People on Tik Tok always talk about how they travel full-time, and this is how I plan to do just that.
You heard correctly: as of May 2025, I hope to full-time travel around the world (well, Asia mostly).
I fell in love with travel back when I was 13 years old, and have been on countless solo trips from the moment I turned 18. I do believe that everything I have done has led me to this exact moment, wanting to travel full-time.
I think people like to believe full-time travel is very inaccessible; that those who do it may have it funded by their parents, party all the time and spend their days being lazy, or other things like that.But right off the bat that could not be further from the truth. Most people who travel full-time worked hard to be able to get to this point. They do so because they feel this drive to see the world, experience different cultures,meet new people and possibly have an inability to stay in one place for a long period of time.
Now obviously with my decision to do this post-grad comes a need for some sort of a plan. Where to go, how to fund it, etc. This is what I’m doing now so that I can follow my ideal plan.
The first step is money. In order to save up to travel, I am working a ton. I want to have a certain amount of money (I do not want to disclose the specific amount here), but it is an amount that would allow me to stay in Asia for at least a year with a relatively standard budget.
In terms of my budget, I got the amount I wanted to have saved through watching various videos on TikTok of other people’s budgets. I also know my own spending habits, like things that I will do to save money (take early flights, overnight buses, etc), and things that I will never say no to or give up (coffee, cool excursions) and other small things like that.
The second step is finding out where you want to go. The great part about travel is it can go with the flow, which is why inherently I don’t have a proper set plan either.
I lived in Asia last year and I loved it, and I loved the small bit of the backpacking scene that I experienced when I got to travel before settling down in Nepal.
Those experiences have all led me to want to go back and travel Asia. I know it’s a great backpacker-friendly destination and the culture there is super nice and targeted toward people in their early 20s (not saying other people do not go because that is not true! Just more people with similar goals go there in their early 20s). I also have a list of places I would love to go back to, other parts of countries I have been to and some obscure places I just have a fascination with.
With this being said, I have a relative idea of where I want to go, but nothing specific. No specific route or plan; that will all be decided based on flight prices and things like that. The only plan is to fully send it somewhere in Asia and figure it out from there. In terms of planning your itinerary as well, TikTok has loads of videos on it where you can easily find how long people stay in places, whether they recommend it or not, and things like that!
Another thing I think is needed with full-time travel is realizing you will get burned out. With this, I recommend looking into work aways or work exchanges through World Packers or just by messaging various hostels. People will often work at a hostel for free food and accommodation. This way you tend not to spend much money, work five hours a day, get to stay in a place for a longer amount of time and get to know it very well and also relax. Slow travel is very popular for digital nomads and something I am definitely looking into. There are also a few places I would love to stay in for longer periods of time. Plus, I can already predict the exhaustion that may most likely come, so this is a good idea.
Along with things like this, other ideas where you can save or make money while traveling are good to have in mind, especially if your trip does not have an end date (like mine). I love to write, especially about travel, so I have looked into freelance writing while I am away! I also have met people who have done house sitting as a great way to refresh and recharge, which is another thing I am sure I will do on the road.
I think another huge part of doing full-time travel is you need to have a backup plan. Something if everything falls apart. Say someone steals your phone, you should have money saved so you can afford to buy a new one. As well as little things like plane tickets home. Or say you get out there and want to leave within a short amount of time, you need to be able to figure out what to do then.
And lastly, another thing to keep in mind, especially something I am trying to remind myself of while I spend my entire year romanticizing my future trip, is the trip itself will be hard. Traveling is so cool and beautiful, but it is not always glamorous. Since I plan to go solo (though I am always looking for travel buddies), I am sure there will be times when I will feel lonely. You can meet so many amazing people in hostels, but not every hostel is like that. I am sure at times I will be upset since travel is hard. And overall, I am sure it will be one of the hardest things I have ever done. But it will also teach me so much, I will make such cool connections with such cool people and so much more, which is why inherently I believe it will all be worth it.
But even now, it is important to remember that it will not be all sunshine and rainbows.
With that being said, those are some of my tips on how to go about full-time traveling. Now obviously, if this is something you want to do, everyone will go about it a different way, but this is just what I have been doing in preparation for my own future plans.
P.S. You should travel the world, you won’t regret it!