Cost of world travel...
 

Just how much does it cost to travel around the world? If you are experienced with this sort of thing, perhaps you could post things such as the cost of air travel, hotels, etc. By the time I go anywhere I'm sure things will have inflated, but I'm curious anyways. Thanks.

Well, I've never traveled around the world, but I'm making my way country by country, continent by continent.

There are so many factors here, but the big ones are: time of year you travel, where you are going, what's going on in the airline industry and how the dollar is doing (now it is GOD AWFUL).

Of the places we've been recently outside of the US, flights have been around $550 (that's 2 major cities - Tokyo and Paris). I tend to not travel during peak season due to the crowds and the heat, so I never pay full price for airfare. My average US flights has been $250 (Chicago, Florida, etc).

How you travel when you get to your destination is also a big factor. I love the train and public transportation and have NEVER rented a car in a foreign country - ever. Trains are usually cheaper but sometimes less convenient.

And, then there'd the lodging. Again, it depends on where you go. For Tokyo, it was hard to find something under $100. Paris - piece of cake. But, again, the dollar was stronger then.

It's probably easier to get a couple of destinations on your list then start investigating them.

Now, if you really mean "around the world" then, I have no clue. But, if I didn't have my babies at home, I'd consider selling the house and doing it.

Do you intend on doing the whole world? That can be a serious multi-year undertaking.

I highly suggest these two books, both by Jim Rogers:

Investment Biker - where he and his girlfriend drive motorcycles across every continent on a 2-year journey, and
Adventure Capitalist - where he and his gf/wife (they get married after year 1) drive a car around each continent, on a 3-year trip concluded only 2 or 3 years ago.

Bear in mind that the guy's a multimillionaire who retired in his late 30's, not just an average Joe.

It cost me 10 years of my life to make it just shy of all the way around the world. Of course, Being in the navy, the majority of what I saw was water. but got a bit of a taste of many different areas around the world. From Australia to Spain, Singapore, Dubai, Ukraine, Italy, and a few others. But 10 years of my life was a bit pricey for me to recommend that method to anyone.

With fares starting at a little over $20,000 - this looks like fun: http://www.cunard.com/CruiseItinerar...&OB=&Region=14

Pshaw - what kind of an "Around the World" cruise is that? - they completely wimp out and skip the horn of Africa, sneaking through the mediteranean - And where's South America? They should sail as if there were no Suez or Panama canals.

Ok, ok. Howzabout one of these excellent Seabourn Cruises? Pick a voyage... http://www.seabourn.com/Destinations...yages&Sub=Itin

Doh! I meant international travel. I don't find around the world travel all that apealling. I couldn't plan thoroughly enough for that many destinations.

Then you must pick a destination (or two) and start doing some research - watch for cheap flights - or at least know how to recognize them, look into neighborhoods or activities you'd like to do - Oh and get your passport up to date, so you can leave at a moments notice.

Like all things they can be done extravegantly or on the cheap. We did very well dining in Tokyo but spent more on lodging. In Paris our lodging was cheap, but we spent big on food - sometimes. Of course your dollar will go really far traveling in the third world. We lived like Kings in our stay in Peru, and it hardly cost us anything.

OMG! Peru was CHEAP! The whole 2 1/2 week trip cost - including food, souviners, etc - was $1400 pp and $800 was airfare. We stayed in the best hotels and ate wonderful food. Granted, that was in 1987, but even with inflation, it still would be a deal.

Costa Rica is also a great travel deal. South East Asia is affordable. London is cheap to get to and so is Frankfurt. There's a lot of possabilities.

You can cover almost 1/3 of the planets circumference for only about $600 if you ride this.

This family mortgaged their home to travel around the World....but they say it was worth it :)

Perhaps I should clarify. I'm started this thread as more of a travel voyeurist than in actual preparation for travel. I have my top five international destinations picked out, but it will be a while before I actually go anywhere (other than disney). International travel with a baby and two year old does not sound like my idea of a good time. We are going to start saving for our trip to Japan (first on the list), but it will probably be about five years before we get there. A big city should be manageable with a five and seven year old and by that time a long flight should be doable with enough distractions to occupy the kids.

I've read travel books and such, but I've had a really hard time finding international airfare quotes online. Travel within the states is so easy to research, but it's hard to know where to begin with a foreign country.

No way! Just go to any of the major plane booking sites - Expedia.com, Travelocity.com, etc - and toss in theoretical information. WHAM, you've got pricing.

We bought our Paris tix on Travelocity.

Really? It's been awhile since I've tried. I was also looking at tix to Africa, so maybe that's why I had a hard time.

If you want to go site-by-site (of individual airlines), start by looking at lax's website, look for the list of airlines that use the airport, then look them up.

And I still recommend those books... gives you a great idea of the experience in different places.

Airfares are an arcane science with bizzare pricing schemes that I doubt anyone really understands. A while back I was going to San Francisco and wanted to try to bring Lisa along - that $79 round trip flight, ultimately doubled, tripled, and was even selling as high as $800 by the time I left - leaving Lisa behind.

That said Europe now has some Jet Blue-ish airlines that make intra-European travel much more affordable.

From what I know, Africa is a bit dodgy and usually involves several connecting flights if you're not going to the major cities. We've been working on getting a speaker from Uganda to Chicago, we can get him from Nairobi on British Airways, but he has to figure out how to get there himself.

The other thing about international airfare is that it changes so rapidly. The differences can be immense. The more common your destination, the more options you will have and the more deals you are likely to find. For those destinations, check the travel sites. I usually use Orbitz, but I've used them all at one point or another.

Another way to check out flights is to find out what airlines fly into your destination city then look at booking through these airlines web sites. On the West Coast, LAX or SFO have most major airlines flying into these locations.

And what do you recommend to finance these world travel excursions? Is bank robbery still in vogue?

How's extortion nowadays? Or is it better to stick to traditional credit card fraud?

2 words. Sugardaddy.

Heh - for us, it's a combination of not having kids,living in an urban/not-as-nice-as-we-could-be neighborhood, and maxing out credit cards ;)

And, having a sugerdaddy. ;)

You should look into round-the-world airfares. There are companies that specialize in this. Airtreks.com appears to be listed at a couple of sites. http://www.travellerspoint.com/round...ld-tickets.cfm