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!

Congratulations! Great plan.. just a few comments:

I wouldn't visit countries where "white people" are generally seen as walking money bags. While such countries are ok for a weekend, it can get quite annoying for a longer strech of time.

Countries that are cheap and don't have that attitude are probably found abundant in Eastern Europe. Which would make a great stay from spring to autumn, not so much in winter. Regarding winter (unless you like it cold), I would say Malaysia and Indonesia have cheap prices (accomodations, food, transport) while being reasonable safe and (usually) don't scam/overcharge as other countries would do.

I found CAI (and generally North Africa) to be doable, but rather annoying. I wouldn't want to visit it again on a tight budget.

UAE are definitely a great idea, but hotel prices vary a lot. I'd go when hotel are cheap (Ramadan.. summer if you don't mind the heat.. late autumn.. ) - in winter it's quite expensive.

Regarding the Americas, I've less experience. I'd say Argentina is more sane now that they've made their currency rates "normal" again, otherwise in middle america it's a bit like the "walking money bag" again..

Awesome trip!

Tips:

1. Plan your currency exchanges in advance if you can. A lot of the places you are going won't take credit cards.

2. Europe isn't all that bad for pricing. There's hostels in major cities where you can grab a bed for 10 euros per night if necessary. Scout ahead and your money will last ages.

3. Do EVERYTHING. Chances are you'll never go back and you don't want to wonder what X, Y and Z might have been like.

4. Egypt, head to the Red Sea coast around Hurghada. Not quite as commercial as Sharm El Sheik and you can do a lot of the same things for half the money.

5. Start a thread on here called "SteveP2016's Trip Of a Lifetime" and keep sending us news, questions and updates. I'm sure quite a few of us would follow that!

Sounds like a great trip!

You may wish for longer in Australia depending on how much you want to see.

Reading back through this thread, one of the things I love about FT is the responses here.

OP: Can I do this? Is this possible?
FT: High five. Spend more time here, less time here. Make sure you do XYZ. BTW remember to get visas.

In this crowd it's always a given that you can and should travel the world. Safe travels in your adventure, OP! :)

I'm not sure of your budget and obviously can't evaluate your health. In the early 80s we managed to generally keep to a $30/day + inter-city travel for 3 people budget. That was impossible in any first-world location, though.

I've been on the road that long at age 16 and less than 3 months of that was in first-world places. Plan to spend some time just relaxing, it wears you down. Carry no souvenirs--if you can't mail it home promptly don't get it. Expect to have to replace some clothing and if you're at all on the large side expect this to be hard in any third world location. (Note that "large" covers more than fat--my at the time size 11 feet proved quite problematic! Now, wearing 13EEEE I would consider replacement footgear to simply be out of the question in most places.)

Also, consider that some vaccinations don't last the duration of your trip. Plan where you will get your shots.

And a button for donations!

Steve, I wish you all the best with your trip. Your story is inspiring. The advice I would give you is:

1. Budget well and have a back-up plan if you run short on cash. Keep an emergency credit card that you don't use for everyday stuff, but can charge an emergency flight or hotel stay on. You might even pick up some sign up miles to pay for a couple of flights.
2. Check out Eurail passes for your time in Europe. Distances are short and train travel is easy and cheap. As there are unlimited passes, you can even hop on an overnight train to somewhere, if you are stuck for accommodation.
3. Stay with friends and family for part of your trip, if possible. You said you have a brother in Australia. This will greatly help in keeping down costs and giving you some home-style comforts. Yes, Australia is expensive but the currency is weakening rapidly, so it's getting cheaper.
4. Travel as light as you can and take old, hard wearing clothes that you don't mind throwing away on route. You can always do laundry etc at hostels and you are certain to acquire more stuff on route. Excess baggage fees should not eat into your budget.
5. Enjoy yourself. You will likely have many ups and downs on such a trip, but if you have the right outlook (and it sounds like you have) you will return with some amazing experiences and memories.
Good luck!

I'd change up the order of your trip and try to avoid the EU during August. I'd try to use a RTW flight and then intersperse round trips on separate itineraries. You will need a few positioning flights and strange routings once in a while but this can be done.

My order would be EU in spring making sure to hit Eastern Europe. I'd jump to SE Asia and then on to Oceania and Australia. Finish your trip in South America and Central America. I haven't done a trip like this since I'm all corporate travel but that's my instinct.

Congrats and it sounds like an awesome trip. The money might be a little tight, but with serious budgeting, eating like the locals, and your plan for cheap stays you could pull it off. Why would you want to spend 2 months in India? Just curious, as that is one of the few countries in the world that I have little to no interest in visiting. I would take some of the time planned in India and disperse it elsewhere, especially SE Asia. You can live very cheaply there and we just love it, but ultimately it is your trip and I am sure that you will have a great time.^

👍+1
I sincerely admire you. No better way to feel alive than to try and experience all this world has to offer: see it, taste it, hike it ...
You will indeed meet many others along your journey; fellow travellers, wanderers, explorers, natives, new friends... What could be crazy about that?

I remember coming over to London for my first time overseas from the U.S. (long before I ended up living here) for a friend's wedding. I departed London for 3 weeks with a very loose travel plan and a 'Let's Go GB and Ireland' book. Met so many great people along the way - ended up touring every county in Ireland by car with some girls I met in a hostel in Dublin. Great memories.
If you find yourself making a pits top in London for any reason, send a line.😀 Always happy to help. Best of luck to you!

Definitely put me in the *high five* camp. Go for it! Right now, I think I'd need $100k to do that trip, but I also remember a time when I would have said $24k/yr = $2k/mo = $60/day....yeah, I can do that! :cool:

Now on to my own less/more recommendations:

- 2 weeks of Turkey: this actually could be about right, it just wouldn't be all in Istanbul. Lots of archaeology, nature, beach, etc. in Turkey.

- 10 weeks of Central America feels very long. 20% of your trip right there...I'd probably knock that down to a couple weeks of Belize and Costa Rica. I'd skip Cancun unless you're solely there for some of the nearby Mayan sites: Cancun itself is a tourist trap. Take 6-8 weeks of this time and distribute it among South America and Southeast Asia.

- I've never been to Iceland, but everybody tells me it's heaven and I'd want more than 3 days there.

- I'd definitely shift Europe to Sept/Oct (or to the start of your trip - April/May), especially if you want to hit the hostels, pensiones, and Airbnb spots popular with backpackers.

- I don't have any problem with 2-3 days in CAI. You'd have a full pyramid day, a museum day, and your going/coming day. If you do this, hit Giza right when it opens and then get the hell out of there when the bus tours roll up. Go down to Saqqara and Dahshur in the afternoon...we did this and had the entire North Pyramid to ourselves. A more extensive Egyptian trip would include Luxor, Aswan, and Abu Simbel...if you're *really* into Egypt. That would be 7-10 days.

- Maybe consider a couple weeks of Isreal/Jordan.

- I'd allot a lot of time to Southeast Asia because there are so many different experiences to be had there. More than anywhere else, this is where I think you'd be likely to throw in an unplanned extension or ad-hoc modification to your trip. I think this is where I'd earmark some of those Central America weeks...

- Any thought given to more of Africa (beyond Egypt)?

- Maybe work a little Nepal/Bhutan into that 2 months allocated to India. 1 week of each would be enough to do some amateur (guided) trekking. 3-4 weeks are needed to do serious altitude trekking. (Higher altitude treks also get expensive.) With or without trekking, these are absolutely fascinating places.

Bhutan is VERY expensive. Visitors (non Bhutan or Indian citizens) are required to spend at least $200 US/day. May break the OPs budget.

^ Well done and welcome to Flyer Talk:)

Well said by the way. ^:)

A few things I would make sure of:

1. Vaccinations - make sure you have had all the shots you need, and obtain any prescriptions you might need (including maybe some 'just in case' meds if you are going to be off the beaten track). Some of your destinations will need anti malarials, not sure how long those tablets are good for (i.e. if you can get them before you leave). You may also need Yellow Fever certificates travelling between some destinations. Some vaccinations need time between them to give you full cover, so you might want to look into getting them done sooner than later. Make sure you tell the travel doc that you will be staying in budget accommodation, and may be off the beaten track - things like rabies shots may become more relevant than for your average 2 week holidaymaker.

2. I am assuming you live in Vancouver - your BC healthcare will expire if you are out of the country for that long (you have to be physically present in BC for X months during the year. A lot of Canadian health insurance policies are contingent on you having valid provincial health care, and I know people caught out by this when their home health cover expires due to being out of country. I really do think you need a good health insurance plan - a lot of the countries listed present possibilities for weird and wonderful diseases, but completely aside from that you can get hit by a car in any city in the world! Having good medical coverage is an essential investment IMO.

3. Make arrangements with someone at home to be able to do things on your behalf (e.g. at your bank) just in case you need to. Have a spare credit card kept completely separate from the rest of your belongings as far as possible (e.g. one on your body, one in your bag) - I even know someone who sewed an emergency card and cash into their clothing (that seems extreme!). Keep a copy of your passport in the same place. I also make sure I have a copy electronically in a drop box.Whilst kinda archaic, travellers cheques are still accepted in lots of places, and are insured if you lose them / they get stolen, so might not be a bad back up plan.

4. Visas - plan out what you need to get and when, and how. Some countries you can apply for electronic visas (e.g. Australia) so you don't need to part with your passport, but other countries still need you to send your passport in. In some countries, you cannot be a visitor and not have your passport (i.e. you have to have it with you at all times) and I would *never* want to be in a country without a passport in case I had to get home in an emergency (e.g. ill family member) or if something bad happened where I was (terrorism, war breaks out etc.) Some visas can only be obtained within x weeks of travelling (and may require proof of travel), other visas can be obtained ahead of time and remain valid for months. All to say, the visas are probably the biggest thing that will impact the order, duration and timing of your trip.

5. Don't forget you still have to do some real life things (like filing your tax return) no matter where you are in the world!

I love your style

No you are not insane - you are on Flyertalk with many like minded people. ^^

To this point: a few of my friends have done RTW's, and one of the common tips I've heard is to bake in a stop back in your home for a few days, especially on the *longer* RTW's (multi-month). These were British and Canadian friends in years when a popular start-point for an RTW ticket was Thailand, so this was logistically not too difficult.

Your plan crosses back through Canada for 1 day...maybe not the worst thing in the world if you make that a few days??? I know you don't want to lose the travel vibe, and no idea if you have friends/family in the Toronto area, but a brief reset/recharge might be useful.

Another great idea. ^:)