Casey is preparing for an around-the-world journey starting in 2004. Ready to explore multiple continents and experience diverse cultures.
Snapshot
- Departure: 2004
- Duration: 1-2 years
- Age: 26
- Budget: USD 6,000 (USD 6,000, or USD 10,500 in 2026 dollars)
- Location: Santa Barbara, California, USA
- Occupation: Office Lacky
- Traveled before: No
The Route
We (my husband and I) plan to go from Los Angeles to Samoa to New Zealand to Indonesia to Malaysia to Thailand to Vietnam to China to Japan to India to Moscow to Germany to Czech Republic to Switzerland to Greece to Home (where ever the heck that is).
In Their Words
Why did you decide to take this trip? What got you into this type of travel, and/or influenced you to go?
We have both traveled around Europe, the US, and assorted other places, so we have the bug. He’ll need a break from writing his dissertation; I just want to get out of “office space”. There are so many other reasons, those are just a few.
What is your biggest fear about this trip?
That he or I will get really really sick or injured and/or I’ll spend the entire trip sunburnt (I’m super super pale) and/or we’ll miss a very important (or tragic) event back home.
What is your advice for people planning their own RTW trip?
I think that the most important thing you can do is to research the hell out of your trip, learn facts and histories about all sorts of countries, get all planned and prepared, do budgets and what not, then start your trip, relax, have a beer, and let the journey guide you! I would also advise folks to try and avoid pre-purchasing all of their plane tickets before they even leave their home soil. From what I’ve heard, you totally pigeon-hole yourself and create a very inflexible itinerary that might bum you out later on.
What is the biggest myth that people have about round-the-world traveling?
That it’s a vacation.
How do you think your round-the-world trip will change your life? How do you think it will affect and change you as a person?
I think that we will become more patient and understanding people, and that it will greatly improve our abilities to negotiate challenges and physically taxing situations. Most of all, I think that it will strengthen (and test) our relationship.
What are you packing? What do you consider your most indispensable item(s)?
Not even close to packing yet, but we will pack very light! I think that our most indispensable item will be my birth control pills (uh-huh).
2026 Context
- European travel has become significantly more expensive, with accommodation and transport costs rising across the continent.
- Open borders within the Schengen area remain consistent, but Brexit has added complexity for UK travelers.
- Southeast Asia backpacker infrastructure has grown significantly, with better accommodation standards and higher prices than in the early 2000s.