BootsnAll Travel Community

Hello All,

I am planning to embark on some travel abroad with my little brother shortly. Below is a tentative framework for the adventure and some associated questions. Would appreciate any feedback from those more experienced on the questions. Thanks in advance for the help!

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*LEG 1*
Minneapolis, MN to N. Africa / Mediterranean, departing sometime between the last week of April and the start of May
We will have roughly 6 weeks to work with on this leg. We are already booked for June in Kenya with family as a part of a broader Safari tour. Ahead of this, our hope was to fit in 1-3 stops in May within N. Africa / Mediterranean that are "on the way" to Kenya. We will also have roughly two weeks at the start of July after the time in Kenya before he comes back to the States.

In terms of locations that we are set on visiting, our short list is: 1) Egypt, 2) Israel, 3) Jordan. I would say we are 90% set on visiting Egypt, Israel, and Jordan (primary interest is Petra). Outside of these three stops, we were contemplating another stop east of this that would little to our plane tickets and offers attractive budget R&R (including nice beaches). I had surgery recently and would like to chill out for the first two weeks after leaving the US. Initial ideas are: Morocco / Greece / Portugal / Spain. Any thoughts?

Side Note: Our budget (including airfare) for the non-Kenya component of LEG 1 is in the range of $4,000 - $5,000.
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*LEG 2*
Africa / Mediterranean to Asia, likely departing in mid-July
In mid-July, my brother will be returning back to the States while I will continue on for some more fun. Tentative timeline for this leg of the trip is from mid-July through December 2008. The ideal situation however would be to leave the door open to extend out longer than December. I am not sure how this would work though if I am planning to purchase a RTW ticket. * Based on my research, I am planning to work with a RTW agency like Airtreks.

I will have 3-4 weeks to travel around before heading to Eastern China for the Olympics (if anyone has ideas for how to get tickets /join in the experience, let me know). Some friends of mine will be spending time in Tibet during this period (if it is deemed safe enough), so I am considering this as an option for a couple week stop. Does anyone know how budget-friendly time in Tibet would be?

After Tibet, I plan to move east where I will spend a majority of my time in August and September while taking in parts of the Olympics and visiting friends. I suspect I will be moving South from Beijing to Shanghai. Does anyone have any overland transportation ideas? Also, are there any other cities that I should be looking to spend time based on personal experiences?

From China, I intend to move south into Southeast Asia for October and November. Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Burma are the countries I have targeted as likely stops during this period. My question for this part of the journey is confirming that this is a good time from a weather perspective. Based on my preliminary reading, it appears to be ok. Am I right about that? Also, I was thinking of traveling over land between Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. Has anyone ever done this? If so, a good experience?

Finally, after SEA, my plan is to spend at least a month in India or Australia / New Zealand. I would like to both stops but don’t think that fits into my budget for this Leg of the trip. Does anyone know what a likely outlay of cash is for a month in Australia/New Zealand assuming one is somewhat budget- conscious and is willing to stay in hostels? Also, while I realize these are very large countries, is December – January generally an acceptable time for those areas that are must-see / must-experience for first timers?

Side note: My budget for this component of LEG 2 is in the range of $5,000 - $7,000.

Well you'll have full trip.

In Kenya you may want to research where the animal populations will be in June and compare it to where you will be otherwise your safari may not be much fun.

Egypt is phenomenal but be judicious about which the order in which you travel to Egypt/Jordan/Israel. You may get stopped or have trouble at either the Israeli or other borders.

Trains between Shanghai and Beijing will be crowded (not only because of the olympics, but because of massive strikes and shortages which may or may not be over by then. Consider taking a flight.

India may be a hard country to be in after time in China, but it is your call. Certain ending a trip in India will be different that ending your trip in Oz/New Zealand.

I think the budget for your first leg is a little low. Safaris are expensive as are flights in/out of Africa/Middle East.

Great luck to you and keep us posted.