Are you planning a trip or a gap year? Discover our 10 solutions for financing a round-the-world trip!
Has it long been a dream of yours to circumnavigate the globe not in 80 days, but in 365 days or more? You’re not alone. Many of you are leaving everything behind, or taking advantage of a sabbatical year to roam around the globe – don’t tell them the Earth is flat… – discovering different cultures and civilizations on five continents from Bangkok to Tokyo, from Sydney to New York, from Montreal to Buenos Aires, viaIndia, China, Morocco, Peru and so many other destinations.
Problem: to turn this dream into an unforgettable experience, the bank account is a few « 000 » short? Of course, you’ll need quite a budget – some people say €15,000 in savings – to be able to leave for a year, including transport, food, health, accommodation and living expenses. But there are many ways to finance your round-the-world trip. Since you’re feeling a little short of inspiration, we thought it would be a good idea to explain the different ways of financing a round-the-world trip, in ten points.
1. Choosing the right countries to visit
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The question of itinerary is crucial when it comes to financing a round-the-world trip: visiting Western countries will cost much more than dabbling in a city in a less-developed country. On the other hand, traveling to Colombia, Mexico, Bolivia, Laos, Burma etc., will be less expensive than visiting New York, Los Angeles, London, Sydney, Tokyo or Auckland. The best thing to do is to determine a way of traveling – in a hotel or backpack, for example – and a visit time for each country (1 week, 3 weeks or a month or two), and compare the relative cost of living in each country you’re considering in Africa, Asia, Latin America, North America, Europe or Oceania.
2. Sell your assets
Photo credit: Unsplash – life is fantastic
To finance your round-the-world trip, let’s start by getting rid of all our material ties by selling off our superfluous possessions, or at least those that could bring in a nice little nest egg: a car by cancelling our car insurance policy, scouring our local flea markets to sell books, televisions, games consoles, antiques, furniture and/or decorative items, etc. If you’re a homeowner, now’s the time to rent out your home. If you’re a homeowner, now’s the time to rent out your property.
3. Save money
Photo credit: Unsplash – Michael Longmire
Have you been planning a trip long enough to finance a round-the-world trip? Is it the last thing on your mind to stay at your job? Reducing your spending – yes, it’s an austerity cure… – to build up an available savings fund is possible. Even if you only put aside €100 a month from your salary, that’s still €1,200 at the end of the year. So imagine saving €500 a month! Often, we are impoverished by superfluous expenses (bars, outings, tobacco, etc.). This is your chance to get back on track towards a balanced budget, by taking a look at your accounts and managing your savings more effectively!
4. Solicit partnerships/sponsors/crowdfunding
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Finding sponsors and soliciting crowdfunding campaigns can help considerably.
Crowdfunding sites enable those with a concrete project to benefit from private donations on the Internet. Ulule and Kisskissbankbank are two examples of crowdfunding sites that can help: the aim is to launch a round-the-world project with an unusual idea – taking Roquefort cheese and Aveyron around the world, for example, as the two authors of the blog A Ticket to Ride have done – with a few small rewards in return.
Another solution is to find sponsors. Pass on your project to any company likely to be interested in your idea: in return, it can enhance the image and reputation of the company that sponsored you. Depending on the nature of the sponsorship, the sponsor may provide a grant, or sell equipment, goods or services. Finding sponsors can therefore be a real help in financing a round-the-world trip.
You can also start looking for partnerships with companies that share the same values, or have similarities with your project (sustainable development, ecology/organic, humanitarian missions, photojournalism, etc.), or that could benefit from your travels: publicity, notoriety.
5. Choose solidarity tourism
Photo credit: Flickr – Louise Feige
Would you like to travel rent-free? Wwoofing, Helpx, Workaway and TalkTalk Bnb all offer the chance to stay with local people for free, learn a language from native speakers and discover their culture, while volunteering to help out for a few hours a day. The idea is to work 4 or 5 hours a day on your hosts’ property, in exchange for free room and board. The rest of the time, they show you around. It’s like a tourist guide, only better! Firstly, you get to immerse yourself in the local population, without having to do basic tourism. Then, you save money. And you leave with an unforgettable experience!
6. Working abroad
Photo credit: Flickr – Visions Service Adventures
This solution for financing a round-the-world trip is less exciting, since you have to work. Many travelers work abroad to finance their round-the-world trip.
The solutions are varied:
– Apply for a WHP: Working Holiday Permit in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Korea, Japan, Singapore and Argentina.
– Work in youth hostels (in exchange for the price of the night)
– Volunteer work
– The Holy Grail of foreign sources of income: the nomadic freelance worker. They are graphic artists, web developers, web designers, translators, web copywriters, etc., and all they need is a computer with a wifi connection. They keep their French clients, receive a French income in euros, and fund their bank accounts by living in countries where the cost of living is often much lower than in France. When it comes to financing a round-the-world trip, it doesn’t get much better than this!
7. Borrow
Photo credit: Unsplash – Ben Rosett
At the moment, borrowing rates are rather low. If, however, a banker agrees to finance your round-the-world trip, it’s a rather risky solution, because while you’ll enjoy a nice nest egg of €5,000, €10,000 or €15,000 during the trip, it’s a real headache when you get home. You’ll have to find a job to pay off the loan – coming home in debt isn’t safe, but you’ll speak better English, a skill that’s sometimes in high demand – and hope that the global economy doesn’t take off in an economic tornado that would make the one in 2008 look like a gale…
8. Apply for a scholarship
Photo credit: Unsplash – Fancycrave
To finance a round-the-world trip, in whole or in part, applying for a grant for a sporting, cultural, social, humanitarian or other project can entitle you to various sums. The financial backers are various public or private organizations (institutions, companies, associations), and in return you’ll have to make the institution visible and deliver reports, so you’ll be accountable in return. You often need to be between 25 and 30 years old.
Here are just a few examples of scholarships to apply for:
- Zellidja: €900, between 16 and 20 years old
- AVI International Scholarship: €3,000
- Millet, MXP Exchange: €15,000 to €40,000 in equipment
- Expè grant: €20,000 for 5 projects
- Fondation de France Déclics Jeunes grant: up to €7,600 between 18 and 30 years old
9. Rent out your house/apartment
Photo credit: Unsplash – Arno Smit
Since you’ll no longer be living in France, why not rent out your property to finance your round-the-world trip? There’s no better way to maintain the property, pay off a mortgage and/or build up a net income! The downside is that it will be difficult to move back in if the tenants wish to stay until the lease expires!
10. Testing home swapping
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Home swapping? What is home swapping? A great way to finance a round-the-world trip, homeswapping involves exchanging homes. You choose which country and city you’d like to stay in, and decide whether you’d like to host a guest in your home while you’re away. It’s a great way to save money on your accommodation budget!