Planning a World Trip

I'm planning a world trip for my family. I have plenty of time to plan and save, but have begun with places to visit. I think I may be trying to do too much, but as I've never planned a world trip I'm not sure. Here's where I've thought to travel (all for various reasons), and the number by it is the number of days to be there. The time there doesn't include any extended travel, but the trip will be just over 2 months total including all travel.

Glasgow/London, United Kingdom - 6
Paris, France - 3
Berlin, Germany - 3
Florence/Rome, Italy - 6
Athens/Santorini, Greece - 6
Cairo, Egypt - 3
St Petersburg/Moscow, Russia - 6
Beijing/Hong Kong, China - 6
Bali, Indonesia - 4
Sudney, Australia/Chrischurch, New Zealand - 6
Cusco/Mancora, Peru/Galapagos Islands - 7
Oranjestad, Aruba - 4

It will be myself, my husband and our 2 boys (will be roughly 10 and 15 at the time), and our main goal is to see sights and learn about different cultures (we're American). We have chosen where we want to visit with careful consideration for safety, and wouldn't want to travel anywhere that we would feel uneasy. My main worry is that I'm trying to shove too much into a small amount of time... Please let me know if any of these can be left out, maybe should see a different area of a country instead or also, any and all advice welcome. Thanks in advance.

Your list adds up to 60 days but every time you move from one place to another it costs you at least a day .. so right there, that is about 18 days out of your 60. You might want to cut down on the number of stops.

I always like to make maps prior to my trips & TP has a good facility for that & it will show TP people your intentions.

[ Edit: Edited on 30-Jul-2017, at 16:28 by hasbeen ]

Good point above. You also said you wanted to learn about other cultures but you haven't given yourself time to learn about them. By the time you get there, hit the high points and head for your next destination, you probably won't even have time to talk to your waiter, much less learn anything about the culture.

Create your map here on TP or on Google Maps and see how long it takes to get from one place to another. I think you'll be surprised. You may want to cut half your stops and double your time in the ones you keep. It also helps if you can create a base for day trips rather than changing hotels. Checking in and out, catching transportation and the actual travel time all eat into your vacation experience.

Why not figure out what you can put into a future trip. That way you can keep the idea of visiting those places, but you don't have to feel obligated to do it this year.

Good luck.

Both great points. I started with the map on here, very cool! I aslo thought that the culture part might get overlooked if we're moving around so much... But I'm having such a hard time narrowing it down... Any help from places you might have been and where might be more educational for the kids than others would be helpful!

I think I would be inclined to cut it into 3 separate trips ( or maybe 4 ) & choose one as a first shot.

Europe + Russia
South America
Asia & Australia
& New Zealand because I am so partial to it & think it deserves a lot of time just to itself.

So .. if you go along with that idea, which one would you choose?

Europe is probably best to avoid culture shock but everywhere has it's own culture so we need to know what interests your family.

I think if I wanted to see different cultures I would go west and not try to see the whole world - start out in Australia-NZ - English speaking to reduce the culture shock a little. You might want to make a stop in Hawaii first to less the length of the flight, and then go on to New Zealand, Australia, Indonesia, China, Japan. That gives you four or five different cultures and you can spend two weeks in each place.

Europe is nice, but except for Russia, it isn't that different. And the amount of Hispanics in the US - South America isn't that different either except for the scenery.

Another thing to consider with your itinerary is the very real phenomena of jet-lag .. your trip becomes a blur, making it hard to remember. I don't think it makes for a good educational trip

You can circumnavigate the globe in 60 days, but you need to pare your destinations and focus on spending more days in some places. You want your sons to enjoy travel; and to experience things that will excite them.

I don't know what your budget is, but your planned short visits to Russia and China will incur extra costs in the form of visas. The application process for Russia, in particular, is not simple. And China requires the use of intermediaries to secure visas. Chinese consulates do not accept applications directly.

Cusco adds an additional complexity. It is at a higher altitude, which requires at least a day or two of adjustment. Plus, it requires some physicality, particularly if you plan to visit Machu Picchu. You walk up to the ruins, walk down, then walk up again to exit.

Then there's Egypt. The U.S. State Department this month issued a revised travel warning for the country. Also bear in mind that Egypt is not a destination that is hassle-free.

Of all the countries on your list, I highly recommend New Zealand. From there you can travel to Australia, Asia, Europe and home. There are nonstop flights to NZ from the West Coast and from Honolulu.

All good points again. I was under the impression that our US passport would be enough to get us into all of the countries, I will have to do much more research regarding that. Jet lag is a good thing to keep in mind as well, although I hope to take trains, boats, and drive as often as possible, but should definitely narrow it down somehow. The altitude nor hiking will be an issue as long as no one's health drastically changes between now and then, which I'm planning it for roughly 4 years from now, so definiteyl pleeeenty of time to figure it all out, but we live in Denver and camp at 10,000 ft and hike to higher on a regular basis and our youngest is only 5, so will be able to handle much more rigerous hikes by then.

[ Edit: Edited on 30-Jul-2017, at 18:48 by akh42010 ]

hope to take trains, boats, and drive as often as possible,

I am struggling to see how you will have the time. According to your rough itinerary you've scheduled in 60 days and you say you say you will only be just over two months. In my opinion you should always be minimizing the "travel to destination time". This is a whirlwind trip and I understand you are trying to cram all the things you desperately want to see because you're afraid you aren't going to get another opportunity but you will be exhausted, and it will take a toll on your health not to mention it is just unpleasant to be tired when you should be having the time of your life. Personally I prefer to pick a region and explore that but if you are determined to circumnavigate the globe I would suggest cutting it by half, just so you can breath a little and actually enjoy the destinations. Which months are you looking to travel at? Because this will also affect what you can do at each destination.

[ Edit: Edited on 30-Jul-2017, at 20:17 by Teoni ]