by Sarah Staples

Created on: January 22, 2009

In October 2003 myself and my partner (now husband) set off on an incredible around the world trip. After months of planning the day of departure had finally arrived. We nervously and tearfully said our farewells to family and friends and walked through the departure gate at Heathrow Airport.

After much research we had purchased an "around the world" airline ticket with the Star Alliance group of airlines. There are various options available with this ticket, depending on how many flights you intend to take and where you want to stop. Important things to ensure when planning your own trip is to look carefully at the small print to ensure your ticket allows you to do what you want, with the flexibility to make changes to your itinerary without further expense. Other groups of airlines also offer similar around the world packages and a little research is definitely worthwhile for this important purchase.

Deciding on an itinerary is obviously very important. My advice would be to list all the places you definitely want to visit or need to visit. For example, you may be incorporating a period of working abroad in a specific country or want to take part in a specific sporting activity or attend a specific conference. Once you have factored in all the must do things, then list places you would like to visit if time allows.

Think about seasons and climates of the destinations on your list, and when would be the best times to visit them. Unless skiing and snowboarding is your passion you are probably best, for example, to visit New Zealand and Australia during their summer months. Try to balance visiting enough destinations to fulfill your dream with the potential downside of spending more time in airport lounges and on flights. It may be that spending three weeks in one destination with plenty of time to explore and get to know the locals is more fulfilling then hopping to several different destinations in the same time period.

Deciding what to pack for your big adventure can be difficult. Again it is important to consider where you are going and what you intend to be doing when making these decisions. Adaptable, lightweight clothing is worth investing in, with the option to layer clothing essential. Sturdy adaptable footwear and a light weight waterproof are invaluable. One of the most useful things we took on our trip was an elastic washing line with hooks on either end. It could be attached easily to anything and items of clothing could be fixed between the strips

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>