Frequently Asked Questions about a RTW trip

Weren't you afraid of travelling alone? Isn't it dangerous?
Generally speaking, the world is safe. Period. Just use common sense and don't use gold watches when you go out at night in, say, Caracas. Or avoid cities like Bagdad until things calm down there. You know what I mean. That said, of course unpleasant things can happen to you while travelling. But, like I said, use common sense and you'll be safe most of the times. And don't even think of staying at home just because you're afraid, your city may be more dangerous than most of the places you'll probably visit as a traveller. You know what's the most dangerous thing you'll probably have to face during your travels? Cross a street in a big Asian city. It does worth the risk, doesn't it?

 

Are you rich?
No. For a couple of years I saved all the money I could instead of spending it buying things I didn't really need.

 

How much does it cost to travel around the world?
Yeah, that's a good question. How much does a car cost? It depends, right? The cost of your trip depends on the places you choose to travel to (a month in Laos doesn't cost the same as a month in Australia). Also, it depends on the minimum comfort you need to be happy while travelling (you can sleep for two or two hundred dollars a night; you might love street food like I do, or you might want to go to fancy restaurants every couple of days). And it depends on how fast you travel (the faster you travel the more expensive your trip will be, because you'll end up spending a big portion of your daily budget in transportation which, in many countries, is not cheap). To cut it short, it depends on you and your travelling style.

» Take a look at the Travel Budget Calculator.

 

How did you carry the money?
One Visa debit card and one Visa credit card from my main bank account. Two more Visa cards from a backup account, just in case I lost the main ones or for some reason they stop working. And five or six hundred dollars in cash for an emergency.

 

Did you plan your route beforehand?
Yes and no.

It is true that I spent hundreds of hours reading other travellers experiences, searching information about places all over the world, looking at photos, reading and writing messages in travel forums and, eventually, choosing places I thought I really would like to visit. So, yes, I had a plan. In fact, it was very useful to have one because I could research deeply about the places I thought I would visit and because having an idea of the countries I was about to visit allowed me to estimate the cost of my trip in a more accurate way.

But the best thing about having a plan is that you can change it while on the road, if you like. That's what I did countless times. There are lots of places I planned to visit that I still don't know. And there are many others that I'd never heard of before starting this trip and thankfully somebody talked me about them. You know, in my opinion, the freedom to choose where to wake up the next morning is one of the best things about independent travelling. It's something priceless. So, no, I didn't follow my plan.

 

Did you buy a round the world ticket or bought the tickets along the way?
No, I didn't buy a round the world ticket beforehand, although I was aware that I could save a lot of money doing it. And in fact, that was absolutely true, mainly because I had to pay a very expensive ticket to fly from Australia to South America (there's no competition between airlines). But I choose to have the freedom of having the chance to change my itinerary completely at any time and, besides that fact, my trip was longer than 12 months, which is the maximum valid period of all round the world tickets.

» Read Around the World Tickets and Cheap Airfares article from Travel Advice section for more detailed pro and con arguments about both options.

 

Are there women travelling alone?
Yes, there are many, many women travelling alone - in particular young women. And you know what? I met several girls that were afraid of travelling alone before they started doing it, but I couldn't find one that regretted the decision she made.

 

What are your favorite countries?
This is one of the most difficult questions people often ask me, because it's hard to compare being, for example, in a huge city like Beijing and being in the middle of a desert like the Gobi. Anyway, if I had to pick three favourites countries I would say Mongolia, Vietnam and Bolivia.

 

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