It’s been 360 days in the planning so far, and I’ve finally booked my ticket. Here’s the plan:
Monday 30th March London – Mexico City
11 weeks in Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras: Aztec & Mayan temples, colonial cities, lounging on Pacific beaches, climbing volcanoes, catching up with mates in Guadalajara, learning Spanish & diving in the Caribbean.
Friday 19th June Tegucigalpa, Honduras – Miami
If I have to go through the hell of clearing US customs to get from Honduras to Colombia, I figured I might as well make the most of it by spending a weekend partying in Miami.
Monday 22nd June Miami – Bogota, Colombia
5 weeks in Colombia – a country I’ve been reading about on lots of travel blogs lately, and is rapidly becoming the country I’m most excited about.
Sunday 2nd August Bogota – Lima, Peru
Incan ruins, hiking in the Andes, salt flats and the Amazon jungle.
Friday 9th October Santiago de Chile – Easter Island
Getting to see the Moai up close on one of the most isolated islands in the world.
Tuesday 13th October Easter Island – Santiago de Chile
1 night’s rest in Santiago for my last night in Latin America
Wednesday 14th October Santiago de Chile – Auckland
Yes, yes, I know a week is not long enough for New Zealand. But a year’s not all that long, I’ll just have to go back another time to see it properly. Will stick to North Island.
Thursday 22nd October Auckland – Melbourne
Two weeks relaxation in Melbourne, waiting for my 60-day Indonesian visa to be processed, and hopefully a little partying in the run up the Melbourne Cup.
Tuesday 3rd November Melbourne – Perth
A quick trip to see a mate in Perth
Saturday 7th November Perth – Ayers Rock
Uluru will certainly be the most unusual (and coolest) place I’ve ever spent my birthday.
Tuesday 10th November Ayers Rock – Sydney
I’ve spent plenty of time in Sydney before, but I still fancy a last few nights before heading off to Asia.
Friday 13th November Sydney – Jakarta
The first half of my trip is relatively planned out – but once I arrive in Jakarta, the last half I’ll just go where the mood takes me, starting with island-hopping across Indonesia. After that who knows? East Timor, the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam…
Monday 29th March Bangkok – London
I don’t want to think about this one yet!
The ticket I have is pretty flexible, so any of those dates and flights can be changed for a small fee as I go round (except the Santiago – Auckland one, as seats on that get booked up months and months ahead, I got one of the last available for this particular flight), but it’s a start. Now to get on with the rest of the planning, I have 101 days to go and there’s a lot still to do.
Itinerant Londoner 
Wow ! That’s quite interesting and thought out plan. March is nearing, good that you booked. Now what about the stays ?
I won’t bother booking many of my stays in advance, I’ll just find stuff as I go allow me to stay flexible. I will book a few – like my first night in Mexico, and maybe Easter Island and Ayers Rock, both of which can be expensive.
Hey
I saw you posted a comment on my site, and I’m glad I hoped on over to yours. I’m thinking about a Latin American trip similar to your jaunt to Mexico City, Guatemala, etc. I’m looking forward to following your trip to say the least – if you have a more in depth itinerary / budget estimate for there i’d love to see that via email or future posts. Good luck with everything!
OooOoo…sounds fantastic!
congrats- you are one step closer!!
Easter Island! That is one place that, if I can find a cheap flight from Chile, I would love to visit. Not likely though! Congrats on taking the next step.
Gillian – Flights from Chile aren’t cheap – but I was able to include it as part of my Oneworld Explorer RTW ticket – it’s one of those destinations that make buying a RTW ticket worthwhile. You can also get it included relatively cheaply in Oneworld’s South American airpass, which also includes Easter Island.
Cool. Looks like we might cross paths at some point. And even better you also share a fascination with beers of the world. I’m bookmarked your site and perhaps we’ll get a chance to share a pint in some faraway land.