Critique my itinerary/estimated cost! (long post!)

I'm planning a rtw leaving in Mar of next year. Dates are very approximate and used for planning rather than a strict guide - I expect I'll deviate from this (I'm buying tickets as I go). Also, expenses don't include airfare - I'm *hoping* for 3500-4000 buying as I go and plan on doing as much overland as I can.

March - April 2008 ($40 per day + $700 buffer): 10 day road trip from Boston to New Orleans, staying with relatives; 30 days *Mexico; 1 week *Cuba; 1 week in Belize (should I just drop Belize?)

May 2008 ($25 per day + $200 splurge): 1 month transit through Guat/Hond/Nic.

June - July 2008 ($30 per day + $750 splurge): 2 weeks Costa Rica; 1 month *Ecuador, including Galapagos if I can afford it; 2 weeks Peru (been here already.)

August 2008 ($25 per day + $200 splurge): 1 month *Bolivia

September 2008 ($35 per day + $400 splurge): 1 week *Easter Islands; 1 week Pacific somewhere (I'm hoping tickets work out for Fiji)

**Note: I'm not sure of the order from Oct-Feb**
October 2008 ($60 per day + $500 splurge) 1 week Japan (for candy purposes); 3 weeks Thailand

November 2008 ($25 per day + $250 splurge): 1 month *Myanmar

December - Jan 2009 ($25 per day + $800 splurge): 2 months some combination of Cambodia, Viet, Laos.

February 2009 ($30 per day + $450 splurge): 1 month China (not Tibet)

March - Apr 2009 ($25 per day + $600 splurge): 2 months India and *Sri Lanka

May 2009 ($40 per day + $350 splurge): 3 weeks Turkey

June - July 2009 ($25-30 per day + $500 splurge): Syria/Jordan/Egypt/Israel (only a few days of Israel)

August 2009 $1800 dollars
-2 to 3 weeks Western Europe + flight home.

I've starred the countries I consider must-see.

This is a final cost of $23550 (not including flights, insurance, pre-trip expenses, etc.) Adding all the extras in I get approximately $31500 total, which I think is largely doable by March 1st. This means a fairly small hit on my Roth IRA savings account (less than 3000 dollars, which is an amount I'm willing to sacrifice.)

Oh yeah, for budget estimates we're talking hostel dorms, cheap food, moderate alcohol costs, and the splurge is for fun/expensive activities (ie: diving school, language school, galapagos cruise, cooking lessons, renting a scooter for a few days, etc)

Ugh this is so long, I'm trying to edit for length

hi Malena. I'm not really able to add much since I'm in the planning stages myself, but have cobbled together much the same itinerary as you. Only difference is, instead of W. Eur after Israel/Syria, etc. I was going to head down to South Africa and Tanzania. During the China run in Feb, have you thought about the Trans Siberian Express? I'm not sure how flexible your itinerary is, but it looks quite interesting.

Best of luck with planning. I'll be checking back on the thread for my own planning purposes!

I'd love to go to Africa, especially Ethiopia - if I dropped Europe I'd try really, really hard to go there I think, even if just for a few weeks.

I thought about the Trans Siberian Express, it was originally another one of my must-dos (I took a year of Russian in preparation actually!) but I think I'd rather save Russia for when I have more time (and money) as well. Mongolia is another country I'm very interested in.

In the end to fit it in 18 months I just forced myself to mercilessly remove countries.

Hopefully some of the responses help you as well!

When are you leaving on your trip?

Malena,

Generally, it's quite a bit and what strikes me is that you don't plan a holiday. I know, that sounds silly: why would you need a holiday while on holiday? If you move without stopping for one year, you get a bit tired of it and a holiday (2 - 4 weeks in one place that you like), you can recharge and enjoy the rest of the trip better. What sort of 'holiday' do you enjoy most? Beaches? Stay a few weeks in Goa or on a Thai island. Cities? Hang out in Bankok for a few weeks. Something like that.

Then, I think one month in China and 2 months for India/Sri Lanka is simply not enough. If they are important destinations for you, factor in more time and drop another country/region.

As for budget. I'm planning a trip in Asia at the moment and did quite a bit of research - here's what I came up with (per day in US$). This does not include transport (I'll be cycling) and factors accomodation based on doubles (i.e. it's going to be a little more expenisve on avarage for you).

Bangladesh 20
Cambodia 25
China 30
India 15
Indonesia 18
Japan 100
Korea 60
Laos 20
Malaysia 35
Myanmar 30
Nepal 20
Pakistan 20
Taiwan 60
Thailand 30
Vietnam 15

Hope it helps.

Maybe I'm a real shoestringer...
But those #'s per day seem high in some countries. I think there are places in some of those countries that cost that much-but you could probably spend much less, too-particularly in lesser developed places.
For my trip, my average day to day expense is much lower-and that means I can splurge here and there.
I really like your itinerary...except, I would not go anywhere for just a week-like Belize, for example! I'd go for 2 weeks at least, to get a sense of place.
Your trip sounds lovely. You are the candy collector, are you not? perhaps you could entertain us with a candy blog on your travels. Collecting candy is so---cool!
gigirtw
http://blogs.bootsnall.com

PS, I week in the Easter Islands?
Well, I know it's an expensive ticket-but a week is a long time there. I have a friend that lived there for years and he said you could see everything, and I mean all of it, and relax, too-in 4 days. You could get one of those flights that connect to Tahiti and spend your few extra days in Tahiti, or on the cook islands, if you want less expensive.
gg

elAdi,

Thanks for the comments and especially for the numbers you've researched! I think many of the resources I'm using are pre "dollar dropping into the toilet" so it's hard to judge how accurate they are. I figure I have a built in buffer with the splurge money and the Europe portion of the trip. Are your numbers solely room and board? Do they include attractions, visas, alcohol, etc? I'm a very cheap eater which will help more in some countries than in others (I often only eat one small meal a day, just the 'luck' of my metabolism.)

I'm definitely concerned about not getting enough time in China - I think I'll have to focus on just a portion of the country or ninja-increase the portion of time I spend there. India.. well... it's not an important destination to me. I know that's backpacker blasphemy but I'm really using it more as a stepping off point for Sri Lanka right now. Other destinations that I'm planning on shortening or dropping if necessary would be Europe, Israel, and Egypt. Europe is mostly still included in case I maintain the candy theme throughout the whole trip, and really fall in love with it.

For vacations - I was kind of thinking of Fiji and Thailand as typical beach vacations, and then Myanmar, Bolivia, and Turkey (I've been to Turkey before so I'm skipping all the tourist things) as places where, if I like a town, I have the flexibility to just stay put for a week or so and relax. I guess if I need more time I can just steal it from India :P

Gigi,

Thanks! I wasn't sure how much time to allot to Easter Island, as I'm really excited about visiting it and want it to be one of the places that I can relax in, but it also seems like a bit of a one-off. I'll have to see how the tickets work out I guess, maybe drop a few days off of it.

As for Belize - I'm not sure what to do about it. There are a few things I really would like to do there (mostly centered on the jungles) but it's more expensive than anywhere else in Central America... I just feel guilty spending more than 1 week there. Oh well, flexibility!

It's funny, I'm concerned my prices are too low - I do think you're doing a lot of volunteering in your travels so probably staying longer in one place and spending less on attractions? That might cause the difference in price estimates.

And yes! I'm the candy one I'm working on my blog and shall be unveiling it soon (hehe obviously I enjoy writing, look at the size of all of my posts!) I'm planning a few trips within the US and Canada before I leave to get things started - hopefully including a few local candy factories and some maple syrup production places in Vermont/Quebec.

My budget estimates are Food + Accommodation - and then I slapped some more on top of it for 'other expenses' (which you always have). No major tourist attractions involved - and as I said, no transportation.

If you're not interested in India, I'd skip it altogether. A week or two in India will just stress you out and you'll have a skewed/wrong impression of it. Fly directly to Sri Lanka if that is your goal.
China, yeah, a month is very little.

As for holidays: budget-wise, Thailand would be the smarter choice than Fiji. Fiji can get pricey once you have to pay transport to the islands and basically being at the island huts owners' mercy.
Not sure if Burma is a 'holiday' destination. Bolivia...hm...Copacabana? Yes. Otherwise, not so sure. Don't get me wrong, I loved it in Bolivia. Had a fantastic time. But whether I'd have chosen a city in Bolivia as my 'vacation destination'...not sure. (I had my vacation in Peru - watching the World Cup with the locals. THAT was a great vacation.)

But obviously, we are all individuals and what is right for me doesn't have to be right for you.

You don't have much choice on Easter Island. I spent a week there last May.

There are two flights a week from Tahiti and I think two from Santaigo.

My options were either 3 days or a week. Of the three days, a chunk of that would be spent getting settled and what not. I opted for a week. You can stay on the island very cheap. There are no big hotels on the island. Everything is pretty much guest houses.

You are right, you can see most of the island in two days, especially if you rent a car. (which I recommend) There are only a handful of restored maoi standing on the island. In fact, once you've been there, you should be able to identify everywhere every single photo you've seen from Easter Island was taken.

I would note that if you are using Easter Island to get from South America to the Pacific, your end point is Tahiti which is very expensive. Very. Unless you plan on staying there (which I wouldn't recommend if you are on a budget) I'd look to try and schedule the earliest flight you can from Tahiti to wherever. A single room at the only hostel in Papeete was $66/night. A dorm bed was around $35 if I remember.

However, if you are stuck on a layover, do go into town on le truck. It is the cheapest thing on the island. If you are there after sun sets, go and eat at la roulette. Its a makeshift food court that appears every night from food trucks. Order some poisson cru, the national dish of French Polynesia. Very good.

Malena,

You trip sounds truly epic. There is not much I can add that was not already covered by people far more wise than I.

Given the socio-politic situation in Myanmar, are you sure you want to go. Perhaps it would be more prudent to give yourself a window of time for the region (Myanmar, Cambodia, Vietnam, Lauos, Thailand) rather than lock yourself into 1 month of Myanmar and only 2 weeks for the rest.

Consider the order in which you visit the countries in the Middle East from this piece of advice here.


Flights from Egypt to other areas in Africa are not too much, but doing stuff in Africa can be expensive. However consider the stuff you see in Africa may not be the same or even there in near future. The changes in Western Europe will be measured, but not to different over the next 20 years. I see you are on the east coast of the USA which means it won't be too hard to catch a puddle jumper flight at various times in the future, but a trip to various parts of africa would be more difficult.

Lastly consider the order in which you travel. There may be some savings by reversing the order.

Do keep the folks at BnA informed about your pre/post trip so BnA can help other travelers plan.

Here are my few thoughts:

I full-heartedly endorse Myanmar. I think it also makes a great "vacation" spot on your trip. You probably won't be hanging out on beautiful beaches (they're hard to reach), but it is a relaxing place and a nice area to just chill. Head up to Bagan and spend a week there casually exploring the ruins. Slip's point about unrest is a good one though. Stay up on the news, but *in general* the government doesn't hassle foreigners too much -- just its own people.

I don't know if you intentionally left Eastern Europe off, but you can get a cheap flight from Egypt into Eastern Europe, like Kyiv. Your money will also go a lot further here.

Have a great time and don't rent a scooter unless you know what you're doing.

Thanks for all the input, everyone.

Few comments: I'm actually one of those people who enjoys holidays spent sleeping in, reading a book, maybe surfing the internet for a while, and then an early night. I don't think I'll really need any specific location to relax, like a beach or a city - just a nice hostel

For Myanmar obviously if the political situation there goes downhill, I'll drop it from the itinerary. I'm planning on staying flexible, and not pre-booking tickets or anything like that.

As for Africa, I'd love to visit - Ethiopia and Namibia are both must-sees on my list of countries to visit. I just don't think I can do it justice on this trip. India - well, we'll see what happens with India.

I think you underbudgeted for Japan. I think 60 a day including accommodation and transport is a little light. I mean if you are going to eat noodles for 200 yen for every meal then you might have a shot...1000 yen for the subways a day (all day pass), 30 for accommodation you are almost at your budget...

Also I'm assuming you factored in your visas (i know people say get them when you are there, which is true, but don't forget about that cost).

10 day road trip from Boston to New Orleans...Seems also a little light...if you drive straight to New Orleans from Boston you are looking at roughly 1600 miles...so figure you take some side trips and you hit 2000 miles, average car will probably 200-250 miles per tank depending on size, sitting in traffic etc...so that is 10 tanks of gas at the average price (probably 2.80-3 bucks a gallon X 10 gallon tank) would give you about 30 bucks a pop (my car holds 17) so I am going low, but this is merely for show...you would be at 300 dollars just for gas alone, or 30 a day. I think gas will put you over your budget or come damn close unless you are going to be eating at wendy's and hitting their dollar menu.

Not trying to be negative, but realistic...I came up with all my numbers, but they are pretty close to what the real ones are...If you are going to be driving a car that has more than 10 gallons to the tank you will come close to 400 dollars alone just for gas of getting to new orleans.

You should be OK with most of your "buffer's" and "splurge" and can catch up later on in your trip i.e. south east asia.