When you’re traveling long-term you naturally meet other travelers on a regular basis, but I’ve encountered few people traveling for as long as a year. Most of the people I meet on my RTW trip are impressed and very supportive. So I was shocked when the Norwegian guy in my Italian hostel who had just finished detailing his own cross-European itinerary sneered at my explanation of RTW travel and asked “Well how do you afford that?” I would expect such things from someone who doesn’t travel themselves! A better question might have been “Wow! How do you do that?” So, for anyone willing to suspend their judgments, I present my favored RTW resources.
Get inspired
Bootsnall
Their free 30-day planning course is perfect for anyone who doesn’t know where to begin.
Meet Plan Go
If you’re in the New York area, attending an event put on by this career break organization is a great motivator.
Vagabonding
The godfather of all long-term travel books
Legal Nomads
Why a seemingly successful lawyer quit her job to travel the world – just one of many RTW narratives
Save as much as you can
Mint
This budget tracking tool is free and easy to use.
How to use frequent flier cards
Spartan Traveler’s guide to racking up frequent flier miles
Barclaycard
Citi AAdvantage
My two preferred frequent flier credit cards
Plan a route
Indie
Bootsnall’s airfare tool isn’t how I book flights, but is a great visualizer of routes.
Skyscanner
Search for the cheapest flight over a month or in an entire country.
Rome2Rio
There is no substitute for planning overland travel.
Indie’s flight visualizer is one of my favorite RTW resources.
Work out the details
Americans Traveling Abroad
Visa and other information from the U.S. Department of State
Center for Disease Control
Country by country list of recommended vaccinations and medications
World Nomads
The best travel insurance on the market
T-Mobile
Stay connected in over 140 countries
Make a packing list
Half the Clothes
A great minimalist packing list for solo female travelers
HoneyTrek
This link is to Anne’s video for women, but her husband Mike also has advice for men
Her Packing List
This is just one of many helpful resources on Her Packing List
Tortuga Packsmith
Subscribe to their newsletter for the absolute best travel and packing tips
Buy your gear
Osprey
I wear the 40L Farpoint, which meets the carry-on requirements of most airlines
Fujifilm
I use a bridge camera from Fuji’s Finepix S-series
Prana
Great quality clothes that are both stylish and travel friendly – I wore Prana even before traveling
Sea to Summit
For gear like compression sacks and pack towels
Find places to stay
Hostelworld
My go-to for booking dorms and private rooms in hostels
Couchsurfing
Find free local hosts around the world
Airbnb
Short term rentals for when I need extra privacy or am staying somewhere too long to book a hostel
Agoda
For booking accommodations in Asia
Find things to do
The Blonde Abroad
The leading voice on solo female travel
Nomadic Matt
The leading voice on budget travel
Lonely Planet
I think Lonely Planet’s guidebook quality is actually a bit hit or miss, but it is the easiest to use on the road
Pinterest
I have a Pinterest board for every destination on my list to collect blog posts from around the web and make my own guides
Want more info on how I planned my own RTW trip? See how I mapped out overland travel using Rome2Rio.
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