| Lonely Planet™ · Thorn Tree Forum · 2020 | |
RTW Travel Advice - 6 Month (Solo) TripInterest forums / Gap Year & Round the World Travel | ||
Hi there, I'd hugely appreciate any advice on the below, I have done a lot of research online (although I realise you can never do enough!) but I thought I'd ask the experts before I take the plunge and book. Basically I have 6 months for a sabbatical from work / life and have come up with the following, from October 2015 to end March 2016: UK to Cartagena - via Bogota) 2/3 weeks My main question: is this way too much for only 6 months?! I think this is around 9 weeks in each 'continent'. But I'm worried I may miss something or be mostly rushing around, so considering dropping Colombia, or even Oz for example. So if anyone thinks there's something I simply shouldn't miss do let me know. A bit about me: I'll be 30 by then, quite sociable but looking for a mixture of culture, the usual beach relaxation, some nightlife and viewing ancient / amazing sites like Angkor Wat. P.S. I don't drink and have no interest in drugs, so should save some money there! ;) I've never done this before and trying to get out of my comfort zone (whilst having a pleasant time). Will stay in hostels and will be booking flights only with STA, then going with the flow generally. Thank you in advance for any tips and advice from people who have been to these places , or maybe have done a 6 month RTW trip! If I haven't provided enough info do let me know. | ||
I don't think it's too much, but it's not very well balanced. Only 2-3 weeks for Colombia and Peru, but 1-2 weeks for Buenos Aires? 5 weeks is fine for New Zealand, I'd even say too much unless you plan to do lot of hiking. Not many ancient sites there! :-) Only 3 weeks for Australia? Just compare the size of Australia to NZ! Not to mention it's bloody hot in summer, you might want to skip it this time. Again 2 months is not bad for Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. Cambodia is really about Angkor and you can do it in a few days. But only 1 week for Japan? Not to mention it's totally out of the way. It's not worth to go for only a week if you have to pay a lot more in ticket cost for this big detour. If it would be right on your way home than it would be worth to stop even for a couple of days. Do you know this website? | 1 | |
Welll...on your 'worries'... You will miss a lot..its inevitable.No point worrying about that! Even if you had 2 years you would miss things. No need to 'rush around' unless you want to.For me that is far too much for 6 months...I'd rather see things in more detail and depth than have a taste of so many different places,but maybe you feel differently.It is all possible certainly. | 2 | |
On the individual places....based on MY interests and travel style,which may well be different from yours. 3 weeks in Colombia is not bad.Its a great country,but not the easiest introduction.If you have no real travel experience I might moss that out and start in Peru,which has a better infrastructure for tourists,and far more travellers to meet. 3 weeks for that part of Peru is fine.So too 3 days for Iguazu,and a week for Rio.BA is a big city..interesting,but 2 weeks on a first trip may be too much.Having said that,my first ttrip there I liked it do much I stayed nearly 3 weeks ;-) Overall your SA part is doable,but 'bitty'....lots of flights and short tastes of different countries and cultures.Personally I'd rather stay more time in one area,rather than fly from highlight to highlight. | 3 | |
The rest is all doable.1 week for that part of Japan is short..I'd either miss out Osaka or just see Osaka and Kyoto (next to each other) and miss Tokyo.Or else expand to two weeks and see something of rural Japan too.Or leave it for another trip..... 3 weeks for just Brisbane-Cairns is fine..of course you will be missing the vast majority of Oz. 5 weeks NZ is ok,if you like outdoor activities/trekking etc. | 4 | |
Many thanks to both of you for getting back to me so quickly. balkanexpress: I think you're right, Buenos Aires is only going to be a week, rather than 2. It reminds me of a European city and usually a week is enough there. lucapal: I see what you mean. It may pass me by if I try to do too much too fast, but due to limited time I want to do as much as I can, without suffering from burn out. I can't have it all though, hence the dilemma. A lot of people have said the same about Peru, maybe that is the place to start. Colombia - I was only thinking about visiting Cartagena, but it seems 'out of the way' almost. Regrettably I may have to drop it. Regarding Australia, I forgot to mention that I've been to Sydney and Melbourne before (we drove between cities along the coast) so wanted to try somewhere different there. But I'm unsure whether a Brisbane to Cairns road trip was going to be worth it, and if my time is better placed elsewhere / not in Australia at all. NZ I thought the hop on hop off tour buses sounded interesting. Any experiences with that? I am definitely re-thinking more time in Japan, based on both of your comments. It's the one I'm most excited about, and I think it would probably need at least 10 days then. I don't mind going all that way, as I'm unlikely to have the opportunity again for a long time. Thanks again, I really appreciate your thoughts! | 5 | |
Based on my interest then I would skip Australia as the northern part of the country is best seen during the european summer and spend the 3 weeks in SE Asia or add some extra days to the Japan part of your trip. You can easily go to both Tokyo and Kyoto in 7-8 days as the Shinkansen between the two cities only takes 2½ hour, but with 2 weeks you´ll have time to head to the countryside as well as just seing cities. | 6 | |
pia2am - are you kidding? There are plenty of other places in Australia that the OP can go to, if they feel it's too hot at that time of year. But I agree about skipping Bali if its only for one week. aks uk - I'd suggest, if you find heat hard to bear, that you head to Tasmania or travel from Melbourne to Adelaide, or Brisbane to Sydney at that time of year, which I presume will be in summer. If you will be here in school holidays in December/January it will be peak season, so you'd need to pre-book any beachside accommodation, but if you head inland it won't be an issue (though it'll be hotter). Don't forget to build in downtime. Travelling is tiring, and in 6 months you'll need a break. I'd recommend a 'long weekend'-type break of 3-4 days once a month. Perhaps you could also add in a week by a beach. You will never see everything, no matter how much time you have, but don't forget to stop, put down the camera, and smell the flowers as much as you can. You don't want to see the world through the lens of a camera. | 7 | |
julie_l - I clearly wrote based on my interest in my responce above. Maybe I´m a bit biased about Australia as it certainly wasn´t the highlight of our round the world trip a few years ago. In particular the strech between Brisbane and Sydney was a let down. I loved the area round Melbourne and the mountains plus western Australia. | 8 | |
Pia -I know. Its just that as a proud Australian I find it hard to believe that someone wouldn't love all of my beloved country :) | 9 | |
I think it looks good, but make sure to leave a lot of it open to change. All over South America, you can take night busses from place to place, though some parts are worth flying to/from, like Colombia to Peru, and within Peru, the Lima-Cusco route. Try not to lock yourself into specific dates and times if you can help it. The best of SA is not necessarily the big cities. For instance, I'd recommend less time in Lima vs. Cusco, and try to work in Bolivia's Uyuni Salt Flats on your way to Buenos Aires; it's some of the most incredible scenery I've seen in my life. The overland journeying in this part of the world is a big part of the whole experience! And inevitably, you'll want to stay longer in one place versus another, so leave your options open. I agree with dropping the week in Bali, unless the flights work out that way. There's lots to see in SEA and it's easy to get around, so just leave it open and your two months will work itself out. I liked Australia well enough, but for me NZ was a highlight. I did both islands in 3 weeks, but with 5 it would have been a lot more comfortable. You won't run out of things to see. Honestly, 1 week in Japan is very rushed. Tokyo itself deserves a full week, and Kyoto/Nara at least 2 nights. It'll also be the most expensive part of the trip. | 10 | |
julie_l I understand :-) | 11 | |
Wow, thanks so much pia2am, julie_l and muteki! I've now decided to drop the Australia part of my trip (sorry julie_l!) for numerous reasons and spend more time elsewhere including Japan and maybe South America. Is Bali worth dropping however? I know I'm only there for a week, but have heard great things and I'm mainly there to relax on the beach (like 'a holiday within a holiday'). Are you basically saying there are better places in Thailand/Vietnam etc to relax? I really appreciate the advice on downtime, I hadn't really thought about that - so thanks all for bringing that up! Final question (hopefully): I've been wondering about travelling around Peru and my onward journey from there. I was going to do Lima to Cusco to Arequipa and back to Lima in a loop, then fly onwards to Chile or Buenos Aires. Two things I was wondering - is all this recommended by overland bus (I see Lima to Cusco is at least 22hrs???), or from Arequipa, would it be worthwhile and easier to bus over to Lake Titicaca and fly out from La Paz? | 12 | |
Bali is an interesting place,but the beaches are nothing special...there are better beaches in Thailand for sure. Lots of people fly Lima-Cusco these days...I've only done it by bus,which is a long and not really comfortable ride,but its doable.Arequipa to La paz is a long way too....worth doing if you want to stop on Lake Titicaca (which is great)and also visit La Paz,which is a very interesting city.But you need time! | 13 | |