Leanne Currie-McGhee is a 29-year-old IT consultant from Norfolk, Virginia, USA, who took a round-the-world trip in 2000-2001 and now works as a writer.
Ever since listening to my father’s travel tales from the Navy, I have wanted to see the world. I served in the Navy, but did not travel outside of the US. When my husband, also a travel lover, and I got married we made a list of things we wanted to do in life. An Around-the-World trip was on the list, so a few years after marriage we decided to make it happen.
The Snapshot
- Departure: 2000
- Age at departure: 29
- Nationality: USA
- Location: Norfolk, VA, USA
- Duration: About 1 year (December 2000 - December 2001)
- Occupation: IT consultant (writer after the trip)
- Original budget: Not specified
- Regions: Southeast Asia, South Asia, Oceania, Africa, Europe
The Route
In Their Words
Here's what Leanne Currie-McGhee shared about their RTW journey:
What is your advice for other travelers?
The most important thing we did before the trip was develop a reasonable budget and actually follow it on the trip. We made sure we had the budget as accurate as possible by researching each country’s costs beforehand. We met people who were not enjoying traveling because they never had enough money and had not realized what things would cost.
What is the biggest myth people have about round-the-world travel?
A lot of people thought we would get tired of constantly moving and living out of bags. We didn’t. It gets in the blood and becomes a way of life. We were excited every time we moved on because there would be new people, new places and new adventure.
2026 Context
- Budget inflation: This traveler did not report a trip budget, so no 2026 equivalent can be calculated; comparable early-2000s round-the-world budgets carry roughly 80% cumulative inflation to 2026 purchasing power.