Join the NAVY and see the world!

(including the two-thirds that is water, roughly two-thirds of your time)

Seriously, though, it's a great thing to be able to carve out both time and *some* money at the same time, and too bad there's no "gap year" in the U.S. like in some European countries.

As mentioned, it WILL cost more than you might expect (take half the clothes, twice the money), but favoring cheap countries can go a long way. SE Asia and parts of South America are known for this. Younger people also are better able to do stuff like stay in $5 hostels, pick apples or tend bar to make money to keep going, or barnstorm around Cambodia or Laos. The older you get, the more curmudgeonly you can get about deprivations involved.

You'll also hear from people that you really should be spending the money on a house down payment, more education or something like that. How much to listen is always a tough call, as our cultural bent is toward deferred gratification but Alaska cruises are full of people in failing health who waited too long.

Finally, the chapters in "The Four-Hour Work Week" by Tim Ferriss on mini-retirement auditions are interesting, and he writes from the perspective of someone who got to travel a lot in his 20s.