Whether you’re 18 and planning a gap year adventure or you are 35 and want to quit your job to explore the world we can help you plan the ultimate trip.
View our guide with helpful tips for taking your first round the world adventure and making it epic. Find out how to get the cheapest flights, what the best tickets are, which itineraries to choose and the best places you should visit.
Why Go Round the World?
Do you want to take a gap year or enjoy a life changing experience but can’t decide on where to go?
We understand it is difficult, like how can you possibly choose between a safari in Africa, seeing ancient ruins in South America, island hopping in Asia or working Down Under in Australia?!
Well, why not mix everything in one trip! Rather than booking flights to one specific destination, plan an epic world trip where you visit multiple places as part of the same trip.
You can choose to plan a round the world trip independently and book/organise everything yourself, or go for a structured experience where you can plan everything with help from an experienced company.
Popular Routes
If you are totally new to the idea of flying to multiple destinations, these are some of the best ways to go.
• London > Bangkok > Sydney > Fiji > Los Angeles > London (the classic and one of the cheapest routes you can find)
• London > Singapore > Tokyo > Sydney > Los Angeles > London
• London > Hong Kong > Bangkok > Perth > Auckland > Fiji > Los Angeles > New York > London
• London > Cape Town > Indonesia > Sydney > Chile > Peru > Miami > London
You can book so many different itineraries and we only used London as an example starting/finishing point – you can literally travel from anywhere.
Prices vary depending on where you want to visit and the time of year you want to go.
How to Buy Round the World Flights
To search flights and buy your round the world ticket we recommend using Skyscanner. This is one of the best and cheapest flight booking websites which is available in 30 languages.
On Skyscanner flight search you can click ‘Multi-city’ option and then enter where you want to start, places you want to visit and also your return flight.
Browse multiple destinations and dates to find the best deals.
To get started and to find your perfect trip click the image above or visit the Skyscanner website today.
Highlights
The world is big but we hope to help you figure it out. The top destinations in the world that is… Below we show you some of the awesome experiences and places you could see on your journey.
Latin America
Take in sun soaked beaches, ancient cultures, sky-scraping mountains and some of the tastiest food on the planet. Do it all on one or our amazing adventures.
South East Asia
Amazing culture, beaches, history and more! Make the most of your trip to Asia when you plan ahead. Explore a range of things to do including hop-on hop-off tours, sailing, temples, cooking classes, treks, the Full Moon Party and much more!
North America
See the very best of the USA and Canada with city breaks, tours and more! Explore famous cities, theme parks, beaches and spectacular mountains. Travel Route 66 or discover the wilderness of the north, go skiing, see the fantastic display of the Northern Lights (Aurora), and spot the majestic whales.
Europe
Discover the diversity of this historic continent. Europe has everything to offer the discerning traveler; cities, history, culture, adventurous expeditions over mountains, island hopping, beaches and more.
Middle East
Dive into the tropical world of spices, amazing architecture, and a multitude of cultures and ancient traditions.
Structured Gap Year Round the World Trips
There’s no better way to spend your gap year than travelling around the world – you’ll experience different cultures, discover out-of-this-world destinations, and make tons of new friends. It also looks great on your CV.
Team up with a group of like-minded people on a global gap year and travel your way around the world on epic global trips.
Tailor your world trip to an epic 20, 30 or 40-week journey. Explore the world in 10 enthralling destinations on this unique program. As a result, you are sure to take in the best the globe has to offer along the way.
You could work or travel across four epic continents on some ultimate round the world flights!
This is an amazing opportunity to make all your travel dreams come true and these programs are structured and accessible to all! Therefore, if you are looking for an inclusive budget trip around the world experience then this opportunity is for you.
Update your social media story as you make a positive impact in local communities on this around the world. Book a once in a lifetime trip and choose the trip duration, volunteer projects and travel experiences that are right for you.
Adventure Travel
The real adventure is in the travelling itself, but if you’re looking for specific adventure tours all over the world, then you’re in the right place. From mountain trekking, jungle tours, and high-octane activities, we’ve got a huge range of incredible adventures that’ll be right up your street.
Customise Your Own Itinerary
The world is literally your oyster when it comes to planning a Round the World trip, so choose the continents you’d most like to visit, work out a budget, and start jotting down your ‘top trip wishlist’. On Gap Year World you can find and combine any number of tours and experiences to make your travel dreams a reality.
What’s The Best Route To Take Round The World?
Organising such a big trip for the first can be daunting; it’s no wonder that our travel advisors get loads of questions about round the world planning.
If you want to go round the world visiting places like South East Asia, Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and possibly South America (money permitting) here we share some of the best routes to take and how to get the most from these places.
If you’re looking at visiting both Fiji and also want to take in Southeast Asia, the cheapest way of doing this is to grab a flight to Bangkok or Hong Kong.
From Hong Kong, you can jump on the train down to Hanoi, or from Bangkok it is easy to start a Southeast Asian adventure.
There are lots of Indochina tours priced around £1,499 for 30 days. Most start in Thailand and loop the classic backpacker itinerary. You could explore the town of Chiang Mai and take a trek up to the hill tribe villages or go island hopping in the south.
Be sure to include Cambodia in your itinerary, with Angkor Wat the main highlight. Follow Cambodia with Vietnam with a boat trip out to Halong Bay. Finally, you’ll discover the natural beauty of Laos. This route really is the perfect way to see Southeast Asia.
In Australia, you can chose to join the hop-on hop-off bus exploring the amazing golden beaches and bustling cities of the east coast. If this all sounds amazing but you’d like to explore the Red Centre and watch the sunrise over the spiritual Uluru.
Lots of Australia tours encompass all of this, and you can explore the Northern Territory starting in Darwin and take a trip through the swamps, rain forest and wetlands of Kakadu National park.
New Zealand is another popular backpacking destination, you can explore both of the amazingly diverse islands by jumping on the hop-on hop-off buses, sail the picturesque Bay of Islands, take a hike across a glacier on the South Island or try out the amazing adventure sports: bungee, sky dive, zorbing, bridge climb, jet boating and white water rafting, it’s all here!
You’ll be tired out after all the adventure of New Zealand, but Fiji or Samoa are the perfect places to relax. Experience the ultimate island hopping relaxation. No need to worry about your transport or accommodation as the pass has all this included and some meals! You just need to decide between 7, 14 or 21 days in these amazing islands – easy.
If South America is going to feature on you itinerary, you can fly from Sydney across to Santiago in Chile. We have plenty of trips here to help you explore this continent. Either head north to Peru and Bolivia to visit the incredible Salt Flats (don’t forget your camera and props to get those classic “this is what I would look like if I was really tiny” photos!) and hike the Inca Trail up to Maccu Piccu for that bucket list moment of seeing the mist clear on the sacred site.
Alternatively you could head east and take some tango lessons in Buenos Aries and try out some Argentinean steak. Cross the border while marvelling at the amazing Iguassu Falls then head up through Brazil and party in Rio before heading back home to brag about your amazing adventure!
Work & Volunteering Round the World
Thinking about volunteering for a good cause abroad? Or maybe you’d like to spend up to a year taking on paid work in sunnier climes – do both if you like! From summer jobs abroad to 12+ month long working holidays, browse our site to go through all the options.
Top Tips For Planning A Big Round The World Trip
1. Focus on quality not quantity
Its great to experience as many places as possible, but its even more important to see them well. It’s better to spend a decent amount of time, rather than just touching the surface in each place before moving on again.
2. Expect to Spend More
As a rule of thumb, add around 20% onto your initial budget and that will probably be close to what you’ll spend. That will cover costs that you don’t anticipate and also means that you can say ‘yes’ to all the random, cool actives there are to do. It’s much better than underestimating your budget and having to cut your trip short or miss things out.
3. Go Outside Your Comfort Zone!
Every place will offer new experiences and challenges that you can’t do at home. Its better to live a life of ‘oh wells’ than ‘what ifs’
4. Be Social
You can meet new people everywhere! One of the best things about travelling is that you meet like minded people on a daily basis. The locals are also very memorable, some for being really friendly and welcoming and others for just being crazy although that was mainly just the aboriginals we met in Australia.
5. Travel Insurance
Don’t leave home without travel insurance!
What to Pack
What things (excluding the essential passport/money etc) should someone going off on a trip like this trip take?
1. A Waterproof
You might have the idea that because you are following the sun around the world that it wasn’t going to rain. You might arrive into Bangkok during a thunderstorm and there will likely be plenty more after that too!
2. A Laptop/netbook
Yes, you will go out a lot of nights but on such a long and potentially expensive trip, that won’t be everyday. My netbook was great for watching films during those nights and on long coach journeys, but also to back up all those awesome pictures.
3. Esim
Stay connected and have internet on the go no matter where you go.
Book Your Round the World Trip Today
Are you ready to make your ‘big trip’ dreams a reality?
It’s a once if in a lifetime opportunity that will change your perspective on the world and individual cultures, and you’ll realise its not such a big and scary place after all.
It also makes you appreciate everything you have back home after spending so long without them.
