I love traveling and when I travel I like to immerse myself in the local culture and with only 29 days you can forget about that! Half the time would probably be spent on the road, plane or whatever mode of transport one is using.

I really liked your comment “the kind of travel where the local baker learns your name!” … now THAT is what I call traveling

I guess some people would be “satisfied” with just 29 days though. We’re all different and there are people who love traveling to cities, those who prefer off the beaten track trips, cruises, some just travel to shop! so it really all boils down to personal taste I guess.

Cheers,

Marica

I must agree though that so many people rush it. I do think you can do a decent round the world trip in 6-8 weeks…just that so many people squeeze in too many countries seeing major cities like Paris for only 2 days. Come on people places like Paris need at least 6 days.

I am 25 years old about to embark on my first long term trip (6 months in Australia), I’ve been to some of the most incredible places on earth (and yes Yanks, that does include that rock from sea to shining sea).

I did Japan, South Korea & Thailand in 14 days, it was rushed, very rushed, but it should only whet the appetite (I’m off to Thailand this year again before going to Australia )

However, I don’t think her advice is more for a real RTW trip rather than a typical long trip. The lessons can be used to apply to any trip. The advice will probably be different if you travel slower and taking your time.

And I agree with you that I have to agree to disagree with her way of travel. I would rather save up and spend more time in few places than rushing around. Been there, done that and it doesn’t worth it.

Like Steph says, it’s probably way more expensive and stressful to do it this way. They should just see a few countries now, save up and do this again in a few more years and see a few more countries. What’s the point of traveling the world if you’re not going to be in one place long enough to really experience it? They’re probably going to be spending most of their time on planes.

I agree that it is their trip so they can do what they want, but there is a huge difference between spending a day in a country and spending a month.

You can inline skate through the Louvre in a couple of hours and tell all your friends that you “saw” every work of art. However, I think many people would argue with your definition of “see.” Artists regularly sit down in front of a single painting and sketch for hours. That is the type of “seeing” I prefer in a foreign country.

I’m with you, 29 days seems a bit too loco for my liking. I get that some people just do the 9-5 and are happy with that, and take their 2, 3, sometimes 4 weeks off (if they’re lucky). But if you’re truly passionate about travel, making a quick stop in Amsterdam, smoking a spliff, and being able to brag “yep, I did drugs in Amsterdam” is hardly going to change your outlook on life, nor have a profound effect on your future. (unless you believe weed is addictive, which it is not).

I know I have been guilty of rushing through areas, and by the time I had left I always felt guilty for not giving said area, city, or country the time it deserved.

Haggerty, you have to be high on Meth if you think that a quickie RTW Ticket is enough to fulfill a wandering souls wanderlust. If ur gonna do it, do it right. Maybe 6 months to 12 months is unreasonable if ur tied down to a serious career. But 29 days…I’ve been on benders longer than that.

However, there were a couple of points that I took umbrage with in Haggerty’s article. The first was that she and her husband were “too old” to backpack, as if her local supply store would refuse her a backpack without her showing photo ID.

And, correct me if I’m wrong but there’s a very dismissive undertone in the article to those who choose to travel long-term, ie the claim that backpackers “disdain all those things that regular tourists are there to see”, which is patently untrue.

Overall, I do have a problem with Haggerty’s co-opting of the idea of ’round the world’ travel. Just because you circumnavigate the globe does not mean that you’ve travelled the world!

If people want to spend crazy amounts of money hopskotching around the world seeing their top ten that’s fine with me. I probably won’t even run into them as I turtle crawl across the globe. But you absolutely right when you say that it is NOT the same thing.