Is this a Doable RTW trip?

Hey guys, sorry if this is the wrong section for my question.

Basically as posted before i am looking at doing an RTW trip for about 12-20 months ( time is not an option, can stretch it out longer if cash lasts ) after planning, re-planning, taking apart my planned itinerary and re-planning it again and again i think i have finally come up with a itinerary i am happy with, without over planning and being totally open and flexible on changes.

So here it is -

* All are Overland unless stated otherwise
* All based on a no-frills budget traveller staying in hostels, eating as cheaply as possible, travelling an average amount internally and seeing the typical sites

Starting in Sydney i want to fly out to on 29th March 2011 ( all times are estimated )

Egypt - 6 Weeks
Jordan - 1 Week
Syria - 2 Weeks
Turkey - 4 Weeks
Greece - 2 Weeks
Italy - 3 Weeks
Austria - 1 Week
Czech Republic - 2 Weeks
Germany - 3 Weeks
Netherlands - 1 Weeks
Belgium - 1 Week
UK / Scotland - 3-4 Weeks - Flight from Edinburgh or Glasgow to Paris ( Ryanair)
France - 3 Weeks
Spain - 2 Weeks
Portugal - 1 Week

Flight from Lisbon or Madrid to Rio de Janeiro

Brazil - 2 -4 Weeks
Bolivia - 3 Weeks
Argentina - 3 Weeks
Chile - 3 Weeks
Peru - 3 Weeks
Ecuador - 3 Weeks - Flight from Quito to Belize city
Belize - 2 Weeks
Mexico - 4 Weeks


Flight from Mexico City to Tokyo

Japan - 2 Weeks
China - 4 Weeks
Vietnam - 3 Weeks
Cambodia - 3 Weeks
Thailand - 3 Weeks
Malaysia - 3 Weeks

Flight to Sydney to end my RTW.

Flights Estimated at around $5000 - All bought on the go except the flight to Cairo and the return to Sydney - At the moment i have decided against a RTW ticket as it doesnt service the requirements of the itinerary and the longer then 12 mths plans.

So taking out the $5000 on flights and the around $2000 i will spend on travel insurance, vaccinations and gear i will have around $35,000 (AUD) to play with.

Can anyone give me their thoughts, any glaringly obvious mistakes? being a first time RTW'er i am after any advice, suggestions ect from change of route, budget, flights ect.


Using http://www.savingfortravel.com/round-th ... step-2.php ( i know its not exact) it gives a rough budget for the times allotted. in total it gives a trip length of 84 weeks ( 588 days) and a total cost estimate of around £13000 (AUD$ 22000 ) this doesn't sound anywhere near what i would have expected the trip to cost, i have done some other research on day to day prices on other sites, blogs, forums as well as lonely planet and rough guide ebooks for all the listed places What are your thoughts???


Thanking You in Advance, Chris Reply to this

Thanks for the advice Ali, will have to have a read of Ben's blog on my next day off.

As for your suggestion on flights my initial plan is to buy my ticket from Sydney to Cairo a few months in advance probably around November / December this year. then all other tickets will be bought on the go. I have looked up estimated costs for each of the tickets i will need for the above itinerary but am totally open and flexible about changes. As for the RTW ticket i looked into it and also spoke to a travel agent and the recommendation was that a One way departure ticket and buying on the go was going to work out cheapest. a RTW ticket that was going to get me to all the places in my itinerary in a rushed 12 mths was going to cost around 4300 AUD where as all my tickets one way bought on the go worked out to a rough estimate of around 5200 AUD including the flights out of and back into Sydney.
Reply to this

Hi, I would like to see you adding Israel to the middle east part of the tour - I believe it has way more to offer than Jordan, both in terms of scenery and in terms of different culture (you will see plenty of the arab culture in Egypt and Syria). Don't skip though Petra in Jourdan, but there is no problem to combine - pass from Egypt to Israel, cross into Petra in Jourdan and back into Israel, all the way up north, to cross back into Jourdan from where you could continue as your plan into Syria.

I tend to agree with Muno that its a pity to skip Colombia and Central America if you are already in the area... Panama, Costa Rica and Guatamala are all very beautiful and interesting, and as he mentioned not very expensive.

I also think it would be very hard to get to see the most of Spain in only 3 weeks, adn so you would have to work really hard on what you do see and what you don't.

Regarding cost, as we are now traveling in South America, I can say that a 50$(US) per day, should get you all covered for the life style you have described - this is obviously on average. Brazil being above that and Bolivia/Peru way below...

Enjoy your travel - it seems like you really have a wonderful adventure coming up.

Lilach Reply to this

You can check again with the Israeli embassy in Sydney, but I believe when you enter Israel you could ask that they wont stamp your passport but stamp a piece of paper instead - and so you don't have later a problem to enter Syria. As far as I know this is a common request that is made buy tourists of the world coming to Israel and having the exact same problem.


Lilach Reply to this

Dont go to Israel! The border guards have major attitude and some take it personally when you ask them not to stamp your passport. I crossed from Egypt to Jordan no problem but on the way back the guard sneakily stamped my passport when it was below the counter even though I asked her not to. When I went to exit on the Egypt side the guard there gave me an exit stamp and when I showed my surprise he showed me that it had already been stamped. F-ing scumbags. Now I cant go to Syria, Lebanon or Sudan. I should have just paid the extra $30 it would have cost for the ferry. Reply to this