Opinions - Which trip should I make

[pjmancktelow]

Hi. So I will likely be making a trip somewhere about March time 2011. I'd like some opinions on what trip I should take. I'll likely be re entering education after it and it will be my last good trip for a long time. I'll quickly lay out my potential options.

Ok, firstly, I have read (many times) the AMH and have had a carnet previously so I understand that. Now regards my situation.

I currently have an F650 GS Dakar. It’s been modified already by overland solutions to go most places. (I started a previous trip on it and it failed, long story).

I will be leaving from the UK. My budget will be about £3000.

So, my first idea is to cross Africa, either the East or West coast. But cost is a problem. Last I checked a carnet in Egypt was 800% which is too much. The issue here is the cost of shipping my bike back from South Africa.
The second option is to fly to South or Central America and buy a bike and ride around there.
The third option is to ride India on an Enfield. Is this still a safe bet alone? To be fair though, I’ve been living in East Asia for a while now, and would like to not travel in Asia really.
So these are my options. I’ll be making the trip between March/April and August/September and as I said before, I’ll have about £3000. This will include the cost of carnet (insurance option) if I take my bike. And it will include the cost of buying the bike in either India or the Americas. I could probably add another £500-700 if I was to get it back on the carnet/selling the bought bike.
I haven’t been to any of the above countries so they’re all new to me and really want to see all of them
If you’ve read this far, thanks please throw out your opinions on what you would do.
Cheers

[PocketHead]

Can't go wrong with South America.... especially if you don't have a girlfriend!

[markharf]

Your budget is pretty slim for that amount of time (five months). By the time you've paid airfare and bought a bike (a beater of a bike, if you expect to have any funds left over), you're down to a very meager sum. Maybe this is do-able in India. Maybe it's do-able in Central or South America if you're frugal. But my choice would be to find some more money before leaving home.

Hope that helps.

Mark

[dave ett]

5 months travelling on £3000 leaves you with only £20 a day. I think you're being a bit optimistic, since that has to include fuel and food...

[Mickey D]

I agree with previous comments. This travel business ain't cheap!
But all is not lost!

Couple ideas:

1. Do a short Morocco tour on your own bike. Some great riding. See a bit of Spain and Portugal coming or going. Maybe go a bit further into Africa until money runs low. Ride home.

2. Do an Eastern Europe tour. Maybe get to Turkey, Russia or Mongolia? In a few months you could see a lot, use your own bike. Avoid Carnets if possible.

3. Do a package tour in India to get a taste of what it's all about. Maybe a 3 week tour? Just because you go into teaching doesn't mean you'll never travel again ... does it? Look at Austin Vince! I'm thinking it would take several big trips to India to see it all.

These ideas just off the top of my head.

You could also sell off your Dakar, fly to the US and buy another bike. (much cheaper than UK) You can buy a decent used 600cc dual sport in the US for $2000 USD.

Ride Mexico, maybe some of Cent. America? The Dakar sale should cover your US bike, maybe even give a bit of extra cash for travel? Re-sell bike after trip. No carnets required for ANY of Latin America. Good cheap flight deals to L.A. Set up the buy before you arrive.

[MountainMan]

Don't forget to include the season and the resulting weather in your final decision making process. The timing you describe (March-September-ish), overlaps the northern hemisphere summer so would be great timing for a totally different ride than mentioned, across to Vlad for example. If you did decide on Africa (either coast), you would want to try to avoid the worst of the rainy season and the worst of the heat by mapping your route and figuring out what rough month you would be where.

Picky details like budget and weather aside, there is a school of thought that recommends to do the biggest adventure you can while you are still free. Life can interupt the best laid future plans, you not too far off from making your dream trip come true so pick which one appeals to you most and beg/borrow/steal a bit more to make it happen. Personally, I'd pick Africa, but really it's very dependant on the individual.

[JonStobbs]

It really should'nt matter how much money you have got.....head off in whatever direction takes your fancy and when you get to the point that half of your hard-earned is gone, simply turn around and take a slightly different route back again.