We have talked a little bit about our route during the planning process on this site. We’ve made changes and relooked at our RTW route a hundred times. We have a general idea of the route we will follow and that is about it.
I am going to admit, right now, that I am an obsessive planner. All my life I have stayed organized by creating lists and planning for everything. This trip is a challenge to myself to learn to let go a little. Go with the flow and just let things happen. It won’t be easy.
We wanted to take a look at the general outline of our upcoming trip and share with you what the plan is. Yes, there is still somewhat of a plan. I can’t just let it go completely. That would be like trying to quit something cold turkey.
However, I have left the meat and potatoes up to fate, if you will. I know where we are going, but the true beauty is that what happens in between will be unplanned. Wish me luck.
Our 2 Year Long Term Travel Plan
New Zealand: 4 weeks
Our first stop will be New Zealand. We will arrive in Auckland on February 23. We will be traveling around the North and South islands, mainly the South, with plans to return back to Auckland for departure.
Fiji: 1-2 weeks
Flying in and out of Nadi, we plan to visit the Yasawa Islands and get dive certified while enjoying paradise.
Australia: 4-6 weeks
From Fiji, we want to fly into Cairns, rent a campervan and spend 4 weeks traveling down the East Coast to Melbourne. From Melbourne, we want to fly to Darwin for a couple of days before moving on to SE Asia.
SE Asia: 16 weeks
We absolutely loved SE Asia when we visited in 2010 so we plan to spend some time here. We will fly to Indonesia from Darwin and plan to explore this country for 4 weeks, including Bali, Komodo, Papua, and Mt Bromo.
We also plan to spend time in Malaysia, Borneo, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Laos. Myanmar is on the radar too, but we haven’t solidified anything on that yet.
China/Korea: 6-7 weeks
Hong Kong will be our first stop so we can secure our Chinese Visa’s before moving up the East coast through Shanghai to Beijing. I anticipate this taking around 3 weeks.
Because we can only stay on our visa for 30 days at a time, we will need to leave China for a few days before reentering and heading down the middle of the country. The plan is to visit Seoul for our ‘visa run’ and then return to Beijing to start our journey to Xi’an and then Chengdu.
Nepal: 1-2 weeks
Kathmandu and Everest are on the plate for this country. We have plans to hike to Base Camp on Everest, so that is our main prerogative here.
I really want to visit Bhutan also, so our time in this area may be extended to visit that country. It will all depend on our budget at that point, but I am really hoping we don’t miss it.
India/Maldives: 10-12weeks
After Nepal, we will move into India. We plan to visit a few different areas in this country with the general idea of starting in the North, heading South and then to the West.
Definitely do not want to miss a visit to the Maldives, so I anticipate we will do all our traveling in India, visit the Maldives, then return to Mumbai where we plan to fly to our next destination.
This should also put us right up to 1 year on the road. Crazy to be sitting here at my desk right now thinking that I will have been on the road for a year and in India.
Europe: 8 weeks
From Mumbai, we will fly to Amsterdam just at the start of Spring. It will still be brisk, but we are hoping to be there early in the season will be easier on the pocketbooks.
Not sure if we will spend this much time in actual Europe, but we will see. Plans for this region are very up in the air right now, but we do know we will be visiting.
Morocco: 1-2 weeks
Hoping to squeeze Morocco in, but it will depend on the logistics of where we decide to travel in Europe and how much it will costs to get us to our next destination from this country.
Turkey/Middle East: 4-6 weeks
Our time will be spent between Jordan, Israel, and Egypt. We do have hopes of flying to the UAE around this time too if budget permits and I can find a good deal on airfare.
Africa: 12 weeks
3 months to explore Africa! Our plans are to travel overland from Kenya to South Africa. There are several areas we want to explore on this continent, so we are giving it loads of time for a visit.
We have been looking at 52 day overland trips from Nairobi to Cape Town. After we arrived in Cape Town we plan to head back towards Mozambique for a visit to Madagascar and ultimately end in Johannesburg.
South America: 14 weeks
We’ve both been to South America a couple of times and we LOVE it. So putting 14 weeks is subjective. Depending on where we are at with the budget, we may stay longer. We’ll fly to Rio from Johannesburg and then make our way down to Buenos Aires.
From there we will head to the far South to take a trip to Antarctica for a week or so. We’ll head up the West coast afterward through Chile, visit Easter Island, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia.
Antarctica: 1 week
I know this one is a long way out, but I am really looking forward to cruising Antarctica. It will be both of our 7th continent visited and that is pretty exciting.
We plan to take one of the organized cruises as this is one of few ways for the average person to visit this giant landmass.
Central America: 8 weeks
Panama, Costa Rica, Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala, and Belize are all on the list for this visit and we plan to take our time moving through here. We will be scoping out a possible new residence for ourselves here… maybe.
Plus, there are loads of things that I have wanted to visit and experience in Central America for many years now, so however long it takes, we’ll be there.
After Central America: ??
The plan is to make our way up through the Yucatan in Mexico and then visit Cuba. From there, we will likely head inland towards Mexico City and spend some time revisiting that area.
I know this puts us a touch over 2 years, but we are fine with that. 2 years is a long time and we know a lot of these ‘plans’ are likely to change. But for the sake of my obsessive nature, I am ok with that, as long as I can look at it.
Note to readers: We departed on our around the world (RTW) trip on February 21, 2014. We traveled full-time, backpacking across 6 continents for the next 2 years. Since 2016, we travel 7-10 months out of every year creating content and telling stories for this website. It’s been a wild ride!
More on Long Term Travel:
- How to Plan A Trip: Step by Step Guide
- How to Plan A Travel Budget
- 11 Easy Tips on How to Find Cheap Accommodation
- 10 Killer Tips on How to Find Cheap Flights
- How to Save Money for Travel: A Step by Step Plan
- Essential Travel Vaccinations Guide: What You Need & Why
- How to Sell Everything to Pursue Long Term Travel
- What We Told Our Families Before Long Term Travel
- Giving Up Our Couch to See the World
- 20 Days Till Liftoff: Long Term Travel Preparation Checklist
- Ultimate Long Term Travel RTW Packing List
- Redesigning My Life at 30: Long Term Travel Career Break
- House to Hostel: A Married Couples Perspective
- 6 Month Long Term Travel Recap
- 2014 Travel Review: 1 Year of Full-Time Travel
- 2015 Travel Review: 26 Countries on 4 Continents
- 2 Years of Long Term Travel Down: What’s Next for Divergent Travelers?
- 2016 Travel Review: 16 Countries on 4 Continents
- 2017 Travel Review: 7 States & 7 Countries
- How Traveling the World Changed my Perspective of the USA
- 5 Ways to Reduce Your Carbon Footprints while Traveling
What a great itinerary guys ! We started our 18 months trip around Asia last June and it feels like we have seen so little and there is still so much more to explore. Have you been to the Maldives yet ? Going from india is definitely the way to go. I remember we paid something like 60$ for a flight from Kochi when we went last November. The country is now much more affordable since the government allowed the local Islands to open guest houses. The water is crystal clear and Nemo is everywhere ! Hope you enjoy it as much as we did !
Hello! Yes, we visited the Maldives before we visited India and Sri Lanka. We flew there direct from Singapore quite cheaply. The islands there are stunning! We actually ended up doing a cruise so that we could dive some of the famous dive spots and see more islands. We loved it.
Was wondering how you went about getting your visas to China? We too are traveling RTW. We couldn’t secure our visas for China prior to leaving because it would be 8 months before we got there. As I sit in the India Visa Counsular Service Center to get our visas to India I thought I’d do some research! How did you secure yours?
Ha! So sorry, I just found your very detailed informative post on securing your visa in KL! Thanks for the info and perhaps we’ll meet on the road! Excited to follow some fellow travelers!
You’re welcome and glad you found it informative! Happy to have you following and yea, we are always up for meeting other travelers on the road.
I see you already found the post we wrote about it. 🙂 We went to the Chinese Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
You guys have an amazing couple of years ahead of you! Looking forward to following along.
I’m also from Wisconsin and my husband and I are in the planning stage of our RTW trip. We kick it off this fall in Japan!
Hey there! Glad to have you! What part of Wisconsin are you from?
We’re both originally from central Wisconsin.
Sweet! Hopefully we’ll meet up on the road!
This does seem like a really long schedule. I noticed that you are going to be awfully close to Isabel and John on Tasmania. Think you will get there this trip…or maybe next trip? I will need details of expenses in Australia as Steve and I are still planning on going there sometime for at least a month or so….Gma.
Hi Gma! We won’t be visiting Tasmania on this trip. We plan to post expense reports for each destination. 🙂
Hello!! Stumbled here from looking for a backpack. I’m shorter than you so it’s really hard for me to get a travel backpack (I was leaning more towards the tortuga one until I read your review actually). I’m also hoping for 1-2 yrs of travelling but its depending on my savings. Heading to Europe next year first to test the waters out. Hope you enjoy ur trip, I would love to hear more. I’m from Singapore so feel free to ask if you have any questions even though it may not be on your list…:)
Glad you found us! Yea, I was so bummed about the Tortuga! I wanted to carry that bag so bad. We may visit Singapore, our SE Asia plans are very flexible. Europe will be awesome, it’s so cool over there. If you have any specific questions about Europe let me know.
Awesome! Hope you have a great time…:)
Wow, that’s an amazing trip you have planned! We tried to plan a long way in advance, but it all changes so much that now we don’t generally plan more than 3-5 months ahead of schedule. You need to be able to roll with the punches and take up great opportunities that present themselves along the way 🙂
Yea, we wanted to get some kind of general outline together, mostly to keep us on track, but we know it will change. Kind of looking forward to the spontaneity of it all! Will be a nice change of pace from the 2 week PTO trips we are used to.
Wow, what an amazing trip. I would love to go to Antarctica and can’t wait to read your posts.
Yes! Antarctica sounds so amazing and I am determined to visit all 7 continents. So it’s on the list!
Wow, it sounds like you have it all planned out. To really maximize your money in Europe, head to Central and Eastern Europe. Much more affordable than western with just as much interesting things to see. Berlin was also surprisingly affordable too.
Yea, that is what we are thinking! There a couple places in Western Europe that we may hit though, I have been a few times, but David has not. So there are a couple things I’d like to show him! But yes, Central and Eastern will be cheaper and it’s on the radar. 🙂
That sounds like a fantastic trip! Make sure to plan in some extra time to spend in the places you really like. One of the things I love most about traveling is finding those places that you unexpectedly love and end up spending 2 weeks there – just because!
Thanks!! We are SOOOOOO excited! Yup, literally have no plans for what we are actually doing in those places. I want the flexibility to stay longer if we like it or move on if we don’t. Thanks for stopping in!
Wow this is an intense itinerary! I am eight months into my indefinite travels and I found I was burnt out after three months of moving around constantly. We are all different though and I know some people thrive being always on the move! I look forward to reading about your amazing adventures.
Yea, that is why we are leaving things somewhat open ended. We have an idea of where we want to be and for how long, but everything in between is flexible. That way if we need to slow down we can. I think travel burnout is something we all will experience with long term travel. We’ll just have to see how we adapt to it! 🙂 thanks for stopping in!
WARNING things will change!!! Be ready for the change!
HAHA! Yes, we know and are more than ready. 🙂
I would highly recommend Myanmar, even just for a week. Bagan, Inle Lake and Yangon are totally worth it, and are still basically untouched by the western world.
Yea, it is definitely on our radar… but we haven’t specifically worked out where we will go exactly once we reach SE Asia. Looks pretty cool though.
This is an amazing list. I met a guy when I went to Easter Island (still one of my good friends to this day) and he was traveling for 2 years. I asked him where he was going, and he just started listing off continents. I was like “yup… sounds about right” … he ended up traveling for years after that still… I think it’s been 3 years now or more!
HAHA! That will be us. We will probably be on the road longer than 2 years. Only time will tell!
Wow that is very full on but does look amazing!! As someone who has taken 2 x 1 year full on travel trips, I do wonder if you will be able to keep to anything like that without needing to stay put for quite awhile somewhere or cutting back especially in places where the travel is full on and tiring. Either way, you will have an awesome adventure!! 🙂
Yes, we are not sure what to expect. That is why we have it planned loosely. We know what we want to do, but will just have to see how it all comes together. Nothing says we won’t stay on the road longer either!
Awesome! Lemme know if you need any NZ advice or wanna meet up in Auckland.
Thanks for reaching out! I might take you up on some info for NZ! 🙂
Wow! Sounds like a great adventure! I feel jealous, even though we are currently traveling ourselves 🙂 I like to plan the same way, to have the frames set beforehand and let the details roll out as opportunities come. Happy travels!
Yes! I am finding that as long as I have a little ‘structure’ to it, I can cope without having too much planned out! Even though I am an obsessive planner, I am looking forward to having flexibility. Maybe we will see you on the road!
Wow, that is a full two years you have planned. I am going to look forward to reading about your travels.
Hi Steve! Yes, it is a lot to see, but we are up for the challenge. 🙂 Thanks for following along!
Wow what an amazing itinerary!! As someone who is just coming up to her 2 year anniversary of full time travel, I can say you are about to embark on the most amazing time of your life!! I hope our paths cross one day 🙂
Thanks Nicole! we are SUPER excited. Just hoping we don’t get too burnt out. It will take u a bit to find a nice balance I think. Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
I very much enjoyed the mix metaphor in the opening paragraph. This is a jam-packed itinerary/plan/outline! It’ll be interesting to see what, if any, changes you decide to make along the way. Good luck!
HAHAHA! Glad you enjoyed it. I have to say that the prospect of not planning everything is scarier than selling my house and quitting my job! eeeekk! It will be good for me…. YES, it is a busy schedule but we’re on a mission. 🙂
Seems like an amazing 2 years you have ahead of you.
Are you not going to visit Japan? It’s going to be the first place on my list.
No concrete plans to visit Japan at the moment. We’re kind of starting to accept the fact that we won’t be able to get everywhere on this trip. However, there may be a change of plans to visit Japan instead of Seoul on our Visa run for China… only time will tell.
Agggghh! I know I already told you, but I’m going to be living vicariously through you. I’m so excited for y’all and can’t wait to follow along.
That’s awesome and we are thrilled to have you on board!! We’re super excited/nervous/anxious about our upcoming departure. 🙂