Hints & Tips - Travelling the world!

Answers to most of your questions:

www.travelindependent.info

Wow, this is extremely early to plan!

Can anyone recommend any cities or countries?
Where did everyone usually stay? Hotels? B&B’s, Hostels?

I could recommend some cities or countries but they would be what I wanted to see, and pleased I saw them, rather than your own desires. For example I love Adelaide but a lot hate it. A lot of people love Maguluf but I hate it. Its your storey, write it with your own words. Do some research, watch some documentaries or whatever to see where you want to visit.

You will meet other travellers while away who will advise you in cool places they have been and your plans nay change, so keep them as fluid and as broad as possible...

Rough figure of how much you took?
I worked while I was away but took £5000 yo Australia for a year.

How did you start to plan your trip? Did you work out where you were staying before hand or just wing it when you land?

I worked out my first accommodation as it was my first big trip alone but you can easily just wing it. It's down to different personalities, again like countries, what works for one doesn't work for another. If its your first trip I would suggest booking a few nights in your first accommodation and go from there.... what's the worst that can happen?!

And also last one.. luggage size?

Again, different for different people, with different plans and destinations. You will need to take more on a trip if your trekking in Nepal, compared with hanging around the East Coast of Australia.

A 60L pack will probably suffice, but it depends where you want to go and how much you want to take. Sounds obvious but is critical in determining your pack size.

Seriously though, you have ages until the trip. If I was you I would concentrate on saving as much money as possible. In the last 8 months that I've known I was going to NZ, I've restricted drinking and going down the pub as this drains my cash!

I would also DL a bit research for the kinds of places you want to visit and the experiences you want to have. Don't leave it down to an online forum to decide every destination you visit...

Good advice above...save as much as you can,and do as much research as possible..

The micro-management issues (like luggage,accommodation etc.) can wait for a while ;-)

Apparently there is a new LP 'World' guide which you might want to read..maybe it will give you some ideas on the countries that sound most interesting to you.

Budget will also play a big role..that is why its better to save as much as possible.Visiting Norway for example will cost you ten times more per day than visiting Cambodia.....

Hello! I would say your travel destinations would still depends on your budget, interests & other preferences. Find out the things you're into - Nature? Partying? Shopping? Rich cultures? Asia offers great tropical countries to enjoy beaches & nature activities and travel expenses to these countries are lesser compared to other destinations. But if you want a city life travel, US & Europe have a lot to offer, New York & Paris in particular. Great food, museums and other significant landmarks. Although it would be a "pricey" trip.

If you don't even know what places you want to see, why are you even bothering to think about a round-the-world?
You could just hive off somewhere warm and cheap and stay there.

#2 says it all, really.

Your first three questions depend on the amount of money that you have available to you. Its no use visiting Europe if you've only got a South East Asia-type budget.

As for packing, well its certainly too early to advise, but this will all depend on your destinations.

At the very least I'd suggest you book your first couple of nights, and any first nights on arrival by air in new countries.

Enjoy the planning -its half the fun!