The Big List of Resources for Round-the-World Travel and Career Breaks

In conjunction with its October 18 Nationwide Event, Meet, Plan, Go! put together a list of links to helpful websites to help anyone who’s considering or actively planning a career break for extended travel. I added a few of my favorites. Feel free to recommend additional resources in the comments below! Thanks to Adam Seper of BootsNAll and Sherry Ott of Ottsworld for compiling this comprehensive list.

Our family on the eve of going abroad, with all our luggage packed.

Career Break/RTW Travel Sites

http://meetplango.com/

http://meetplango.com/basic-training/

http://www.bootsnall.com/rtw/

http://careerbreaksecrets.com/

http://rebootbreak.com/

http://www.gobackpacking.com/Blog/

Money/Budgeting Sites/Blogs

http://www.rtwexpenses.com/how–much–does–it–cost–to–travel–around–the–world–year-1-summary/

http://alittleadrift.com/2009/10/rtw–budget–travel–around–the–world/

http://travel.booklocker.com/2009/05/04/round–the–world–travel–budget/

http://manvsdebt.com/

http://www.bootsnall.com/rtw/round–the–world–tips–budgeting–for–your–rtw.html

http://www.theroadforks.com/offtheroad/how_we_budget_for_rtw

http://almostfearless.com/2009/09/07/planning–a–travel–budget–that–works–day-7-of-30w30d/

http://globetrooper.com/notes/travel–budget/

http://takeyourbigtrip.com/2010/03/03/how–to–estimate–a–big–trip–budget–an–introduction/

http://www.rtwexpenses.com/

Accommodations

Hostel/Hotel Sites

hihostels.com

http://www.gomio.com/

http://www.hostels.com/

http://www.hostelworld.com/

http://hostels.bootsnall.com/

http://www.hotels.com

http://tripadvisor.com

Note: when we travel, I always make a point of checking the New York Times Travel section, searching a specific destination, and reading the “readers’ suggestions” tab for advice on where to stay in a particular place.

Apartment/Condo/House Rental Sites

http://www.vrbo.com/

http://www.homeaway.com/

http://www.airbnb.com/

House Sitting

http://www.caretaker.org/

http://www.housecarers.com/

http://www.trustedhousesitters.com/

http://www.mindmyhouse.com/

http://www.sabbaticalhomes.com/Home_Exchange.aspx

Staying with Locals

https://www.tripping.com/

http://www.couchsurfing.org/

Homestays

http://www.usservas.org/index.php

Home Exchanges

http://www.homeexchange.com/

http://www.homexchangevacation.com/

http://www.homebase–hols.com/

Working Abroad/Exchanging work for room and board

http://www.helpex.net/

http://www.wwoof.org/

http://www.aupair.com/

http://www.workaway.info/

Volunteering/Voluntourism

http://b2b.meetplango.com/2009/03/how–to–choose–an–international–volunteer–program/

http://www.idealist.org/

http://www.transitionsabroad.com/

http://toolkit.bootsnall.com/volunteering–abroad–travel–guide/volunteer–abroad–links.html

http://www.geovisions.org/

Packing

http://www.bootsnall.com/rtw/faq–packing.html

http://meetplango.com/2011/08/choosing–the–perfect–backpack/

http://www.poweredbytofu.com/how–to–pack–for–a-1-year–round–the–world–trip/

http://alittleadrift.com/rtw–travel/rtw_packing/  (includes a female packing list)

http://blog.hostelbookers.com/travel/how–to–pack–your–backpack/  (how to best pack your backpack)

http://www.travelindependent.info/whattopack.htm

http://gogreentravelgreen.com/extended–travel/ultimate–packing–list–for–a–round–the–world–trip/ (2 female packing lists)

http://www.aswetravel.com/rtw–gear–list–our-2011-packing–list/ (male and female packing lists for two digital nomads)

http://onebag.com

And if you’re a runner, don’t miss my earlier post on “Run Long but Travel Light: A Runner’s Packing List.”

Airfare Sites and Deals

http://meetplango.com/round–the–world–tickets/

http://www.bootsnall.com/tripplanner.shtml

http://tripplanner.airtreks.com/?ref=BOOTSNALL

http://www.kayak.com/

http://www.hipmunk.com/

Insurance – Medical/Travel

mhross.com

http://meetplango.com/travel–insurance/

http://www.hthworldwide.com/

Travel Message Boards

http://boards.bootsnall.com/

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/index.jspa

http://www.afar.com