If you are looking to go backpacking or even just want to know how to go about planning a trip around the world, sometimes it’s difficult to know where to start. In reality planning to travel around the world isn’t as complicated as many first timers think.

It’s natural to be slightly nervous about traveling to unknown places and first timers usually over plan in order to put their mind at rest.

Here are the key areas you should cover in order to travel around the world:

Get some motivation for travel

• Sometimes you need something to motivate you to leave everything behind. It’s usually just fear that stops you from actually making that giant step out of your comfort zone. See –  5 Reasons To Quit Your Job and Go Traveling and 5 Steps To Make Your Travel Dream A Reality.

Get an idea of where you want to travel

• Find some inspiration for traveling to a certain country or region, see – 101 Things To Do Around The World.
• Research some activities that you’d love to do, see – Travel The World With Extreme Sports.
• Be inspired by unusual world cuisine, see –  10 Weird Things To East Around The World.

Save some money

• Once you have a rough idea of where you want to go, draw up a rough budget.
• Start saving your hard earned cash.
• Start cutting out any money you tend to waste on things you don’t really need, see – The Secret of Successful Saving For Your Trip Of A Life Time.

Organise yourself

• If you have an idea of where you are going then check out the Visa situation for the countries you maybe visiting.
• Once you know how long you need to save enough money, you can book your flight. This will help you focus and give you a definitive time frame.
• Buy some travel insurance.
• Get your vaccinations. Check out Travel Health and visit your local doctors.
• Buy a backpack and any items you’ll need. Don’t go overboard you probably won’t need the kitchen sink – 5 Reasons Backpackers Should Travel Light.
• Photocopy your passport, vaccine certificate, insurance, contact details etc.
• Sort out your banking. Think about opening a Nationwide Flexi Account for a debit card with the cheapest withdrawal charges abroad.
• Optional: Buy a guide book, or don’t. See – 5 Reasons Not To Trust Your Guide Book.
• Optional: Book your first few nights in a hostel. See –  Web Booking Sites For World Travel.

Then Relax

• Read up on the first place you are going to for any dangers or scams. See – 6 Steps To Stay Safe Traveling The World.
• If you are going to document your trip, browse a few online travel blogs and pick one you prefer. See – Top 4 Travel Blogging Sites.