How to plan your around the globe journey in a nutshell

Written by Travel, Trek & Tour Contributor, March 27, 2020

Do you want to see as much of the world as possible? If that’s the case, you might be thinking of embarking on an epic around the world trip. In 1924, a team of American aviators successfully completed the first round-the-globe trip by plane; an adventure that took 175 days and 76 stops, four aircraft and two sets of new wings. Hundreds of years later, travelers are still putting their own round-the-world itineraries together. Thankfully, your journey is likely to be much easier than the first one! We’ve put together a handy guide to planning the round-the-world adventure you’ve always dreamed of.

Traveling around the world: Getting an RTW ticket:

One of the easiest and most economical ways to travel around the world is to buy a round-the-world (RTW) ticket from a single company or airline alliance. There are several different airline confederations that make it easy for you to maximize the number of destinations that you want to travel to and pay for it all in one.

Decide how long you need for traveling around the world:

If you flew non-stop you could probably whizz around the world in just a few days, but where’s the fun in that? Nobody wants to say that they have been around the world but spent the entire time inside an airplane. To make sure that you get the most from your round the world trip, consider stock-piling annual leave and booking it around public holidays. Or you could even arrange a sabbatical to take a few months off for your epic adventure.

When to go:

When you’re traveling around the world, you’re never going to have ideal weather in every single destination that you visit. So, focus on the things that you want to see and do the most and book your trip according to favorable conditions there. If city sightseeing is high up on your itinerary, the good news is that this can be done all year round anywhere, as you can always escape bad weather in museums and cafes. But if you want beaches or outdoor adventures, it’s worth booking during the summer at your destination.

Where to go:

Most of the time you won’t get to see every country on earth during your round-the-world trip unless you’re planning an adventure that lasts a few years. The best trips fly between a few big cities, like London, Singapore, Bangkok, Sydney, and LA. Or, you can opt for more offbeat destinations but you can usually expect to pay more. If you opt for a RTW ticket, the price will be based on the total distance covered or the number of countries visited.

Making travel easier:

If you’re planning a trip around the world, you’ll need to think about how to deal with your belongings. If you’re traveling with a lot of baggage, finding somewhere to store it all can be challenging. That’s where luggage storage comes in. Luggage storage facilities can be located in most major cities, and they provide a safe and convenient place to leave your belongings while you’re exploring. In addition, many facilities offer 24-hour access, so you can always retrieve your belongings when needed. So say you are traveling across the UK, you can rest assured about your left luggage in London. And if you’re worried about security, most facilities also offer insurance if anything happens to your belongings while in storage. So if you’re looking for a hassle-free way to travel with all your belongings, consider using a baggage storage facility. It could just make your next round-the-world trip a little bit easier.

Doing it yourself:

Of course, there’s always the option to do it yourself rather than getting a RTW ticket. In this case, research all your options and the countries that you want to visit and figure out the best ways to get between them. If you want to visit a lot of European or Nordic countries, for example, train travel may be easier and cheaper than flying. For example, you can get a high-speed train from St. Petersburg to Helsinki, fly to Paris in a few hours, get a train to London and fly to Dublin. Once there, you can really enjoy the country with a range of magnificent trip packages to Ireland in 2021 to choose from.

Where will your round the world trip take you?