Hey there,

I've managed to convince my boss to give me 3 months unpaid leave next year (Mar-Apr-May) and want to do some travelling. Problem is, as it is such a short time, I'm not sure what my best option is!

Is the following itinerary possible/enjoyable in 3 months, or should I concentrate on one or two destinations instead?

Rio - Iguacu Falls - Santiago - Auckland - Christchurch - Sydney - Cairns - Bangkok

This is what I'd like to do (I'd like even more too: Inca trail, Bolivia, etc) but I'm not sure if that is biting off too much! What do you think?

R.

Hi

First of all, well done - I wish I could persuade my boss to let me have three months off!

As for whether your planned itinerary is technically possible in three months - well, it probably is, but you should check with the RTW experts such as Trailfinders or Travelbag.

As for whether it would be enjoyable or not, I spent six months on my RTW and in retrospect I feel I rushed it and wish I'd taken longer. Based on that, you might decide it would be better to select a smaller number of stops and stay longer in each.

Good luck!
Pete

RWT travel is not a competition, you have better to do for example all the se asia 5 cambodia vietnam, laos + malaisia + indonesia.

Matho
Round the world travelling 28/11/02 - 30/10/03

The more places you visit the more time you spend travelling between destinations, and the greater the jet lag. You'll feel constantly under pressure to keep moving and you won't have the option to spend more time in the places you really like. Also don't underestimate the size of countries like Australia. It took us over a month to travel between Sydney and Cairns, and that was pushing it. Realise that it not the number of destinations that count, you'll have the trip of a lifetime if you only spend your time in Australia and New Zealand.

With such a short time, some good advice, which is always good advice for travelling I think, is to get as phsically fit as you can first, without aiming to be "fit enough" as you require.

It is easy otherwise to be thinking about just resting or doing this when you may have anticpated being more adventurous. Rest is a cool part of travel though.

It is also a good idea to have interests which you really enjoy in the period before you go.

I haven't tried rushing around like many travellers I have met do - I don't know how they manage it or what it is actually. I spent a month in New Zealand during my 5 month RTW trip and this was just enough.

I happened to enjoy the places I visited very much, but even then I didn't get to visit the wineries in the north of the South Island, to take the popular trails in the south and west of the South Island, to visit a glacier, or to make it to a beach in the South Island anywhere south of Christchurch.

If you are going to New Zealand, travel is made easy by buying a 4 full day or so rail pass whichis available in New Zealand from the student travel agency offices, and a ticket (3 or 4 or 5 days) on a bus tour route (I reccommend Magic). If you also prepare to buy a few short and medium distance bus tickets as you are travelling, you can see much of both islands this way.

My train pass included the ferry between the islands in one day of travel, where you telephone the company up to around an hour before a train or ferry left to book with your pass.

The Magic bus tour company use the same system - phoning the company with your pass (it was possible on the day of travel) to use one full day of travel on their routes. Normal bus and coach tickets can be bought from the bus station or from the driver and country wide information should be available from the student and young person's travel agency offices.