Casey is a 26-year-old office worker from Santa Barbara, California, USA, who set off on a round-the-world trip in 2004 with her husband.
The Snapshot
- Departure: 2004
- Age at departure: 26
- Nationality: USA
- Location: Santa Barbara, California, USA
- Duration: 1-2 years
- Occupation: Office Lacky
- Original budget: USD 6,000 (approximately USD 10,500 in 2026 dollars)
- Regions: Oceania, Southeast Asia, Asia, South Asia, Europe
The Route
In Their Words
Here's what Casey shared about their RTW journey:
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
- Budget inflation: This traveler's original budget of USD 6,000 would equate to approximately USD 10,500 in 2026 purchasing power, reflecting roughly 75% inflation over the intervening years.