6 Months RTW 2012

Hi everyone,

My husband and I are planning a RTW trip hoping to start around May next year.

We've never done any travelling outside of Australia, and we don't often get an opportunity to get time off work so we are trying to squish it all in together.

We will be leaving from Sydney and a rough idea of where we would like to go (in a VERY rough order):

Starting in Sydney
- Dubai
- Egypt
- Lebanon
- Turkey
- Then making our way around Europe - I don't want to cram too much in.. I hate being rushed .. I'd rather see a few countries properly than every country quickly. Quality not quantity! I guess the places we want to see most are Sweden, Greece, France, Spain, Italy
- UK - England, Scotland, Ireland
- I know this is probably insane and cramming way too much in - Fly to New York, make our way by car to Chicago, then fly to Las Vegas, make our way down to LA.
- End in Asia - Japan, China and finish off at a 5 star resort in Thailand!

Is that too much over 6 months? Should we stick to the middle east / Europe on this trip and save America for another? We plan to travel South America in 2014 so perhaps leaving USA for then might make more sense?

Also Asia is really close to us here so we could really fly there any time and check it out.

My husband is pretty keen on doing RTW though so trying to weigh up the pros and cons.

I'm not really keen on the idea of backpacking - I'd prefer not to stay in hostels, but more so mid range accomodation where possible. Also I am not a fan of tours AT ALL.

I guess what I'd like to know from you guys is how much do you think would be a good amount to save before starting this trip.

Also with the itineraty, do you think its do-able (in an enjoyable, not too rushed way?). Is there a better order I could do it in?

Any advice, thoughts, ideas would be fantastic!

Thanks







....

I'm not you, but if I were, I'd just do Middle East/Europe on this trip - six months might sound like forever, but it's not.
Then take some shorter trips to SE Asia - easy to do from Oz.
And keep the US for your American trip. Makes sense.
You will want every minute of your six months in Europe. Without the constraints of family with other plans, I'd go back for six years!

Mama-to-many wrote:I'm not you, but if I were, I'd just do Middle East/Europe on this trip - six months might sound like forever, but it's not.
Then take some shorter trips to SE Asia - easy to do from Oz.
And keep the US for your American trip. Makes sense.
You will want every minute of your six months in Europe. Without the constraints of family with other plans, I'd go back for six years!

I had started to write exactly the same advise, last night, when I was interrupted.

What they said, more or less. I do think that 6 months in Europe is a lot, but 3 to 4 months in Europe, plus 2 months in the middle east, isn't. Turkey is a one-month minimum, and you could easily (and happily) fill two.

You might be able to fit in the parts of America you want, too, but it will increase your speed everywhere else. I'm also assuming Dubai will be more of a "pop in for the weekend" destination, since I can't imagine spending an extended amount of time there, given the expense, and small size. Asia's really out, that would push your speed far too fast, and given its proximity to home, there's not that much value in trying to squeeze it in.

Thanks for your replies everyone!

I am kind of glad you guys agree with sticking to middle east/europe! I have convinced my hubby and it looks like this is now the plan - but only for 3-4 months instead.

I guess I will head over to the Europe forums and do some research.

Thanks again

What they said-

Dubai [probably isn't much, but lebanon is an interesting country, one week-two weeks minimum, yadda yadda yadda.

In short 6 months is enough to see middle east Europe in a relaxed manner while saving money on transport, saving time on shorter transport legs.

What they all said.

Also regarding you saying you're not too keen about backpacking and hostels- is it just the thought of staying in a dorm room that you don't like? Because these days hostels have private rooms that cost the same for a couple as two beds in a dorm room would, so you get privacy but the advantages of the awesome travelers network they provide. (I traveled with my brother a few months in Africa and Asia hosteling the whole way- and he wasn't keen on dorm rooms either but we didn't stay in a single one it turned out.)

Just something worth mentioning.

Bananas wrote:I'm not really keen on the idea of backpacking - I'd prefer not to stay in hostels, but more so mid range accomodation where possible. Also I am not a fan of tours AT ALL.

I missed this the first time around, so I think I'll dig in a bit.

If you haven't backpacked before, it's hard to understand the fuzzy lines that divide accomodation. I wouldn't say "hostel" and "mid-range" are mutually exclusive. Almost all hostels offer private rooms, sometimes private bath, too. Some hotels have dorms available, and all their rooms are shared bath. Don't let the titles fool you, or restrict you. Price isn't always an indicator of quality either - some of the least comfortable beds I've slept in are at the expensive hotels I stay in when I'm on traveling on my employer's dime.

So picking accomodation is an artform learned with experience. Recommendations from other travelers are valuable, so are brochures with pictures, which are usually pretty easy to find as you travel through a country. If you're going to a popular destination, check hostelworld (it has more than just hostels), and look for high ratings in all the categories except "fun." Unless you want a party atmosphere, which is what "fun" usually translates to. Read descriptions for specific things that appeal to you: I like gardens and maybe a nice view, so those are items I check off.

Budget wise, when I did the middle east and eastern Europe in 2006, I spent around $2000 CAD per person per month (I think it was about $1,700 per month on the ground and a total for $2,500-$3,000 for flights, immunisations, insurance, etc.). I did stay in some hostel dorms, but only in the largest cities (Istanbul, Athens, Bucharest, and Budapest), and most of Bulgaria (where "mid-range" seemed more or less non-existant for some reason...it was a $10 dorm bed or an $80 hotel room). If you want to avoid dorms entirely, I'd say $2k/person/month, plus flights and pre-trip costs would be plenty.

And a question on tours. I've traveled many different ways over the years, and found that there's a variety of different kinds of tours. I've found some kinds I enjoy, and some kinds I don't. If your only experience is with large bus-loads of people, I'd suggest keeping an open mind about small groups and walking tours, which can provide more information about the area your visiting without the frustrations of traveling in a horde. If you've tried it and don't like it, then of course it's your trip and you should do what you want to do.

Dubai is a likely stop over on our way to Egypt or Lebanon so we figured we may as well check it out while we are there - we are thinking about 4 days. I'd like to spend at least a week in Lebanon.

As for hostels, my minimum requirements would be to have my own bathroom. If there was a hostel with a private room with an ensuite, I would happily stay there. I did some really quick research with costs and found that the prices of hostel rooms with those facilities were pretty similar to the price of a mid range hotel? Mind you this was a really quick glance at one website so please correct me and steer me in the right direction if I'm wrong.

With the tour thing, I will probably do some day tours like you've said - but in general I don't really like doing things to a schedule or being restricted in any way. My whole work life is bound by schedules and deadlines, when I'm on holidays I like to just do it at my own pace and have the ability to stop what I'm doing and change the plan if I don't like it. If I'm booked in for a 10 day tour it makes it a little hard.

Hope you realize that your minimum requirement of an en-suite bathroom coupled with no tours over a day is going to restrict where you travel? For instance Tibet will be ruled out. Also overnight train/bus travel.

However the biggest impediment of staying in hotels is lack of contact with fellow travelers which WILL cause you to miss out on some awesome experiences, solely because you only become aware of them through chit chat at the hostel. Realized this about day 3 of my 1st extended trip through Mexico & CA.

Not saying one needs to spend every night in a hostel but it sure helps in a new area & some places, it's either, that squat toilet down the hall & the cold water shower when you can see your breath in the air, or miss out on an unique experience.

Just something to consider, but in the end, it's your trip & you have to be comfortable with it.

Bananas wrote:I did some really quick research with costs and found that the prices of hostel rooms with those facilities were pretty similar to the price of a mid range hotel?

Yes, that's a pretty fair assessment, depending on country. I've found that in North America and Western Europe, the price changes more with the title - a hostel is usually noticeably cheaper even for the same class of room. In eastern Europe, the middle east, and South America, that's not so true. (I have not been to Asia or sub-saharan Africa, so can't comment on those places.) Also, in the second group of countries, hostel is more interchangeable with "guesthouse," "b&b," or "pension." In the first group, it's more distinct as an accomodation class.

The difference in title mostly refers to other amenities: a hostel is more likely - though far from certain - to have a kitchen. Hostels usually have common sitting rooms (and often gardens/patios) that actually get used, instead of a lobby that people just pass through. They're good spots for reading, and, as others have indicated, meeting people and trading stories and recommendations.

As busman suggests, the "private bath" requirement may have more impact on where you can go than on what you spend. When it's available, the premium for a private bath usually isn't very big. But if you're interested in any places that are a little off the beaten track, where a town might only have one or two accomodation options, you might just be out of luck.

Way way way too many countries.
Just things to remember when planning.

Consider climate/weather this is very important when you travel worldwide.

One direction around the world may be better than another.

Think Visas understand the requirements for each country plus days allowed and where you can buy the Visa when you are traveling.

Think budget you can never have enough money, Visas, inoculations/injections, malaria tablets, travel, site-seeing can cost quite a bit of cash.

When we traveling I start off with a list of countries/cities/towns, have a spreadsheet and block out the days staying and traveling this will give you a good idea of how long you have, 6 month is only approx.180 days then add in the budget per day for accommodation travel meals siteseeing, to this you add on the fixed costs as above.