Rough itinerary. Any amendment needed (mostly due weather)?

Methinks you are premature to rule out Japan and New Zealand based on past perceptions by many that those two countries are too expensive to visit for budget-conscious travelers.

The Japanese yen, for example, has dropped to some of the lowest levels in years against major currencies such as the U.S. dollar and the British pound. Moreover, Japan has had years of deflation. I'm taking an advantage of this by visiting Japan for about a month this fall.

I keep track of expenses on all my trips on a spreadsheet. I know what my costs are; and they have been consistent over the years. The higher cost of travel in some destinations can be offset by the lower cost of travel in others. Your two biggest expenses are likely to be lodging and transportation, in that order.

As mentioned before, keep an open mind, think outside the box and be flexible.

Quoting berner256

Methinks you are premature to rule out Japan and New Zealand based on past perceptions by many that those two countries are too expensive to visit for budget-conscious travelers.

I'd rule out NZ for a different reason.

There's not enough time to do it justice. It's not a stopover, it needs a month minimum to scratch the surface.

Yes, New Zealand deserves more time than a stopover in Auckland. However, if the itinerary has flexibility, time can be made. After all, the current plans are to spend about about three months in China and Vietnam and about a month each in the Santiago and Cusco areas. There's nothing wrong with getting a taste of a destination now, then returning later to explore further. I do it all the time. However, I know there are seasoned travelers who only want to visit a destination once and never return, preferring to see new places on their bucket list. That's a shame. For example, if you only were to visit Darwin, Perth and Sydney, you'd be missing a whole lot of what else Australia has to offer. You might want, instead, to get a good taste, then return, perhaps again and again, as I have with many places around the globe.

It isn't as easy now to travel in China as it has been in the past. Consider this: https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3251523/china-travel-cashless-society-shift-hits-foreign-tourists-who-really-want-open-wallets-and-spend

All I'm suggesting is not to rule anything out beforehand, especially if you're traveling for an extended period.

I belong to two groups of travel enthusiasts, the Travelers' Century Club and NomadMania. I will soon undergo confirmation of some of my visits to the latter's 1,301 regions (verification is mandatory for the top ranked 50 travellers, plus available for anyone with 600+ regions visited). In a preliminary examination of where I've been, it's been noted that: "You are relatively high up on NM regions compared to the UN countries, means you travel really deep inside, not just short trips across the borders!!"

I don't plan to visit all 1,301 NM regions, nor all 330 TCC countries and territories. I don't have enough time, given my advanced years. But I still manage to travel at least six months overseas, visiting new destinations and revisiting old ones. I've seen a lot and experienced a lot. I hope you will too, for years to come.

[ Edit: Edited on 23 Aug 2024, 23:58 GMT by berner256 ]

Quoting berner256

Methinks you are premature to rule out Japan and New Zealand based on past perceptions by many that those two countries are too expensive to visit for budget-conscious travelers.

I should have clarified. As AndyF said, time is a HUGE factor too.. Yes, I am flexible, and yes, I could squeeze in both Japan and New Zealand if I wanted enough. But, that's just it, I don't want whole year to be just running from one place to another. There is a lot of time reserved for Vietnam/Laos/Thailand and even China but that is to enable us to relax too. Still possible to look around and see places and do things but in more relaxed manner. Same in South America. There is not much set in stone so we can see when in there what we are in mood for.

Oh, and, I would add one more thing. These places were the ones me and my travelling partner wanted to see the most.
Even being amazing, I am sure, New Zealand and Japan, are for another trip somewhere in the future

[ Edit: Edited on 24 Aug 2024, 19:27 GMT by hennaonthetrek ]

Quoting berner256

It isn't as easy now to travel in China as it has been in the past. Consider this: https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3251523/china-travel-cashless-society-shift-hits-foreign-tourists-who-really-want-open-wallets-and-spend

Yes, I have heard about that..We will have to see how it is when we get there. (And of course research beforehand!!) If every little thing feels like a huge struggle we might just get a flight somewhere where it is easier

Btw, I couldn't open the article. 404 error code appeared..

Quoting hennaonthetrek

Plan was to get a car from Darwin, drive to Red Center, fly from Alice to Perth and then take the South Pacific from there to Sydney.

I had a chat with my parents who live in Darwin. They confirmed that May is considerably better to be there than in April.

As far as rainfall in Sydney is concerned, I wouldn't worry too much. The bigger question there is what the temperatures are like as it will be getting colder. If you started your trip in May for example and then did Sydney at the end, you'd be in Sydney in winter. Now, that's not necessarily terrible, but if you were hoping to spend some time enjoying the beaches in Sydney then you'd be much better off doing that in April compared to June.

Maybe you can just do your entire plan in reverse? Sydney -> Perth -> Alice -> Darwin

Or.. alternatively, slightly different - fly in to Perth, fly to Alice, drive up to Darwin, then fly to Sydney and from there onwards. Out of Darwin you'd probably have to fly via Sydney or Brisbane anyway to get to Chile so it's not going to be much different. This does cut out that train trip which I admit sounds cool.

Quoting Peter

I had a chat with my parents who live in Darwin. They confirmed that May is considerably better to be there than in April.

As far as rainfall in Sydney is concerned, I wouldn't worry too much. The bigger question there is what the temperatures are like as it will be getting colder. If you started your trip in May for example and then did Sydney at the end, you'd be in Sydney in winter. Now, that's not necessarily terrible, but if you were hoping to spend some time enjoying the beaches in Sydney then you'd be much better off doing that in April compared to June.

Maybe you can just do your entire plan in reverse? Sydney -> Perth -> Alice -> Darwin

Or.. alternatively, slightly different - fly in to Perth, fly to Alice, drive up to Darwin, then fly to Sydney and from there onwards. Out of Darwin you'd probably have to fly via Sydney or Brisbane anyway to get to Chile so it's not going to be much different. This does cut out that train trip which I admit sounds cool.

It's good to know local-feedback, thank you so much for asking for me!

I pushed our arriving to start of May but I really wouldn't like to do it in reverse. Specially if the only worry is that Sydney might get cold. Where I live, temperatures can drop as low as -30C, so I am happy if I don't need to wear icefishing gear when I explore around
The minimal time spending in airports are huge plus for me!

I had to make some alterations at the start of our trip too, and there is now couple flights more.. I wasn't aware that you can't travel from Nepal to Tibet without group visa so we are now starting from China. First China, then tour around Himalayas (which wasn't cheap, that's why I cut the Australian train..), India and then the travel hub of Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and maybe even Cambodia now than we have more time at this area due to arriving Australia later...

Winters in Sydney are still quite pleasant. Nice walking around weather usually. Also much better to visit the centre of Australia in the colder part of the year.

My visit to Australia was in July - the middle of the winter. It was NOT really cold when I was there. I did have to bundle up on the ferry but I was with my granddaughter who lives in Florida and she was fine with the temps. It will not be a problem for you IMHO.
https://grandmaaustralia.travellerspoint.com/5/
We needed a wetsuit for snorkeling - or she did. I got sick and couldn't go.

3 weeks is a long time to spend in Mumbai. Some good stuff to see (Elephant Island, caves to the north, etc.) but not 3 weeks. I'd probably be thinking about maybe Mumbai to Delhi via Rajasthan then travel on from Delhi. But lots of options.

Ian