Gap Years

[sophie_1003]

Has anyone got any general tips for travelling for long periods of time, going to different countries in a period of a few months for example, thinking of doing it myself in a couple of years.

[sophie_1003]

oops, meant to post this in travel, never mind!

[sophie_1003]

Arrrghh! Could've sworn I just accidently posted this in chatterbox, must be going mad!

[luckystrike]

You're well ahead of yourself sophie_1003, but why no chat to the friendly people at Trailfinders.

A BA/Qantas 'Discovery Plus' ticket allows 7 stops on a fairly broad route, and currently costs �1,201.00, plus tax of about �400.00.

I'm doing something like this next summer, but squeezing it all into six weeks. My route is London - Hong Kong - Singapore - Melbourne - Sydney - Christchurch - overland to Auckland - Fiji - via Los Angeles - San Francisco - London.

Also, don't overlook travelling in Europe. I have spend a total of about 4 months travelling on an Inter-rail ticket, which is great fun and fantastic value. Check out Seat61.

[matt_london]

<PRE>Hi Sophie</PRE><PRE>I've recently come back from a round the</PRE><PRE>world trip. I found STA Travel much </PRE><PRE>better than trailfinders and cheaper </PRE><PRE>too. My ticket was �1150 inc taxes and</PRE><PRE>route was:</PRE><PRE>Heathrow, LA, Cook Islands, Fiji, </PRE><PRE>Auckland - overland to Christchurch,</PRE><PRE>Sydney -overland to Perth, Singapore</PRE><PRE>Langkawi, KL, Bangkok heathrow.</PRE><PRE>loved every minute of it.</PRE><PRE>Just reply if you want any more</PRE><PRE>info!</PRE><PRE>Have fun</PRE><PRE>Matt </PRE>

[sophie_1003]

Do these travel places allow you to customise your trip or are they pretty much prebooked, also have you got any tips for when your actually travelling. Went abroad for the first time just me and my boyfriend earlier this year and got loads of advice about drinking water, keeping safe etc, have you got any for long term travelling? Thanks in advance!

[luckystrike]

Although I have chosen for my 'round the world' ticket from Trailfinders to be fixed, it is valid for one year and all the flights are still flexible, i.e., they can be changed at the last minute for a small fee. This may be of benefit if you particularly like or dislike a destination, or want to change your route. Additional stops can also be added for an upgrade fee.

You can customise your trip in any way which you like. For example, you can choose one airport to fly into, and then travel overland by train or coach, before flying out of another airport. Popular overland routes include say Bangkok to Singapore, Cairns to Sydney, Christchurch to Auckland, LA to NYC, or Rio de Janiero to Santiago. For the really adventerous, you could try the classic overland route from Cairo to Cape Town.

Lonely Planet and other companies publish very comprehensive guide books on what to do, where to eat and stay and also how to keep safe.

I would recommend that you give Trailfinders a ring, and even request that you are put on the mailing list for their free magazine.

[sophie_1003]

Thank you all very much, as I say I'm not going for a while yet but I'll let you know what the final decision is and how it goes!

[rogerpg]

there is a webiste that does a few countries, but is really good value for money. go have a look at http://www.simply-volunteer.com