Hi i am currently about to begin my third year of university in the UK and want to start looking into researching my Round the World trip for after I graduate.
I can be your fello traveller if you share some money with me )
You should do that as two separate journeys.
One America, and two the rest. Incorporating America into a RTW ticket will really raise the prices.
Ideally NY in summer but California is normally good even in the winter months.
Asia November to May for the mostly dry weather. Outside of that time it can be very wet. Also a good time to be in Oz and NZ.
The thing about India, China, Thailand and Australia is that they are big and you can spend quite a lot of time travelling about, so flights are better than endless hours on buses. Asia has some cheap airlines but Australia is quite expensive for flights, and most other things.
Get yourself a RTW ticket and you can have overland sections arriving in one place and leaving hundreds, a thousand miles away, or even from another country. There are a number of online companies who do RTW tickets and they will help you once you know what you want.
You could try India and Thailand on the way out and China on the way back as a single uninterrupted flight to Oz or NZ is a very long and boring flight.
If you go with a travel group, it will cost the earth as you have found out. They also tie you into tight schedules so you can miss out on places you want to see.
You can easily book most flights before you go as well as some accommodation with the rest as you travel. The accommodation link at the top of the page gives you some of the cheaper options but there are others like asiarooms, lowcostholidays, hotels.com and the like if you fancy some comfort.
It is all very easy to do yourself and these are well travelled places with lots of English speaking and British tourists so unless you feel like paying for mazarini to have a free holiday and whatever else he can get, you will meet lots of fellow travellers along the way. At Heathrow (London) I have seen young women wait near queues till they see another young woman join a queue, then join with them and end up with a companion on the flight out and maybe further.
Come back with some specific questions once you have some idea of what you want.
I've not done the maths but I'd say the £10,000 is not enough for the countries you want to visit.
Before you leave England you have the flights to consider, that could cost for a rtw ticket about £3,000.00 then there's the rest of the transport.
Visas which can be expensive, check where you can get them on route.
insurance most definitely medical, try World Nomads
inoculations, injections, check this out with your GP
Check out the climate for the countries, very important
Independent is the cheapest way to travel but if you are on your own and prefer group travel there are many companies out there, some very expensive.
The most difficult country on your list to travel in is China, the none tourist areas where you'll find few people speak English. We traveled one time in southern China and it was a challenge but the people are wonderful and if they can help they will.
One tip is when you travel from one hotel to another ask the receptionist to write the address in Chinese because taxi drivers and bus drivers do not speak English and you can just show the address.
Thailand is very easy, set up for the independent traveler.
India, watch your money, if you buying rail tickets (everyone travels by rail) purchase from the station a few days in advance go to the tourist counter and buy AC, none air-con is not good. Get 1st class if you can but other than that 2nd or 3rd with AC. Agents can rip you off so watch out.
The toilets are not good take your own paper and water and food, don't buy off the train.
Always use hand sanitizer.
Book your accommodation in advance if you can thru the Internet.
The rest of the countries are easy.
If you travel alone stay in hostels you'll get to meet people like yourself.
Check out these websites for traveling companions and information.
http://www.hospitalityclub.org/
http://boards.bootsnall.com/
http://www.travelindependent.info/b4yougo.htm
keeping in touch with friends and family
http://www.getjealous.com/travel-blog
Best of luck
Jean
Forgot to mention
Take more than one credit or debit card, they stop working for no reason.
Drip feed money from savings into your debit card account by standing order,
set up standing orders to pay credit card monthly while you are away.
Never use Internet cafes to do Banking, use business section in top hotels they are more likely to have a secure line, or arrange with family to transfer funds.
Use a money belt for cash when traveling, zip pockets are good for keeping money in use, in crowds put your backpack on your front.
Not everything works out as planned, we have had cards not working on two of our trips.
Hi,
I think you have enough to do the trip and should go for it.
Also for this itinerary, you can use an around the world Ticket (RTW).
The Quantus/BA ticket is likely to work for you. Go on the Quantus site and they have a map that you can use to plan your trip and it tells you as you go if its possible and then at the end how much it will be.
I did my first RTW trip alone as a lone female and you do not need people to travel with from the start and if friendly, can always hook up with others doing the same. Also being a lone traveller means you can decide if you want company or not and change the company you have easily (you are going that way- i am not)...
Jeanie 99 says some good tips worth listening to. I took 2 visa cards, and 2 master cards on my trip and focused using one and had the others as back up in case the one I used got lost, sucked by an ATM etc.
I would say try not to use ATM's for CCards as the charge is astronomical. You need to go into the bank and show your passport and get cash from inside the bank from your main current account; I think this is cheaper.. You can use the CCards for big expenses and emergencies- like extra flights, posh accommodations, excursions....but always check the commission/ charge and aviod if applicable if you can- sometimes this is a balancing act...
I am excited for you and happy for you. be careful, but have fun and be safe,
If you have any more questions, I am happy to assist as I have been to all places you plan,
Athena.
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