Easy way RTW?
 

Hi I'm a new member of the forum but I have read it for some time. I'm thinking about going on a RTW trip on my own in the not too far future. I'll finish uni this summer so the ide is to do it before i settle down with a permanent job, house etc. But time and money is limmited so I was thinking about finding the easiest way around on a motor bike and use that as a baseline. By easy I mean the least amount of difficult to get visas and the least amount of shiping the bike between countries. Any ideas?

So far I've been thinkin about this route:

Down through europe to maroco and trough north africa to egypt

To iran either trough turkey or saudi-arabia

Pakistan-India

Ship to malaysia then indonesia and the philipines and ship to north america and ride down to brasil and ship back to europe...

Any comments?

Ok, just read that it is impossimble to get a saudian visa with a bike. So i guess it's through turkey then. But will an Israeli stamp in my passport be a problem in the middle east?

Try getting a second passport. In Germany (where I am from) this is possible. A friend of mine is a photojournalist specialising on the middle east and always carries 2 passports with him for that exact reason.

Cheers
Bjorn

Rtw
 

I traveled around the world in 2004 en 2005; 20 months, 80.000 km. The route I took was as follows: Europe - Turkey Iran - Central Asia - Russia/Siberia - Japan - Chile - Argentine - Uruguay - Brasil - Venezuela - USA- back to Europe. You want to do it easy? What is "easy"? Traveling through Siberia was not easy but it was doable. Search on the HUBB for Zilow Gap and you will find my description. Traveling through Brasil was not easy either; very bad roads. Most people take the Andesroute in stead of the Brasil route. Visa are not a big problem. For Iran, Central Asia and Russia you need a letter of invitation (LOI). Those letters you can buy, for instance from Stantours (www.stantours.com). To have Israeli stamps in your passport might be a problem. Better buy a new passport for your trip. Is it expensive to travel around the world? Generally you can find good accomodation for 10 dollar a night. Russia can be expensive, Japan is expensive. For shipping from Tokyo to Valparaiso I paid about 1200 dollar. That is expensive, yes. Fuel is expensive in Japan and in Brasil.

Have a good trip

Expensive....
 

...yes, I got to agree. Japan is one of the most expensive countries in the world - but it is definitely worth to visit and experience. So, once again, if you (or anyone else) plans to come to the "land-of-the-not-always-rising-sun" get with me. There are lots of foreigners ("gaijins") over here who would gladly help you (out!!)

Klaus
http://virtulanguage.com

Hmmm, I guess easy is a bit hard to define. The route martheijnens took sounds interesting, but I want to go through South east asia, I've been there twice as a SLBP (stupid lousy back packer). It was in south sulawesi I first got interested in motorcycle traveling after meeting stefan from germany who was traveling aroun the world on a BMW (his bike broke down in malaysia and he was in indonesia while he was wating for the new spare parts). Anyway the criteria for my trip would be (I'll probably change my mind several times):

- Doable on a small bike, I guess my suzuki 350 two-stroke twin isn't up to the task, so I'll try to get a cheap 250 offroader. I'm a mechanic so maintenance and repair shouldn't be a poblem.

- Doable in a reansonably short time so I don't forget everything i learnt in university before I get back.

- Reasonabley cheap. So no shiping of the bike by air, and I want the option of cheap acomodation, so time in europe and USA would be minimum.

There is probably a whole lot of other thing as well, but I need a starting point for my planing.

I don't have an Israeli stamp in my pasport, but if I go trough north africa I thought of going from egypt to turkey trough israel.

Thanks for all the help so far, I love this board...

If you want to goto isreal, you can always ask for the stamp on a seperate paper in which they staple it to the passport. Then once you leave you only then need to rip out the paper!

cheap and no visa hussle: avoid africa
 

Hi,

I guess if you want cheap and not to much hassle with visa's you should avoid africa and the middle east.
From europe you can ride all the way to bangladesh without shipping. Visa's are easy to get in advance and the political situation is pretty sollid.

But... if you want real cheap you could opt for america (south, middle and north) because you don't need a carnet (and that is a expensive piece of paper). Also there are no visa hussles (even less then in asia).

Australia is expensive. You need a carnet and pay hundreds of dollars to get your bike in (aquis, registration, insurance: all obligated).

Africa: need a carnet and lots of expensive visa's and a truckload of bribe's

But maybe you should decide what you absolutely want to see and do and then figure out a route that fits in that.
Who care's if you went "round the world" as long as you had a good time. What is "round the world" anyway. There are so many definitions (try a search in the hubb).

Instead of traveling "around the world" try traveling "in the world" and make it fit your needs and funds.

Hope this helps,
Enjoy it!!!!

Maarten

Our route is down through Mexico, C.A. ferry to Columbia, ride around S.A., shipping from either Georgetown or Caraccas to the cheapest place in Europe, zagging all over Europe until it gets cold then head for somewhere warm like the Canaries. (seeing Egypt and the middle east along the way) 18-20 months. In spite of the bribes and visas, we want to ride down the west coast of Africa, stopping to teach at orphanages along the way. Back up the East coast to Kenya, shipping out of Mombasa. Haven't yet decided to do India yet, depends on politics. If India, then into Mumbai. If not, then to Kuala Lumpur. Down through Salawesi--blah blah to East Timor to Australia, Papau N.G. back to Korea. visit the family for a few months and pick up enough change to ship back to Oregon. somewhere around 3 years, maybe 4. Retired soon, so no hurry. If we get too worn out. Well wherever we have been, whatever we have seen, it will be one heck of a trip.

Follow your dream mate.
 

But... if you want real cheap you could opt for america (south, middle and north)

Hi, I'm planning an AWT starting this summer, I figure to keep the costs down in N.America by camping as much as possible. Costs in Latin America seem to make camping unnecessary. I figure that by the time I get to Argentina I will have enough experience to get by anywhere. Time at the end of that first stint to relax a bit while getting visas for the rest of the journey maybe.
There is a RoRo ferry to Halifax in Canada for about £400 but they only take the bike -not the rider. The airfare from UK is under £300 last time I looked. So 40,000 klm later I will have to decide how to get to New Zealand, but hey, that could be in a year or two, and things change so damn quick nowadays.
Then up through Oz then Japan and across Russia, but you're also close to Alaska, so could drive back to Halifax again.
My augument when looking at gear to take is 'what would the equivalent cost if I stayed at home?' take a tent for instance, I pay £300+ a month mortgage, so one months mortgage will buy me 3 decent tents!!! Getting to work costs me £100 a month + £150 repayments on the car, so £2000 on a used BMW f650 don't seem so bad. Also remember that Scandanavia is one of the most expensive places on earth to live, so everywhere else is cheaper.:cool4:

After you get back from your trip I'm sure some of 'the important things' won't seem so important, so follow your dreams because as I'm sure you already realise, the little man in your head is the real you and the task ahead is to find out what life really is for yourself and not to rely on other people telling you what it is.

Anyway, who can resist a man with a good story to tell?

To the original poster -- do you really want to do RTW quick and cheap? I know many people do it like that but there is not much to see on highways. Take your time and go small roads, your experience will be completely different. If you have little time and resources, consider one continent, not RTW.

About difficulties with bribes in Africa -- I did western route lately, alone in a car, and hardly had to pay any bribes. Yes, people ask for money everywhere, but that does not mean you need to pay immediately. Take you act together, play with them a bit -- they like it and later you are "friends". ;) Going via small, less visited border posts also helps.

My "plan" was to find a route that was fairly easy and "cheap" so I could do it in on a limited time schedule since I will finish at the university this summer I can't go to long without getting a job or else my newly accuired knowledge would be old and useles when I return. Would love to use several years but that has to wait until I get older and can afford it...

But plans have changed now. I have just been offered a good job and will probably be working abroad for the next 3 years, so hopefully I get a chance to see the world anyway...

You really feel that way? Will you forget the things you just learned in a few months? You think the experience you have riding in distant places will not be valuable and applicable to anything you do in your future?

Out there you learn things NO UNIVERSITY could ever teach you.

Hate to hear a good idea go to the wayside. Seems to me, when you get the itchin' for this stuff you gotta scratch cuz' there's always other distractions down the road. After you start workin' you'll have time or money but almost never both at once. Even if you can't RTW, there's still plenty of cool places to see in the world. Give yourself 2grand (which I know ain't peanuts) and one month and do things you never imagined possible.

After you get back you'll find a lot of people tellin' you "Wow, it's my dream to do that." Looking back...it kind of is a dream.

I don't like to make promises or guarantees but I'm pretty sure, if you ride, you won't regret it...no matter what happens in the future. Shur' nuf', some people ride and some don't. Both are just fine, but it's easy to forget that who we are is partly crafted by the decisions we make and the things we do.

Tis' the way of the Wheels.
Crazy"Don't you hear em' turnin'"C

Elbert, do it! When I was discharged after 8 years in the Corps, I decided to ride my bicycle around the world. Put it off to earn just a little more money. got the job, worked, got married. Wife was ready to make the trip. whoops. kids. put it off. kids grew up, lucrative job, money was saved, ready to go. whoops. lost the left arm (rattached) broke most bones. No more long bike hikes. new job. round the world on a cycle. new wife stroke. trip gone. more years gone. decided to just damn it all and do it anyhow. bought a scooter. equipped, ready to roll as soon as this contract is over and the experience needed to do it. Guess what? By the time we finish we will have 70 by the throat and while we will enjoy the trip. there won't be the decades left to savor it. Go now. forget "settling down to a good job" if you are an industrious individual, there will always be a good job waiting. When you die there are no pockets in coffins. You leave this place to become worm food. Enjoy the life you have and worry about the one you don't have yet later.

Go now while you can!!!
 

Elbert,
I agree completely with what the others are saying. I took three years off soon after completing my first degree. I went to South America and had an adventure. I did things that none of my friends, family, or co-workers had ever thought of doing. When I returned I returned to school, finished my Masters and went on to a successful career. What I learned during those three years has been EXTREMELY valuable. Not because I work in International Business or something like that, but because learning to solve problems, negotiate challenges, work with people, and to find happiness in simple things are some of the most important skills you could have. At NO point was my entering the workforce (professional) at 30 a setback. In fact the employers were far more interested in who I was and how I could be an asset.

Don't be lured by the great job right out of school. As soon as you have that, there will be something else to derail your goals. Do it NOW while you can and while you are free.

Good luck in your tough decision
Troy