Travelling the World - Tips please!

[TheBrothers]

Hello!

Short summary:

We are two Swedish brothers who are going to travel the world in mid-January. We were hoping to collect an abundance of tips and information before we go, and where else to do this than with you folks who have already done what we’re about to do? Any help is greatly appreciated!

Preliminary route:

Our primary goal with this journey is to do adventurous things; we are going dive, climb/hike mountains, traverse jungles and deserts... et cetera.

We are planning to leave in mid-January, as aforementioned, so we figured Southeast Asia is a good place to start considering the season. We were thinking about starting out in India, then going eastwards through Bangladesh, Burma, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia.

Thereafter we want to go to Australia and maybe island nations around Oceania depending on how expensive this is.

Depending on how much money we have left at this point, we have two alternatives here; either we travel to Central- & South America, or we go back towards Europe and Northern Africa.

By this time spring should be prevalent throughout Europe, so we want to climb/hike mountains and go snowboarding in the Alp regions. Also, we want to visit the Red Sea (preferably from Egypt and maybe Sudan).

If, on the other hand, we go to America, we want explore the Caribbean, and the South American countries of Peru and Brazil… at least that’s what our current thoughts are.

Our budget will probably be around 12,500€ (circa 10,500£, 17,000$) and we’d rather live and travel as cheap as possible to save money.

So here follows a series of questions:

• Does the budget seem implausible even at first glance?
  
• Is there something worth mentioning regarding the mentioned countries?
  
• How exactly do visas work?
  
• Are there any types of vaccinations worthy of consideration, except Hepatitis A & B, typhoid, Japanese encephalitis and of course tetanus? (Dengue fever? Malaria?)
  
• We have been considering buying a smaller tent to bring with us, in case we come across places where we can sleep in that instead of a room. Any thoughts on this?
  
• Any tips on hotels, motels, hostels etc.?
  
• Are there applications for our phones that might come in handy?
  
• Any tips on things to do and things to not do, in countries specifically or just overall?
  
• What are the cheapest ways to travel around? Any decent guides or booking sites or such?
  
• We both carry lenses. For those of you who know, how much of a problem does this constitute considering the fact that we will be spending some time in the wild? (We do have glasses of course)
  
• How much of a problem will it be to not have a driving license?
  
• What are good places to do parachuting and what is the price, approximately, for a tandem jump? (i.e., not with each other but with an ‘instructor’.)
  

For divers:

• What are the best places to dive?
  
• Any tips at all regarding diving?
  

For mountain hikers:

• Any nice mountains (note that we enjoy a challenge, but we can’t climb with ropes and stuff)?
  
• Regions to go hiking?
  

Any general tips on things to do? Places to go and see?

We hope you guys can help us! If there is something we’ve neglected to include, please let us know and we will update the post.

Regards,

Sebastian and Mattias

[Peter]

That's quite the list of questions, and I couldn't even begin to try tackling them all. I can however make a couple of suggestions.

Hostelling International has a network of several thousand inexpensive hostels around the world. You can save a fortune staying at those instead of hotels/motels.

In regard to good places to hike, I would personally recommend the Rockies if you're passing by. There are good trail guides available so you can pick hikes suitable for your level of skill. That doesn't seem to be on your itinerary right now, though.

Having an international drivers license would be a great idea, since you'd be able to rent a car if needed.

Visas work differently for each country, and one factor would be your country of origin. The same applies to vaccinations. You should be able to get some basic information from the embassy or consulate of each country you're planning on going to. Depending where you live, I suggest you track down the local offices.

Hope that helps.

[Parelles]

Wow, that is a long list. First from experience, you will be approached everywhere by plausible young people who want to befriend you/help you/offer a great deal/need a quick loan and loads of other stuff. Do not under any circumstances part with any money to unsolicited requests - they will all be scams, I know because I was so naive that it cost me everything I had and more.

Always keep your valuables with you, avoid leaving valuable stuff anywhere. A body-belt for passport, cash and cards is a must.

Vaccinations are essential, check your governments advice page for the countries you want to travel to. Take mosquito nets, more reliable than the pills which malaria is developing resistance but take pills too!

Take care in really cheap hotels and hostels as bed bugs are a reality, you'll get very bitten at night! Infections in tropical climates are a problem for us northern Europeans, any scratch or bite can turn septic - I still have the scars on my leg from a mosquito bite that went bad. Take some sort of antiseptic if you can.

You ask about apps, if you have a Smartphone get navigating apps and download routes from www.wikiloc.com

They provide worldwide routes for GPS, Android and iPhone, just choose the country and activity.

Have fun, be careful.

Erik

[rig]

>Does the budget seem implausible

I think it is do-able but seems tight.

> How exactly do visas work?

Varies from country to country. You shoudl check with their embassy, consulate. Bear in mind that some countries will insist on your passport being valid for say three or six months after you arrive there.

>Are there any types of vaccinations worthy of consideration, except Hepatitis A & B, typhoid, Japanese encephalitis and of course tetanus? (Dengue fever? Malaria?)

Woudl definately recommedn getting your jabs uptodate. With maleria, I remember having to take them both before departure and after arrival.

> We have been considering buying a smaller tent to bring with us, in case we come across places where we can sleep in that instead of a room. Any thoughts on this?

I'd take a tarp and bug nest/mozzy net. Small, light and easy to set up, plus you could use the bug nest indoors if needed.

> Any tips on hotels, motels, hostels etc.?

can't help here, its been a while since I've been to any of these places.

> Are there applications for our phones that might come in handy?

> Any tips on things to do and things to not do, in countries specifically or just overall?

If in Tasmania walk The Overland Trek!

> What are the cheapest ways to travel around? Any decent guides or booking sites or such?

Use transport the locals do. Make friends with them and get lifts.

> How much of a problem will it be to not have a driving license?

I traveled a lot before I got my licence so can't see this would be a problem.

> For divers:

>What are the best places to dive?

Gozo, Malta. I spent three months there doing my Diveaster and AI courses and love the place. Great people and excellent diving. Thoroughly recommend the Inland Sea to the Azure Window dive, also Reqqua Point.

The Barrier Reef in Australia

If the politcal situation in the area calms down, perhaps the Red Sea - Straits of Tirran and wreck of the Thistlegorm if you are experienced and can handle the crows - it's diver soup there.

> Any tips at all regarding diving?

Never stop breaking.Always use deco tables to plan dives and carry the dive tables and a watch with you on your dive - on't reply on a dive computer alone.

Ascend slowly. No faster than the smallest bubbles coming out of your regulator.

Know your limits and dive within them.

For mountain hikers:

>Any nice mountains (note that we enjoy a challenge, but we can’t climb with ropes and stuff)?

>Regions to go hiking?

In Europe, the Alps, the Dolomites, Pyranes and Picos.

In Australia, Tasmania's Overland trek.

Ip hope that helps, but have lots of fun whatever you do.

Whatever you do

[Bobo Uzala]

I wonder if TheBrothers carried through with their plans? One suggestion I'd like to offer is to make multiple xerox copies of your passport and stash them in the various bags you carry - in case your passport is lost or stolen.

[Dogwood]

One issue you may run into is attempting to gear up, even if it's just clothing, for so many different environments(tropical jungle, hot deserts, mountains, on the water, etc). The cheapest way to travel I've found is by not being in the utmost rush to get anywhere. The slower you travel between places the more you MAY save on travel. Lots of places to do tandem parachuting jumps in the U.S. That can be done in one day. I too rec Hostel International as one of the least expensive places to stay to recoop between long travels. Even though I regularly tarp I think a light wt two man(maybe 3 man for the extra room) will serve you best as an impromptu reliable shelter.