I can't think of a logical way to travel to these places... climate, cost and expense wise.

Come this December I'm going to have £10,000 and no time limit..

Taking no bike with me (but not opposed to riding) I want to go to West Coast South America, Buenos Aires, California/Kansas, South East Asia, Indonesia and Australia and New Zealand. Spending a decent amount of time in all places.

Hows the best way to manage these destinations. ? A logical route around spending the least amont on travel and getting the best value for money..

Difficult question I know but thought I'd throw it out there.

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Did some trips.
Rode some bikes.
Fix them for a living.
Can't say anymore.

Well, despite the ever popular travel combination of California\Kansas, it can still be done.

I'd start in the south of Chile to take advantage of the peak of summer and head north. From Santiago you can cross over to BA if you still want to.

I wouldn't bother with the US. Out of the way for you, expensive, and will be the same if want to see it in ten years.

With that detour out of the way, you can fly from SA to Oz and tour there and NZ. Not sure if this trip is medium or long but depending on how long you want to spend in SA, it might mean that you get to Oz as they are approaching winter which may be part of your conundrum. It would make NZ actual winter travel but as for Oz, it's still nice enough for a bloke used to rainy UK weather.

From there it's up to SE Asia which you will be happy about as you will be back to cheap travel and food. Not sure how many months you are looking at, but the rainy seasons will have an impact on your country routing when you get there.

I'd do a bit of home work on flying your bike to the cheapest ports, the east coast of South America from home, but not too far south in December

I'm guessing you'd be able to renew you registration while you're away?

Summer in NZ, after the US. Winter in the south of Oz is freezing but it might just be bearable for a hard Scouse

Heading north the weather is sensational in Oz but hopeless in the monsoon as is Asia. Be warned Oz is expensive but you've got a home here, possibly work if you're a little sneaky to cash up for the next leg through Asia and home.

I'm not taking a bike. Its too expensive to ship around. Burns a lot of cash and is a pain in the are. Been there, done that, wasted THOUSANDS..

I'm going to backpack but be happy to buy/rent/beg and borrow bikes if I feel like it.

This cash has to last 12 months... Petrol and shipping will burn through that too fast

__________________
Did some trips.
Rode some bikes.
Fix them for a living.
Can't say anymore.

I suspect you're going to need to hoard every penny to make £10K last 12 months.

December departure - not going to fall foul of the Xmas holiday getaway flight price hike (in my best Sun sub-editor style) are you? Can you get flights cheaper in the January sales? :confused1:

Go somewhere cheap and warm to start with. It'll take you a while to swap mentally from over consuming bloated capitalist to dirt poor sandle wearing eco traveller and the last thing you want is to blow half your budget in six weeks.

Make friends with loads of people on here that live in the areas you want to visit and exploit them ruthlessly. I'm sure there must be many people who would give you a bed for the night in return for an evening of wit and repartee. Even if they set the dog on you in the morning at least that would be the cost of a night's hotel saved. It all adds up.

Don't know any "Z" listers that need a bit of publicity as a career boost do you? Maybe you could do some sort of deal and tag along as the sidekick. Instead of Ewan and thingy it could be Troy McClure and thingy. I think "The Poor Way Round" might still be available as a title, but stay away from the Amazon, that's just been done.

You could just leave a trail of debt and broken promises behind you as you go (or is that the reason for leaving the UK?). That would ease the budget a bit but it might be an idea to investigate whether there's any way you could get a second passport. It would make leaving the country so much easier

Is Magadan on hold then Ted?

You make some very good points. Nope. I'm not running away from debt at all. The reason I've been working and not travelling for the last two years was to clear all debts and have a comfortable amount to travel with.

This may be my last BIG trip for a few years. I have some business ideas that will need me grounded for a while. So, I'm just going to enjoy it.

Very good point about starting somewhere cheap. I always forget about that 'transition phase' where you just want to party every day like it's a one week summer holiday.

I think I may just start somewhere very cheap like S.E Asia.

And can I wait until January. God I just hate the cold winters. Darkness, constant drizzle and bitter winds. I hate the capitalist frenzy that is Christmas too. I want to be on a quiet white beach instead.

Magadan may still happen. It might be part of the plan. Get back to the UK in April and fire the bike up and head to Russia.. It sounds so easy when you put it like that haha.

__________________
Did some trips.
Rode some bikes.
Fix them for a living.
Can't say anymore.

Ted,

10k is a fortune in my humble opinion, I would be happy doing the same trip with half that amount, but then that is assuming you avoid the USA, and really minimise your time in Australia and NZ, I also travel light and cheap and travel for the sake of travel, not to visit anywhere in particular. Starting in SE Asia is fine, but honestly you´ll be surprised what you spend on partying out there. Of course, Australia and NZ will be much more expensive, especially Australia, despite the pound being high lately. Jesus, if you want to go somewhere and travel for six months and live on seven quid a day, go to India! The rupee nose dived against the pound last year and until now has not recovered. Besides all that, it´s cliche but definitely something about India that will stay with you for a very long time. I wouldn´t recommend doing itby bike, but I sure as hell would recommend bumming round on trains and and renting Enfields where there is good riding to be done, slinging your backpack over the back - zero bikeprep needed! think the Himalayas, Goa, Nepal, or in the Western Ghats of Kerela and Tamil Nadu. Nowhere else on earth like India! Anyway, I digress...

I backpacked around for several years before doing it by motorcycle. If you do not mind working here and there for your food and bed, your time becomes much more valuable than your money, so long as you have plenty of it. Websites like Workaway and Help-x changed the way I think about travel, and I have used Couchsurfing.org sparingly for years, these days more to get to meet people in big impersonal cities than just to freeload someones couch. Workaway and help-x are excellent websites, also look at WWOOFING to, if you fancy getting your hands dirty and doing some farm work. Using those websites, so far, I´ve worked in hostels, been a personal assistant, worked in a Haciender in the middle of nowhere in Mexico, and a few other things. Not only do you save money, you get a real taste of local customs and culture and make really good friendships along the way.

Any more info, feel free to PM me!
rtw

Ted
with a bit of luck i should be retiring late sept this year . Have always wanted to do Chile , pref on a bike . It appears you have been there and done it , therefore seeing as you are going again , would you like some company ?? The Mrs would prefer me to be with someone else that far away from home , but organised tours are kin expensive , so am more then happy to pay the fuel and hotel bills for both of us as will end saving cash in the long run .
I dont even mind if you want to wear your chaps either . Drop me a PM if that tickles your fancy so to speak .

eh? 10k is plenty.. I did UK to Nepal (4 months) and 8 months living in Nepal (not really earning there) on 6k.

How old are you if you don't mind me asking? If you are under 30 consider working holiday visas for Oz/NZ. If you are under 35, consider BUSAC visas for OZ NZ.

My 3 week tour of South Island cost £700 with ferry, petrol and noodles, and sleeping in about 3 hostels, and the rest campsites/bush camping.

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https://fernsforays.wordpress.com/

I'm 34....

I don't like to mix work and travel. When I'm away, I'm 100% ME TIME.. Unless I chose to do a bit of voluntary work or help travellers with their bikes etc.

I spend most of my life 'On the clock' and being told what to do. Hell to that when I'm on my travels

__________________
Did some trips.
Rode some bikes.
Fix them for a living.
Can't say anymore.

I remember 34 ........................now that's just my inside leg measurement !!

...most of you are seasoned travelers, but for other's....SE Asia is very very cheap......I am in Thailand at the moment...nearly everything is ridiculously affordable....you can hire a scooter for next to nothing,what about a bicycle too, relying on public transport will get tiring soon, methinks. I suggest fishing as a hobby, easy to do, very cheap, keeps you entertained, and you can eat what you catch too>>>! Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, etc are even cheaper...the days roll by.....enjoy!

Hi, I know you're well travelled so don't wish to state the obvious. I've done a lot of backpacking & agree that it's far cheaper than riding a bike.
The other advantage as a tourist arriving on foot, is that you frequently get a longer visa so there less rush to get to the next border.

Buy a RTW ticket that includes a few domestic flights & start/end points where you travel overland in between, you can play around with this:
Round the world tickets and flights specialists | roundtheworldflights.com

My daughter spent a year travelling in 2008 (spent £6k), here's what she did:
UK - SE Asia - Australia - NZ - Chile - Argentina - UK

I went with her to SE Asia where we hired a 400cc bike for £8 per day, a 125cc step-thru cost £2.50 per day!

In Oz she did woof'ing as this earned her free board and lodging for a bit of work and she got to see how the locals live & they were keen to show her around.
She used couchsurfing, stayed in hostels or homesteads, used public transport even if it meant several hours / days on a bus. After 4 months in SA she returned home speaking very good Spanish (bonus!)

During her travels, my daughter fell in love with the country and now lives in Dunedin, NZ so happy to help if you need a contact

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Elaine

Striving to live the ordinary life in a non ordinary way

Get a bicycle...

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www.seeyouwhenwegetthere.com

Dear Touring Ted.

Why don't you buy a decent push bike and cycle from Chester to Australia.

Regards

Baluchi