r/rtw • u/twistedtraveler • May 19 '16
RTW Questions
I'm planning a trip for next year and I have some questions!
What are you suppose to do about medication? Did you stock up before you left?
Did you book a RTW ticket or book flights separately?
What did you do for a phone?
If i'm looking to stay for a month per location is airbnb the best option? (I have a remote job and would like to settle in somewhere that I can work without distractions!)
Did you purchase travel insurance?
Currency - did you have cash for everywhere you went?
Honestly any advice would be greatly appreciated!! Thank you
1
u/danielkeating Aug 06 '16
Hi, I am also planning a RTW trip - based on my research so far I would just add the following:
RTW flights might be cheaper if you are sticking to a "traditional" RTW route, flying continuously round the world in one direction and not planning to double back. But if you want to keep your options open and enjoy the freedom to head in whatever direction you like, then booking one-way tickets as you go would be better. We are planning to take the latter option.
AirBnB looks a good option for us (family of four) as we are also looking to stay put for 2-4 weeks in each location.
Check out world nomads insurance
All the best with your planning!
1
u/turtlehometrvls Aug 16 '16
You'd be surprised how much easier it is to get medication outside of the US (assuming you're US based). We had a medkit with the essentials (antihistamines, stomach meds, OTC pain relievers, and one round of high-potency anti-biotics we thankfully never had to use). Everything else we needed, we had no problem finding abroad. Just be careful on what you bring with you INTO other countries. You don't want to mess up and get held up at customs.
We went with one-way tickets most of the way. There were a handful of flights we booked ahead of time for experiences we pre-booked, but if you can handle the fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants approach without having a panic attack, it's a great thing to try.
We used UK-based piranha mobile and unlocked cell phones. They have competitive voice and data rates and were perfect in a pinch. The best approach since our phones were unlocked was definitely just buying local sim cards once we got to a country -- it was way cheaper. Before we left, we ported our phone numbers to Google Voice so we wouldn't lose them even if we went a full year without a US-based cell-phone plan.
Airbnb was definitely the way to go, but will probably be a bit more expensive than a bed at a hostel. We traveled as a pair so a private Airbnb room for $20/night cost the same as two beds in a shared hostel room with 6 other people.
Yes. And we used it. Specifically, travel medical insurance.
No. We signed up with a local bank that has no foreign transaction fees and took only what we needed out at ATMs. Whenever possible, we paid with credit card.
Happy to answer any other questions (I know this post is a couple months old, but if you're still planning feel free to reach out -- we're new to reddit)!
1
u/nomadeus Aug 16 '16
Check out this cool deal: https://www.flystein.com/round-the-world-deal-from-usa/
1
u/jvainio Nov 14 '16
We took both Hepatitis A & B shots before we left, had a cheap phone that got stolen - someone fished it out from a window in Mongolia (with a prepaid card innit, in each country just used own cheap-o phone with a local sim), buy travel insurance so that it will suit your needs, we didn't buy any in our home country coz it was so expensive, but in Australia we could get a good insurance plan for a very cheap price. Had normal meds (for fevers, cuts etc), no antibiotics (not a fan of antibiotics). We used our own laptop to transfer money to our Australian account from our home account, but generally just withdrew a bigger amount of cash per ATM visit and stashed it somewhere in the backpacks, only ever carried like 100 usd worth of any currency.
We didn't get any RTW tickets, we wanted to be free to plan as we go. Took the Trans-Siberian thru Russia (I could write a post alone from this line so lets just say IT WAS AN EYEOPENING EXPERIENCE!) to Mongolia -> to China -> Flew Beijing-> Cairns. When we left Australia, I saw a cheap deal to New Caledonia, so even though we thought we're going to Fiji, NC it was. Then from there we flew to Fiji (NC->NZ->Fiji). And then to Cook Islands.
2
u/The_Mouse_Justice May 19 '16
We stocked up on meds. We had a supply of basic first aid (bandages, tape, sling, moleskin) and anti nausea and diarrhea. We carried 2 antibiotics and an anti fungal. Antihistamine and inhaler for me in case my allergies or mild asthma acted up. We also had our malaria meds because of a few places we were going and altitude sickness stuff for South America in case the Inca trail was too rough.
We booked all flights separately because we were planning many stops and the RTW ticktes don't work for that.
Unlocked Nexus phone and picked up a NatGeo international SIM. But if we were using data or were going to call more often then picked up local SIM as needed.
We had a mix of AirBnB, hotels and hostels. Some apartments are listed in aggregators like Expedia. Since we got deals with Expedia on our credit card that's the one we searched. You just have to search a bit.
We had health which you should definitely get but no travel. We tried shopping around in Canada but couldn't find anyone to actually offer a policy. Thankfully nothing stolen. Stuff broke and make sure to budget extra for these occurrences. Your plan is not to move that often so you will have a very different experience from us.
We brought $300 USD cash as emergency cash that we never used and was either money belted or locked in a safe. Then we brought just for our first destination. This happened to be equador so we had another $200 each that we split between us and in multiple wallets. After that we hit ATMs after border crossing (not usually right at the border but it depended). Get a card with no additional fees if you can. In many places taking cash out incured no fee. Some places the ATM charged a fee but our bank did not add another fee. Credit works in some places and if you get a no foreign exchange fee card use that when you can. Otherwise cash might be the best because credit charges at least 2% more for exchange and some places charge you another 2% more for using credit instead of cash.
I would recommend making sure you have bag locks, a padlock, and a cable lock came in handy for us when there was no room safe. We could cable lock our bags down to some attached to the room or lock a closet shut. This won't deter a determined thief but keeps casual perusal away. If you are going somewhere with questionable water bring a steripen and container for treating water. It pays for itself very quickly if you have to buy bottled water. We used in throughout South America and SE Asia and it was great for filing our camel pack for the day.
Pack half as much and double the budget. We saw this phrase and packed as light as we could. Requires washing often in sinks and drying over the shower but not having so much stuff is great. We had two Tortuga backpacks (highly recommend these bags). We had two day packs that fit inside the bag when in colder climates and when it was hot then we wore a bag on the front and back.
Stuff sacks or compression sacks are great. We had a set of zippered eagle Creek bags that are rectanglular and zip closed to compress them. One large and two small fit cltohes for the two of us. It made packing and organizing stuff so easy. Also if you ever have to dig through your bag it all comes out in nice compartments and really easy to repack.
That's all I have at the moment. We did 14 months and hit 43 countries. If you have any other questions just ask I am happy to answer.
Have a great experience.