Itinerary

Approximate Itinerary

Country	Tentative Dates	Actual Dates	# of Days
Madagascar	June 30 - July 21		21
Tentative plan: After flying from NYC to Johannesburg, we will spend one night in Jo'burg and fly to Antananarivo ("Tana") the next day. One night in Tana, and then a quick flight to Maroantsetra, where there is a great national park. We will work our way down the western coast, stopping in various parks and the island Nosy Boraha. Once in the south, we will decide en route whether to head to the east coast (on a river trip or to Toliara for SCUBA diving, or to the southernmost coast, and Fort Dauphin.
Namibia	July 21 - August 10		20
Tentative plan: Fly from Jo'burg to Windhoek, where we will hang out for a few days and then pick up a 10-day camping safari along the Skeleton Coast with Crazy Kudu safaris. It is apparently very hard to get transportation in Namibia so for the cheap price (~$35/day), we figured this would be interesting. After that, we may check out Fish River Canyon and Luderitz on our own and make our way overland to Botswana.
Botswana	August 10 - 23		13
Tentative plan: Here we will definitely hit the Okavongo Delta and Chobe National Park. In addition, we plan on going to see Dana's sister's brother-in-law, who lives in the capital, Gabarone.
Zimbabwe	August 23 - Sept. 5		13
Tentative plan: Mainly here, the plan is to get quickly in and out of Victoria Falls (and hopefully avoid as many tourists and pick-pockets as possible!), and get to some of the national parks in the southeast. The political situation here is not great but apparently still travel-worthy and the currency has depreciated so everything should be dirt cheap.
Malawi	September 5 - 17		12
Tentative plan: To get here we will need to cut through Mozambique and/or possibly Zambia, and the plan is to hang around Lake Malawi for some R&R.
Tanzania	September 17 - Oct. 13		26
Tentative plan: A lot of time is allocated here to hike Mt. Kilimanjaro, see the great national parks like Serengeti and Tsavo, and the prime beaches of Zanzibar (for some SCUBA!). Of course, there have been political problems on the island of Pemba but hopefully this won't get in our way.
Uganda	October 13 - 17		4
Tentative plan: Just a few days reserved here to hopefully take a short gorilla safari (very expensive!), guerilla and Ebola permitting!
Kenya	October 17 - Nov. 5		19
Tentative plan: More safaris, like the Masai Mara, but hopefully also get off the beaten track and see some of the rural life, villages, and the coast.
Bangladesh	November 5-7		2
Tentative plan: This was only meant to be a one-day stopover in Dacca but our travel agent screwed up, and we figured we may as well stay 2 days. There have been some nasty worker strikes here lately but shouldn't be lasting by the time we arrive...
Bhutan	November 7 - 18		11
Tentative plan: This is a pre-arranged tour (the only permitted way to see Bhutan!), which is ridiculously expensive at $230/day/person but is apparently worth it and we'll take everyone's word on it. We saw a special on this little, hidden Shangri-La on PBS and we couldn't resist.
Nepal	November 18 - Dec. 5		17
Tentative plan: After flying into Kathmandu from Bhutan, we plan to meet up with a guide named Hiran Magar that was recommended by other RTW travelers (see the Links section). We will do a trek in the northwest (by Pokhara or Jamla) and hopefully an elephant safari in either Royal Chitwan or Bardia national park.
Myanmar	December 5 - 19		14
Tentative plan: To get here we fly through Calcutta (India) where we stay overnight. A word on India -- we couldn't go everywhere and this was a place that while highly recommended by friends, we felt just didn't make the cut this time around. Seems like all British travelers love India, but I figure it's because they used to run it. Anyway, we fly into Rangoon (Yangon) and will spend 2 weeks exploring before flying out to Bangkok. I don't think at this time there are any overland routes from Myanmar into other Southeast Asian countries.
Thailand	December 19 - 24		5
Tentative plan: We've been to Thailand before and weren't originally planning on going here, but as it turns out Bangkok is kind of a hub for travelers and we can pick up visas here for Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam. We may overland up through the Friendship Bridge into Laos.
Laos	December 24 - Jan. 3		10
Tentative plan: A small, very closed country but we hope to take a boat trip down the Mekong river.
Cambodia	January 3 - 17		14
Tentative plan: More on the mekong, Angkor Wat, etc.
Vietnam	January 17 - 31		14
Tentative plan: This is a favorite destination for many travelers and we look forward to it.
Philippines	January 31 - Feb. 21		21
Tentative plan: The Philippines has always been at the top of our list. Unfortunately, this country has had its share of problems lately, from riots in Manila to the Abu Sayeef off the coast of Borneo. However, I think we'll be safe and we've allocated 3 weeks here to do some hiking and island hoping, particularly Palawan for SCUBA and beaches.
Los Angeles	February 21 - 25		4
Tentative plan: We transfer in LAX before heading to Latin America. Meet up with the parents, change some clothes, cable TV, eat and sleep!
Chile	February 25 - March 25		28
Tentative plan: We plan to do Spanish language immersion study here at a friend's school in Santiago. Also, one or more sets of parents may meet us here for some sightseeing.
Bolivia	March 25 - April 22		28
Tentative plan: Another month of language immersion, probably in the mountain town of Sucre.
Peru	April 22 - May 6		14
Tentative plan: Machu Picchu, at the very least!
Ecuador	May 6 - 27		21
Tentative plan: Once again, so long as the political situation is stable, this has been on our wish list for some time. Look forward to the mountain villages and jungle trekking onward to the Amazon.
Brazil	May 27 - June 17		21
Tentative plan: Enter in the northwest via the Amazon to Manus, and then head to the coast. We plan to meet up with a friend who lives in Sao Paulo for a while as well. The Brazil Airpass may be the way to get around this huge country.
Uruguay	June 17 - July 1		14
Tentative plan: Beaches.
Argentina	July 1 - 22		21
Tentative plan: Hang out in Buenos Aires, and head down to Patagonia for some hiking.
Colombia	July 22 - 28		6
Tentative plan: We've heard such great things about the towns of Cartegena and Santa Marta, that we've had to allocate a little time here, so long as we have to fly right over it anyway. We'll keep our ears open and if these towns continue to be unaffected by the cartels and kidnappers, we'll give it a go. Apparently there's a nice 3-day boat ride from Cartegena to Panama City, where we pick up our flight to Managua.
Honduras	July 28 - August 25		28
Tentative plan: We fly into Managua (Nicaragua), and overland into Honduras. Honduras has also been on our top countries to visit list. We'll hit the bay islands like Roatan for some SCUBA, and head down the Mosquito Coast and hopefully rent a dugout for a week or two-long trip into the interior.
Nicaragua	August 25 - Sept. 6		12
Tentative plan: Less touristy, and supposedly great parks and friendly locals.
NYC	September 6 - ???		??
Tentative plan: We fly from Managua to Newark, NJ, and head down to Dana's sisters on the South Jersey coast. Figure out what to do next....

TOTALS (PLAN):

25 Countries (+ 6 stopover countries)

4 Continents

435 Days

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