Photo by Matt Murf

If you’re in the midst of planning your around the world trip it’s likely that you’ve probably already stumbled across the Lonely Planet’s forum, the thorn tree™.

If you haven’t well you are in luck because we have a few links to the best bits of the thorn tree. I’ve always been surprised that some people haven’t even heard of it yet are thinking of planning a trip around the world.

Here are our favourite bits from the thorn tree:

Gap Year & Round the World Travel – This is the main forum for everything to do with taking a year out or travelling round the globe.

Activities & Gear – If you’re in the planning stage it’s good to check out the activities and gear section, you’ll find lots of questions ranging from what sort of activities to do on your trip to what size of backpack to take with you.

Health – Even the most assured traveller can’t help taking a peek inside the health branch, it’s a fascinating read but don’t stay too long.

Travel on a Shoestring – If you’re really on a tight budget this is the branch for you.

Travel Tech – If you’re a gadget freak, or even just after buying a new camera, the travel tech branch can answer your queries.

Those are the main branches that are well worth a browse at least even if you don’t feel the need to post.

On top of these you can find the continent and country specific branches of the thorn tree for the more detailed trip planners amongst us.