Kai Vytautas Tamošaitis from Alytus loudly said at a party with friends that one of his dreams is to travel around the world, and there seems to be no way back. “Once you say it out loud, you then get the feeling that you have to make it happen,” smiles the 78-year-old man.
This autumn the dream will become reality. On September 23, Vytautas will set off alone, in economy class and with only one backpack, on a journey around the world lasting more than a month. He plans to return to Vilnius on October 28.
But it’s not only the traveler’s age or the decision to embark on such a trip alone that is surprising. Equally impressive is how relatively cheaply you can travel around the world if you know where and how to look for flights, and choose accommodation through a home exchange program instead of hotels.
The journey started from Turkey
Vytautas says he has been traveling for a long time, but started exploring the world more intensively about two decades ago.
“At least every summer vacation was connected with some kind of trip. The first one, probably like many Lithuanians, was to Turkey with a tour operator, and then gradually we started traveling independently,” recalls the man from Alytus.
At first, one of the obstacles was language. Vytautas revived the French language skills he acquired in school, so he and his wife often chose French-speaking countries. Later, the geography of his travels expanded – he has visited the USA, Canada, and other more distant countries.
After retiring and completely stopping work, he decided to learn English. He has been studying it independently using the internet for five years now.
“Now my knowledge is enough at least to communicate. Traveling also helps improve the language. I can also get by in French. Of course, the grammar is not perfect, I don’t know some words, but I can manage. Besides, translation apps help a lot now,” he says.
Now my English knowledge is enough at least to communicate. Traveling also helps improve the language. I can also get by in French.
Exchanged hotels for strangers’ homes
One of Vytautas’s most important travel discoveries was the home exchange platform. Many years ago, he learned about the system now operating under the name “HomeExchange”.
The principle is simple: travelers give each other the opportunity to stay in their homes. Previously, Vytautas hosted foreigners in Alytus, and he himself went to their homes. Sometimes the exchanges did not happen simultaneously – first the guests came to Lithuania, then the Lithuanians traveled to them.
This created not only free accommodation but also friendships.
“When guests, especially French, came to me, I tried to show them Lithuania, drove them around the country. That’s how friendly relationships were formed. For example, we have acquaintances in France, near Saint Malo, close to the famous Mont Saint-Michel,” Vytautas says.
However, Alytus is not as popular among foreign travelers as Vilnius or Kaunas. But now the home exchange system offers somewhat more flexible options,
For example, Vytautas’s home is rated at 140 so-called guest points per night. If a guest stays there for ten nights, the host receives 1400 points and can use them to stay in another member’s home anywhere else.
“If another person’s accommodation costs 200 points per night, I can stay there for seven nights with my accumulated 1400 points. This makes travel much cheaper because you don’t have to pay for hotels,” explains the traveler.
Over many years of traveling, he has also made acquaintances who accept Vytautas simply as a friend: “Come over,” they say, “no points needed.”
For the upcoming trip around the world, the man from Alytus has already arranged almost all accommodations. He is only looking for accommodation options in Japan.
Spoke the dream out loud to friends
The idea of traveling around the world did not come to Vytautas this year. His son also travels a lot and told his father about a website called “Holiday Pirates” (holidaypirates.fr) that posts cheap flight deals. There, a few years ago, Vytautas saw an idea on how to plan a trip around the world by spending a relatively small amount on flights.
In May this year, Vytautas again found a preliminary round-the-world itinerary online with possible directions and approximate flight prices.
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“I looked and realized that such a plan almost suits me,” he says.
Sometimes one day saves 50 euros
Vytautas did not choose a ready-made travel package. He sat down at the computer and started arranging flights himself.
“I looked at which day was cheaper because sometimes even one day can mean a difference of 50 euros or more. Prices also differ between night and day flights. So I gradually arranged everything: stay longer in one country, shorter in another,” the man says.
By the end of May, almost all plane tickets were already purchased.
His route will stretch from Lithuania to Madrid, from there to Mauritius. Then the traveler will move towards Bangkok via India, later reach Japan, Hawaii, San Francisco, and finally head home.
Vytautas has already visited Bangkok and San Francisco, but most of the places on the trip will be new to him. He plans to spend about five to seven days in each country. This pace was chosen consciously.
“I could shorten it so that there would be a couple of days in each place, but long flights tire a person quite a lot. You need to recover. And if you have already flown so far, you want to see the place itself,” says Vytautas.
In some places, he is considering renting a car. For example, in Mauritius, he is still figuring out whether it will be more convenient to travel by public transport or independently.
Told his wife when tickets were already in his pocket
Vytautas will go on the more than month-long trip alone. Until now, he usually traveled with his wife, sometimes with a group of several people. Such a long solo trip will be his first.
“Such a trip would be too hard for my wife – it requires different health and physical fitness. And among friends, I don’t think anyone would be willing to take such an adventure,” he says.
He did not inform his wife about the final plan at the very beginning. “I told her when almost all the flights were already bought,” the traveler laughs.
His argument is simple: everyone has their own dreams. And if you have already promised yourself and your friends out loud, you want to keep that promise.
On the trip – with one backpack
The 78-year-old man plans to fly economy class around the world and take only one backpack. “If you want to travel economically, you have to think about how to do everything cheaper,” he says.
According to Vytautas, when looking for flights, it’s worth playing with dates, comparing different routes, and not sticking to one specific city.
“Sometimes it doesn’t make much difference whether you fly to America via San Francisco, Los Angeles, or New York. You can still explore that city,” the traveler notes.
Asked about his age, Vytautas does not go into deep philosophies. For him, it’s more important not the number in the passport but how a person feels.
“Now I am really in good physical shape,” he says.
Vytautas moves every day. In the mornings, he walks about 5–7 kilometers, rides a bike or runs to the lake, and plays badminton with seniors from Alytus.
“We play for about an hour or an hour and a half, then I do some exercises and swim. If you feel good, why wouldn’t you travel?” the man reflects.
Until September, Vytautas checks information almost daily: he looks into visa requirements, necessary health documents, transport, and other travel conditions. According to him, the more you prepare in advance, the calmer you feel when you leave.
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