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How to Plan an Around the World Itinerary in 8 Steps

Last updated on January 5, 2024 by Shannon

You’re planning an around the world trip . Congrats! My one-year trip turned into a decade of wandering and it transformed my life . My own one-year trip itinerary took me through 15 countries and countless experiences—but narrowing down my dream countries to just 15 was hard.

After so many years on the road—and after several round the world trips since that first one—I have some hard learned advice for anyone planning their own route and building their own trip around the world. If you’re planning a world trip, it’s usually a long-term route of at least a few months and up to a year around the world, or more.

These are eight ideas—eight steps really—to help narrow your travel itinerary down to those stops along your route that will fit your budget, highlight the most memorable places to you, and make sense for the trip you’ve always dreamed of taking.

Table of Contents

1. Make an itinerary bucket list for the entire world.

The inspiration phase of planning your round the world trip itinerary is one of the most fun. Maybe you already have a laundry list of places you hope to cram into your world trip itinerary. Or perhaps you’ve nailed down a few key experiences but you’re open to more inspiration. You should absolutely start with a long bucket list of locations all over the world, because weather and route might automatically strike a few off the list for you.

If you’re curious for more travel ideas, browse the  best travel books sorted by destination , or search for long-reads and podcast recommendations on my Destination Travel Guides . Use these books and resources for inspiration on not only places to add to your round the world route, but activities, too.

Perhaps you read The Devil’s Picnic and subsequently add Paris to your list for that stinky but toothsome Époisses de Bourgogne cheese, or you add Bhutan because of its intriguing portrayal in The Geography of Bliss (that’s what has it on the itinerary for my next around the world trip!).

Books and podcasts are a phenomenal way to expand your idea of what is possible on your trip.

Once you have a list of dream destinations for your travel itinerary, highlight up to five that are your absolute priorities—these will become the bedrock of your around the world trip. The rest of the places on your list will slot in around those stops based on timing, weather, and more.

How granularly you plan is personal—some travelers leave with a precise list of destinations and timelines, while others plan the first couple of months of their round the world trop.

My three key travel destinations:

For my first year, I had three key activities on my list. The first was diving the Great Barrier Reef —that’s why my trip started in Australia . The second was meeting my cousin in India and backpacking north from Mumbai together for two months before ending our time together at a volunteer placement in Nepal . The third was time-sensitive as I had always dreamed of attending the Edinburgh Fringe Festival , which takes place every August in Scotland.

Later, when I traveled with my 11-year-old niece for six months in Southeast Asia , I led her through some basic Google searches so that she could see what was on offer. We planned our joint world trip itinerary together centered around her three biggies: an ethical elephant encounter , ziplining somewhere, and visiting Angkor Wat .

2. Pick a direction around the world.

From your home country, your travel itinerary will take you either east to west, or west to east around the world. Backtracking is not ideal—it’s expensive, causes more jet lag, and is bad for the environment. Use this strategy whether you use a round the world ticket (which requires this stipulation) or if you book flights as you travel.

Pros and cons of traveling east:

• Science says this direction is harder on your body and produces more jet lag . The short of it is because you are losing time when you fly through time several zones, but your body actually prefers cycles slightly longer than 24 hours, not shorter.
• You’ll need to become a pro at minimizing jet lag so you don’t lose several days to it in each new location.
• If you’re planning a very long RTW trip, perhaps 18 months or more, and your itinerary creeps around the world, then you will likely not notice the difference much.

Pros and cons of traveling west:

• As noted, your body actually prefers days that run longer than 24 hours, so your internal clock has a much easier time adding hours into your day. This means fewer nights adjusting and staring at the hotel ceiling at 3am.
• Your body can do at least two hours of time zone jumping in this direction without having a noticeable effect on you, so it’s ideal to slowly hop west around the world. And if you’re crossing the Pacific from the U.S., your largest time zone change will likely occur at the beginning of your trip, so you can then enjoy more relaxing travel for the many months afterwards.

How I decided my world trip direction:

I was lucky that two of my key experiences could bookend my trip. Scotland and Australia are not close, so it was easy to plan many of my other dream destinations to fill the space between these countries.

Since I planned to leave the U.S. in November, it was easy to surmise that starting my trip in Australia, which was entering summer, made the most sense. Then I would make my way west toward Scotland for Edinburgh Fringe, handily skirting both winter in Europe and summer in Asia.

3. Find creative overland routes.

Whew, you now have a list of dream destinations for your world trip and a direction of travel. Now it’s time to fill in the space in your itinerary. And you’ll do that by using local transportation, which is a lot more fun than flying—you’ll see more of the country and culture, and you’ll have richer travel experiences .

Go back now to those handful of key destinations from your bucket list that. These are the foundational bedrocks of your world trip itinerary. These dots on the map should lend a rough overview of a route. If they don’t, if one is just an outlier that makes it hard to see logical jumps, narrow your list down to four, and see if that helps—if you truly love the idea of an experience, but it doesn’t fit this trip it might make a great trip on its own in a couple years time.

Now, your world trip itinerary needs the details, and those usually come from visiting clusters of bordering countries—you’ll be crossing overland among many of these destinations. (For that to work, however, check visa restrictions for your nationality as some countries require visas in advance, or don’t allow crossings at certain borders).

Popular routes ( backpacking Southeast Asia , for example), have only a few restrictions and those are easily handled online, or in the days before your border crossing.

Start dotting the map with the countries that are very close to your bedrock destinations. That looks like this: If trekking in Nepal is a bedrock item, and India’s Golden Triangle and Sri Lanka were both on your dream list, then it makes sense to add them into your route, since you’ll definitely be in the region.

My creative overland routes:

As I planned my itinerary, a dear friend announced she wanted to meet me in Florence, Italy in June. That became another bedrock item with a firm date, so I now had a time I had to leave South Asia and head to Eastern Europe.

Nearby Croatia was on my tentative list, and I had a friend in Bosnia , so both of those became stops on my itinerary that helped give it shape. Prague hadn’t been on my list, but I decided to move north through Eastern Europe after leaving Bosnia.

I filled in adventurous stops that would take me from my friend in Italy in June to Scotland in August—plenty of time for rafting in Slovenia , finding charming towns in Czech Republic , biking Amsterdam like a local, and walking through the Lake District of England first!

Research activities in countries you’re considering.

If there are countries nearby your “must-visit” locations, use a site like GetYourGuide to research the types of activities you could see and do if you visited these adjacent destinations as well. I like checking out the day tour sites more than a guidebook at this stage because it’s a very quick overview of the must-dos in each location.

4. Research festivals in your favored locations.

Local festivals around the world are amazingly full of life, culture, and fun. It’s a huge letdown when you learn too late that you missed a major religious and celebratory festival by just a few days. And it’s also a shock if you arrive thinking it’s shoulder season but you really arrived during Brazil’s carnival.

Plan your route to coincide with the dates of festivals that seem most fun for you (this is especially important for trips with kids, because they love the excitement, colors, and foods at these types of events. You’ll need to book accommodation early depending on the event, so that may take some flexibility from your world travel route, but it’s worth it.

Here are a few favorite annual festivals that many travelers plan around: La Tomatina in Spain in late August; Holi the Festival of Colors  in India around early March; Thailand’s Songkran Water Festival often falls within April and its Loy Krathong Lantern Festival falls in late October or early November.

Festivals around the world I sought out:

When my cousin told me should could only meet in India in February, and I knew we’d be there for two months, I went into planning mode to decide where we should celebrate Holi the Festival of Colors . It was a real highlight of my trip and I am so glad our world travel itinerary allowed us to experience this incredible Indian festival.

Then, of course, was the Fringe Festival —that was one of my bedrock destinations so it was definitely on the planned route.

5. Play Tetris with locations to fit your travel budget.

I stuck to an amazing year-long world travel budget that came in under $20,000. The only way I could do that was by carefully planning my time to favor budget-friendly countries, and then add in high-cost countries in smaller supply.

Research each of your dream destinations ahead of time because some places you might assume are budget actually cost more than you imagine (a safari in Africa is not cheap, nor is accommodation in much of Africa, but visiting a dream destination on the continent is worth it). Japan may be in Asia, but it’s pricey, too. Central America and Mexico are easy on your budget, as are parts of South America.

How I made my RTW travel budget work:

Australia , England, Scotland, and Ireland were mega expensive and represented three of my eleven months on the road. India and Nepal were, by far, the cheapest places (even cheaper than backpacking Southeast Asia ), and it was actually difficult to go over budget during the three-and-a-half months that I backpacked South Asia.

I spent the other months in Southeast Asia and Eastern Europe, two regions that are in the discount to mid-range. All told, I was able to easily average $50 a day, even though some days in Europe topped $100.

6. Plan around weather trends.

On your trip, research destinations ahead of time and plan according to your own weather preferences. While it’s not likely you will hit every destination in your preferred season, you should know when monsoon season makes a paradise island unenjoyable, or when blizzards will thwart a planned ski trip.

Research using this great rundown of shoulder season locations around the world, and this European shoulder season list , and this very cool map of a a sample round the itinerary featuring perfect weather in every location.

Why I chased summer around the world:

I planned my trip itinerary to chase summer around the world. As a native Floridian, my tolerance for heat is higher than most others, and I deeply enjoy warmth. A year of summer was lovely.

Whether your around the world trip chases summer or snow—and note it’s way easier to pack for long-term travel when you can leave behind thick jackets and boots—you’ll want to pack effectively using packing cubes .

I have probably 20 packing cubes after 15+ years of travel—cubes of all shapes, sizes, and uses to fit every trip. This eight-pack starter set is well-priced, durable, and will give you a worthy introduction into the sheer magic of packing cubes.

7. Consider how you will fly.

When planning your itinerary, you have to consider more than just major long-haul flights. On my travels, I research local budget airlines too, and I always have a good idea of which regions of the world offer affordable puddle-jumper flights. If you’re considering buying round the world tickets , read my insider tips and advice first!

Southeast Asia has AirAsia and Vietjet, among others. Europe has many budget carriers: Vueling, Ryan Air, and EasyJet. And JetStar has good flight deals in South Asia. By checking for budget airline routes, I know that I can easily visit more countries in a region if there are sub $100 flights around the area. (Tip: this is an amazing interactive map of low-cost airline routes ).

My transportation choices:

I priced out my year on the road and found it was cheaper to combine overland travel with local carriers than it would have been to buy a RTW ticket up front. I also have a guide to how I find good flight deals , since I never buy round the world airfare.

Generally, flights are likely necessary unless you plan an entirely overland route around the world , but flights are harmful if you solely rely on this form of transportation, so truly consider how you can incorporate other options, such as buying a Eurail ticket in Europe, or a Greyhound bus ticket to travel down the east coast of Australia.

Don’t forget to  book travel insurance for your trip —a great policy provides coverage in case of medical emergencies, lost or stolen gear, adventure sports riders, and more. I’ve used  IMG Global  for more than a decade  highly recommend it !

8. Remove some destinations from your world trip itinerary.

There is no wrong way to plan your route around the world, and there is no perfect number of places that you can visit in a year—it all depends on what you’re looking for on your trip. And no matter how carefully you plan, you will love some places, feel mediocre toward others, and perhaps even leave early from a few. You won’t know until you set out which type of places and experiences best fit your long-term travel style.

But please keep in mind that the pace of short-term travels is very different from a multi-month trip. Create a route that travels slowly, avoids the dreaded travel-fatigue , and includes destinations you have long dreamed of visiting. To do that, you now need to take a critical eye to your trip and trim the fat.

Is there something you added it because it seemed fun and was moderately close, but it wasn’t a bedrock item? Or perhaps it’s a location you love the idea of so much that you know you will plan a trip there in the future if you skip it now. Snip those from your world travel itinerary right now and you will be shooting me an email of thanks once you’re on the road.

The countries I cut from my around the world trip:

The best advice other travelers gave me when I asked for itinerary advice in a travel forum was to remove an entire leg of the trip. I had hoped to backpack Scandinavia between my time in the Czech Republic and Amsterdam, but long-term travelers assured me that I would be grateful for wiggle room in my itinerary by that stage of my trip (nine months into it).

Plus, they accurately pointed out that I just couldn’t swing these very expensive countries on my limited travel budget.

Turns out that I burned out a month before reaching Czech Republic and camped out in Slovenia for an extra two weeks—if I had been dead-set on Scandinavia, I would have never had time to do that while still making it to Edinburgh Fringe in time! (And let’s not even think about what Scandinavia would have done to my travel budget!).

If you’re overwhelmed about planning the nitty-gritty details on a months-long trip around the world, know that a rough route suffices. All you truly need before you leave home is logistics for the first couple of weeks—you can easily sort out the rest on the road. I promise.

Really, I promise. It seems scary but I swear to you that you will be grateful for flexibility once you land, and that it’s completely possible to plan the smaller details as you go. Moving between countries and regions was infinitely easier than I had anticipated before my first round the world.

Your Next Steps for Planning an Around the World Itinerary

Research places around the world and assemble a dream list of locations. That’s really the first step and should be a lot of fun.

While my travel books selections are a starting point, you can also peruse guidebooks for inspiration. I always buy a Lonely Planet or Rough Guide for my first planned destination (and then I swap it along the way for each new country), and before my first round the world trip I checked out a stack of 25 guidebooks from my library. Do your research and dream big before you even begin selecting an itinerary and paring down your list of destinations.

This is my core page compiling resources on How to Travel the World and here are a few other pages sharing advice specifically for long-term travel planning.

• How Much Does it Cost to Travel the World
• How to Save for Travel
• Free Destination Travel Guides
• Best Credit and Debit Cards for Travel
• How to Pack for Long-Term Travel
• How to Pick the Right Travel Insurance

How to Travel the World

Free resources and first-hand advice on how to plan long-term and round the world travels.

Essential Travel Planning Resources

❗ Yes, you need travel insurance . IMG Global is the travel insurance I’ve used for well over a decade of traveling solo, and with kids. Here’s why .

🧳 Smart packing can save your trip. Shop my favorite travel gear , including all of the packing essentials for world travel , gear to keep you safe on the road, my favorite travel books , and more.

🛏️ Find great accommodation . Booking.com is essentially the only hotel booking site that I use. It has a wide and affordable selection of traditional hotels, but also hostels and vacation rentals, too. Use these pro tips to find the best travel accommodation .

📍 Navigate more effectively. Rome2Rio is super handy to assess the full range of transport options between two cities—shows everything from flights to trains, buses, minibuses, and more. If you’re booking a rental car, I’ve always found the best deals on RentalCars.com .

✈️ Book affordable flights. Expedia is one of the first places I look for low-cost flights .

☕ Peruse all of my tips for round the world travel , or learn how to move and live abroad .

Planning a Trip Around the World | Itinerary Trip Planner Guide

By: Author Charles

Posted on June 2, 2023

Planning a trip around the world is no easy task to accomplish. There are so many different variables to consider. These include questions like what countries to visit, how much time do you have, what’s your budget, and how to travel in general.

When I was planning my one-year trip around the world, it took me months to get everything set in place. This post is here to help walk you through everything that went into my process when planning a trip around the world.

I hope by the end of reading this you will start to ask yourself (and answer) the right questions, to get you closer to heading out on a trip of a lifetime.

*  Affiliate Disclosure : This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission if you make a purchase through the links provided, at no additional cost to you. Thanks for supporting the work I put into TripTins!

1) Planning a Trip Around the World Overview

There are many considerations when planning a trip around the world, and it can certainly be overwhelming thinking about each one of these topics.

But as you learn more about where you want to go and how to go about your travel, the trip will slowly begin to come together. This is going to be a process, and it will take patience and planning to get there. At the end of the day though, it certainly will be worth the effort.

Below is a list of the main considerations that I took when planning my trip. Throughout the remainder of this guide, I will talk more in detail about each one of these.

→ Where do you want to go? → Pace of travel → How long are you able to travel for? → What is your budget? → Weather considerations → Local holidays → Avoiding peak season → Do you have prior commitments? → Figuring out a logical route → What to pack? → Vaccinations → Travel planning tips

2) Where Do You Want To Go?

One of the first questions you need to ask yourself is where in the world do you want to go ? This can be quite overwhelming as there are hundreds of countries and thousands of cities around the world.

Maybe you have a bucket list of countries, cities, attractions, activities, hikes, or festivals you want to attend. Start with writing out all of these types of experiences that you have been wanting to take part of.

I knew when I was planning my trip around the world, I definitely wanted to go to certain countries such as New Zealand , Australia , Indonesia, and the Philippines. In addition, I knew I wanted to do some of the most scenic hikes in the world, so I added on Nepal and Patagonia to my “must do” list.

From there I slowly began to figure out what a route could look like and what other countries I could add on along the way to make the trip include a variety of experiences.

While I love hiking, I didn’t want the trip to only be hiking. I was sure to add places like Japan and South Korea for the food and culture they offered. I added places like Costa Rica to get some wildlife and rainforest experiences.

As you figure out places you want to go to, start mapping them out in Google Maps, or better yet, buy a paper world map and lay it out in front of you to better visualize the trip itself.

Remember – you don’t need to go everywhere! Countries will always be there and you can always save places for the future.

» Read more: check out my around the world itinerary to get a better sense of where I went during my year of traveling

3) Slow vs Fast Paced

As you are putting together a list of countries to visit, you will also want to think about how long to spend in each one of these places.

During my trip around the world I ended up visiting 20 countries over a year time period. Other people who travel for a year may visit double the amount of countries.

As I was planning my trip I wanted there to be a balance . I did not just want to rush from country to country just to “check countries off a list”. I wanted to fully enjoy and to experience the countries that I was visiting.

So, on average I was spending around 2-3 weeks per country. The longest was 30 days in Indonesia and the shortest was 4 days in Jordan and Singapore.

After researching and planning what countries I wanted to visit, I probably removed a third of the countries from the trip. For my travels, it was more about quality over quantity. Other people however, may have no issues going at a faster pace and enjoying their travels along the way.

It is not only figuring out how long to spend in each country, but it is also figuring out how many different cities to visit once you are in the country . 30 days in Indonesia sounds like a nice amount of time. But if you decide to see 20 cities in Indonesia in 30 days, it sounds like a much faster pace trip.

I ended up visiting 10 different cities during my month in the country, averaging out to 3 days per city. Some places I just spent a quick 1 day ( hiking Ijen in East Java), while in other places I spent 5+ days (relaxing on Gili T).

I will also say that you don’t need to figure everything out up front ! You can certainly decide as you go once you are in a country. I did this multiple times – not even knowing how long I would spend in a city or country once I arrived.

During the planning phase though, you should at least have a good outline of what countries to visit and the route you would like to take.

4) How Long Do You Have to Travel?

One of the most important questions you have to ask yourself, is how long do you have to travel ? Is it just a month, maybe a summer, 6 months, or a year? Maybe you don’t even have a set timeframe and you want to see how you feel as you go.

At first, I told myself I wanted to travel for a year and I had a pretty solid idea of what 75% of the trip would look like.

There were many iterations of the trip as I started it – removing countries, adding countries, and even extending my trip another few months (although that got cut short due to Covid).

Once you have a good understanding of how long you have to travel, you can start balancing out countries, pace of travel, and timing to figure out what will actual be feasible for you to do.

→ Get inspired by reading through some motivational short travel quotes for your trip around the world

5) What is Your Budget?

One of the main reasons it is hard to take time off to travel is due to money. Spending an extended period of time without working, and living off your savings is not an easy decision to make .

With that said though, maybe you are able to make money as you go along. Whether it is work you are able to do virtually or maybe picking up an odd job or two along the way. There are ways to make money while traveling too.

When I was planning my trip and choosing which countries I wanted to go, I needed to also understand how much it would cost to travel comfortably on a daily basis.

I had a number in mind that I was comfortable with spending from a total level. From there I took that number and divided it by the number of days I wanted to travel for. High level example would be, if I wanted to travel for a year and had a budget of $35,000, that daily budget would come out to a little less than $100 per day ($35,000 / 365).

When you think of what $100 can get you in Switzerland vs what $100 can get you in Nepal, there is a huge difference. There are some countries where $100 won’t get you nearly as far vs other countries.

So, while I did travel to more expensive countries like Japan, New Zealand, and Australia, I also traveled to cheaper countries like Indonesia and the Philippines. Some countries will come in over that daily budget, while others will come under the budget .

As you are planning your trip, understanding your budget vs. understanding how much each country will approximately cost, will be a very important component.

Some additional budget items to consider when planning a trip include where you will be staying, how you will get around, and how you want to eat.

Do you plan to stay in hostels, which may cost just $10 a night or do you plan to stay in hotels which may cost $50 per night? Are you going to want to have your own rental car to have more flexibility or are you fine with taking public transport? Would you cook your own food or would you eat out at restaurants for every meal?

These are just some of the questions you have to ask yourself. As I was figuring out those types of answers for myself, I realized it all just came down to priorities.

I wanted to meet other travelers (since I was a solo traveler), so hostels worked for me. Having the flexibility to build my own route with a rental car and not rely on public transport all the time, was something I was willing to spend money on. Cooking my own food was something I did often to help out with my budget.

There are certainly a lot of considerations when it comes to budget, and each person will have a different approach to what is best for them.

→ Learn more about how much does it cost to travel around the world

6) Weather Considerations

At the top of my mind when I was planning a trip around the world was the weather. The last thing that I wanted to happen was to plan a trip, go to all these different places, and consistently be shut out by the weather .

Some countries have four seasons – winter, spring, summer, fall. Other countries have just the dry and rainy seasons. And then you have countries that may have different types of weather for different regions (think Chicago vs Florida).

All of this needs to be taken into consideration when planning the timing of when to go to certain countries. For me, it was always chasing the ideal weather .

I wanted to have the best possible experiences when visiting each place I went to. Just a handful of times during my trip was I completely shut out of doing an activity because of weather circumstances.

At the end of the day, you cannot control the weather. However, you can plan to the best of your abilities to choose the times of year when the weather is most ideal for the activities you want to do.

Check out some other helpful travel tips to better help you plan your trip around the world.

7) Local Holidays

This consideration can go either way depending on the type of local holiday we are talking about. When I was planning my trip, I realized that there were some countries that had week long (or more) holidays, where the whole country takes time off to travel.

A few of these examples include Golden Week in Japan, Holy Week in the Philippines, and Chinese New Year in China.

During those time periods, it is not only tourists who are looking for hotels and taking part of activities, but it is also much of the local population . This in turn makes places much more crowded and expensive to get to.

On the other hand though, there are also positives for going somewhere during local holidays. Engraining yourself in the culture and seeing firsthand some of these celebrations can be something very rewarding .

On my bucket list for example, is to visit India during Holi and Thailand during Songkran. These are holidays I would love to experience and be part of.

It all just depends on what is of interest to you and what you want to get out of the experience visiting a certain country.

8) Avoiding Peak Season

Most countries can be split up into three buckets when it comes to tourist seasons – peak, shoulder and low. This usually comes down to weather and time of year (summer, holiday, etc.).

Traveling to countries during peak season will bring the highest prices, lowest availability, and the most crowds. At one point or another it will be impossible to avoid a peak season if you are traveling for an extended period of time.

Traveling during shoulder seasons is usually the most ideal. The crowds have gone down, the weather is still great, and you can have more flexibility with what is available (hotels, tours, restaurants).

Low season usually goes hand in hand with when the weather is the least ideal. Few people are going to go to beaches in Europe during the wintertime. However, there are other times where low season may be viable.

For example, I traveled to Jordan during the summer, when the weather was the hottest (+100 F each day). I however, didn’t mind the dry heat. Having the chance to enjoy Petra and Wadi Rum without the crowds was a fair trade off for me.

9) Prior Commitments

For those that are traveling for longer periods of time, it may be difficult to plan around life events of family and friends . While I knew I wanted to travel for a year, I also knew that I would have some weddings to attend during that same time period.

For me, I decided to split the trip into two, coming back for a month in between to attend those weddings. If you fall under that same situation, maybe you do the same, or maybe you decide to just travel through it.

At the end of the day, you just need to have your priorities and plan the trip around them . Understand what is most important to you and build your trip off of that.

10) Figuring Out a Route

Once you combine all of the above, you should start seeing a much clearer picture of planning a trip around the world. There are certainly many things to consider. Some of which may be very important to you, while others not so much of a worry.

As you start putting together that around the world itinerary route, there are some additional aspects you want to think about.

Direction of Travel

Do you want to go east to west or west to east? If you decide to start traveling east, you will lose time and may have more jetlag. Heading westbound, you will gain an hour for every time zone you go through until you cross the International Date Line.

I wouldn’t say this is such an important decision, but overall it just makes sense to build your trip going in one general direction (something I did not always do).

Flights vs Overland Routes

This will go hand in hand with your budget, but you will also want to think about flying between places vs. taking public transport (whether that be bus, trains, or boats).

When I was in Europe for example, I never took a flight. I simply made sure the cities I ended up in had easy train or bus connections with the next country/city I wanted to go to. In the Philippines, flights were the only way to easily get between islands without spending days on long boat rides.

As you do research, be sure to understand what a route between two places would look like to get you from A to B. If you are flying, try to keep the layovers to a minimum. If you are taking buses or trains, maybe opt for an overnight option to save time.

RTW Tickets or One Way

RTW tickets (round the world), have been a popular option for those planning a trip around the world. For one set price, you are able to book a set number of tickets between countries going in a certain direction.

The downside of this however, is that the dates of travel are set in stone (without paying change fees). This can limit your flexibility when it comes to changing of travel plans .

I ended up just continuously booking one way tickets as I went along. It gave me tons of flexibility and I never felt rushed needing to get to my next destination.

11) Packing List

As you are getting closer to departing for your trip around the world, you will need to think about your packing list.

My goal was to be light and efficient . I did not want to be lugging suitcases around everywhere I went. Instead I wanted to always have carry on baggage only and be able to move around easily with my luggage.

I decided on two backpacks. One was an Osprey Porter 46L that has basically all my clothes, toiletries, and hiking shoes. The second was the Osprey Nebula , which is essentially just a normal backpack. I put my laptop, electronics, camera, and all my important documents in it.

Since for the vast majority of the trip I was going to be in non-winter weather, it wasn’t too difficult to pack accordingly. The one time in Nepal when it was colder, I decided to just rent a heavier jacket in Kathmandu for the trek I was doing.

The idea here though is to just worry about your essentials. You can do laundry anywhere you go! Having just a handful of shirts and shorts, with a pair of pants and sweatshirt is going to work.

→ Take a deep dive into my around the world packing list that will go through it all and more!

12) Vaccinations

The last thing I wanted to mention before getting into some helpful tips, is to spend time researching what vaccinations you will need .

Depending on what area of the world you are going to, you may need to get certain vaccines or bring certain medications with you (typhoid, malaria, etc.). Be sure to consult with a travel doctor to be sure you are fully covered when it comes to your health.

13) Travel Planning Tips

Below are just a few final tips and pieces of advice to consider as you are planning a trip around the world:

Quality over Quantity

Don’t think about a trip around the world as a way to go to as many places as you can in a time period.

Spending a day in one country, taking a bus to another country to spend another day in a second country, before taking a train to a third country to spend a third day – does that sound like a good time to you?

Just because that route takes you to three countries, is it more important for you to say you have been to three countries or is it more important that you actually enjoy your time in each country . For me, it is always the latter.

Like I said at the beginning, I had a long list of places I wanted to visit, and ended up cutting out many of them. Even the countries I visited, I didn’t end up visiting each place I wanted to go to. For me, that just leaves me a reason to go back to countries I truly enjoyed .

Flexibility

Try your best not to give yourself a specific day by day itinerary that you must follow to the tee the whole way through. By doing so, you remove the flexibility from the trip if something goes wrong.

For example, during my second week in New Zealand (and second week overall of my trip), there was a major storm that knocked off access to the west coast of the South Island . I quickly re-worked my itinerary to change up what days I would be visiting certain cities.

If you are traveling to places where weather is a bit more unpredictable (mostly the mountains), always plan more time than you think. When I was in El Chalten in Patagonia, I knew I wanted to do 3 hikes that would have taken me 6 days total to complete.

I did not just book 6 nights in El Chalten. I ended up staying for 10 nights since the weather was so hit or miss on a day to day basis. I ended up enjoying all the hikes in nice weather, and had some downtime in between as well when the weather was poor.

Things may not always go according to plan so you really need to just be prepared to work with what is given to you in a certain situation.

Add in Off Days

I can’t recommend this idea enough. Traveling full time may seem relaxing to some, but in reality it can be very exhausting. Spending 12+ hours on your feet exploring different places, going on hikes, and taking part of activities takes a toll on your body.

I definitely overdid it at some points during my trip leaving me just all burnt out. From there though I learned, and I decided to just add extra days to certain spots just to sit back and recharge .

Believe me, you will need these!

I hope by now, you have a much better understanding of the various considerations to think about when planning a trip around the world.

It is not an easy or short process, so be sure to take the time to really think through all the various steps before taking that journey.

If you have any questions or comments about planning an around the world itinerary, be sure to add them in below. Have fun out there and safe travels!

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World Map of Every Countries Most Popular Tourist Attraction

While every country offers an endless amount of amazing things to do and see, from the cliché to off the beaten path, this world map from Vouchercloud offers an excellent overview of every country’s most popular tourist destination according to TripAdvisor .

If you’re thinking of traveling soon but are not sure where to go, this map will give you some ideas and a good rough outline.

They have categorized the attractions into Natural, Historic, Religious, and Tourist which is quite helpful depending on what you’re searching for.

Looking at the map for a while you may be surprised at some of the country’s “top tourist destinations.”

For example, we were quite surprised that the “Temple of the Reclining Buddha” was the most popular destination in Thailand, when we fully expected the ping pong show to be number 1.

Hoi An more popular than Ha Long Bay? Again – shocked. The Museum of Anthropology in Mexico, while amazing, was not what we expected, we were looking for the Zocalo or even Cancun.

Take a look at the map yourself and see what surprises you’ll discover with the top tourist attractions of every country.

North and South America. Click for a full-resolution map.

Europe. Click for a full-resolution map.

Asia and Australasia. Click for a full-resolution map.

**Please note that this post may contain affiliate links. When booking through one of our links, we earn a small kickback at no extra cost to you and it’s a big help to keep the site up and running.

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What kinda bullshit maps are these, missing the most beautiful countries in the world.

South Korea is Seoul Metro? As in the subway or the entire city? The article cites TripAdvisor as the source but I get entirely different results on many searches.

Is it just me or is there no full resolution map for Africa?

I absolutely agree with these fantastic recommendations! Keep updating us about best place to visit.

Wow, these destinations are truly captivating! I’ve been fortunate to visit some of countries and can attest to its incredible beauty and rich cultural experiences. Thanks for bringing back wonderful memories and inspiring others to explore these amazing places!

It’s fascinating to see how some of the countries continues to draw millions of visitors each year. The blend of modernity and tradition makes it a must-visit destination for any traveller.

Reading about the top visited countries in the world is helpful when you are planning to visit the world. Thank you for sharing useful information with us.

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Map My Travels

Create an Interactive Travel Map of Your Tours and Activities

Are you dreaming of creating your own interactive travel map to bring your tours and adventures to life? With Map My Travels, it's easy! Craft and share custom maps of your travels, embedding them seamlessly on your website. Start mapping your journeys and share them with the world today!

Creating a travel map has never been easier

Combine an intuitive travel map creator with many customization options like uploading your own marker icons as well as loading in GPS files. Creating an interactive travel map has never been easier.

Create custom markers

One of the key features of Map My Travels is to customize the way you want to show waypoints on your travel map. That's why you can add markers to your map in multiple ways:

Add content to your travel map

A map marker without information is not a good marker! People want to know what happened at that specific place. That's why you can easily add a popup to your markers and routes, where you can add the following pieces of content:

Fill your travel map with content!

Embed the travel map on your own website

You can share your map in many different ways. You can share a link to the map on social media or where ever you like. You can also embed the map on your own website, like I've done on my personal website! It doesn't matter if your website is made with Wordpress, Squarespace or any other.

Upload GPS files

Upload your recorded travel data with ease. In the Map My Travels editor you can upload GPS files in the following formats:

After you've added the GPS files you can still change the line's appearance, like color, thickness, opacity etc.

Import your Strava Activities

If you host your travel activities on Strava, a popular fitness app on which you can share your traveled routes (usually used by hikers or cyclists), you can import these directly into the map creator!

If you don't have any recorded route data like from Strava or a GPS file, you can still add lines to your map by just drawing on the map!

Change the look of your travel map

You can customize the look of your map with 4 different map types that Google Maps provides:

Create as many travel maps as you want!

You can add as many travel maps in your account as you want, completely free! There are only limits on the amount of markers and routes you can add to your maps. But you can get started for absolutely free. See more information on pricing and limits on the pricing page.

Create travel maps on any device

All of the map creator features are totally compatible with both laptops and phones. Out of personal experience, I'd recommend editing the maps on a laptop or computer. The experience is a bit better for panning around the map, but it's totally possible to do it on a phone as well. Your travel map will look beautiful either way!

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Hi! I built this application myself as I have both a passion for coding and travel! I've cycled through 13 countries in Europe as well as part of Taiwan!

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How to Use the Trip Planner

Search and explore destinations around the world

Enter your favorite travel destination, next adventure, or your current location, then add it to your travel plan. Select the location as it appears in the dropdown below. You could search for 'Bangkok Thailand', 'Madrid, Spain', 'Paris, France', 'London, England' or any destination around the world!

Enter the arrival and leave dates

Enter arrival and leave dates. Use the date picker to let us know when you are going. This helps to build a timeline of your journey. You can even choose dates that have already happened. Perfect for showing everyone where you've just been on your traveling journey.

Find nearby jobs, book cheap flights

Using your destination details, find nearby work and search for cheap flights. Find volunteer jobs, or paid jobs along your route, meaning you can just focus on the traveling. Want to see the latest flight deals? You can now view or book flights from each destination.

Create and organize multiple trips

View your destinations on our multi-stop trip planner. This gives you a different view of your travels. You can countdown the days until you arrive, and edit the destination details. The possibilities are endless with our free route planner.

Share to social media!

Show off your travels to friends and family. Once you've created and finalized your trip, click one of the social share buttons to share your trip to facebook, tweet your travel plan on twitter, or copy the live URL to your travel plan to send to anyone you like.

Travel Map Creator

Welcome, you can create maps which show where you have visited. Click below to start or use the menu above.

Example Trips

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Plan Your Trip

Plan your rtw trip.

Finding the right round the world trip planner can be difficult. This is first and foremost because many such tools on the internet are only for planning (and, in some cases, booking) RTW flights. The truly difficult part of planning a trip around the world is deciding where to go, how long to stay and how to arrange your trip, so the content deficit (let alone how rare it is to find a quality world trip planner) is frustrating for many travelers.

The good news? Whether you want to travel all around the world, or simply want to visit multiple continents during a single trip, this guide covers all the bases you’ll need to hit as you plan your trip.

Of course, I’ll also touch on the particulars of buying a RTW ticket, including a somewhat contentious recommendation on my part. I’m about to share a great deal of information with you, but I promise: Planning a RTW trip is much, much easier than it looks.

Booking Round the World Flights

Many a round the world trip planner (which to say, any airline alliance website create for the purpose of selling flights) will tell you that booking a single RTW ticket is essential for a round the world trip. However, I don’t agree with this. In addition to the fact that having a single travel the world for a year itinerary (even a flexible one) can lock you in on a trip that will be anything but predictable, it’s often more cost effective to book individual segments, particularly if you have some miles or points to play with.

Let’s say, for example, that you live in the United States and want to fly around the world westward. After taking advantage of a rock-bottom one-way flight from the US to Japan or China , you can take advantage of low-cost flights as you explore Southeast Asia and Australia , then gradually make your way to Europe (and from there, Africa ), flying to South America before returning home, often for only a few hundred dollars per segment. A round-the-world ticket, on the other hand, which often only includes long-distance flights, can easily cost between $2,000-3,000. And that’s without the fees you’ll certainly have to pay to change it as your plans evolve.

How Long Does a Round the World Trip Take?

Whether or not you work with an around the world trip planner, you should keep in mind that as you plan a round the world trip, the issue of timing can be surprisingly far in the back of your mind, particularly if you’ll be traveling to regions of the world you’ve never visited. While two weeks traveling through Japan or Western Europe can allow you to cover a lot of ground, it’s woefully insufficient in places like India , Africa or even much of South America. In general, it’s safe to assume you’re probably underestimating how long you’ll need to devote to your trip.

Broadly speaking, I’d say the best round the world holidays last a minimum of six months, though I have personally taken epic trips in a shorter amount of time than that. On the other hand, I’d caution against traveling for longer than a year at a time, as being away from your “real life” for such a period can have other impacts on your well-being, ones you might not be able to anticipate right now.

How Much Does a Round the World Trip Cost?

Another deficiency of many a round the world trip planner (which is once again to say a flight booking tool) is that it provides only a piece of the cost puzzle—your round the world trip isn’t only going to cost a few thousand dollars. Generally speaking, the average cost of traveling anywhere in the world is between 50-150 USD per person, per day, which means that a conservative estimate for the cost of the ultimate around the world itinerary for a six-month trip (without your “big” flights) is between $9,000-27,000. Not cheap!

Of course, there are ways to decrease the cost of a travel around the world itinerary, whether you manage to find the cheapest round the world ticket, take advantage of opportunities for free or discounted stays (whether you couch surf or do some sort of volunteer program) or simply keep your dining out and shopping to a minimum. In general, however, I’d recommend over-estimating your budget than under-estimating it, if only so you don’t end up as a “begpacker.”

When to Take a Round the World Trip

When you travel around the world will depend upon where you want to go. While most of the sample round the world routes I’ll recommend in the next section are fairly evergreen, some destinations are better during certain months than others, and planning according to this can influence the rest of your travel trajectory.

For example, let’s assume you want to see the cherry blossoms in Japan , probably the world’s most famous seasonal spectacle. Whether you choose from my round the world trip ideas below or commission a custom 6 month travel itinerary, you’ll want to arrange the rest of your RTW trip to optimize the weather in all your destinations. You might head to Nepal after Japan, for instance, to trek when the country’s famous rhododendrons are blooming, or visit Australia and New Zealand before Japan to catch the tail end of warm weather Down Under.

Round the World Trip Ideas

The best of six continents.

Most round the world trip planners will want to see the “whole world” on their trips—all six inhabited continents, and potentially even Antarctica. Regardless of where your RTW travel originates, the general path you will follow is North America-Asia (Australia/New Zealand)-(Middle East/India) Europe (Africa)-South America-North America, or maybe in reverse depending upon where you start and what time of year you’re traveling.

In terms of a general flight path, this might look something like the following: Los Angeles-Vancouver- Tokyo – Bangkok – Sydney – Dubai – Paris -Cairo-Cape Town-London-Buenos Aires- Bogota -Houston. Needless to say there are countless variations, from a 6 month round the world trip to ones much longer!

Wonders of the World

Rather than taking a comprehensive approach (which can lead to a year or even longer on the road—again, not an option for the majority of travelers), you can start your world travel planner based on a finite list of world wonders, be it classic ones you find on an Asia trip planner like the Great Wall or ones you designate yourself, such as Barcelona ‘s Sagrada Familia church or Ethiopia’s “Door to Hell.”

Assuming you take a more classic route for your around the world itinerary, you might go about planning a round the world trip between wonders as follows. From Chicago to Beijing (for the Great Wall), then to Delhi (for the Taj Mahal), to Cairo (for the Pyramids ), to Athens (for the Acropolis), to London (for Stonehenge), to Rio de Janeiro (for Christ the Redeemer) to New York (for the Statue of Liberty). Again, this is highly customizable!

The Backpacker’s Trail

I’ve taken great pains within this round the world trip planner to be honest and sober about the cost of traveling around the world, but this is still a sort of trip that people on the backpacking spectrum can take. Specifically if you decide to string together affordable destinations like Southeast Asia, India, Eastern Europe, Andean South America and Central America.

For instance, if you’re seeking a cheap around the world itinerary, you might fly from Denver to Kuala Lumpur (via China, as Chinese airlines are the cheapest), then fly to Mumbai or Delhi for a month or two there. From there, head to Ukraine or Poland to begin a month or so backpacking Eastern Europe (I particularly like the Balkans ), before taking a flight (probably a multi-leg one) to Lima (where Peru and Bolivia await) or Cancun, from which can you head south to affordable Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua.

Five-Star Frolic

On the other end up to the spectrum for a world trip itinerary, travelers without a set budget can enjoy a round the world business class (or even first class) romp that pulls out all the stops. Rather than focusing on a set range of destinations, you can plan your trip based on luxurious hotels and experiences, be it a Tanzania safari from the opulent Four Seasons Serengeti , sampling award-winning in-flight products and services from airlines like Qatar Airways and Singapore Airlines or dining in foodie capitals like Tokyo and Paris.

If you’re planning a luxury round the world trip, it makes sense to enlist the help of a professional (me or someone else), since the price of such assistance (usually between $100-200 per week of travel) is minimal compared to the overall cost of such a RTW trip.

Other FAQ About RTW Travel

How many stops do you get on a round the world ticket.

Whether you’re planning a 6 month round the world trip or plan to stay on the road for years, I am a proponent of piecemeal booking of air travel, rather than committing yourself to a RTW ticket. Therefore, I consider the number of “stops” permitted on such a ticket to be superfluous.

How do I plan a trip around the world?

Unless you are a very experienced global traveler, I recommend against trying to plan a trip on your trip. Rather, work with a professional (such as Yours Truly) to arrange a travel the world for a year itinerary. Or for longer than a year, or shorter—you get the idea.

Are round the world tickets worth it?

No! As I’ve expressed many times during this round the world itinerary, I am not a fan of RTW plane tickets. They rarely cost less; booking and changing them requires a pedantic phone call—or rather phone calls, since you’ll have to call in every time you want to make a modification.

Round the World Trip Planning

The best round the world trips are the ones where you get out on the road and go where the wind takes you, but that’s not realistic for most people. Whether because of finite funds or a “real life” you need to get back to, round the world trips require more planning than you’d probably like, even if you’re generally an adventurous and spontaneous traveler.

“So,” you might be asking, “can you plan my round the world trip for me?” The answer is yes, though there are a couple caveats. Because of the length and breadth of most RTW trips, many travelers want a more skeletal version of my typical “Travel Coaching” itinerary, which is typical extremely detailed and includes day-by-day recommendations. As a result, my pricing for planning RTW itineraries differs from what I’ve published on my Travel Coaching page , so I’d advise emailing me directly with any inquiries.

The Bottom Line

No matter how extensive a round the world trip planner you’ve been seeking, I’m confident that mine has met your needs. For most travelers, it’s simply a matter of learning your RTW flight booking options, assessing the cost of your RTW trip and deciding upon destinations and routing. However, others might want to hire a world trip planner (or a least a skeleton of it, which puts in place a broad trajectory) on their behalf.

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Our world trip – 5 continents, 28 countries, once around the world in 192 days

Travel is our great passion and we love to discover new countries and places. And so at the beginning of 2014 we had the crazy idea to just take a break from our long-term jobs and go on a world tour for 6 months. So let´s do it. After a long planning and preparation, the adventure began for us on December 15, 2014 in Iceland and took us across the Caribbean to South America, Central America, Hawaii, Australia & New Zealand, the South Seas, on to Asia and finally to Africa. Our goal was to orbit the world in 6 months, seeing some of the most interesting and important places on the planet.

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Making dreams come true!

The most important thing ahead: our world trip was magnificent! Absolute madness. The best we’ve seen so far. The journey of our lives ❤

Making a trip around the world is certainly the dream of many. We just wanted to take a break over a long period of time, forget the usual everyday life, no longer think in weekdays and weekends, travel far away countries, get to know new cultures and experience extraordinary places and dreamlike nature. Everything was right for us and we could not have found a better moment: we are healthy, independent, have no obligations and have worked out the necessary financial resources over the years to make our dream come true. A mad 192 days lay ahead of us – packed with dreamlike experiences and activities.

“ We are gone and turn our backs on Germany for six months… ” – To say that and to put it into practice is certainly not an easy decision. There are simply too many reasons to oppose it. Reasons such as work, family, housing and of course the cost. But a break and a trip around the world was our big dream – and we were able to realize it together. So why a world trip?

In keeping with our thoughts on the world tour, Focus has the title theme in october 2014 in issue 41, “I’ll get out of it… The Dream of the Sabbatical” with very interesting reports on different dropouts published. You can read the report here.

Once Around the World – Our Itinerary

5 continents, 28 countries and once around the world in 192 days – that was our plan. We wanted to see the fascinating blue ice caves in Iceland, spend New Year’s Eve at the Copacabana in Rio, climb the Inca site Machu Picchu in Peru, explore the wildlife of the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador, marvel at one of the seven new wonders of the world chichén itza in Mexico, stand in front of an active volcano in Hawaii, experience the Ayers Rock in Australia at sunrise, , running a piece on the Great Wall of China, releasing baby turtles in Indonesia to freedom, taking a selfie in front of the Taj Mahal in India, watching wild animals in the Serengeti… and so much more. And in just 6 months. A tight plan – but perfect for us.

The itinerary of our world tour took us across all 5 continents to 28 countries and about 50 cities. We flew 57 times and covered a total of 108,000 kilometres of flight. This is certainly not the ideal ecological footprint! But otherwise, such far-off destinations as Bora Bora or Hawaii simply cannot be achieved in a meaningful way.

Planning our world trip

Packing your bags for 6 months and simply saying “We’re gone” is more than exciting, but it also requires a lot of planning. One of the most frequently asked questions about our trip around the world was, “Did you plan everything or do everything spontaneously?” And the answer to this was clear to us from the outset: Excel, Google, Swoodoo, TripAdvisor and voucher portals are our best friends: we are among the planners 🙂

There are certainly many different approaches to a (world) journey: some just want to enjoy the free time and see where it takes them. Without great preparation, without time pressure. Just live into the day without knowing where you might sleep the next day. Others, on the other hand, plan at least roughly the goals and then look individually on site, where they stay and for how long. This is generally a good approach and certainly works perfectly if you want to concentrate on a few countries or regions and then experience and explore them all the more intensively.

Our approach was completely different: our goal was to see as much of the world as possible in the 6 months. 2 weeks in the same city, in the same hotel, on the same beach is nothing for us. There are so many beautiful places in the world that we haven’t seen before, and we wanted to take as many of them as we could during this break. That is definitely a challenge. And that can only be done with good planning. From our first spontaneous idea of a world trip to the realization of the first flight, we had taken a good 8 months for all the preparations. Talking to the employer, route planning, hotel selection, insurance, vaccinations and so much more – there was a lot to do…

Such an accurate advance planning is a lot of work – but has many positive aspects. On the one hand, we did not want to deal with where we are tomorrow, how we get there and where we can spend the best place to stay during the world trip. This was too uncertain for us, especially during peak travel times. Some flights (especially intercontinental flights) are often booked out quickly. It’s good to know how to get from A to B beforehand. And another aspect is certainly the budget. If you spend a lot of time planning, you can also do a relatively good research on which hotel or which flight is cheapest at what price and with which services. There is a lot of time spent planning this kind of time. We started with the rough planning of our destinations a good 8 months in advance and refined our plan over the weeks more and more… a lot of time that we didn’t want to spend during the world trip. Because during the trip we just wanted to enjoy 🙂

We knew that the exact planning could make it stressful, because we were bound to a rather strict schedule. And there can always be something in between (flight failure, weather, delays, illness, etc.). That was our risk. But until now, such planned trips with the necessary buffer in the right places have always worked quite well. And having such a large schedule is – with the dream goals – rather positive leisure stress.

The budget for our world trip

We had planned a common daily budget of 200 EUR for hotels, food, rental cars and excursions. However, flights were excluded.

200 EUR per day sounds a lot at first, but in some of our destinations such as the Serengeti, Bora Bora, the Galapagos Islands or Rio de Janeiro on New Year’s Eve. Also certain activities such as day tours, sightseeing flights and also diving can quickly exceed the daily budget. On the other hand, you can already find really attractive hotels in Southeast Asia for less than 20 EUR per night. In the end, you simply have to find a healthy mix that you can live with in the end. All in all, you should be able to plan quite well with your fixed budget and in the end it was a mix of “sometimes super cheap days” and then again “ohh, today it gets really expensive”. But it was also important to us to enjoy the time on the ground and to take everything with us – because in the end we might have regretted not having done this or that for financial reasons. After all, who knows if you will be in this place again at some point to make up for it?

Our travel arrangements

If you go on a world tour for half a year, there are a lot of things to consider and clarify in advance. Luckily, there are now a lot of helpful tips and testimonials in many other blogs and forums. Here, too, we have collected the most important questions that have occupied us in our travel preparations.

How long do we want to be away? Which countries do we want to see? How do we plan the itinerary? What is our budget? What does our employer say? How are we insured abroad? How can we be reached? What about running costs? Who takes care of our mail? Do we still need special vaccinations? What are the entry requirements for each country? What else do we have to do before then? Which suitcase is best? What do we take with us… and how much can all this actually weigh?

After it was clear that our employers would approve us a pre-funded sabbatical for 6 months, we first went to the rough planning of the route. If you have a world map in front of you and can simply draw a desired route for 6 months, it’s really fun. So just open Photoshop, load a world map and draw wildly on it 🙂

But as beautiful as the route on the map may sometimes look, it doesn’t always make sense. Our original plan was to travel first from Frankfurt to the east to India and from there on via Vietnam, China, Japan, etc. But after looking at the climate tables of the individual countries, these destinations were not the perfect solution at this time of year. Then we were looking for a way to get from South America to the South Seas and on to Australia. But there aren’t that many flights and a one-way flight can easily cost 1,200 euros per person. And although we would have liked to have seen the Easter Islands, this route was out of the question at this price. At the end of the world tour we had planned a longer tour through China to Tibet and on over the Himalayas to Nepal. But also this tour we had to take out of the planning, because this is not so easy with the visa for China (if you are travelling in the world).

So you come across some obstacles, which you should definitely consider in the planning of the world trip, so that you do not experience any nasty surprises afterwards. Apart from the 3 days of Iceland at the beginning, we had an average temperature of more than 25 degrees in the remaining selected countries – which is quite pleasant for 6 months. Funny here was the fact that the coldest place on our trip – according to climate tables – will probably be Las Vegas in February. We didn’t necessarily expect that now. It can get really hot in Delhi in June at almost 40 degrees.

Vaccinations – Precautions in good time

Before our trip around the world at BAD Health Care in Darmstadt, we received extensive advice on the necessary and meaningful vaccinations. Luckily, we’ve had some vaccinations through our previous trips. And what we still lacked, we have added. And the best part is that our health insurance company has taken over the (not quite cheap) bill without any objections. In the end, we had the “we-are-ascare-against-everything-vaccinated” package: yellow fever, rabies, hepatitis A, cholera, Japanese encephalitis, meningococcal, typhoid. In addition, we have equipped ourselves with malaria prophylaxis tablets.

In the BAD Health Center we have seen a very good travel vaccination card, which we do not want to withhold from you:

Packing suitcases for the world trip

One of the first questions for us was: suitcase, backpack or travel bag? A suitcase is usually very robust and practical – but because of the size and weight, we ruled this out relatively quickly. Then we had a look at an Osprey Sojourn 80 travel backpack with wheels, which is in itself very well rated. But since we didn’t want to do classic backpacking and also had our normal backpack with us, a travel backpack didn’t really make sense. In the end, we opted for a Samsonite Univ-Lite roll travel bag. It has a volume of 94 l and weighs only 2.8 kg. Practically, we found above all the “double deck” construction with the division of the interior with individually separated compartments.

The thing with the “How much can our luggage weigh?” is certainly the easiest to answer. With more than 50 flights, we are more or less guided by the airlines and their permitted baggage allowances. Many airlines offer 23 kg, but especially with the low-cost airlines you have to be careful. Here, the baggage allowance is sometimes only 15 kg, which is really not much. In the end, we packed with the goal of getting below 20 kg, which we did well.

Our packing list

The following things went with us for 6 months on a world tour:

➥ Photo equipment: SLR Camera, Canon EOS 70D, Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM, Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM, Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM, Polarization Filter, GoPro Hero 4 & a Nikon Coolpix for underwater photography. Since the equipment was not quite cheap and a lot can happen in six months, we decided to take out a camera insurance from The PHOTO-ASSekuranz from P&P. For a whole year, this cost us just under EUR 67.

➥ Documents: Passport, identity card, flight and train tickets or vouchers, PADI diving card & logbook, international and national driving licence, certificate of international health insurance, copy of the yellow fever vaccination, credit card, extra passport pictures (for visa-on-arrival), US dollars in cash, list of important telephone numbers

➥ Utensils: Pillow, Travelsafe 12L, sunglasses, earplugs, padlock, suitcase strap, suitcase scale, neck pillow, sleeping mask, notebook and pens, sunscreen, cube cup, detergent, sewing gear, snorkeling equipment

➥ Clothes: compression bag/vacuum bag, quilted jacket, sweater/cardigans, fabric pants/jeans/short pants, t-shirts, dresses, socks, underwear, bikini/bathing pants, cappy, raincape, sneakers/sneakers/flip-flops, wash bag

➥ Travel pharmacy: Disinfection spray and wipes, disposable gloves, dressing material (mull compresses, patches, wound strips), antibiotics, pain pills, tablets for nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and fever, sleeping pills, malarone, grippostad, ACC acute, ointment against mosquito bites (tiger balm), fenistil gel, pain gel, thermacare heat condition

➥ Technique: Camera bag, charging cable, memory cards, battery, spare battery, USB cable, laptop, smartphone, dive computer, external hard drive, iPod & headphones, power adapter, headlamp

Here’s a little time-lapse video of how we packed our two travel bags for the world trip.

Our travel reports

In total, we have written 171 travel reports about our trip around the world. From the start of our trip in Iceland to the end of the trip in Tanzania. You can view all travel reports here.

Our 360° Selfie Video

Every new destination was super exciting and exciting and captivated us. We have seen insanely impressive nature, got to know great architecture, new cultures and people and can observe many animals up close. With our travel blog, the many photos and videos, we not only wanted to share our experience with other people, but also to create a wonderful memory of the trip. Not a day goes by to this day when we don’t talk about individual anecdotes of our journey or look at a few more photos. They are memories that have been so deeply imprinted that we will hopefully never forget them.

We had already seen some cool 360° selfie travel videos before our trip around the world and wanted to have such a memory for us as well. So we planned to unpack our GoPro Hero 4 with selfie stick and shoot a round video in every special place. Sometimes it’s not that easy, but the result at the end is just an incredibly great memory that we still like to look at today.

The conclusion of our world tour

We have had a six-month world tour. After we had slowly got used to our everyday life again, it was time to draw a small conclusion. And, what was it like? What was your highlight? And did you get along with each other? These are the most common questions we have often been asked after our return.

The most important thing ahead: it was terrific. Absolute madness. The best we’ve seen so far. The journey of our lives. Making a trip around the world is certainly the dream of many. We just wanted to take a break over a long period of time, forget the usual everyday life, no longer think in weekdays and weekends, travel far away countries, get to know new cultures and experience extraordinary places and dreamlike nature. Everything was right for us and we could not have found a better moment: we are healthy, independent, have no obligations and have worked out the necessary financial resources over the years to make our dream come true. A mad 192 days lay ahead of us – packed with dreamlike experiences and activities.

What was the most important thing our journey taught us? We were particularly impressed by the many people we met on our journey. No matter how poor they were, whether they live in a corrugated iron hut, keep themselves alive with 2 euros a day or don’t know how to feed their family. These people have so often radiated pure joie de vivre and have always been friendly. We often bring little things to the palm tree, be it the queue at the supermarket checkout or a delayed train. There are so many more important things in life and we can be so happy. And yet it is often difficult for us. Why, in fact?

The privilege of travelling the world is priceless. Although we have also noticed during our trip how many others are fulfilling this dream. No matter where we were, whether in the Amazon, Tanzania or Fiji – everywhere you met German travellers, who also took a longer break. We love travelling. Our world is so incredibly diverse and although we have experienced so much now, there are still so many wonderful countries and places for us that we would like to see.

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Around the World Tours & Travel Packages 2024/2025

Our 22 most popular around the world trips. compare tour itineraries from 17 tour companies. 98 reviews. 5/5 avg rating., popular around the world tours.

Discover the Baltics

• Discover three Baltic states in 12 days
• Visit stunning national parks, castles and museums
• Explore the magnificent Trakai Castle
• Citizen Science departures available on this trip

Road to Paris

Budapest to Prague Adventure

• Discover the four distinctive capital cities of Budapest, Bratislava, Vienna and Prague
• Enjoy a wine tasting in the charming town of Mikulov
• Walk through the castle park known as 'the garden of Europe' at Chateau Lednice

Balkans Rail Adventure

• Visit seven countries of Former Yugoslavia in just 16 days
• Experience a variety of scenic rail journeys
• Discover contrasting landscapes and cities in this lesser visited region

London to Istanbul Rail Adventure

• An iconic rail journey across Europe to the gateway of Asia
• Discover rural Serbia, from local wine producers to narrow gauge railway routes
• Take a boat trip on Europe's largest wetlands in Croatia and explore the waterways of Venice

Cape Town to Victoria Falls - Hotel/Lodge

• Visit Cape Town, the most exciting city in Africa
• Discover the mountainous dunes of Sossusvlei
• See the fantastic wildlife of Etosha National Park
• Visit the Okavango Panhandle and Chobe National Park
• Marvel at the mighty Victoria Falls

European Dream (2024 onwards)

• 1 Welcome Reception (WR)
• 7 Breakfast (B)
• 1 Be My Guest (BMG)
• 1 Dinner (D)
• 1 Farewell Dinner (FD)

European Magic (London, Summer)

All Around the World , expedition cruises, self guided adventures and vacation packages. Find the best guided and expert planned vacation and holiday packages. Read more about Around the World

Small Group Around the World Tours

Best Around the World Tours by Duration

Tours, Cruises & Private Trips

Best Around the World Tours by Price

Top Around the World Attractions & Experiences

Top Around the World Experiences

Diverse experiences on around the world tour .

• Meeting locals from several different countries and discovering wonderful similarities and differences
• Seeing whales breach from the balcony of your cruise stateroom and diving and snorkeling in vibrant coral reefs like the Great Barrier reef
• Enjoying local cuisines, exploring street food markets, and taking cooking classes to learn how to make traditional national dishes
• Wandering around many archaeological ruins and historical sites like Machu Picchu , pyramids of Giza , and the historical city of Petra
• Discovering unique cultures and taking part in traditional festivals or ceremonies like Holi or Día de Muertos 
• Hiking among different landscapes, encountering majestic wildlife on African Safaris , and taking memorable pictures
• Making lifelong friends from around the world
• Indulging in luxury around the world trips featuring traditional Japanese ryokan, floating hotels in the Maldives, or ice hotels in Sweden for a unique experience.
• Visiting all the most famous locations during a single trip with custom-planned tours around the world — No need to pick and choose!

Around the World Tours & Travel Guide

Around the World Attractions & Landmarks Guide

World travel is truly one of the most unforgettable experiences. As you visit multiple countries and continents, you gain a deep understanding of hundreds of cultures and forge wonderful connections with people around the world.

A small ship or 'expedition' cruise is one of the most popular modes of travel for a trip around the world. Many young people opt for overland tours to see the world because of budget and the community style. They usually use a few different modes of travel like trains or buses or join small group tours to individual destinations. 

You can also design a custom round-the-world trip to suit your preferences for price, duration, accommodation, and more. Choose the countries you wish to visit and super-personalize your world tour for the activities you enjoy. 

Luxury Around the World Trips

Imagine waking up in lavish four or five-star accommodations, imbibed with unmatched comfort and elegance. Think boutique lodges nestled in scenic landscapes to high-end homestays steeped in local charm!

That's the essence of our exclusively curated around-the-world luxury tours. Choose one of our private guided world tours to explore iconic landmarks, access hidden gems, and indulge in gastronomic experiences redefining culinary pleasure. 

Raise the bar for your travel experience—personalize your world trip and enjoy unparalleled service at every stop tailored to your preferences. 

How Long Should You Go For?

A round-the-world trip typically takes longer than a week or two. Your world tour should not be much shorter than one month. 

With one month to go around the world, you'll probably stick to one broad region. Long trips are a great way to really learn the nuances and extensiveness of human and geological history and how pronounced they can be in a relatively small area. You'll also gain a unique insight into fascinating cultural similarities and differences.

Most trips around the world are a bit longer than one month, typically between two and four months. The number of countries and continents you'll visit on your world tour can vary quite a bit, mainly based on how you get from place to place and the length of excursion allotted for by the itinerary.

How Much Does a Trip Around the World Cost?

One of the benefits of traveling on a package tour around the world is the cost-cutting aspect. Typically, some of your meals will be covered, along with a good amount of transportation and almost all accommodations (this is an excellent reason to book a small ship cruise).

In addition, your tour will have many activities planned to explore the culture and history of each destination, as well as enjoy the natural beauty with hikes and other exciting outdoor ventures. These activities are not always included in the price, which can be a good thing as it allows you to join as many or as few activities as you'd like, depending on your preferences. 

Typically, airfare to and from the start city and ending city to your final destination is not included in the tour price, but after that, you can expect to save a lot in expenses.

Note that you'll be around the same group of people for a very extended period, and your ability to be flexible in each destination will be limited. If you want to stay longer or shorter, this isn't typically an option.

Planning a Trip Around the World on Your Own

Traveling around the world on your own is an entirely different ball game. Transportation and accommodation are usually challenging to budget around. Budget hotels can help; however, finding a good deal can be tiresome. Travel agents can help, but this typically comes with a premium.

Certain airlines offer special round-the-world tickets, which could be an excellent way to book an independent trip around the world if you have miles to cash in. Otherwise, you're a bit stuck with the one-way ticket route. Try booking smaller airlines and shorter flights to keep costs manageable.

Choosing your destination and activities also requires a ton of research. You could spend a hefty amount of time trying to plan this yourself.

How To Pack for a Trip Around the World?

Ironically, you will be better off packing less than more for a longer journey. As you'll be on the move, you want a lighter suitcase and backpack to deal with. It's both more comfortable to move and far easier to store.

That's one significant benefit of traveling by cruise when you go around the world: the luxury of only unpacking once and being able to do laundry on board. You can lock your stateroom, so there's no worry about theft as you roam the boat and enjoy your shore excursions.

• Winter vs Summer Weather:    Since your tour around the world is likely to cross hemisphere lines more than once, you may experience warm highs and icy lows during your trip — bring clothing that can layer easily. 
• Shoes:    Footwear can easily become a packing challenge since it can take up a lot of space in suitcases. Choose shoes according to the planned activities and terrains. Pack a versatile selection: a pair for relaxation, one for hiking, another for city strolls, and one for a more refined option. 
• Dress Like a Local:    The beauty of a trip around the world is the opportunity to visit many far-flung places with diverse cultures and ways of life. You may encounter many different cultures, some with specific dress expectations. For example, in most Middle Eastern countries, expect to dress modestly—cover shoulders and legs and keep a scarf handy for covering your head. A similar dressing is also a good rule for touring many religious establishments.

Around the World Reviews & Ratings

Travels in the baltics.

A bit of a whirlwind tour although the three Baltic States relatively small, green and flat. I knew virtually nothing about them before I went but learned a lot ...

Great holiday

Really interesting trip made extra special by our guide Melia, whose knowledge was incredible. We were really lucky with the weather and had a really good group o...

Brilliant Trip

This is a well designed trip giving an excellent overview of all three Baltic states. This not only included the capital cities but other towns and much countrysid...

Explore and discover the Baltics

I enjoyed discovering an area of Europe I knew little about. Visiting many areas of all 3 countries. Guide well organized and itinerary good. Only problems were T...

Three small countries with a lot of character

The Baltic countries are interesting and the old towns are charming. They have suffered a lot under various foreign rulers and are proud of their independence. The...

See all Around the World reviews

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How To Make A Travel Map [Tips and Free Template]

Planning a trip abroad? If you want your trip to go smoothly, especially if traveling with a group, you'll want to make a travel map.

Chelsey Roney

CEO, Co-Founder

Putting together a travel map can be a fun and insightful exercise that helps you throughout your journeys. Any seasoned traveler knows that planning and anticipating your trip is an enjoyable part of the process. And they also know that, when it comes to having a positive experience, a little bit of planning and preparation goes a long way.

That’s why we put together this guide on how to make a travel map. We hope that you find this advice useful during your itinerary. You may even find that your travel map is a wonderful way to remember your trip long after the travel dates have come and gone. Without further ado, let’s dive into some FAQs about travel planning maps.

What is a Travel Map?

A travel map is any kind of representation of the places you’re going. It can help you keep track of places you want to go and the information you need to remember. Back in the old days, a travel map would be on paper. While some people may prefer the nostalgia of putting together a paper map, most people in the 21st century prefer a more high-tech solution. You can put together a group travel map on many types of mapping software.

Those who use Google maps or Apple Maps may lean towards their preferred daily navigation tool. However, there is also value in finding a more niche solution to this exciting project of putting together a personal travel map . Before we dive into the specifics of how you can put together your very own travel map, let’s take a look at some of the benefits that a travel itinerary map has to offer.

Benefits of a Travel Map

First and foremost, having a travel map will help you keep your itineraries organized. If you’re hoping to make the most of your trip and see every site that you had on your bucket list, a bit of organization goes a long way. After all, you don’t want to waste precious time and energy on your vacation or travels trying to figure out basic logistics that you could have researched beforehand if you were more diligent.

A travel map can also be a good opportunity to share information and collaborate with your travel partners. Different people have different visions of the ideal journey. Therefore, collaboration and communication are quite important. Some tools (such as Proxi) offer the opportunity to build a travel map together on a single platform from multiple accounts. This can help reduce miscommunications and frustrations over poorly planned Itineraries.

What to Include in Your Travel Map?

Now that we’ve talked about the benefits of putting together a travel map, let’s take a look at a few of the most common elements that you want to consider adding to yours. We’ll start with some basic trip amenities that any traveler will need to consider. From there, we can talk about the specifics of your journey.

Hotels and Accommodations

On your trip, you will obviously need a place to stay. The exact hotel that you choose will depend on your budget and your plans during your stay. But a few things to always look for are location, quality, and price.

You want a hotel that is located close to the attractions you’ll be visiting. It’s also worth considering if the area your hotel is in is walkable and if it has connectivity with local trains, buses, bike shares, and other transit options. Checking Google reviews and other customer feedback can help you decide between the hotel options.

Price is a concern for most travelers to some degree, so you will want to understand the cost of each option as well. Once you have chosen a hotel, your travel map can help you remember key details such as the address, check-in hours, and where you will be heading out to once you leave your hotel

Sights and Attractions

Add attractions your want to see. Now that we’ve taken care of accommodations let’s dive into the attractions! You can find information about the attractions in the area you’re traveling to by creatively scouring the web. Platforms like Yelp, Reddit, and even Quora are good places to start . If you can find a travel blog or YouTube channel with more personal and subjective content from creators you love, that may help even more. Once you’ve chosen the attractions you’d like to visit, you can use your travel map to keep track of information such as the address, the ticket page, the hours, when you will go, and any relevant links to reservations.

Travel Arrangements

A Travel map is also a good place to keep track of your arrangements. There’s nothing worse than arriving at an airport or train station and not being able to find your boarding pass. So why not keep your ticket links directly in a unified and cohesive travel map? You can also note down information such as station location, transit to the airport, and departure times of all your journeys.

When traveling with a large group, these situations can be particularly chaotic or even stressful if not managed well. In order to coordinate your party when heading to the airport, train station, or bus terminal, digital tickets and a readily accessible itinerary are invaluable.

Food, Drinks, and Dining

A key part of experiencing any local culture is finding the food fare. If you do research beforehand, you can take note of the restaurants you would most like to visit. Of course, you can also add information on hours, menu items, reservations, and the address for any dining establishments you will be patronizing.

With a digital travel map, you can start researching (and anticipating) all the amazing food, drinks, and experiences you will have. And all that research can be stored and accessed, making for a wonderfully seamless chain of events.

Additional Tips

By now, your travel vision is really beginning to take shape. The big day is approaching, and soon you will be on your way to experience new things and build memories that will last a lifetime. Here are some final tips to put the finishing touches on your travel map and be fully prepared for everything that life – and your journey – will throw at you.

Take Advantage of the Cloud

Use an online map maker so you can access your map anywhere. There’s nothing worse than putting tons of work into a map that you then leave in the hotel at the most crucial moment. An online map will allow you to access the same information from multiple devices, and it will make it easy to share that information among multiple people.

While there is certainly some nostalgic value in a paper map, we would recommend buying one for a souvenir if you really want one but relying on a more modern and robust digital solution for your day-in and day-out travel necessities.

Get Organized and Create Categories

Group map pins into different categories to help keep things organized. For example, you may wish to group all of the museums you will be visiting into one category and all of the architectural sites you wish to experience in a different one. Things such as accommodations, hotels, and transit can also deserve their own categories.

The exact division of locations into distinct categories is ultimately up to you, but you want to pick a consistent theme that is practical for the purposes of your particular travel experience. Grouping pins in this fashion can also help make sure that everyone on the trip gets to have their own input. Group travel is sometimes challenging, but good communication can help.

Add Photos and Organize Memories

A digital travel map with pins is useful for more than just planning. The great thing is that you can later use the pins to upload photos of your vacation if you are using a proper travel map software such as Proxi. You can upload photos of your vacation to each respective pin, turning your map into a photo album.

With Proxi, you can also embed this on your blog, so others can follow along with your journey. Our platform was made with adventurous and creative travelers like you in mind, so make sure to check us out and see everything that proxy has to offer. It will help you make the most of your trip and will also help you organize and share all the memories and experiences that you take in along the way.

Check Out Our Travel Map Template

Ready to start creating your travel map for your upcoming trip?

Spend some time exploring our free Travel Map Template for group trips.

Just pick the city or region you’ll be traveling to and start marking down the information that is most useful to you. Our design is intended to put powerful map-creation tools into the hands of everyday travelers like you. We hope you’ll enjoy our work. But most importantly…be sure to enjoy your trip!

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Earth Outreach

Creating a narrated tour in google earth desktop, tutorial contents, prerequisites, let's get started, create a kml tour, re-record a tour to add new actions, recording narration, tips & tricks for touring, discussion and feedback, what's next.

Absolutely no programming skills needed!

In April 2017, Google Earth on Web was released, which puts Earth on the browser. However, for this tutorial, you will need Earth for Desktop installed on your computer. Download the latest version here .

Open Google Earth.

Download the sample data to use during this tutorial, and open it in Google Earth.

For this exercise, make the Terrain layer visible. Go to the Layers panel , and scroll to the bottom. Check the box next to Terrain to make it visible.

Now, let's record a tour!

The tour recording tools appear in the lower-left corner of the 3D viewer:

Create your tour by flying, zooming, panning, and rotating the globe. Do what you would do if you were showing your Google Earth project to a user or audience in person. A 3D Space Navigator, like the one created by 3D Connexion , can be extremely helpful for navigating smoothly across the globe.

Double-click on placemarks in the Places panel to move to their unique camera angle or view. In this example, double-click on the placemark 'Flirt', then 'Patti', and so on. You can also pop placemark balloons and turn on and off your placemarks, paths and polygons in the Places panel.

To save your KML Tour, click the Save to File button in the Tour Player, and give your KML Tour a name.

It is then stored in the Places panel.

To save it to a permanent .kmz file, right-click the tour in your Places panel, choose Save Places As… , and save your .kmz file to a location on your computer.

If you used content in your tour (clicked on placemarks, popped balloons, etc), you must put that content along with the tour into a single folder, and save that entire folder as a KMZ. Otherwise the file will have the tour only, and no content.

Want to add more actions to your tour? You can modify and extend a previous tour by re-recording a new tour while playing back the original tour.

Make sure your original tour is in the Places panel.

You can pause the original tour, add some new actions or camera movements, and then un-pause/play the original tour to continue. Note: if you move the earth during the pause of the original tour, when you hit play on the original tour the camera will jump to the where the original tour left off.

Once the original tour is done playing back, since you are still recording a new tour, you can continue to add new actions or even start playing back another tour!

To see what a completed tour looks like, download the finished product here

Audio recorded through your microphone is captured as an .mp3 file that is saved with the tour when you save it as a KMZ file.

Make sure when saving a Tour with audio narration to set the 'Save as Type' option in the Save window to KMZ, otherwise the audio will not be included in your file.

• When adding an iteration to an existing tour, you can click and hold on a location on the globe (i.e. building, mountaintop, etc.), and the camera will stay on that location, swiveling around it. When you un-click from that location, the previously recorded tour will continue as before.
• Navigation through time is captured in the tour, so if you drag the time slider while recording a tour, any actions that cause changes in the 3D viewer (appearing/disappearing points, animations, etc) will be recorded. For example, if you have Historical Imagery turned on (link), or have a time-animated KML in My Places, try recording a tour and also manipulating the time slider (in the upper left of the 3D map view). This allows you to make tours of time-animated layers, like the Declan Butler Avian Flu map, and also showing historic imagery from different time periods.
• KML Touring allows for more advanced actions than can be recorded by the simple Add Tour feature in Google Earth. This includes dynamically moving placemarks, lines and 3D models, adding pauses to the tour, and changing the styles of your features during the tour. However, you will need to hand-edit the KML to create these actions. Please see the Touring in KML documentation on the KML documentation site for more information.

Have questions about this tutorial? Want to give us some feedback? Visit the Google Earth Help Community to discuss it with others.

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