Isle of Man to Vladivostok or visa versa
 

Hi, Does anyone have tips or recommendations in choosing the direction of travel between Europe and Vladivostok? I'm from Sydney AU and would love to incorporate the IOM TT in my trip (probably in 2017). The race is end of May so it seems like a good idea weather wise to start from there. Actually as I write this I am thinking that if I want to include IOM TT, I would definitely have to start from there. Are there any advantages in travelling from the opposite direction (east to west)?
I'll only have about 4 months, so I don't think I will be able to include Asia below China, and China itself will be too expensive by the sounds it, so I'm thinking shipping between AU and Vladivostok. I'd like to go to Madagan on the road of bones, but shipping is difficult from there right?

Depends what time of the year you are travelling. As a general rule, the winter is longer and more severe the further east you go (Vladivostok is an exception due to its maritime climate).

Therefore, if you want to travel in the early summer (peak time for mosquitoes and ticks, generally warmer and with longer daylight), travelling west to east makes sense.

If you want to travel late in the season, (fewer insects, longer nights and a bit of a gamble with the weather; autumn can be absolutely magical with deep blue skies and crisp nights, or grey, damp and miserable), travelling from east to west makes more sense.

If you're aiming for the TT in May, then you would be travelling through the end of the Russian winter, which is the worst time to be in Russia IMO

EO

Hello. What is IOTT? I am planning vlad to Moscow to europe from april half onwards 2017...on my rtw..royal enfield 500cc....

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Aah I get it..isle of man race..so u would start from aus to vlad n ride to iom...nice

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I was initially planning on travelling AU to Vlad and then west to Europe, but when I started thinking of the IOM TT, I realised it would be too cold going through Russia in March/April.
Now I'm thinking of going AU to London (& TT) then east through Europe to Mongolia etc... That would put me through Russia/Mongolia in July/August which should be nicer weather. More bugs perhaps, but I'm used to swatting flies and removing ticks. If I have time and funds, I'd love to meet up with some fellow travelers in Mongolia and head south through China to Laos and SE Asia onto Darwin. I see some people doing that this year. Planning is half the fun eh!