i did read that link and read the entry a few people made about how they booked the airfare

but not much was mentioned about lodging plans.

asked a separate question since that one had too many entries.

Our longest RTW trip was 7 months.

Yes we do book all hotels in advance.

Yes we do speak some languages other than English - (French and Spanish) though in most countries you could get by with English only - though Russia was a challenge.

In some countries we book tours (eg in the Middle East) - in others Europe, UK, US we don't. Depends on how confident we are with language and transport systems.

I did not book very far in advance. If you are traveling for a long time you cannot plan your time and schedule that strict because you will have days when you feel like not doing anything etc etc.

I would normally book the hotel for the next city/town online just a few days in advance because I do not like searching for a place to sleep on arrival.

It did cost a bit more sometimes because I had to buy flights quite late too but the flexibility was worth it.

To save money I mostly stayed in hostels in shared dorms, while splurging on a private room once in a while.

You can get by with English almost everywhere and if people don't understand you just use some hand signs etc and you'll be fine.

I did do a few week long tours during my trip. It was a nice break from traveling solo and some things are hard to do on your own without a car. I just looked up tours on the internet or from flyers at hostels/hotels.

Bring a mini laptop or tablet to be able to look up things to do and see, book ho(s)tels, tours, transportation etc on the go.

I think it depends on your age and the time of year you are travelling. We are doing a RTW for 2 months and it's high season. So in the touristy places I have pre booked accommodation on Booking.com to snare a room in case they get booked out. The bookings can be cancelled later at no cost if I find something else. Also we found it very difficult in South America to find anyone speaking English so I think day tours are good there in the larger cities. Also when language is a problem you don't know what parts are safe or otherwise. Do your research w ell before you go.

It really depends on where you're going. "Around the world" is a big list.

We generally book ahead, but our trips are usually fairly short (6 weeks or so) and we generally know where we're going. If your itinerary is more open-plan, then you can play it by ear. Travel with a tablet or computer so you can go online and book ahead with ease.

And while there are some places where English was not spoken widely, these are very few and far between these days. You'll be okay.

For the past few years, we have travelled in Europe for a bit over 2 months. As we have a son and his family living in USA, we keep going west to return to Australia.

We plan the whole trip well in advance, and book our accommodation well in advance. This is pretty much essential if we want to spend a week in an apartment in France or Italy.

However, although we plan our travel and accommodation well in advance, we do not make detailed plans of how we will spend each day.

<<If you are traveling for a long time you cannot plan your time and schedule that strict because you will have days when you feel like not doing anything etc etc>>

Yes and that is why we factor in "rest days" every10 days or so. Also we always travel in high season. After all who wants to put up with cold rain or snow and weather related delays? - so another reason why we book ahead (like Nick and his wife) so that we get the accommodation we want at the price we want.

I regard planning the accommodation as one of the great precursors to the trip. Finding a great apartment in just the right spot at the right price with all the things we want, like few stairs, wifi, decent furniture etc is part of the fun of planning. I don't want to be homeless on the streets of a small town because there is nowhere to stay that night.

Yep right with you there Lynn