6 Month Itinerary Advice (April - Oct 2013)
Replies: 17 - Last Post: Jul 8, 2012 1:51 AM Last Post By: treeleaves
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6 Month Itinerary Advice (April - Oct 2013)
Hello All,My boyfriend and I are planning a six month trip beginning next April 2013. Here is a vague idea of what we are thinking at the beginning stages of our planning:
April 5 - Leave NYC for San Francisco, CA (10 days)
April 15 - Leave CA for Sydney, Australia
Travel to Cairns, Darwin (ideally with one flight and partially in a camper van - any thoughts?) - (3 weeks total in Australia)
May 7 - Leave Darwin for Bali, Indonesia (2 weeks)
May 21 - Leave Indonesia for Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (could go right to Thailand if it becomes too much) (2 weeks)
June 7 - Leave Malaysia for Bangkok, Thailand (5 weeks for Thailand & Laos)
Luang Prabang, Laos
July 15 - Leave SE Asia for Rome - There do not seem to be direct flights - we are thinking of leaving a week or so early and making a stop in Israel or Turkey (any suggestions would be great!) Planning for 1 month in Italy - This portion is mostly planned from Rome, Tuscany, Venice, Milan)
August 15 - Leave Italy for Paris, France (hoping to make the Rock en Seine Music Festival at the end of August) - (2 weeks in Paris)
August 30 - Leave Paris for Barcelona, Spain (possibly a night train directly down, but we are open to any stops along the way or other suggestions)
September 7 - Leave Barcelona and fly up to Amsterdam, Netherlands (2 weeks)
September 21 - Leave Amsterdam for Munich, Germany (hoping to catch Oktoberfest which is planned for Sept 22 - Oct 2013)
October 7 - Head back to NYC
Is this too much? Too spread out? We are a bit flexible on the dates and not on a super strict budget. We are trying to keep the cost down as much as possible when we can, but hoping that the SE Asia portion of the trip will bring down our average for the more expensive parts. We are thinking about $20,000.00 each including air fare. Any opinions would be greatly appreciated!!!
Thanks in advance!
1
For me.. too much for your time span.....a RTW in 6 months is possible but it means you are moving quickly and miss a load of very interesting stuff.It also means you spend a lot in flights and other transport costs.The first part is much too fast..esp.only 3 weeks in Oz for all that distance......
The Europe part is more realistic..though also much more expensive.
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Thanks for your advice. This is what I am looking for. How long would you take for Australia? Australia can be quite expensive too right? Is Australia more, or less expensive than Western Europe in general?3
...hoping that the SE Asia portion of the trip will bring down our average for the more expensive parts.Correct, South East Asia is the cheapest region in the world to travel in however you have chosen Thailand, Malaysia and Bali. These are the most expensive places in South East Asia. Java, Burma and Laos would be way cheaper.
Otherwise cool itinerary!
Regarding prices it's difficult to advice you at the moment. A lot could change in a year, most prices would go up I bet.
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Australia is big...depends what you want to see of course,but if you want to cover the East Coast and the centre,at least 6 weeks.That still leaves out most of the country!Its not cheap...pretty much Western Europe prices...
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Depends what you want to do in Australia. I'd almost just stick to one state if you only have 3 weeks. Do you like diving, beaches, rainforests? Stay in Queensland. More into cities? Sydney and Melbourne. If you wanted to get into the centre, see Uluru and whatnot, I would fly into Alice Springs as it's a long drive.In three weeks you could land in Sydney, hire a campervan and drive up to Cairns no worries. From there to Darwin would be a bit of a stretch if you wanted to stop and see the sights. A well worn path up the East Coast of NSW and Qld is Sydney - Byron Bay - Gold Coast/Sunshine Coast - Airlie Beach - Cairns.
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yeah, that east coast trip with a campervan is a pretty special one. and while Oz is about as expensive as NYC, traveling with a camper and cooking your own meals in there will be 1/2 the price per day as your Europe itinerary.as much as i love Oz, if you are limited to $20k/per and committed to 2 full months in Europe, then maybe you should leave Oz for the next trip as the airfare aint cheap.
if i were you, i'd reduce my Europe time to 3 weeks or less (knowing that it will be relatively easy to get there from NYC in future years), and increase your time in SE asia 1) to save money) and 2) because it will more difficult to do it from NYC on short trips, plus its slightly more difficult travel (as compared to Europe) so you are less likely to want to get back there as you get older, not more.
re: East Coast Oz... if you are a diver (or just have to see the GBR), yes, go all the way up to Cairns, otherwise, maybe you should stop around Brisbane, because Cairns itself kinda sucks (the GBR and Atherton Tablelands to the W) are sweet though -- but its an expensive area to visit.
Tasmania and Melbourne/Adelaide are also great, but will add cost.
if you are committed to both Oz AND 2 months in Europe (for $20k), you'll be looking ways to control costs everywhere, and as someone above mentioned, you've chosen the most expensive destinations in SE Asia. Malaysia, especially.
as above, Java (indonesia), Burma and Laos not only are much cheaper than Malaysia/Thailand, but they are much more interesting and culturally intact.
good luck!
11
Laos is beautiful, we had a great time there. Spend some time around Luang Prabang and maybe head over the Phonsavan where the Plains of Jars are. I thought it was a really interesting area, and quite confronting as well, Eastern Laos was bombed in the Vietnam War and they are still clearing away unexploded ordinance.If you're looking for a party, stop in Vang Vien where you can tube down the Nam Song river and stop at riverside bars. The town was pretty awful IMO, it's been overrun by tourists and an active drug market, but I did think the river was heaps of fun.
We didn't go south of Vientiane, the capital, but it's meant to be nice and more relaxed than the north (if that's even possible, I thought the north was completely chilled!). Vientiane had some nice sights as well, although Luang Prabang was my absolute favourite.
Oh, and I second a stopover in Istanbul....amazing!
12
Shannon above is exactly right.The classic loop if you want to take 2+ weeks in the country (which you should) is to head north from BKK to Chaing Mai/Chaing Rai (stop for a day in Sukothai on your way N), and then cross the border from Chaing Rai, and take 2 days floating down the Mekong to Luang Prabang on the "slow boat"
Luang Prabang is a can't miss town. LOVE it there.
Phonsavan is cool as Shannon mentioned, but CAN be skipped if you want to save 2 days and some bus time.
Love Vang Vieng, and south to Vientenne, and then cross the border to Nong Khai, Thailand (which is a cool town too)
-or you could fly from Vientienne back to BKK or to Cambodia, etc...
13
We flew direct from Vientiane to Siem Reap in Cambodia and spent some time checking out Angkor Wat and the surrounding temples. That was another highlight of the trip.14
I'm just completing a six month RTW. My thoughts on your itinary:You could spend six months in each of those places to do them justice... But that is not what this trip is about. How about focusing on places you will probably never go again on a vacation? That said:
- 10 days in SF seems a waste..you can easily go there another time.
- I would spend those days (and a few more) in New Zealand.
- Im not best qualified to comment on Oz.
- I couldn't stand two weeks in Bali itself....but would suggest heading to the Gili Isles and then a three night boat trip to Komodo and fly back to Bali
- Two weeks in KL is a waste - except that you should look at Air Asia...lots of cheap flights from KL to interesting places ..Borneo for instance
You will need to get back to BangKok or KL for cheaper flights to Europe.
No comment on Isreal, but Istanbul is wonderful. Note that Greece is REALLY cheap at the moment!!
Flight in Europe can be expensive, so look to the budget airlines -EasyJet, air Berlin and others.
Hope this helps!
