When to go where?

Naturally, the first question we asked ourselves was - which region on this planet do we want to visit?
North America and Europe were quickly excluded, because we both have travelled those two continents extensively. They are simply too expensive for such a long travel and above all, simply have no priority. We can visit those regions after we retire …
Also Africa soon disappeared from our list, although we are Africa aficionados, Senegal, Gambia, Mali, Tanzania, Tunisia or Egypt, we simply loved it! However, this continent is within easy, jet-lag-free reach from Europe. Besides, Africa we learned is a strange place to travel, either pricey or rock bottom. Many very interesting places cannot be visited without a Tour Operator, like the Danakil Depression / Ethiopia or are absurdly expensive, like trekking the Mountain gorillas in Rwanda and Uganda or doing a Safari in the Serengeti. Having said this, these places are on the list for further travels once we are back, but that is another story!

So, where do we go? We have ended up dividing the trip into three regions:  

• South America:  From Caracas to Ushuaia
• The Pacific:         Easter Island, Cook Islands, Australia and New Zealand
• Southeast Asia: Southwest China, Cambodia, Laos

The most challenging part in planning has become to be at the right time in the right place: winter - summer / dry - rainy / high - low season can make all the difference. Angel Falls / Venezuela is disappointing when visited during the dry season, while renting a camper in Australia costs twice to three times more in January & February than in the low season. We are talking about a 60 - 80 USD difference a day!
Our overall budget certainly has played a role in our choices, for instance, travelling in Southeast Asia is far much cheaper than the Pacific Area.

“Round The World Ticket” or “One Way Tickets”?

“Round The World Tickets” seem at first sight to be much cheaper than a string of “One Way Tickets”. But a closer look shows that Round The World Tickets are only cheap if you stick to a very basic route (i.e. London - Bangkok - Auckland - Rarotonga - Los Angeles - London). Each change, especially adding an extra continent, increases the price dramatically. On top of that, those tickets are extremely inflexible.
Moreover, we found out that a route organized around some specific travel hubs will enable us to get “One Way Tickets” at a very reasonable price. The best entry points or exits in South America are Caracas or Bogota, Bangkok and to some extent Hong Kong  in Asia and Auckland for Oceania. This of course might change over time. And yes, a string of one way tickets may be a bit more expensive (all in all about 1.000 Euros per person), but will serve us much better considering our complex route and the wish to remain absolutely flexible.

The final Itinerary upon departure - one of many

What we present here is actually our 9th (!) version. The first few had us heading east and included a ridiculous number of destinations now long gone from our list, such as the Kamchatka Peninsula in Siberia, Mongolia, Nepal or Japan.
This last version seems a good compromise between our ambitious travel plans on the one hand and logistics and time on the others. Who says this has to be the one and only Year Off?
We mentioned before that flexibility is our main goal, so we will leave Vienna with only one ticket in our pocket, for Caracas / Venezuela. What seems like a precisely organised trip is actually open for any changes and we are curious comparing our plans to the actual route afterwards.