Planning a Trip Around the World

So you want to travel the world, eh? Let me tell you my story - for someone who was an avid traveler, doing a world tour seemed, at first, overdoing it. I was graduating soon, and really had no idea what I was going to do after graduation. I looked at various ideas, such as volunteering abroad, joining the Peace Corps, going to grad school - everything except "get a job", basically.

When my friend, Ryan, called me with the idea of a group of us leaving and taking a grand tour of the world, I was immediately enthralled. The idea was so obvious, yet, it was not something I had even considered. As so began the "fantasy" phase, where we just talked about how great the trip would be, how much fun it would be, without actually considering the logistics or "how the hell are we going to do this trip?"

90% of potential trips around the world end there.

Why do so many people fail to take that dream, that fantasy adventure and make it a reality adventure? Why do so many trips get stuck in the hazy dreamworld, or die a quick death in the dark seas of actual planning? How can I prevent my trip from because a lost cause, a regret?

Below I list the top reasons, in my personal experience, that most potential travel adventures fail in the early stages. Most of these reflect my own personal experiences.

1. Bad Motivation - Take a deep look inside yourself and ask - why do I want to travel the world? Unfortunately, too many people see traveling as nothing more than a non-stop party, of sex, booze, and worse. Quite frankly, you don't need to go to Europe if that's the only reason you can think of for wanting to travel. Others want to travel to experience the world, to learn a language, to explore their heritage, or to go on a quest of self-exploration, or to get away from the doldrums of American life - those motivations lead to a deeper understanding of what a trip around the world might mean and make the trip seem more like an inevitability on the path of life rather than a long vacation.