Hi all,
Me and my mate are planning on doing a RTW after we finish uni in June, we plan on working at home for 6 months then going away for 6 months. It's still over a year till we actually go but I can't wait already and we have a rough idea of the trip we want to do but need some advice on how much we need to budget for this trip and any other advice would be greatly appreciated:
hey,
I'm looking at doing an RTW after uni too! It sounds like we've got some overlap: I'd be looking at leaving probably around Dec. from Can, to maybe SE Asia, Oz, Nz, Thailand, etc. I was looking at going the other direction and ending in Iceland. but Egypt sounds good too. I was planning on leaving almost a full year and including some of eastern europe - austria, hungary, germany, etc and ending in iceland, but this may change yet!
But anyway, from what I've read so far, it sounds pretty reasonable time wise, altho you may want to increase time in vietnam/cambodia/laos/thailand... i've heard that vietnam can take more than 2 weeks alone if you want to see anything outside of all the standard sites, and some people spend a month there. But that probably depends on what you want to see/do.
How are you planning on traveling around NA? Keep in mind depending how long you plan on staying in each city/how many cities you want to see. the country is big and flights can be expensive to get across...otherwise it will take quite a bit of time overground. Considering that you're traveling with a friend it might actually be cheaper to rent a car as well. You can also cut costs by tenting in NA depending on time of year, although this is much, much easier with a car.
Tiff
Thanks for replying, Well i know NA will be quite expensive in comparision to some others so we were thinking of scraping it and just spending more time in SE Asia were it will be a lot cheaper. But yea if we go we were just thinking of busing it around one coast then flying to the other coast and getting a bus around their. Greyhound is mean't to be quite cheap.
As your leaving for a almost a full year and going pretty much the same sort of route me and my friend, what sort of budget are you going to be on?
Dom
I'm hoping to have over 10,000 CDN saved, and thinking I might teach English somewhere in Asia or work somewhere depending on how that goes, but I'm not sure yet - I'll see when it gets closer. I'm not booking all my flights before I go, I don't think, so I can have some flexibility on-the-go. I also love off-the-beaten path things, especially long hikes and outdoorsy stuff, so I wanted to allow extra time for that. I heard about an intriguing opportunity to live in a buddhist temple for a couple months where they teach you mandarin and about the local culture as well (it was free in Thailand, all you have to do is get there) but I don't know if it'll still be offered when I go/if that's something I want to do. Basically, I'm giving myself plenty of time so I can do/see whatever I want without worrying about it and work if I need to.
What about you? Anything in particular you're looking at doing/seeing? What's your budget? Are you booking all your flights before you go?
Greyhound isn't too bad, especially if you can get on overnight buses for longer trips. I've found that it can be cheaper to rent a car and split the costs with friends for longer trips but it all depends on how much ground you want to cover, and where you're going. Common routes are cheaper, so it might be OK for you. Either way, it will definitely cost more compared to other places you've listed.
Tiff
[ 03-Dec-2010, at 09:30 by flutterby7 ]
I'm prob going to get a RTW ticket to fly from some places but through countries and regions i want to travel overland just so i get to see more parts of that country and also It would prob be cheaper. I'm hoping on having about £5000 after major flight tickets to travel for 6 months.
I'd like to see some big landmarks (Taj mahal, angkor, maya bay) etc and I'm looking forward to experiencing some crazy cities, tasting street food, trekking around N.Thailand, riding elephants, scuba diving etc. When I get to Thailand, be around the mid-way mark in our trip i'm planning on island hopping and full moon party which should be good. Just hope my budget will stretch i heard that Asia is really cheap to live and travel around so im thinking of extending my stay there.. :D
Dom
That sounds awesome. I'm definitely with you on the full moon party in Thailand.. that would be sick! I've heard that Asia is really cheap as well, and some of the islands depending on where you are. Although I have heard to bring your own sunscreen or it will cost you the same as another night!
It's also cheaper if you can room with people so since you're going with a friend that should definitely help, and I have heard of some people getting a group together on the way to rent a van as well, or a beach bungalow or something to base from and do day trips. But I haven't looked into these much yet.. neglecting uni too much as it is! XD
I tried to find a RTW ticket to see if it would save me anything, but they all seem to go out of the UK, and when I price it it seems to be better to fly separately. I also don't mind changing directions, etc. depending on flight costs. (ie. adding in a stop where I'd have a layover anyway to see a different city) to get the most value out of it. If you do find a good site for it though, I'd definitely be interested...
Street food is supposed to be fantastic. I was talking to a friend about traveling and threw in some comment about wanting to ride an elephant and they gave me a funny look and told me to go to a zoo...lol, anyway,I'm glad I'm not the only one who wants to do that!!!
Anyway, where are you from?
Tiff
Thats a good idea, getting fight individually i'll look into that too, and yea thats a pros of being in a 2 i suppose is that you can halve everything, which should save a lot of money.
Im from UK, Studying at uni in Hull. Finish in June so gna save hard for 6 months and then hopefully get going around mid-Jan 2012. I know its well far away, but I'm too exited already hence being on this site! haha
What about you?
Dom
I'm Canadian, studying at Carleton U in Ottawa. Psychology major, business minor. I graduate in August, then working and saving for 4ish months. I'm planning on leaving sometime towards the middle of Jan 2012 as well.
haha, I hear you on the too excited part! I've being doing so much reading up on destinations, things to do/see, and budgeting. I keep finding out about new things and just want to add it in, but I know there is no way I can do everything! The hard part is figuring out what I can cut out, I don't want it to be too rushed and not enjoy it. But this site, and gapyear.com are fantastic. There's actually a plan you can dnld from there which is extremely helpful in planning for RTW trips, if you haven't seen it yet.
Have you backpacked before? Any key resources that are helping you plan?
Tiff
[ 04-Dec-2010, at 11:45 by flutterby7 ]
haha, sounds just like me, its sort of putting me off my degree because instead of working i'm looking at blogs, forums, searching the net for like everything. I know a couple of people who have travelled SE Asia and said its amazing and been telling me some stuff I have to do E.g. tubbing in laos. Seems like I want to do so much in a limited amount of time. :/ ahhh
Yea thats awesome thanks, Ill check though out aswell, We havn't really started planning exactly places we want to go yet in each country and how we are gna get around but that'll come in due time. Ages to go still.. gotta worry about saving up first and actually completing my degree lol
Nah never backpacked before, so it's all gna b pretty new to me but i'm looking forward to the challenge. Knowing me once i get out there I won't want to come back :D What about you? you not worried about backpacking on your own if its your first time? But suppose you'll meet some amazing people out there anyways so i dnt matter.
Dom
ya.. finals are coming up and I'm way behind on readings, but w/e.. I know I'll catch up in time. Just. lol. I've been backpacking before for 13 weeks across much of Western Europe, but I was with my then bf. And long story short.. I went home grumbling that it was too soon and on crutches!
This will be my first time alone. I'm definitely a little nervous traveling alone.. I'm a petite woman, and I know I can hold my own if I have to (haha, thnx to my brother!) but it's still a intimidating! It seems like it's pretty easy to meet people to travel with judging by the forums, even before you go, and while you're there.. so I'm hoping it will be! I also feel like I'll be more open to new people and experiences if I'm by myself than with somebody from home.
I don't know anyone who's really traveled SE Asia, but I know a few people from China, and a couple from Egypt (which you've definitely got my intrigued...) so I'm hoping they can give me some advice. But I'm still not sure as I know a couple that went to Egypt awhile ago, and some guy actually offered to buy his gf in camels!
Tiff
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