Advice on 4 month trip - itinerary & budget | Travel on a shoestring - Lonely Planet Forum

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Sun, 14 Aug 2011 17:38:54 +0000

*Sorry this was accidentally posted twice!

Hi,

My boyfriend and I are planning a 4 month trip, and are looking for advice on itinerary & budget. Overall, we want to ensure we get a good mix of culture/history, some nice beaches, beautiful scenery, and get a flavour for the 'real way of life' in a country (vs. just the tourist experience).

-LENGTH: 4 months (Sept - early Jan)

-TOTAL BUDGET: $14,000 for both of us (includes all flights). Note: accomodation & food for 4 weeks in Lebanon mostly covered.
-STARTING POINT: Toronto, Ontario

COUNTRIES WE REALLY WANT TO VISIT:

-Thailand
-Morocco
-Tanzania
-Lebanon (will stay here for 4 weeks - accomodation & meals mostly free)

-Italy (would like to volunteer at a farm if possible, for 1 to 2 weeks. We will be travelling during the olive and wine harvest).

WOULD LIKE TO VISIT IF POSSIBLE:

1. Japan (open to volunteering for a portion- i.e. WWOOF or workstay.info opportunities)

2. Czech Republic (Prague)
3. Turkey
4. Cambodia
5. Bali

Are there countries on our list we should 'save' for a one-off trip down the road, because they are out of the way and/or will make our trip unnecessarily expensive?
Any itinerary suggestions on the optimal combination of countries from our 'must-have' & 'like to have' lists (which allow us to stay on budget)?
Any countries not on our lists, that are not to be missed?

Reco's on length of time to stay in each place would also be appreciated. We are open to staying at hostels and any other low cost accomodation. Also, we are in our mid to late 20's.

Any help would be much appreciated! Thanks!

Edited by: Mimarwa

anonymous

ONLINE

Sun, 14 Aug 2011 20:50:15 +0000

I think that with only four months, your list of countries that you really want to visit is more than enough so don't make it bigger.

I think that the best order of the countries that you really want to visit is: Morocco-Italy-Lebanon-Tanzania-Thailand. And the best order of all the countries in your lists would be Morocco-Italy-Czech Republic-Turkey-Lebanon-Tanzania-Thailand-Cambodia-Bali-Japan but, as you don't have enough time to do all this route, you should cut it.

I recomend you to reasearch the fare of RTW tickets for your route to get an idea about the costs of flights and substract that money from the budget. If you don't want a RTW ticket, do a research about the costs of flights from Lebanon to Tanzania, From Tanzania to Thailand and even from Italy to Lebanon because those will probably the most expensive flight legs of your route.

Be careful with WWOOFFing (and similar) because some countries are requiring to get a work visa in order to do it so verify the requirements for WWOOFFing in your desired country in order to avoid problems and unpleasant surprises.

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ONLINE

Mon, 15 Aug 2011 20:15:04 +0000

Thanks for the advice re: WWOOF & itinerary. My main concern is if the flight costs between countries is doable within budget - so will look on expedia/with a travel agent. Thanks for the input!

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ONLINE

Tue, 16 Aug 2011 10:52:47 +0000

RTW ticket perhaps for the flights. And keep the list to the 'we really want to see list' or only that many countries.

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ONLINE

Sat, 20 Aug 2011 19:21:06 +0000

Western Europe trip for only Italy?

hmmmmmmmm...
Divide the continents by wishes = reallity. Give places/towns enough time
*see rule of threes.

And make it seperate trips.

good luck.

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ONLINE

Tue, 30 Aug 2011 20:23:49 +0000

For your stay in Tanzania I recommend doing something with IVHQ - http://www.volunteerhq.org/volunteer-in-tanzania.html

they are extremely affordable (cheapest volunteer agency by far!) The experience is amazing. I worked in an orphanage for a month, but it never once felt like work. They also partner with cheap but safe and comfortable safari companies which you can use during your time there. volunteer house I stayed in also had a double bed for couples. The flights to tanzania will take a chunk of your budget but don't let it put you off, it is incredible.

Remember your yellow fever vaccination or you cannot enter tanzania.

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