Hi everyone,
We plan on taking a couple of years off and go travelling with our first port of call South America for approximately a year. I've been reviewing the site and reading books and doing research ect but is it unreasonable to not have much of a plan and just head in a general direction and work it out from there?

My thoughts are have a rough idea then simply meet and speak to people as we travel to hear what they have to say and get ideas from there. I imagine we'll also do research for places of interest a couple of days in advance but I really dont want to have stuff planned out as I imagine things always change as you go along.

How much planning do people do before big trips?

thanks in advance.

I would at least work out a rough plan, then at least you know where you are starting, hoping to finish etc
Things can always change on the ground. But with big countries like South America you are maybe better off having a rough route, which country and when as you don't want to be riding in the rainy season in every country you visit, so it might be worth looking at the weather and working it out from there.
Then where do you go from S Am? Russia? Again do you want to ride Siberia in the dead of winter? I personally would prefer a rough plan then at least you have a rough idea of what you want to achieve and get the best from each of the countries you visit. Besides, doing the plan is a great starter for your adventure and makes you want it even more. I thought it was great planning my trip to Thailand and Laos, the excitement started then.

You will enjoy it either way

Wayne

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The Balkans
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Research is needed, but that isn't the same as planning.

Main thing for South America is to research the climate so you don't end up in patagonia in the middle of winter or in the jungles in middle of wet season.

The other thing you need to sort out is which countries you will need a visa or reciprocity payment for and which you can't get at the border. eg Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Chile (if flying in). There is a wiki page - visas for australians that give pretty accurate info for every country.

Also need to be aware of a typical scenario at borders. Plenty of blogs will have some info and there is a topic on the Central America section covering that area.

Maps - we use a garmin and have Open Street Maps installed (free) and they are pretty good. We also have a few paper maps of the sort you can find in many fuel stations just for general overview and they are quite good enough.

Apart from that, our method is to go out in the morning, see which way the wind is blowing and go from there. Last trip in SA we intended to go from Buenos Aries to Brasilia and leave the vehicle there. Instead, our vehicle is sitting at Cusco in Peru. Can't get a bigger destination-miss than that. Current route in Turkey shows much the same lack of route planning - https://spotwalla.com/tripViewer.php...&fillFactor=30

What sort of vehicle you intend using and whether you bring it with you or buy it when you get there will need to be sorted out to a fairly high degree of certainty though. Some people lob in Santiago thinking they can buy something on the street and head off the next day so get a bit of a shock when they find themselves still waiting for essential paperwork three weeks later

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Tony
Click here for Travel Photos & Travel Map

As the above have said... most people spend a few weeks or months if they are lucky traveling .. for that amount of time planning pays rewards. For a few years ... not so much. Your better off thinking about what interests you and identifying where they are. Then find out the 'best' times to visit ... you want good weather, not too many people.

Weather .. you'll find that the 'advertised' weather is not what you'll get .. but it should be a reasonable approximation over some time period of what happens. If it is too bad .. go elsewhere and come back.

Visas .. these are fixed rules .. so unlike the weather you know where you are. Best to find out what the rules are so you can fit them in your trip.

The difficult part is fitting all that together +/- a bit. Allow extra time for the weather, the sites you'll find and people you'll meet. Enjoy.

I'm a bit of a non-planner and also don't have GPS stuff, just paper maps, a compass and a good sense of direction. However I have also met some people on the road who have actually said that they "enjoyed the planning and research more than the actual trip".
It depends where your comfort zone is on how much planning you do, it's all down to personal choice.

so yes, the important part is visas, ensuring you've got the correct ones that are needed in advance and the weather windows when regions are open.

the rest can sort itself out as you travel.

good luck, you'll have a great time

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Tiffany
On the road from...I'm not sure any more
http://www.tiffanystravels.co.uk
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I have just completed a 6 month ,20,000 km ride around Southern Africa . I had a vague idea of where I wanted to go but no real plan . I had a great time just going places locals recommended and staying longer in places I liked without thinking I should be somewhere else . If I didn't get to a key place it was because I was having fun elsewhere . It really worked for me and I felt that I got a feel for each country without any pressure or stress . It may not be for everyone but it shows that you don't need to worry too much about it . Whichever path you take enjoy the journey .

Gareth

Pan Without a Plan
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Defo a rough plan. And you can umm and aah about this and that for years and never even leave the house. Make a rough plan, pack, sort out the paperwork and do one when the weather's due to be good. If your bike works, you're legal and you've got some cash, what more do you want? You can buy stuff on the road.

And forewarned is forearmed, but in the same token don't take the adventure out of it. Not much of an adventure if you know what's around each corner. In my eyes as long as the wheels keep going round, jobs a goodun!

Thanks so much for the info guys, I do enjoy the research side of things but can be guilty of trying to plan to much....... so im going to research and have a rough plan and see where this take us.

David