Help with info on RTW trip

me1724

Hi,

Myself and my girlfriend are planning to head off on a RTW trip at the end of march we have nothing done yet, dont even a rucksack so all info would be much appreciated... None of our friends have done anything like this yet so trying to get info from internet, hopefully here....

Planning for end of march is this time enough to get everything sorted or should we wait a bit longer??

Are you better going to america first and then oz then south east asia or the other way round?? I think id rather go to thailand first but some sites I have been on suggest that its better to go usa first because asian countries are described as "slightly more difficult destinations". Is travelling around asia safe?? I have only ever spend a summer in boston up to now.

My plan would be Thailand for 5-7 weeks (Is thailand ok weather wise in April/May or is this getting into the wet season??), fiji, australia stay and get a bit of work for a few months, definitely new zealand, then maybe either flordia or hawaii on the way home... please feel free anyone that have travelled on a round the world trip before to suggest alternate destinations and times I should spend in each country??

I was looking on this website for flights, seems reasonable enough. http://www.roundtheworldflights.com/details.aspx?id=1697

Sorry about the essay and the millions of questions i have id be very grateful for any info.

Thanks
/m

preddy

I went the other way starting in south America which I would highly recommend you go see before heading up to the states(west Coast) then down to NZ, OZ then up to Thailand Vietnam.

Asia is as safe as anywhere when you stick to the tourist spots and be carefull with the likes of agreeing prices in Taxis b4 you get in!

Weather is fine in Thailand around Arp/May but can be cloudy and wet some days but fine generally and warm.

Try Trailfinders in town pop in for a chat the person has a big map in front of them and has been to most of the places and can show routes and prices.

Lots of info on here search some of the travel threads loads of info on everwhere.

darrenh

Unless you have any particular reason to go to the US I'd leave it aside for a holiday. Go to South America instead, then NZ, Aus, SE Asia.

Your leaving in march?! Have you tickets? Injections?

Asia is extremely safe to travel. The States would probably be more dangerous.


South America isn't at all dangerous and anyone who tells you otherwise is lying or hasn't been there. All you need to do is take normal precautions. Anyway, being kidnapped would make a really cool travel story!

breadmonkey

^ Get your injections sorted ASAP. I wouldn't fret too much about the ticket. I bought mine two weeks before I left!

As everyone else has said, Asia is a very safe place to travel.

Get yourself a big map, sit down and start looking at places to go. When I was planning my trip I got rakes of Lonely Planets from the local library just to try to get an idea of various places.

me1724

Thanks for the help, getting my injections sorted and should have them by the end of the week and heading up to trailfinders tomorrow to have a chat with them.

Does anyone have any opinions on whether its better to get a RTW tickets from trailfinders or book the tickets yourself to move from place to place??

Ritchi

me1724 wrote: »

Thanks for the help, getting my injections sorted and should have them by the end of the week and heading up to trailfinders tomorrow to have a chat with them.

Does anyone have any opinions on whether its better to get a RTW tickets from trailfinders or book the tickets yourself to move from place to place??

I got mine from Trailfinders. But if I were to go again I'd book as I went. The main advantage of a RTW, in my opinion, is that you have your flight home, and you won't run out of money for that. We ended up changing our flight details a few times costing us a good bit in the end, which is why I'd book it myself if I went again. You just have to be sure you can budget ok. I don't know which is cheaper, you can get lucky with some flights, but it definitely gives you wider scope for going where you want to go if you book as you go.

me1724

Thanks Ritchi, just booked it this morning with trailfinders leaving in 4 weeks.

I have two more questions that I would really appreciate some help with because I need to get them sorted as quickly as possible.

1) Australian Visa, is it ok to book the visa off http://www.immi.gov.au/ like I am just wondering is it easy to make mistakes and not get granted a visa because I dont have much time left would I be better off giving usit the 44 euro fee they are looking for and let them sort it out for me??

2) Insurance, I have done a search on here but im still confused on which one to get. Any have any experience good or bad with any companies or any recommendations?? Im thinking Blue insurance..

dory

I went with Blue and they were a frikken nightmare. Didn't cover anything in the end, always found a way out. I was very jealous of my travelling buddies who had their Swedish insurance, they just had to call and the copany were falling over themselves to help them out.

me1724

Ok doesnt sound good but from what i have been reading today it seems that they all like to find loopholes to get out of paying out claims... Any info on ACE or insure and go??
the second one is english based I think so if I had any problems would I be able to complain about them to anyone here in Ireland??

breadmonkey

me1724 wrote: »

Ok doesnt sound good but from what i have been reading today it seems that they all like to find loopholes to get out of paying out claims... Any info on ACE or insure and go??
the second one is english based I think so if I had any problems would I be able to complain about them to anyone here in Ireland??

I used ACE. Great policy but I never had to claim. I know that's not very helpful, sorry!

lil_lisa

I'm currently with Blue and over in the US they work through AXA insurance. Its quite a nightmare. Anything I need done they have to go through my doctor at home which means spending two/three weeks getting forms over and back from him. Lets just hope nothing happens that actually turns out to be life threatening! They won't allow me to make claims unless they are life threatening or the doctor here reports them as necessary and serious procedures.

me1724

Ok think blue is not an option anymore havnt heard any good comments about it... ACE is 120 euro dearer but think im leaning towards that now...

does anyone have any experience with insure and go??

v.e.r.b.a.l

all i can say is stay clear of Trailfinders Insurance. Turns out you're not covered for anything. Bastards!

I say spend more time in South America and South East Asia and less time in Oz. If you're doing Oz, do the West Coast. The East is nice enough, but I've heard so much better things about the West. If you have to go to the East, stick with the old reliables: Whitsundays and Fraser Island. There are a few nice national parks around Brisbane too - Springbrook especially.

New Zealand is gorgeous. 5 weeks gets most of both islands done in a campervan, which is the only way to do NZ properly.

I'm at the end (ARGH!) of a 1 year RTW trip at the mo. I went Mexico - Cuba - Jamaica - Ecuador - Galapagos - Peru - Bolivia - Argentina - Brazil - Chile - New Zealand - Fiji - Australia - Singapore - Thailand - Laos - Vietnam and will be heading to Cambodia soon before heading home. If I was doing anything differently it would be to spend more time in South America and Asia and less in Oz. That's all...

dory

v.e.r.b.a.l wrote: »

If I was doing anything differently it would be to spend more time in South America and Asia and less in Oz. That's all...

I totally agree. Crazy that you're almost finished, I remember your first posts about the planning!
I did pretty much the same, South America, Oz for a month and SE Asia. Definitely spend as much time in South America as possible.

me1724

Went with ACE insurance, it was 315 euro but seems to be less complaints about it rather than blue insurance...

Can I get some tips off people for carrying money around south east asia.

I have ordered a credit card today and going to use this in credit to take money out of ATM's as this wont have the 3.5% charge that my bank of ireland laser card will have...
Is this a good option or would I just be better off using my laser card?? or travellers cheques??
Is it safe to use credit cards at ATM's in these countries, is there anything I should be vigilant about when using it out there??

preddy

me1724 wrote: »

Can I get some tips off people for carrying money around south east asia.

I have ordered a credit card today and going to use this in credit to take money out of ATM's as this wont have the 3.5% charge that my bank of ireland laser card will have...
Is this a good option or would I just be better off using my laser card?? or travellers cheques??
Is it safe to use credit cards at ATM's in these countries, is there anything I should be vigilant about when using it out there??

Just keep your CC in the plus and use that dont use Dept card they charge for that.
Just be cautious and try use machines in shopping centres or some have like a swipe in booth sytem that only lets you in with a swipe of a valid card.

Dolly81

v.e.r.b.a.l wrote: »

I'm at the end (ARGH!) of a 1 year RTW trip at the mo. I went Mexico - Cuba - Jamaica - Ecuador - Galapagos - Peru - Bolivia - Argentina - Brazil - Chile - New Zealand - Fiji - Australia - Singapore - Thailand - Laos - Vietnam and will be heading to Cambodia soon before heading home. If I was doing anything differently it would be to spend more time in South America and Asia and less in Oz. That's all...

I am planning a similar trip with my boyf leaving this summer for up to a year I hope. We are planning on a trip very similar to the above, can't wait to go to South America!! Would be interested to hear appox how much a year long time ended up costing? Won't be doing anything too flash - basic but reasonable accommodation standards would suit us fine. Its just so hard to budget in advance, considering the costs of Inca trails/Galapagos tours etc and that's only the start of it

Also interested to hear where you where you end up finding best value on flights etc