Our Unplanned Route Around The World
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Many people have asked us the same questions over and over again… “Where are you going on your RTW Trip?” and “What route will you be taking”?
Well, the truth is that we don’t really have an actual planned route around the world. We’re not interested in planning our whole trip out from A to Z. We want to take it day by day. We like to call this type of traveling “itinerary-less traveling”. We might not have a plan that’s set in stone, but what we DO have is a list of eight must-see countries that we need to check off!
Egypt
The land of Ancient History. The kings, the tombs, the pyramids, the temples, the deserts, the culture, the environment and the atmosphere. All of the above were factored into our decision to visit Egypt. After contemplating back and forth about where to start our RTW trip, we decided to do a quick Kayak search for flights to Egypt and we found a great deal [BOS-CAI] for ($600/pp!) We knew that this deal wouldn’t last long so we jumped on it!
Greece
A country that I didn’t get to visit when I traveled Europe in 2008, and a country that Liz has always dreamt of visiting. The sun, the sea, the people, the food and did I mention the sun? You see, Liz is someone that I categorize as a “tanaholic”. You know, someone that is completely obsessed with the sun! She would have no problem spending her days soaking up the rays. Me? Not so much. As much as I love the sun, I love to get out and explore. Considering that Greece will be one of the most expensive places that we visit on our trip, we plan to only spend about two weeks in this expensive country. We will most likely spend a few days in Athens, and then take a ferry to one or two of the many beautiful Greek islands.
Thailand
Sigh… THAILAND. We have heard nothing but GREAT things about Thailand and we’re really looking forward to spending a lot of time here. Assuming it’s as beautiful as it’s portrayed, we will probably end up staying here until our visas expire! To be honest, we’re looking forward to Thailand the most for a million different reasons. The culture, the food, the adventures, the activities, the wildlife, the islands, the beaches, the diving and the outrageous bargains that can be found on accommodations, food, adventure activities and more! Thailand is known to be super beautiful, super friendly, and last but not least super CHEAP!
Laos
We’re still learning about this somewhat unknown country called Laos. We had never even thought about visiting Laos until we saw this incredible video called “The Long Way Laos” from our new travel blogger friends Aaron & Georgie from HappyTimeBlog. After watching them tear through Laos on a motorbike we were hooked! As an avid motorcycle enthusiast/rider myself, I was instantly jealous of their trip through the mountains of Laos. If and when we make it to Laos we’ll be sure to give our new friends a shout out for the recommendation.
Vietnam
Vietnam is another country that we hadn’t really thought about visiting. It wasn’t until after doing a little bit of research on places like Hanoi, Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh, Nha Trang, HaLong Bay, Hue, and more until we decided Vietnam would be a place that we were interested in visiting. Not only is Vietnam supposed to be incredibly scenic, it’s also rumored to be extremely cheap! I’m hoping that we’ll be able to rent a motorbike and explore the outskirts of this beautiful country.
Malaysia
From the Petronas Twin Towers of Kuala Lumpur, to the beaches of the Perhentian Islands. Malaysia is a destination that we’re pretty excited to travel through. We haven’t done too much research on Malaysia as of yet but we have heard that the assortment of cultures and foods is out of this world. At the moment we don’t plan on spending a whole lot of time in Malaysia but hey, you never know! After Malaysia we plan on traveling south by train to Singapore where we will fly to our next must see destination, Indonesia!
Indonesia
We’re really looking forward to visiting Indonesia. Mostly because we plan to veg out here for as long as our visas allow us to. We’re hoping to do accomplish ALL of the following things during our visit to Indonesia: attempt to learn how to surf, go snorkeling, go diving, hike Mt. Bromo, explore the islands on scooters, fall fast asleep in our bungalow hammocks, catch a few Balinese sunsets, and simply just R-E-L-A-X!
Australia
An expensive, yet must see country on our list. We’re thinking about renting a car and driving along the coast until we reach Sydney. We’ll see what happens! We hope to be able to dive the Great Barrier Reef, drive along Great Ocean Road, visit a national park or two, see the Sydney Opera House, photograph some wild Koala’s and Kangaroos, and maybe even reconnect with few Aussie friends that I met back when I was traveling through Europe!
Then what?
Well, we’re not sure. It will all come down to what our finances look like once we’re ready to leave Australia. If we’re still hungry for more and we decide we can afford to travel on then we’ll most likely head over to South America before heading home. Only time… (and money) will tell!
With just about 3.5 months until departure, we dream of the day that we’ll begin a new chapter of our lives and we look forward to see where in the world the wind will take us.
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I love the way of describing this as an unplanned route and I may steal this term, with permission of course. I'm taking a one-way flight to Mexico and plan on going south through Central and South America, and then who knows.
BTW I absolutely love Vietnam and would go back in a heartbeat, good to see you're considering it.
Hey Ayngelina!,
Thanks! And no… you may not steal it! Just kidding. Sounds like you're also embarking on an unplanned route. Nice! We're looking forward to following you…
Very glad to hear your positive feedback on Vietnam. We've been hearing so many good things about it lately. Plus, it's an up and coming travel destination according to some mainstream travel mags/sites. We hope to beat the rush before it becomes too "touristy".
Keep in touch!
Greece doesn't have to be that expensive. If you want to spend all your time partying on Mykonos, or with an expensive view on Santorini, sure, but you can do the mainland – northern mountains and the Peloponnese, for less, and there are lots of islands that aren't so popular. Does take a little research, though.
Totally agree with lots of time in Laos and Vietnam, but don't forget Cambodia: not just Angkor Wat, which is a must-see, but also Phnom Penh and the south coast. And have you thought about Myanmar?
Thanks for the tips Kathy…
When we say "expensive", we mean in comparison to the places that we plan on visiting which are extremely cheap! ;-). Well, for the most part at least. Greece will be the only country that we'll be spending "EURO" in. The Euro is a scary currency! I spent quite a bit of Euro back in 2008, and I'd like to avoid that as much as possible this time around. LOL!
As far as partying, we don't do too much of that. Liz is usually in bed by 9:30pm on Friday/Saturday nights. LOL! We're "social" drinkers that will have the occasional one or two drinks here and there over dinner or conversation so we won't have to worry about drinking our budget away!
I'll definitely look into the mainland sights…
As far as Cambodia… don't worry we didn't forget about it. Who knows, maybe we'll end up there too!
Thanks again for the feedback!
I think that's a good way to travel around the world. Make a list of must-sees and then just connect the dots as you go.
I'm curious – how long is an Indonesian visa good for? I've heard a lot of great things about the country so I'm considering stopping by there on my own trip.
Thanks for the feedback Adam.
About the Indonesian visa… The regulations just changed! For the better, too! You used to receive a 30-day visa ($25USD) on arrival but in an attempt to boost tourism, they just changed the policy which now allows for an extension of 30-days on top of the 30-days that you already get!
Check out the news here: http://www.relax.com.sg/relax/news/310998/On_arri…
awesome! good news indeed.
…Well, the truth is that we don’t really have an actual planned route around the world. We’re not interested in planning our whole trip out from A to Z…
I'm probably a bit biased, but I think that's a *great* way to travel. We approached our RTW trip the same way and loved every minute of it. Not planning everything or anything in advance means you can stay in one place longer if you're really enjoying it, or maybe head to a little village that a local recommends to you, or just skip over a place entirely if you get there and aren't digging it. Having flexibility definitely made traveling easier and more fun for us. And it leaves you open for those experiences/places you can't really learn about until you're actually in a country and meeting people. :)
Like your must-see countries, we had four anchor experiences we wanted to do on our RTW trip – hiking the trail to Machu Picchu in Peru, seeing the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador, taking a balloon ride over Cappadocia in Turkey, and exploring Angkor in Cambodia. It was neat having only those ideas to sort of guide us around the world. (And actually we had to adjust one of them – the trail was completely booked for months, so we took the train to Machu Picchu. So it was good for us to be flexible even with our must sees too!)
Great to hear from you Jess!
That's exactly how we want to travel! One day at a time… for the most part at least. I'm sure we'll end up running into some issues along the way with proof of onward travel. Did you experience any issues with this? That's one thing that worries us a little bit.
P.S. – For anyone who doesn't know about Jessica's blog… "Hedgehogs WIthout Borders". Make sure you check it out. What an amazing site! We're huge fans… http://www.hedgehogswithoutborders.com/blog/
Thanks Jess!
Awww, thanks for the shout out! That's great to read. :)
We have yet (knock on wood) to have been asked for proof of onward travel. More tellingly, we haven't met any fellow travelers who've had it happened yet either. Now in theory it's totally possible, most definitely. (And I wonder if there are some countries – like say China, North Korea, or Iran – where the chances of it happening are pretty much 100%.) It's just so far – to us and to all the folks we've met on the road – it hasn't happened yet.
I do think if it's going to happen it's much more likely to be at airport border crossings. So since most backpackers travel overland with only a few international flights thrown in every few months, the likelihood of an already unlikely situation happening is diminished even further.
I'll admit, though, that we were freaked about it before our trip! When we bought our one-way tickets from the States to Buenos Aires, we also bought fully-refundable tickets from Buenos Aires back to the States. We were fully prepared to show them to customs control, and we were both relieved and puzzled when he didn't ask about our travel plans. (And a week or so later we headed to the airline's office in BA and got our full refund.) So after that first non-experience, we didn't bother with worrying about it anymore. But that's just us, and it may always come back and bite us on the ass at some point. :)
Having no set plan is definitely the way to go. Stay somewhere until you are ready to leave, rather than move on because you want to hit the next destination – you might not like it as much as you thought.
I'd definitely recommend Laos. The Gibbon Experience near the Thai border is amazing- ziplining through unspoilt jungle and sleeping in treehouses. The Perhentian Islands are a great place to chill and cheap for scuba diving too (we did our advanced course there).
It's great to hear that Jessica didn't have problems without onward travel proof. We have a one way ticket to Rio booked for next Monday (!) and had heard the airline may not even let you board. I don't remember being asked on our last RTW trip though, so hopefully it'll be fine!
Erin,
Thanks, we agree!
We hear Laos is very cool and I've actually read some good reviews on the Gibbon Experience as a matter of fact. We're hoping to learn to dive in Ko Tao, Thailand. But again, we're taking things day by day so you never know where we'll end up getting certified.
Yeah, it's definitely a relief, although I still tend to worry about the whole onward travel issue. We'll see what happens. Best of luck on your trip! Let us know how it works out!
Hey, nice blog! I just found it while looking for ideas to our own around the world journey.
It looks like we will be hitting the road at the same time than you, but our first stop will be Singapore or Australia. If you are interested, we can keep in touch and exchange info/tips throughout the trip.
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RTW360,
Thanks a lot. Good luck with your research on your very own RTW trip! Let's definitely keep in touch as we'll be heading towards Asia eventually! Hope to hear from you soon.
when you guys are in malaysia, ask around – taxi drivers/concierge/front desk/locals – about where you can find the best local food in town. you should know that the malaysians are obsessed with food. you might be surprised to find all kind of cuisines in malaysia, because we love to eat! :) oh, and please make time to visit borneo as well! travellers often choose to transit in malaysia, but they dont bother to stay even for couple of days. we maybe lack of historial unique architecture, but i bet you will still experience a nice time in my country. :)
Thanks for the tips! We'll definitely keep them in mind.
That's cool to find other people starting their on RTW with just as vague of an itinerary as ours. Ours starts in April 2011, and our first stop is Colombia, South America (but our itinerary has changed so much for the past 2 months, who knows if this one will stay)
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