When thinking about taking a trip around the world, it’s easy to get caught up in itineraries. Guidebooks and the Internet make getting advice and information on potential trip ideas really easy. Sometimes, however, this can lead to information overload. Or worse, you feel like you will just be taking a trip that’s been created by someone else, and that isn’t all your own.
The good news is that there’s no wrong way to travel. Once you get out there, you can do anything you want. Just because some guidebook or website highly recommends a sight, a route, a restaurant, or whatever, doesn’t mean you need to do it. Go to Egypt without seeing the pyramids? It’s been done. Athens without a stop at the Acropolis? Paris without the Louvre? Only visiting tourist attractions on a trip around the world would be a waste of an amazing opportunity.
So when you start planning your journey, take some time to address the things that interest you most. Do you love trying different kinds of foods? Are you an amateur chef? Consider yourself a connoisseur of wine, or are you a rabid sports fan? It’s possible to plan trips, even trips around the world, based on just about anything you can imagine. If done right, you’ll have a unique trip that you won’t forget, and you might even miss out on some of the crowds. Even better, you might avoid that feeling that you’re just one of many on a very well-trodden path.
Here are a couple of trip ideas from some other intrepid travelers that you might find interesting when considering an alternative RTW:
- 1000 Wines – C.J. and Brianne, Rogue Travelers for Bootsnall, are traveling the world in search of wine.
- Where am I Wearing – Kelsey Timmerman, also a Rogue Traveler, is traveling the world visiting all of the countries where his clothes are made.
- Where the Hell is Matt – Matt travels the world dancing badly and making videos of it for his website.
These are just a couple of examples of tailored trips that take people off the beaten path.
And if wine, clothes or dancing aren’t your style, don’t forget that there’s always food tourism, which could take you to the tastiest restaurants all around the world. Or you could go the other way, and learn how to prepare the food yourself in places like Turkey, India, and Thailand.
If scuba is your thing, then you’ve got plenty of options in some pretty amazing places.
WWOOFing, or World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms, can be a great way to meet people, learn something, and spend time doing something different in a foreign country. If farming isn’t your thing, then you could look into various volunteer opportunities around the globe.
Just remember that when it comes to a trip around the world, the possibilities are endless. Recommendations and suggestions are wonderful, but you’re the one who gets to plan it out. And then you’re the one who get to experience it.