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Post By Yassine
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16 Feb 2022
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Need suggestion/advices 3years RTW. Dep. July from Belgium
Hi guys,
I finally get the bike and budget ready.
Now I am at paper work and general route planning.
For now, I know that I will be leaving in July.
It will a 3 years minimum RTW trip on my motorcycle, so I have time.
If leaving from Belgium in July, what are my options ?
- option 1 : if I do, let’s say’ nord kap in Norway , then south to st pietersburg’ i will be there in septembre. Is Mongolia, tadjikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan etc to India a good idea ? ( bad season I think)
- option 2: drive south trough Russia to Iran
- option 3: soit trough balkans’ then Turkey’ Iran etc
- Option 4: Africa trough east costa ( Morocco etc)
- option 5: Western Africa , but what’s the easiest way to reach Egypt from europ by motorcycle ?
Asia is a must go for me, but driving there after septembre is maybe not a good idea.
If I start by Africa, reaching the west side seems complicated.
Any advice is more than Welkom
Cheers,
Yassine
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17 Feb 2022
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Hi Yassine,
Cool plans! I'm sure you'll have a great experience whichever route you choose.
Where exactly in Belgium are you from? I have experience with a number of those regions and the related paperwork. I'd be happy to meet up for a chat to share insights.
I live in Leuven.
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17 Feb 2022
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HI !
I am from Rixensart.
yes we can meet up whenever you are available with pleasure !
regards,
Yassine
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21 Feb 2022
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No advice from me, just my thoughts if I was in your situation.
July is too late in the season to head east, too much of a rush for the weather window in the Stans/Mongolia.
Nordkapp then down through Africa - for me I would want to start somewhere a little easier than Africa.
On a RWT I would want to do the Americas at some stage so that’s where I would start.
Ship RoRo Germany to Halifax. There’s time enough to do the Dalton then head south - so much to see and do. Head into Mexico Dec/Jan then slowly follow the dry season south.
Ship from Argentina to South Africa and up the east side - ferry to Saudi (I would avoid Egypt) in the early spring, then you’ve got the whole summer to head east.
Strangely, I am in a similar situation only leaving in September. We’re shipping into New York and riding the Appellations before going across and down into Mexico in Dec/Jan.
Maybe see you on the road
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23 Feb 2022
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First of all, most of your route options are currently impossible. Why not go the other way RTW and give Asia a chance to open up again?
Comments in bold below
Quote:
Originally Posted by Yassine
Hi guys,
I finally get the bike and budget ready.
Now I am at paper work and general route planning.
For now, I know that I will be leaving in July.
It will a 3 years minimum RTW trip on my motorcycle, so I have time.
If leaving from Belgium in July, what are my options ?
- option 1 : if I do, let’s say’ nord kap in Norway , then south to st pietersburg’ i will be there in septembre. Is Mongolia, tadjikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan etc to India a good idea ? ( bad season I think)
Russia is currently closed. Also Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. And India. In pre-covid times, you would need to move very fast, directly to Mongolia (forget Nordkapp, easy to do anytime in the future) and back down to Central Asia if you started in July. Unless you are a winter specialist, you want to be out of Mongolia / Siberia by late September to be sure not to meet the first snows. You could then move fast through Central Asia to Iran where you can be warm in winter (in the far south). However, if you have three years to do the trip, it would be madness to spend just a month or two in what, in my opinion, would be the absolute highlights of the whole trip.
- option 2: drive south trough Russia to Iran
Russia is currently closed. In pre-covid times, this would be a good idea - you could pass through Russia to Azerbaijan or Georgia / Armenia and then into Iran. But when would you go back up to see Central Asia and Mongolia? You will need to backtrack as Turkmenistan is closed, and I believe it will stay closed for foreigners for quite some time.
- option 3: soit trough balkans’ then Turkey’ Iran etc
This would work. You could move on to the Middle East which is currently all open for travel.
- Option 4: Africa trough east costa ( Morocco etc)
Morocco is on the west coast, the Mauritania border is difficult at present. I think Morocco may still be closed too. Maybe this route will work later in the year, maybe not.
- option 5: Western Africa , but what’s the easiest way to reach Egypt from europ by motorcycle ?
I think you mean East Africa. The east coastr route is closed, Ethiopia is closed due to civil war. To reach Egypt I think you need to ship, not sure if motorcycles are allowed to cross Sinai. If they were, you could try Turkey - Iran - Iraq - Jordan - Egypt. This has been done by one Swiss couple recently, but they were in a camper, not a motorcycle.
Asia is a must go for me, but driving there after septembre is maybe not a good idea.
If I start by Africa, reaching the west side seems complicated.
Any advice is more than Welkom
Cheers,
Yassine
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__________________
EurasiaOverland a memoir of one quarter of a million kilometres by road through all of the Former USSR, Western and Southern Asia.
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24 Feb 2022
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RTW
Hi Yassine,
had to smile when reading your question about route planning. As on my RTW (1999-2005) I went from Germany first to the North Cape and then to St. Petersburg before crossing into Asia in Istanbul and I had also intended to travel for three years ;-)
But as others have pointed out above, the world is a bit different now and border crossings and visas are not that easy anymore.
eurasiaoverland has written a very good answer, only one word in his answer I would change: impossible to very difficult or very hard.
Quote:
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First of all, most of your route options are currently impossible.
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On my RTW I did Africa as the last continent. Africa was the most difficult, and as it was the last, my budget was really limited and doing Africa on a very limited budget is not making things easier/better. To enjoy Africa you need to be 'fresh' and 'curious' and not travel weary. So I would suggest to do Africa first. But as been said above, some of the borders might be very difficult to cross at the moment and maybe a few years down the road they will become easier.
The most difficult day of your journey will be the one leaving home.
Enjoy your planning
mika 
Quote:
Hi guys,
I finally get the bike and budget ready.
Now I am at paper work and general route planning.
For now, I know that I will be leaving in July.
It will a 3 years minimum RTW trip on my motorcycle, so I have time.
If leaving from Belgium in July, what are my options ?
- option 1 : if I do, let’s say’ nord kap in Norway , then south to st pietersburg’ i will be there in septembre. Is Mongolia, tadjikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan etc to India a good idea ? ( bad season I think)
- option 2: drive south trough Russia to Iran
- option 3: soit trough balkans’ then Turkey’ Iran etc
- Option 4: Africa trough east costa ( Morocco etc)
- option 5: Western Africa , but what’s the easiest way to reach Egypt from europ by motorcycle ?
Asia is a must go for me, but driving there after septembre is maybe not a good idea.
If I start by Africa, reaching the west side seems complicated.
Any advice is more than Welkom
Cheers,
Yassine
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24 Feb 2022
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Join Date: May 2015
Posts: 18
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Hi guys,
So if I understand your advices well’ i should stay in Europe hahahaahah
Just joking.
More seriously, my options are then :
1- Africa first’ so I go south to Morocco ( west Africa  ) and then follow the Easter cost to the South Africa … then 2 options, north via Eastern Africa or crossing to South America… but maybe the season will not be the best at that time as I am leaving Europe in the summer.
2- shipping to America in the summer, but north or south America ? In South America in septembre The weather start to be good right ?
And I leave Asia and Mesopotamia region for the last part in these 2 cases.
Thank for your advices guys !! I am but lost.. I never planned a trip that long hahah 
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24 Feb 2022
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Short question :
If leaving in end summer, doing a south to North America is nit better than the opposite ?
Ps: RoRo in Germany ?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Flipflop
Strangely, I am in a similar situation only leaving in September. We’re shipping into New York and riding the Appellations before going across and down into Mexico in Dec/Jan.
Maybe see you on the road
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24 Feb 2022
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Comments below:
I think you need to do some general research into the geo-political situation in the world. Keep reading on this site (it's not just a forum).
Quote:
Originally Posted by Yassine
Hi guys,
So if I understand your advices well’ i should stay in Europe hahahaahah
Just joking.
More seriously, my options are then :
1- Africa first’ so I go south to Morocco ( west Africa ) and then follow the Easter cost to the South Africa … then 2 options, north via Eastern Africa or crossing to South America… but maybe the season will not be the best at that time as I am leaving Europe in the summer.
If you can get into Morocco, which is not certain, how do you propose to get to the east coast? Even in normal times this was difficult, now I think it is not possible.
2- shipping to America in the summer, but north or south America ? In South America in septembre The weather start to be good right ?
I don't think the seasons are a big deal in South America, except in the far south, but it's not an area I have much experience (or interest) in
And I leave Asia and Mesopotamia region for the last part in these 2 cases.
Thank for your advices guys !! I am but lost.. I never planned a trip that long hahah |
__________________
EurasiaOverland a memoir of one quarter of a million kilometres by road through all of the Former USSR, Western and Southern Asia.
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25 Feb 2022
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I think most things have already been said 
It seems that at the moment you could travel to the middle east - even though Pakistan-India is still closed and even the ferry Iran-VAE does not seem to take tourists.
Many people are travelling South Africa and neighboring countries which could work for you, too. If you start organising now you could have your bike in Cape Town before you arrive. Alternatively of course, just visit the Americas first. Not everything is open and easy yet (no regular ships to pass the Darién Gap at the moment, for example) but most seems to be possible.
Cheers,
Benjamin
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25 Feb 2022
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Yassine
2- shipping to America in the summer, but north or south America ? In South America in septembre The weather start to be good right ?
Thank for your advices guys !! I am but lost.. I never planned a trip that long hahah |
South America is immense - so there's no way to generalise. However, I will try to do that to give an idea.
Patagonia in winter can be very cold, and it's always windy. I've seen snow in TdF in November (early summer).
Brazil alone is huge, the northeast coast can be wet in and the whole east coast can experience heavy rains in summer.
In the northern Andes the "rainy seasons" are around the equinoxes - it's rarely for long periods - usually short heavy downpours.
The clue to the weather in the rain forest is in the name...
The other key factor is altitude - you can be near the equator, but at 5000m AMSL it can be well below freezing point.
www.climatestotravel.com is good for details
Note: I am referring to summer and winter in the sense used in Europe and North America. In much of SA "winter" means the rainy seasons.
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25 Feb 2022
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Yassine
Short question :
If leaving in end summer, doing a south to North America is nit better than the opposite ?
Ps: RoRo in Germany ?
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My trip will be to ship into New York in September and ride the MABDR south. I am reliably informed that late September, early October is the best time to ride through the Appalachians - warm temperatures with no humidity or bugs. We will be in Texas by November which, in general, has good winter weather. My research leads me to believe that it is easy to follow the dry season south from Mexico in December.
I’ve done a lot of the western side of the US and will hopefully return at some stage to do Alaska but it’s not in my top 3 destinations so we’ll have to see.
There is a RoRo service from Germany to various points on the eastern seaboard - Olaf of ‘in-time’ is on this forum or just Google.
Hope this helps
Last edited by Flipflop; 26 Feb 2022 at 12:24.
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6 Mar 2022
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Thanks guys for all your inputs !!
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Need suggestion/advices 3years RTW. Dep. July from Belgium
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