53 Links To Help You Travel Around the World

For many travelers, going on a round-the-world trip or traveling for an extended period of time is the ultimate dream. Imagine: week after week of exploring new cities, sights, smells, and sounds; the thrill of meeting new people, trying exotic foods, and making memories that will last a lifetime; and the joy of being able to travel slowly, knowing that you can take your time in each place because you’ve got several weeks, months, or even years to complete your journey.

Of course, a round-the-world trip isn’t without its challenges. After months on the road, travelers get homesick, or at the very least, begin to miss those most familiar comforts – their own beds, mom’s special spaghetti, the joys of American peanut butter. And that’s if you can even save the money for your trip in the first place. For some, money is the biggest obstacle of all, while for others, it’s the fear of leaving the workforce for a year, of traveling solo, or of venturing out into the world for the first time.

But fear not, we’ve got a whole slew of great resources to help you with your round-the-world travels, no matter which stage of planning you are in. We have been working hard over the past few months to revamp our entire RTW section of our site, so be sure to check out all that it has to offer. We go in depth and have all you need to know for all 4 stages of a RTW trip – inspiration, planning, on the road, and coming home. The RTW section is updated weekly with new articles and resources, so be sure to keep coming back or sign up for our newsletter.

We have also went through our site and put together some of the most helpful round-the-world resources that we have here on BootsnAll. We realize that there are plenty of great resources not on BootsnAll as well, so we included plenty of other resources that we’ve found around the web.

Inspiration to help you get out and go

• Read stories from other round-the-world travelers. Check out our profiles of other people who’ve completed a round-the-world trip, or read the blogs of people who have done it all before. There are countless normal people who have made their travel dreams come true. Read about who these RTW travelers are and why they decided to go. If they can do it, so can you.

• Worried about your career? In this economy, one of the first concerns is leaving a good job in order to travel. Many think it’s career suicide. But after talking to other’s who have done it and are doing it right now, we found out that it’s not crazy to quit your job and travel the world. Find out why a travel break can be the best career move you’ll ever make, or ask yourself the question, “Should you quit your job to travel in a still uncertain economy?” See why a bad time for the economy is the perfect time to take a career break and travel. And check out 11 Reasons to Take an RTW Trip.

• Inform your loved ones. They may not understand your desire to travel long-term, but if you follow these tips for telling your family and friends about your travel plans, they may support and encourage your travel dreams.

Tools to help you plan your trip

• Planning a round-the-world trip is daunting, but we’re here to help. Start by checking out our RTW FAQ section to get answers to all your questions. Or check out the longer version of our FAQ’s in our epic planning guide. Find out all there is to know about planning a RTW trip, including what to pack, how to figure out costs, how to decide on shots and immunizations, what to do about your job, and how to earn some extra money on your journey.

• Figure out how to fund your trip. Check out our list of 28 ways to save money for your travels. You’ll be surprised how fast the savings add up from these little sacrifices. The most important part of saving for a RTW trip is making it your top priority.  You may also need less than you think; find out how much money you really need to travel.

• Need help on airfare? RTW plane tickets vs. buy as you go? Which round-the-world ticket is for you? First, it’s important to determine if you want to buy a RTW plane ticket or purchase point to point to tickets. We’ve also got all the details on the different options of RTW plane tickets so you can compare apples to apples and make the best choice for your trip. We’ll also weigh in on how much you should plan your trip or leave it up to decisions on the fly.

• What kind of traveler are you? Backpacker or flashpacker? Determine what type of accommodations you will want – hostels or hotels? Figuring our your travel style will help you plan a budget for your trip and figure out how much a RTW trip costs.

Life on the road

• Sometimes, you fall in love with a place and just can’t leave. And when you’re on an extended trip, you don’t have to! Here are the signs that you want to stay a little longer in one place.

• Other times, the road may start calling you. It might be time to move on when you start falling into familiar routines and can recognize every face on the street. You will most likely fall prey to travel burnout at some point. Find out what travel burnout is and how to best deal with it. You might also want to think about slowing down and renting an apartment at some point to really immerse yourself in the culture. This would be a good time to take language classes or get a job to make a few extra bucks.

• Don’t be an “ugly American”…or an ugly German, or Australian, or Canadian…Be respectful to your fellow travelers and hosts and avoid these seven deadly sins of travel.

• Traveling isn’t an excuse to neglect your health and fitness. Follow these tips to stay in shape on the road, and don’t make these mistakes that could land you in the hospital. For added security, it’s highly recommended that you invest in some travel insurance to protect you on your journey.

• Understand and deal with culture shock. It’s not a question of if, it’s a question of when you’ll get hit by culture shock. Travelers on an opened-ended trip, Audrey and Daniel of Uncornered Market share their tips for when you “hit the wall”.

Easing back into life at home

• Going through travel withdrawal? Lucy Corne can relate and shares some weird things she misses when she’s back at home. After you settle down back home, wanderlust is going to hit again. Find out what the best ways of dealing with wanderlust now that you’re home. Reverse culture shock is also a part of being home. Dealing with lack of free time is probably the worst part of reverse culture shock.

• Join the community. As a round-the-world traveler you’re now part of an elite club. Share your wealth of knowledge on our message boards and help others plan their own trips.

• Do it again! Some RTW travelers are content with their one big trip. But there are many who come home and start thinking about that next big adventure within weeks. We’re here to help plan that next trip. From RTW air tickets to hostels to adventure tours to travel insurance, BootsnAll has you covered.

Read more about RTW travel in our Round the World Wednesday column:

• 8 Crappy Reasons Not to Take a RTW Trip (and 8 Great Reasons Why You Should
• How to Decide Where to Go on an RTW Trip
• How to Know if Long-Term Travel is Right For You
• 9 Hard-to-Resist Reasons to Take a Gap Year
• Why a Travel Break Can Be the Best Career Move You’ll Ever Make

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