Dreaming about your big trip is exciting, but trying to organise it can be daunting, especially if it's your first time. There's so much to plan, so many decisions to make and so much to think about. From planning your route to packing your bag, here are the first steps to take.
Where should I go?
There's a classic RTW (round-the-world) route of South-East Asia, followed by Australia, New Zealand and home via the US. For first-timers, it can be comforting to follow such a well-trodden path, where getting around and finding places to stay is extremely easy, and you'll meet lots of fellow backpackers. If you're feeling more adventurous, the options are endless. A trip round South America, followed by some island-hopping across the Pacific. Head for Moscow, take the Trans-Siberian to Beijing then travel round China. And what about India? The Middle East? Africa?
If you're on a tight budget, remember that it's cheaper to travel in India or South-East Asia than it is in, say, the US or Australia, and save very expensive countries, such as Japan or Argentina, for when you're better off.
If it's your first trip, you might prefer not to make a "difficult" country your first stop. India, for example, can be a huge shock if you go straight from the UK. And although most RTW travellers tend to go round the globe in an easterly direction, there's nothing to stop you flying the other way round, so you'd start off in the US, where the language, customs and culture are familiar, then work your way up to more exotic destinations. And, of course, you don't literally have to go round the world - you might want to spend time exploring a particular area, Asia or Africa, say, in depth.
Once you've decided on a rough itinerary, visit two or three specialist travel agents (see contacts box) for advice and travel costs. Most have staff who are widely travelled themselves and may come up with routes or ideas you hadn't thought of. Take time to consider all your options and compare prices before making a booking.
Wherever you decide to go, get up-to-date advice from the Foreign & Commonwealth Office Travel Advice Unit (020-7238 4503/4; www.fco.gov.uk/). This provides the latest information on the political and safety situation in most foreign countries.
How much will it cost?
How long is a piece of string? To start with your ticket, the price will depend on your route, how many stopovers you make and the time of year. For flights within the northern hemisphere, low season is November to March, high season is July and August and mid-season is any other time. If you're travelling to the southern hemisphere, however, the seasons are different. So, for destinations such as South Africa, Australia or New Zealand, December is high season - which means full flights and the highest fares.
Basic RTW fares start from around £700, but the more stopovers you have, the more expensive your ticket will be. Local events affect fares, too. For example, if you want to go to Hong Kong around the time of Chinese New Year (usually in February), you'll find fares will be expensive, and so will fares to neighbouring countries such as China and Vietnam.
How much spending money should you take?
It depends on your route, how you're planning to travel, what kind of accommodation you stay in and so on. Obviously, a week spent lazing on a beach in Thailand will cost next to nothing, while a week doing the sights of a city or lots of travelling will be more expensive. As a general guide, you should probably allow around £10 a day, but £15 a day will make for a more comfortable trip. We usually budget for £20 a day, so we can splash out on the odd G&T instead of beer, travel in air-con instead of third class on hot, humid days, or move up a hotel notch if the cheapest room is a real dump. And we always have our credit cards in case of emergencies or special occasions, or when we don't want to miss out on something like a day's whitewater rafting or scuba diving.
That said, we've met plenty of travellers on much smaller budgets - but we reckon it's better to spend longer at home saving up then have a good time while you're away, than to find yourself adding up your small change on a Saturday night to see if you can afford a weekly beer between two.
Remember, too, that you'll need to allow for insurance (look out for special basic backpacker policies, which can bring the cost of a year's cover down to around £200-£250) and for pre-trip vaccinations (your GP is your cheapest source, so start there before going to a travel clinic).
What should I take with me?
As little as possible - remember, you're going to have to carry it everywhere. Take clothes that are quick and easy to wash and dry. Loose-fitting clothes are more comfortable in hot climates and can be layered if it gets cooler. T-shirts and baseball caps with English slogans are popular for swapping and bartering with. Sarongs are versatile (they can be used as a towel, a beach mat, a skirt, a sheet, a scarf...). But don't pack too many clothes - you won't need an extensive wardrobe and you can easily (and cheaply) buy things en route.
Don't load yourself down with toiletries either - they're heavy. They're also usually cheap and easily found everywhere. Items like contact-lens solutions and tampons may be harder to find, but stock up in major cities as you go and there shouldn't be a problem.
There are a few items we never leave home without: books (but not too many; you can swap with other travellers); Walkman and tapes (sanity-savers on long journeys); a medical kit; money belt; travel alarm clock (long-distance buses always seem to leave at unearthly hours of the morning); Swiss Army knife (with corkscrew); and torch (not everywhere has 24-hour electricity). And don't forget to pack photocopies of essential documents, like passport and visas (just in case you lose them).
Staying healthy
A couple of months before you go, visit your doctor or a travel clinic to find out what vaccinations you need. Don't leave it until the last minute - some vaccinations take time to become effective or need to be administered in stages. For up-to-date health information on your destination countries, contact MASTA (Medical Advisory Services for Travellers Abroad) on 0906 822 4100 (60p/min) or at www.masta.org.
Have a dental check-up before you go, too.
The illnesses you're most likely to come into contact with are those spread via contaminated food and water, so following a few simple rules will help keep you safe. Drink only bottled water (and use it to brush your teeth); avoid ice in your drinks; be wary of salads (they may have been washed in tap water); only eat fruit you can peel yourself; and steer clear of food that has been reheated or kept warm.
If you get diarrhoea (and most people do at some stage), drink lots of bottled water, eat only plain foods, stay out of the sun and avoid alcohol and milk. It usually clears up on its own after a few days.
Go easy on the sun - if you're not used to hot climates, it's easy to misjudge how fierce it is. Follow the Aussie slogan of "Slip, slop, slap": slip on a T-shirt, slop on the sun lotion and slap on a hat. Remember that you can still burn underwater and in cloudy weather. And no matter how tempted you may be, stay out of the sun between 11am and 3pm, when it's at its fiercest.
Keeping in touch with home
Don't forget that while you're having the time of your life, your family and friends will be missing you and looking forward to hearing about your adventures. Luckily, the e-mail boom has made it easier than ever to keep in touch: all around the world you'll find cybercafés and hostels offering Internet access. Just set yourself up with an e-mail address before you leave home: two of the most popular services (both free) are Hotmail (www.hotmail.com) and Yahoo! Mail (www.yahoo.com), then wherever you are you can send and collect messages. Some cybercafés will even scan in photos so you can send your holiday pics home.
Of course, not everyone at home has Internet access, so don't forget to keep in touch the traditional way, too. Writing is simple and cheap, but don't feel you have to send a 10-page letter every week or it will start to seem like a chore. Quick postcards are just as good.
Phoning home is a real treat, but can be expensive, so save it for special occasions - and never promise to call at regular times. If you promise your mum you'll always call on the last Friday of the month, chances are that that day will find you sailing down the Yangtze or halfway up a mountain and nowhere near a phone, which will worry the person waiting for your call.
Further information
The Internet is an excellent source of information and advice for travellers. The following are particularly useful:
www.lonelyplanet.co.uk. Selected text from Lonely Planet guides, news, tips and a travellers grapevine.
www.roughguides.co.uk. Information on countries covered by Rough Guides.
www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html. CIA World Factbook, full of info on every country, covering everything from birth rates to natural resources.
www.arabnet. Information on more than 20 Arab countries, with details of culture, business, geography and travel.
www.masta.org. Medical Advisory Services for Travellers Abroad.
www.tmb.ie. Health information from the Tropical Medical Bureau.
www.cotswold-outdoor.co.uk. Cotswold's site has tips, information and links, as well as all sorts of travel equipment.
www.walkabouttravelgear.com/. Travel gear, tips and info.
www.stanfords.co.uk. Stanfords bookshop site, with books, guides and maps covering the world.
www.travelbookshop.com. World Traveller books and maps.
www.holidayfestival.com. Worldwide holiday and festival page, with details of national and religious holidays in more than 200 countries.
www.visa.com and www.mastercard.com. Information on using your Visa or MasterCard worldwide, including locations of 24-hour ATMs in 120 countries.
Specialist travel agencies
* Austravel: 0870 0550206; www.austravel.com
* Bridge the World: 020-7911 0900; www.bridgetheworld.net
* usit Campus: 0870 2401010; www.usitcampus.co.uk
* STA Travel: 020-7361 6262; www.statravel.co.uk
* Trailfinders: 020-7938 3939; www.trailfinder.com
* Travelbag: 020-7497 0515; www.travelbag.co.uk
• The Backpacker's Bible, by Suzanne King and Elaine Robertson (Robson Books, £8.99), has information on everything you need to sort out before you travel, from packing your bags to organising your money, plus embassy contacts, advice on staying safe, recommended books, and travel tales from other globetrotters.
