The Route

After what seems like months sitting in front of the laptop planning the journey I decided to take a break from Spanish flight booking websites and start the travel blog. Below is a rough idea of the route, obviously not every stop has been added at this point and it will be continuously updated as we go. Most of the flights are now booked, even the ones we had to book in Spanish for South America (which saved us £600 by the way).

Never before have I thought that 6 months would seem to short a time for a trip but when you start looking at everything we plan on doing you really begin to wonder if it will be possible.

From London we head to the States, initially we did not plan on even going there but it works out cheaper to buy the Escapade RTW ticket and add on South America separately, so we will spend a few days in San Francisco on the way to South America and a few days in Miami on the way back to San Fran.

South America 28 Aug 08 - 30 Sep 08

Peru/Bolivia/Chile

After spending a view days in Lima its of to Cusco for Machu Picchu, then Puno for Lake Titicaca. Cross the border - La Paz, Uyuni and the Salt Flats. San Pedro de Alcántara, Santiago and finishing in Patagonia - Torres Del Paine.

New Zealand 6 Oct 08 - 27 Oct 08

So much to see in 3 weeks (1 week in the North Island and 2 weeks in the South)

North - Auckland, Waitomo, Smelly Rotorua, Whakatane, Napier and Wellington.

South - Nelson, Kaikoura, Fox Glacier, Milford Sound, Queenstown, Mt Cook and Christchurch

Australia 27 Oct 08 - 17 Nov 08

Not even close to being enough time for Oz but we had to sacrifice time somewhere and this was it.

Sydney, Melbourne, Great Ocean Road, Cairns, diving the Great Barrier Reef, Sailing the Whitsundays, Fraser Island and Brisbane.

South East Asia 18 Nov 08 - 31 Jan 09

Thailand/Laos/Vietnam/Cambodia

Over 2 months in this region, but with so much to see and do we decided it was worth it. A few days are spent in Singapore and Malaysia at the start and end, again this is more due to cheaper flight options we went with.

From Bangkok we head up to Chiang Mai and over the border into Laos, down the Mekong river to Luang Prabang, Vang Viene and Vientiane. From there its into Vietnam - Hanoi, down to Hue, Ho Chi Minh City and the Mekong Delta. Over into Cambodia for Phnom Penh, Siem Reap and Ankorwat. Back into Thailand and time to chill on the beaches and islands.

South Africa 1 Feb 09 - 28 Feb 09

Well the last leg of the trip and a chance to head home for a month before returning to London.

From Jo-burg its down to Cape Town and then up the Garden Route. From there its up to the South Coast to Umhlanga/St Lucia, onto Swaziland and finally Kruger before heading back to Jo-burg and the flight to London