Independent travel
Plan a trip you'll remember - one that reflects you, not something copied off Pinterest
BootsnAll has been helping independent travelers since 1998. Not trips to Las Vegas on Disney Excursions. Planning advice and wisdom for people who want to figure out the trip themselves and have a travel experience that is not pre-packaged.
What is BootsnAll?
BootsnAll has been helping independent travelers since 1998. Not trips to Las Vegas on Disney Excursions. Real planning advice and wisdom for people who want to figure out the trip themselves and have a travel experience that is not pre-packaged.
Explore destinations worldwide
Train travel across Europe
Plan your RTW journey
Protect your adventure
How To Travel Across Canada by Train, On A Budget
Learn how to book VIA Rail trains across Canada affordably with discounts, advance booking tips, and budget travel strategies for experiencing the country's best routes.
Five Reasons to Take a Career Break
You’re stuck in the 9-5, fighting the cube wars day after day but you want more. Here Jennifer Miller shows us there’s no reason you can’t have it! Read on for five excellent reasons to hang up your dress shirt and take a year (or more) to redefine your life through a career break.
Updated Jun 30, 2015
Top 10 Reasons to Take a Career Break… and Travel
If you are sitting in your cubicle daydreaming about escaping and traveling the world, then read these 10 reasons why you should put down your briefcase and pick up a backpack.
Updated Jan 18, 2018
IAMAT – Avoiding Medical Disasters
Medical emergencies while traveling are rare but serious. Understanding how to access healthcare globally, preparing preventively, and having proper insurance protects you. Learn practical medical preparation for RTW travel.
Book Your RTW Trip
Booking RTW travel in 2026 is more flexible than ever. You don't need to book everything in advance. Strategic booking of key flights and accommodation combined with flexibility maximizes choice while maintaining itinerary control.
Hong Kong Travel Guide
Hong Kong in 2026 is still one of the world's great cities - the harbor, the density, the food, the trails that drop off the back of skyscrapers into subtropical jungle - but it's a city that has changed more in the past six years than in the previous thirty. Understand what changed and what didn't, and it remains one of the most rewarding urban destinations in Asia.
Byron Bay Travel Guide
Byron Bay is a beach town that went from bohemian refuge to mainstream destination, trading authenticity for prosperity. It's still got waves, good food, and a laid-back spirit, but you're paying premium prices for what many feel is diminished character.
Common questions travelers ask us
A round-the-world (RTW) trip is a multi-destination journey that crosses at least two continents and typically lasts anywhere from a few weeks to a lifestyle trip that is 12 months or longer. You can book through AirTreks or airline alliances (Star Alliance or OneWorld) or buy tickets independently. Most first-time RTW travelers spend $20,000–$100,000 all-in for a year of travel. It depends on where, comfort level and speed.
Most popular long-term travel destinations are safe for experienced independent travelers who take reasonable precautions. The practical risks are petty theft, scams targeting travelers, and road accidents, not the dramatic scenarios people picture before their first trip. A handful of regions are a different story: active conflict zones and areas of ongoing unrest, like parts of the Middle East, Sudan, or Ukraine, are not places for casual travel right now. Those situations shift, so check your government's current travel advisory (the US State Department, the UK's FCDO, or Australia's Smartraveller) before you commit to a route, and buy travel insurance that actually covers the places you're going.
Budget $18,000–$28,000 for a solo traveler doing 10–12 months across Southeast Asia and South America. Western Europe runs $30,000–$45,000 for the same duration. Figures include flights, accommodation, food, activities, and a safety buffer.
Travelers move through places on their own terms with respect to local cultures, make their own choices, and tend to stay longer in fewer places. See our Manifesto links to fully understand. We describe tourists as folks who follow pre-packaged itineraries, and expect the local culture to bend to them. Oftentimes, a person on a trip may be both at different times, depending on context. The distinction matters because as we start to understand the difference, how we show up and engage can radically change.