Flexible travelling times

What do most people do regards planning the flights / crossings between countries?

I am wishing to plan where to go and what to do in certain countries but I am slightly against planning WHEN. I like the idea of getting there, exploring about then when I feel like it, moving on at my own pace, rather than having a fixed date.

Do people do this much? Can I get flexible flight tickets or is winging it okay?

I'm wanting to travel between China, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, West/East USA and Iceland. But not having dates set in stone would be awesome, just jumping between hostels then deciding when I want to when to move on.

Advice would be great.
Thanks,
Nick.

Round The World tickets tend to have free/cheap date changes, although it might be hard to change them last minute, as there might not be seats available in that class on short notice.

Buying tickets as you go along is hard, as most countries require a ticket out of the country before they'll allow you to enter.

The end result is that most people (or so I suspect) keep their plans flexible within each country, but pick a ballpark amount of time they want to spend in each country beforehand (based on itnerests / estimated budget), and are forced to stick to that. But the RTW ticket definitely is an option, so you at least have a chance of being somewhat flexible.

[ Edit: Edited on 13-Mar-2013, at 14:45 by Sander ]

I dont know where you are from but STA do something called a multiflex which you pay £99 when you book your flights and it allows unlimited date changes on your flights! You seem to want to go everywhere I am planning. WHen do you plan on going?

Lauren