Round-the-world trips are becoming both more popular and cheaper. There are several companies now offering trips that circle the world for a low price of $2000 or less. You can expect these four things to be generally included with the cost of your trip: Flights to at least 3 places (sometimes more) Travel insurance Money taken out of your pocket for activities, food, and transportation between destinations Tour Guides If you’ve ever asked yourself “how much does it cost to go around the world?” I have good news for you! The most difficult question to answer: How much does around the world trip cost? There are so many factors that come into play that it makes answering this question a daunting task. But let’s give it a shot anyway.
The real cost of an RTW trip boils down to two typically large expenditures: plane tickets and accommodations. These are the only two transportation costs and the main two costs you will incur when exploring the world on your own terms. Compared to living at home, these costs can easily be 50% greater. This doesn’t mean you should avoid travel, it just means that you need to be smart about it. With careful planning, these numbers can be significantly less. Traveling and Eating cheaply doesn’t mean you have to wear dirty clothes, drink from a canal and sleep in a random shed. Instead, it simply means spending half as much as your neighbors back home for a month or two overseas holidays.
Have you ever found yourself staring in awe at everyone’s incredible trip photos and wondered how much does around a world trip cost? Well, I’m going to break down all the expenses related to Overlanding for you in this article. The reason I did this is that a lot of people have no idea how much actually goes into planning and executing an RTW trip, especially when there is no financial support from family or sponsors. The world is a big place. When people think of going on an RTW trip, they typically focus on what their flight is going to cost. They’re often surprised when they find out they can fly pretty cheaply. It is possible to fly RTW tickets for around $800+/- – but be careful! It’s a little complicated getting the right flights and there are many catches that make it more expensive or even unattainable. The goal of this post is to explain how much does it cost to fly around the world, discuss how flights work, and offer tips for getting the lowest possible cost.
The general consensus from travelers who’ve done these trips is that a year on the road costs somewhere between $20,000 and $30,000. However, that is just the middle of the bell curve. If you prefer to live in the lap of luxury, flying in business class, and staying at the Four Seasons, you’re going to have to pay a lot more than that. But if you’re a lowly backpacker, you could potentially travel the world for a year on $6,000 (it has been done!) For the sake of argument, let’s average a comfortable RTW year-long trip at $24,000. If you break that down monthly, a Round the World trip will cost one person around $2,000 per month, taking everything into consideration. For many people, it’s cheaper to be on the road than staying at home.
