life?

[fishbrains]

Star alliance offers a RTW flight builder, so you can see how much it would cost for airfare. You will pick up a reasonable number of points as well, so you will be set for the next chunk of flying you need to do. If you book the entire thing on an airline branded credit card, you get the additional pints for the cost of the tickets plus the luggage and boarding perks.

The next question is what do you want to accomplish? Bragging rights by going RTW? You can knock that off your bucket list in 24-72 hours.

My personal preference would be some amazing experiences. A month in Bali, where you can get a room for $35/night. A week in Morocco, time in Thailand and Mongolia. Turkey is less expensive than Italy.

Destinations like these would be less expensive than London, Rome and New York. Those cities have something to offer of course, but will run through money much more quickly.

I think $50k is plenty to go RTW, just depends on how much time you want to spend on the road.

[artillery77]

Had a friend that did this when she was young. She did SE Asia. She started with the cheapest countries and saw what she wanted to and slowly worked her way up the economic prosperity chain....in that way she didn't burn up all her cash right away. She did that for a few months, came back and worked for a couple of years and did it again. This time she never made it back from Australia where she's now married with a couple of kids.

[JrzDefector]

Originally Posted by fluffythewondercat

Good for you.

Will you be happy with a "If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium" whirlwind trip or did you want to stay longer in some places and sample local life?

Yeah, I'm not a terribly experienced traveler, but I think a RTW trip sounds awful. OP, before you commit to something that complex, maybe consider taking some short trips before planning a very long one?

I spent two weeks traveling around Ireland and wrapped it all up with a quick trip to Wales to see a town I'd read about years before. It was WONDERFUL, but after two weeks I was drained and exhausted and my one big regret is that we moved around so much. We covered several cities in that time, and I really would have preferred to spend one third of the trip in Galway, one-third in Killarney and one third in that little town in Wales (Hay On Wye - it's got 1500 residents and 20 bookshops).

I also cannot say enough good things about AirBnB. We had wonderful luck with our rentals, and they were crazy cheap.

[StealthRabbit]

Originally Posted by JrzDefector

Yeah, I'm not a terribly experienced traveler, but I think a RTW trip sounds awful. ...
I spent two weeks traveling around Ireland and wrapped it all up with a quick trip to Wales to see a town I'd read about years before. It was WONDERFUL, but after two weeks I was drained and exhausted and my one big regret is that we moved around so much. ... AirBnB. We had wonderful luck with our rentals, and they were crazy cheap.

well... the OP CAN stay in one place for extended periods while doing a RTW... (pick a few 'hubs' and RELAX! enjoy, explore, get to know the locals...)

Wales was only 2 weeks, but Ireland was a month + for us (our Air B&B's were terrible and expensive in Ireland (the worst)) real B&B's that have real services and reviews were much better (for our stays) but they too were <$60. night ... 3-5x our usual expense (which ALWAYS has much better meals (and company!!!) (often 3x / day (Host usually offers to pack us a lunch, or meet us somewhere to avail a local favorite)).

We ONLY took small backpack each (for a yr away) (not too much hassle... If we needed something (Heavy coats) we bought at an Op Shop and left it back at the Op Shop when we changed climates.

I found the RTW EZr (go with the flow) than short hops (too much planning / transit time).

Our RTW, started and ended with a ONE-WAY ticket.

No plans,
No schedule.

We had a very rich trip with lots of unexpected friends and activities. Such as staying 3 months at a Game Reserve (free room and board) doing a remodel project of a historic structure (EZ). Got to travel every weekend if we so desired (3- 4 days worth / week).

Staying in one spot allows you to find friends and learn something about the culture +/-, No need to leave till the Visa expires (60 days + usually). Then you can take a 'regional flight' for $30 - $50 and reset your visa clock.

[evening sun]

These are good suggestion, have you done much travelling already? Some people like the idea of it, but not the practicality of it, all they want is to get back home to their own bed & coffee pot. I suggest taking a trip somewhere in the USA, at least a thousand miles from home, & see if you enjoy being on the road, it is not for everyone.

[StealthRabbit]

Originally Posted by himain

No-But I don't need to be sleeping on the ground either. I'd like to be comfortable and safe being a single female

I sent a mom and her 2 teenage daughters off on a RT-USA tour. They were reluctant to use my "guest hospitality home places" UNTIL their first stay... They loved the safety, cozy, friendly, hospitable hosts and planned the rest of their trips using Guest homes.

Motels / hotels creeped them out (single gals),
Guest hospitality homes = no more creepy registrations / nights out, / sleepless 'wonderings', guessing what you might encounter in the 'next place'.

We host many single gals of all ages and nationalities. Especially retiree / widows who really enjoy traveling, especially when feeling loved and secure! Single gal School teachers and nurses from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland seem to travel a lot!!! They enjoy cooking special 'national' meals for us. We really enjoy them coming to visit. (we must be on their 'suggestion list'). I am surprised there are any to come to USA... I thought they were ALL in NZ!!! (a wonderful place for LT travel while under age 31 / working visa)

We have a whole network of single (host) gals in USA (and western Europe) that frequently call us to come visit and they have 2 - 3 page list of 'fix-it' projects for us to do. We gladly accommodate, usually can be done in under 2 days! They are really fun with many stories and adventures, and treat us like royalty (yum)!

We did an unintended stay 5 days with a host near BC Canada who had lost her husband and needed to move from a large house. We painted the interior of the 'new' house and helped her move in. We had other plans... so our plans waited a couple yrs, and we gained a great and faithful friend.

[misnomed]

Can stretch these out a bit...

Do look up some of the volunteering websites, you trade some work time at all kinds of jobs for free room/board...Is lots of inn keepers, vineyards...Is handy to have someone who speaks Native English. Are tons and tons of websites...

Can do WWOOf.net to exchange labor for room/board.

Have lots of programs that will let you teach english.

Can do the youth hostile or Airbnb thing.

[himain]

Originally Posted by Happy in Wyoming

You only have 50k. Learn how to invest. Take trips with a percentage of profits, not with the only money that you have. Investment profits are incredible today.

I actually have 150k. I was thinking of using the 50k or less for the trip and investing the other 100k but that's a totally different thread

[Frihed89]

Don't miss Guatamala, Nicaragua, Chile, Bolivia, Argentina.