Graeme Mulvaney is a 32-year-old programmer from Ireland, based in Coventry, England, who set off on a round-the-world trip in 2006.
The trains in England are terrible, expensive and unreliable – I used to commute the 100 miles to London blowing 80 quid a day on the train. I wanted to see how far I could get on £1600 (basically one month’s fares). It started out as a bit of a joke, but the more I looked into it, the easier it was to put together a route that hit places I’d been dying to visit. When I get back I’m off to uni to train as an architect – what better way to get a handle on how cities work than to visit 30 of ’em.
The Snapshot
- Departure: 2006
- Age at departure: 32
- Nationality: Ireland
- Location: Coventry, England
- Duration: 3-6 months
- Occupation: Programmer
- Original budget: £1,600 (roughly one month of his London commuter fares)
- Regions: Europe, Asia, Southeast Asia, Oceania, North America
The Route
In Their Words
Here's what Graeme Mulvaney shared about their RTW journey:
What is your biggest fear about this trip?
Two things worry me: Trains… I never have any luck with them. Oceans… I haven’t figured out how to cross them yet – trains only go so far. Oh, yeah, and offending people – i.e. tipping at the wrong time, wearing shoes/being barefoot in the wrong places, wearing orange, etc.
What is your advice for people planning their own RTW trip?
Talk to everybody – local travel agents are a great source of information – and worth the extra cost.
If you had to sum up your thoughts/feelings about your round-the-world trip in one sentence, what would it be?
…a very long sentence.
What is the biggest myth that people have about round-the-world traveling?
That it’s difficult to plan… Having said that, I’m probably going to arrive in Cambodia in the middle of a festival as my itinerary starts to unravel – but I guess that’s why they invented ‘standby tickets’.
Why do you like to travel?
You can only get so much from reading books or websites – I’d read all about Las Vegas, but that doesn’t prepare you for the 48°C afternoon blast furnace that is ‘the strip’ in July.
2026 Context
- Budget inflation: This traveler set out to see how far he could get on £1,600; that mid-2000s figure would be worth substantially more in 2026 purchasing power (roughly 60-70% cumulative inflation).