First time Round the World Trip Tips by Travel Bloggers
Travelling itself and travelling on your own might be a challenge, but round the world trips (RTW) are even more challenging. More and more people decide to take a year off to travel and explore the world. You can’t plan it all, itinerary changes and delayed connections will strike you, but the beauty lies in the uncertainty. I asked three remarkable travel bloggers to share their tips and thoughts on their first round the world trips.
Gia, Mismatched Passports
Enjoy the little things and don’t sweat the small stuff
Fulfilling my dream to travel around the world is one of the biggest leaps I have made in life. I have made the decision to leave my comfortable lifestyle in Singapore, not only to see the world but to experience it with the person I love. Although at this age, I am on a different path from where society expects me to be, I am happy and I am having the best time of my life! Every day is a breath of fresh air filled with new experiences and places to explore. For the last 8 months, I have seen so many stunning wonders– the Himalayas, the Sahara Desert, and Chichen Itzá to name a few.
Travelling around the world is not easy but it’s possible. It will be different but it will be worth it. Just focus on what you want to do and be confident that you can do it. When you think you really can’t, don’t be afraid to ask for help. One thing I am truly grateful for is that I have my boyfriend, Jon with me in this first round the world trip. It is always a comfort that he’s there when things are hard or when I just want to give up.
Enjoy the little things and don’t sweat the small stuff. The world is a big place, and dwelling over the negative experiences just aren’t worth it. There are better things along the way so keep moving.
The first trip around the world is hard but it’s fulfilling in so many ways.
Alejandro, Mi Viaje por el Mundo
The only reason I got the visa is because I sent a tweet to the Ambassador
My main concern when I started planning my RTW was the visas, and it’s still a big deal for me when it comes to planning.
As Mexican one of the first visas you obtain is from the U.S., but the process to get it it’s really difficult. You have to send a lot of papers and you have to go to a personal interview with an immigration officer, even if you are a kid. Passing through all this process creates an irrational fear about getting a visa, a fear that I still have.
According to the Passport Index, Mexicans are in the No 22 of the rank, that means that we can enter to 119 countries without a visa but in comparison with the U.S. or Germany that can go to 147 and 145 respectively. So when it comes to travel, our passport make it a little bit hard to plan a trip, specially if most of the countries you want to visit ask you for a visa.
The way I deal with it it’s trying to be extra careful, I might forget to book a hotel or buy a plane ticket, but I will try to arrange the visa as soon as possible. Usually I am the first one to arrive to the embassy, because in case they ask for more papers (which has happened) I can go to get them and still apply for the visa on the same day.
The other thing I do is I always have a Plan B. It’s a country close to where I am at the moment, cheap to go and I don’t need a visa to go there, so if anything fails I change my travel plans.
Fortunately I have never being denied a visa but I do have a lot of stories about dealing with Embassies bureaucracy everywhere, including one story where after 3 weeks of paperwork the only reason I got the visa is because I sent a tweet to the Ambassador.
Margherita, The Crowded Planet
Learning to accept not being in control!
If I were to recall what I learnt during my first RTW, I would say it was learning to go with the flow. I’ve never been a control freak, so it wasn’t hard to accept it, but I did struggle sometimes. Travelling round the world, you’re almost assured you’re going to find yourself in situation you have no control upon. You can’t communicate, you can’t speak the language, you don’t know what’s going on. You find yourself at the mercy of a bus driver who turns up four hours late, or decides to have a three hour nap twenty km from your final destination. Once upon a time, I would have freaked out. After travelling around the world for the first time, I learnt to be patient and accept what’s going on around me. After all, everything usually works out. Eventually.
Have you been on a RTW? What are your learnings? I’d love to hear them via Twitter! Tag me @wanderlust_vik!
Keep on travelling,
Viki
