Dear Shane, I just love your wanderlust, please keep it up. The world is a magical place to visit/see and explore.

I am sure that as you grow you'll find a hundred way to skin the cat (sorry boy/girl cat, nothing agains you guys, just a saying and you don't need to hide.:p)

Don't let the nay sayers squash your dreams. Am sure life will, but you have it in you to manage and find solutions before you settle down with a family etc etc.


Plan your trips way in advance, you'll get cheaper tickets, try to do those messenger trips (I read about them but don't know much) i.e. DHL et al.

You mentioned that you wanted to do good back, how about volunteer trips, don't know if they do one week trips, but still.

Don't let the nay sayers put you down. You are young and you can do it. Don't wait until you are my age, plan it now.

And please keep us informed of all your wonderful travels.

After you finish with your military service/duties, you could do the Teach abroad, where you go to a country and teach English, then you can travel around there. My daughter has a friend from the US who really never traveled outside the LA area, and she had the wanderlust like you, once she graduated from college, she went to Australia and worked as an au-pair, it didn't work out, but she managed to get herself a job in Vietnam she taught nursery school. Came back to the US and now is in China teaching elementary school english. Throughout her time, and lots of it was wondering where she was going to sleep next, she managed and not only that she travelled a lot around south east asian.


As I said there are a hundred ways to…… (my cats will get angry with me again)

So finish your senior year and DO IT. You are much much much younger than my kids, and I made my own kids go and explore. Take it from an old mother…. GO.

Thanks so much for the confidence man! What I went by giving back to the places I visit is for example, buy a few t shirts from the locals instead of packing a bunch of my own. It will let me feel and understand how locals live (somewhat) as well as give back to those that make the place what it is today.

I actually sat down with my parents today for a bit and told them about my ambitions to travel and to wait a few years to settle down and have a family. To my surprise they backed me 100% saying it's great I want to travel and see the world. They even requested that I don't go out and get a place on my own right away, but instead stay home for a few years (or however long I wish) to complete college as well. They really pushed me to pursue what I want to do and to not let the little things hold me back.

Wow, and I thought the BA board had a lot of acronyms!

Whilst this sounds really interesting, I'm completely lost because of all the code-speak. I can't be the only on...can someone translate please?

London guy, wrong thread :p

In my country, usually 4-6 months prior departing is the best window to find the better air tickets deals. But there are always exceptions.

If you want to travel, don't expect that others do your homework. You started well, asking for advice here, but you also need to join other forums, specific budget travel ones.

You'll need to became an expert in looking for cheap tickets, I believe FT has a part dedicated to it, but you need to master sites like matrix.itasoftware and kayak, playing with dates and destinations. Sometimes the ticket for a particular destination is expensive, but if you try a week or two earlier or later, you may find a good deal. It is time consuming, but in the end I hope you'll get your reward.

Couch surfing and hostels are cheap ways to travel and meet people. In fact, coach surfing is one of the best ways to be involved with locals, if you are luck with your host. But... (There always a but), novices didn't get a lot of replies in the beginning. My advise is hosting yourself (and you will know other people and cultures at home - it may be amazing), and at least in the beginning, my suggestion is looking for coaches offered for novices too. They also want to travel and need the reviews and points you are also looking for.

For my wife, a big part of the leisure trip is the planing part. She usually starts with at least 6 months prior our vacations. And she loves all the research, deal hunting, etc. and the trip too, of course! :D

And if you'd like to travel and do good, you might look for Peace Corps after ending your training.

Good luck pursuing your dreams! ^

I have this problem too (even because English isn't my native language). Here and at BA board forums too... :p

When I understand the context, I ignore, when I'm curious, I google. Usually I can find the meaning. ^

OP, THIS is the best advice ever. Follow his recommendations.

Thanks :)

Thanks a lot! While I don't think I'm going to do couchsurfing I may look into hostels in some countries that are generally more expensive. I would really only consider couchsurfing if I was staying in the country longer than a few weeks and was trying to survive on the bare minimum. Just doesn't sound to appealing to me haha

You can also consider rtw tickets with one of airline alliances. These tickets can often be quite competitive pricewise when compared to point to point tickets.

Oneworld has the explorer which is segment based (16 maximum segments allowed) that can be purchased in coach, business, or first and can include 3, 4, 5, or 6 continents. The price is different depending upon which country you start in. Many people start in another country so that they can break the trip up by using the ticket to return to their home country and then restart the trip later. More info can be found here:
http://www.oneworld.com/flights/roun...AC6E8D89EDF6A3
You can use the planner here:
https://rtw.oneworld.com/rtw/
The oneworld forum on flyertalk has a great deal of information and knowledgeable posters:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/oneworld-411/

Star alliance has a rtw product that is distance based (oneworld also has a distance based ticket called a global explorer). More info can be found on the star alliance forum:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/star-alliance-413/

Oneworld also has a number of regional circle multi-continent tickets:
http://www.oneworld.com/flights/mult...930BB30DDD701C

Thanks for the resources. I will surely have to do homework on this stuff when I have some time.

Sounds great!

1. Apply for your passport today
2. Perhaps start in the Western Hemisphere - hit MEX/CAN/Belize/Costa Rica, etc. since those are pretty close and airfares are pretty good to those locations.
3. Agree with someone that previously mentioned it: Join the Navy.
4. Create a blog of your travels (it can be a closed blog so only your friends/family can see it) - obviously you can just use FB instead.

1. I might do that closer to the time before I go to basic. Not in a hurry as of now.
2. It's an option but I will just have to compare ticket prices before having a solid decision.
3. Not going to join the Navy. I've already committed 6 years to the NG (minimum required for NG) and if I wanted to join the Navy I would have to go through Navy BT and AIT for a new Navy MOS.
4. Definitely wanted to do this! Brainstorming some ideas but I would want it to be public. Allow people to see the things I've experienced so they will make a bigger push themselves to explore the world.

I would consider checking out 3 parts of the world, Central America. Southeast Asia, and sub-saharan Africa. Many countries in these areas are cheaper, plus in my opinion, the cultures are further from our own than, say, the UK is from ours. Just one person's opinion. Of course, there are exceptions; these are big areas after all.

Examples of countries you might consider are Thailand, Laos, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Tanzania, and Keyna. There are many others, and I'm sure I've got my own personal preferences wrapped up into this. But I have enjoyed the countries I've visited in these parts of the world, and, cost-wise, they can be a bargain to visit.

Happy travelling! tls

I have always wanted to travel to Africa and I heard Morocco was nice. Have you been there? If so what where your thoughts?