Insane trip or impossible crazy talk?
 

I am 33 years old, have recently beat cancer, and recently lost my job. I have been a slave to work for as long as I can remember and it's time to reward myself for being a survivor but more importantly, I need to remind myself how to LIVE and appreciate life.

So April 1st 2016 to April 1st 2017 I want to see the whole world on a tiny budget. 15-18k CAD +($6k CAD for major travel)

Here is the *plan* Backpacking, hostels, couchsurfing, busses, trains, camels.. I don't care I will ride a cow if I have to!!

04APR | Vancouver to Toronto |
04APR | Toronto to Buenos Aires (05APR)
6 weeks in South America (Argentina, Paraguay, Bolivia, Ecuador and ending in Peru,)

17MAY | Lima to Panama City
10 weeks in Central America from Panama through Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala, Belize, and ending in Cancun.

31JUL | Cancun to Toronto
01AUG | Toronto to Reykjavik
3 days in Iceland.

04AUG | Reykjavik to Amsterdam
Europe is CRAZY expensive but I will sleep on a bench with a machete to stay safe as long as I see a little of Spain, Portugal, Croatia, Italy, Belgium, Greece.

01SEP | Athens to Cairo
3 days in Egypt.

04SEP | Cairo to Istanbul
2 weeks in Istanbul.

15SEP | Istanbul to Delhi
2 months in India

15NOV | Mumbai to Bangkok |
I can't plan any further than this with ticket but from there I want to see Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia. From there head to Australia to hang out with my brother for a month.

Am I completely insane for thinking I can do this?

Any wisdom would be appreciated. That being said, I want to see as much as possible now so that I can go back and truly experience some of the places I fall in love with. This is a 12 month exploration.

Welcome to FT, Stevep2016!

As your post is not about members' get-togethers I will move it to TravelBuzz. Good luck with your plan!

NewbieRunner, Co-moderator, CommunityBuzz

sounds great
more in iceland, less in egypt (cairo, specifically).

Coming from Iceland Europe will not feel CRAZY expensive... just avoid the Nordics. In fact a lot of places in Europe are rather affordable like Netherlands, France, Germany, Austria, Spain, Italy, Greece or even dirt cheap like the central eastern countries

As long as you do not insist on staying in fancy hotels and go to posh restaurants all of those countries. Lots of cheap hostels, Airbnb and affordable food options. To maximize savings stay at Airbnb a lot and use the kitchen facilities. (also great for washing your cloths)

I'm not sure I would want to spend 2 weeks in Istanbul... a few days would be enough for me there.

Anyway, you are not crazy! Enjoy the trip! No better way to celebrate life than to see the world.

Insane trip or impossible crazy talk?
 

AMS to ATH, visit Albania, Serbia, Macedonia (Ohrid is a wonderful place). Cheap places that will fill you with good memories.

Insane trip or impossible crazy talk?
 

First off, congrats on surviving the ordeal! I went through a similar experience when I was in my late 20s which led me to quitting everything and travelling the world with a little roll-on carryon (I was on crutches). My only real advice is don't try to plan too much: buy your ticket to get of town, and once you are in Istanbul, Cairo etc. buy your onward tickets there. The advantage is that it will give you the freedom to cut short or extend your stays as you deem fit, plus tickets bought at local consolidators will be a lot cheaper (though probably won't earn any miles). The only thing you need to be aware of is that some countries upon entering them may want to see proof of onward travel. Also, to save money, if a country needs a visa to visit be aware that those visas are charged different prices in different countries, so do some research on what a visa for country X costs in Canada, India, Turkey etc...

One thing to prepare yourself for is the price of Australia. It isn't cheap. However, in all of these things, never not do an experience just because it is a few shekels more than you might expect or can afford: You will have time and opportunity to recover financially.

Some countries require that you apply for a visa in your country of residence. It can also be impractical to have your passport at some consulate for a couple weeks as they process the visa during travel. In some places, foreign consulates might not speak much English, mostly just the language of the country where they're located and the language of their home country.

I'd be cautious about the advice to buy one way plane tickets as you go. One ways often cost several times the price of a RT. OP might want to conisder a RTW ticket for most of the flights. These usually give flexibility if you want to change the dates during the trip.

Congrats! Life is short... I think you'll have a great time. You can eat very affordably if you stick to the grocery stores and delis in Europe. Check the budget travel forum for ideas. Once you hit the road, you will find like minded travelers who are also on epic journeys. It won't seem like such a mad cap idea when you are on the road and meet wonderful people who are doing the same thing.

Insane trip or impossible crazy talk?
 

Comgratulations! You are not crazy and I admire your drive to live your life to the fullest. Not enough people do that.

If you can work it in, swing through Morocco (esp. Marrakech) for a bit. Amazing culture and incredibly cheap to stay/eat/get around. You could potentially extend your time in Spain to take the ferry to Tangier, intercity trains from there, then fly back to Europe from RAK (or backtrack to CMN).

Congratulations on surviving cancer! This trip sounds excellent.

I'd consider getting one of the credit cards that waive the forex fees. Make a list of all the countries you plan to visit that require a visa and the cost associated with that so you can be prepared.

Have a great time and I hope you come back and update us on your travels!

Congrats!! Yes, this is something you should absolutely do - we only get one shot at this thing called life, so trips like this (even if they are expensive) are totally worth it in the long run. Go for it!!

Dude this trip will be ....ing awesome!

I would extend your time in south america and maybe cut down on central america a little bit. In Bolivia make sure you go to the Salar de Uyuni, which is by far the neatest place I ever went.

Any reason no Brazil? I had way to much fun at the hostels in Rio!

10 weeks does seem like a long time in Central America. Any reason you want to spend so much time there? I'd increase the Europe time, throw in some more Middle East (Jordan, Israel, more Egypt) and North Africa.

I use the UNESCO web site (the Wandering Aramean has a great link, too) to get an idea of the type of highlights there are in an area. These are the type of thing I like to see when I travel. Also I love National Parks. http://whc.unesco.org/ I would love to see every UNESCO site in the world!

This isn't crazy, but your budget seems tiny compared to what I spend on a 3-week jaunt somewhere. Keep a money belt with two hundred USD in it in case you need to bypass the system or get an emergency ride to a hospital, airport or consulate.

I hope you make lots of friends and see whatever you want to see. I don't have a lot of international experience, but if I could save 10,000 CDN I'd take a month and see Africa.

Chuck

I was going to say more time in Egypt.

I'd need 100k to do this fabulous trip!