Planning My Around The World Trip
Trip Overview
I started dreaming about this trip around Christmas holidays and began to really look at the feasibility in early January. I spent hours watching Youtube videos of around-the-world travel, but they were mainly about using ATW tickets, speed travel, first class etc. - nothing about how to travel to six continents in two weeks on the cheap. Still, I was able to learn about different apps/websites for finding and booking cheap flights and what to be on the lookout for while travelling.
Next step was to find the best route to travel. I was going to be on a tight schedule, visiting six continents in sixteen days, and I knew that I wanted to travel by train across Europe. If I flew east, I would be taking my train journey at the beginning of the trip, leaving no wiggle room if something happened with my flights to the rest of the continents. My other concern was jet lag on my trip. After looking at all of the options, I finally decided on flying west and leaving Europe for the end of the trip. This way I had plenty of room at the end of my trip to change my train journey if I had flight delays.
I had wanted to plan the trip with no backtracking, but it proved impossible with having South America as my first new continent. I chose Santiago, Chile as it was on the west side of South America and there was also a departing flight to Sydney, Australia, via New Zealand. I was able to get a great deal on a flight from Vancouver to Santiago with a layover in Los Angeles for a third of the normal price. It had me arriving in Santiago in the morning which gave me an almost seventeen-hour layover before heading to my next new continent.
I would then have an overnight flight to Sydney, with a two-layover in Auckland. My birth mother lives in Australia and I arranged a meetup for my 11-hour layover in Sydney.
The next leg of the journey would take me to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam with a 3-hour layover in Singapore. I would arrive around 4AM in Singapore but figured that I would be able to get enough sleep on the flight from Sydney. Once in Ho Chi Minh City, I would have 16 hours to explore before a late flight to my next location.
My next flight would be the only flight that I would have to check my bag - flying from Ho Chi Minh City to Nairobi, Kenya with a six-hour layover in Dubai. I decided that it might be nice to not have to lug around my backpack while I explored Dubai. I was going to be in Kenya for a couple of days, so if my baggage was delayed, it should be able to catch up with me. I would be in Dubai around sunrise and hoped that I would be able to get some great shots.
Next continent would be Africa for a 36-hour layover. This would also be my first hotel on my trip. Arriving in the mid-afternoon, I would spend the night in the heart of the city and embark on a day safari to Amboseli National Park in the wee hours of the morning. I booked a personal driver for the trip to and from the airport and figured that I would be able to kill some time at the airport lounge before leaving in the early morning flight to Istanbul and my last continent on this trip.
Arriving late morning in Istanbul, I planned to spend the rest of that day and all of the next, exploring the sights in Istanbul. I also decided that staying on the European side for the two nights would make me centrally located.
I couldn't find an easy way to get a train from Istanbul to the rest of Europe, so I booked a short flight to Bucharest, Romania. Here I would have six hours to get from the airport to downtown and explore before I jumped on the overnight train to Vienna. I tried, but was unable to book a private room on the train and ended up booking a 6-person berth. In Vienna, I would be transferring to another train to Prague, where I would be staying for two nights.
My next stop would be Berlin. I would arrive midday and leave the following afternoon. I booked an economy hotel that appeared close to the train station - I didn't need anything special, just a place to lay my head. I would have most of the afternoon, evening as well as the following morning to explore Berlin.
My next train would take me to Brussels, with a short transfer in Cologne. I booked a hotel close to the train station and Grand Place and hoped that I would be able to visit before my early morning train to London, England through the Chunnel. Once in London, I would meet up with a friend from high school who would show me around the city on my 26-hour layover.
My last day would be a flight from Stansted to Reykjavik, Iceland where I would have a short 3.5-hour layover, before heading back to Canada. I decided to splurge and use what credit card points I had, to upgrade to Business Class (or as Icelandic Airlines calls it, Saga Premium). This flight would take me to Vancouver, Canada where I would have almost four hours to kill before my short trip back to Victoria.
Flight Planning
I used several websites to check for the cheapest flights once I decided where I wanted to fly. I had done some initial planning while determining what my ideal route would be, but this is where I would finally calculate the cost. Would I be able to afford this trip? Would I be able to schedule the flights so that I would have some much-needed wiggle room in case of flight delays?
I spent all of my spare time in January and February, fine tuning the details...which credit card was the best to use? can I use airmiles/points? what website should I book through? Finally, in the first week of March, I booked my first ticket...Vancouver, Canada to Santiago, Chile with Expedia.
I would be flying from Vancouver to Los Angeles, United States on an Air Canada 737 MAX8. I wasn't totally thrilled about this plane, as I am an avid watcher of the show, Mayday, but it was the only way to connect to the LATAM Airlines flight from Los Angeles to Santiago which would be on a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner. I was able to get this flight for just over $500 CAD, whereas the airline websites were both showing a cost of $1,400+ CAD. Since the price was in CAD, I used my Avion card to collect the points. It was really hard to click submit for the first flight booking...it made the trip, I don't know...real. OMG, I was really going to do this!
The next flight I booked was the flight from Santiago to Sydney, Australia on a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. This one was weird as on some sites it was showing as a direct flight and others showed a 2-hour layover in Auckland, New Zealand. I booked the flight through LATAM Airlines, paying in USD ($1,100), so I used my Scotia Travel Visa that doesn't charge foreign exchange fees. I also applied for an Australian visa, but was unable to determine whether I needed one for New Zealand. I still had plenty of time to apply, so I moved on to booking my flight to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
I decided to fly on Scoot Air with a layover in Singapore. I figured that I would be able to sleep on the flight to Singapore and avail myself of one of the six lounge passes that my Scotia Visa offers, before arriving at 8am in Ho Chi Minh CIty. I booked through the Scoot Air website with my Scotia card (it was in Australian dollars - $350) and also paid for Scoot Plus which gives pre-boarding, prepaid for a meal, and ordered a Scoot Pokemon luggage tag, lanyard and tote bag ($63 AUD). My flight from Sydney to Singapore was on a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner while my Singapore to Ho Chi Minh City flight was on an AirBus 320-100/200.
Next up was Ho Chi Minh City to Nairobi, Kenya with a layover in Dubai on Emirates Airlines. I booked this in Vietnamese Dong (over 23 million of them - approximately $1,300 CAD) through the airline's website. As it was in foreign currency, I again chose my Scotia visa. I also applied for, not only my Vietnam visa, but my Kenyan visa as well. This covered the remaining visas that I knew that I would need on my trip. I would be flying on Boeing 777-300ER for both legs of the flight. I would be arriving at 4am in Dubai so I was hoping that I would be able to see a few sights on my 6-hour layover.
When booking my outward flight from Kenya, I determined that if I arrived in the afternoon on one day, I could safari the next day, and leave early morning on the following day. This flight would be on Turkish Airlines on an Airbus A330-200, leaving at the ungodly hour of 3:35am. I tried to use the Turkish Airlines free Istanbul layover, but it turned out that it is only on return flights going through Istanbul. This flight was 92,000 Kenyan Shilling ($878 CAD), which again was booked on my Scotia card.
I planned almost two days in Istanbul before leaving on a 7am flight to Bucharest, Romania. This would also be on another Turkish Airlines Airbus A330-200 for a cost of just over 6,000 Turkish lira ($260CAD). This would be the last of my flights until I would be leaving London, England for home.
I used the Eurail app to plan what I hoped would be my trains - most reservations are only opened 30-90 days before departure date so this would be something that I would worry about later. I would also be buying a Eurail pass to make the train travel easier.
I had initially hoped to stay overnight in Reykjavik, Iceland, but it really wasn't affordable or practical due to the time of year that I was visiting. It was early in the Northern Lights season, so I decided that just being able to fly home via Iceland, it could mean an extra passport stamp. Before I booked my flight to Iceland, I looked at my options for direct flights to Vancouver from Iceland - I was unable to book a flight from London to Vancouver via Reykjavik without booking separate tickets. My only real option was Icelandic Airlines, which flew direct. It was another Boeing 737 MAX8, but I decided to upgrade my flight to Business Class using 49,000 Avion points and just under $800 CAD.
Next, I booked my flight from London to Reykjavik. The best option was on Play Air - an non-IATA airline. I would be flying on an Airbus A321neo for a cost of $227 CAD which also included pre-board. Since it was in CAD, I used my Royal visa. I wasn't able to find out much about this airline, but I was excited about being on an A321neo. This flight would go out of Stansted Airport, which I would be able to get to by train from the hotel in London.
Then, it was down to getting to and from home and Vancouver. I have two airport options that I am in between...Victoria and Nanaimo. Victoria had the better options and decided on booking my trip from Victoria to Vancouver on Pacific Coastal. The flight was around $199 CAD, but I ended up cancelling it when they pushed it back 30 minutes and I was worrying about transfer time in Vancouver so I ended up using Scene+ points from my Scotia visa and it was free (I can't remember how many points it was exactly). Spoiler alert: This flight gets delayed and I get a $75 CAD credit from my travel insurance so I actually made money on this flight.
I would be arriving in Vancouver around 6pm from Reykjavik, so my only plausible option with a buffered layover (you never know with customs), was a WestJet flight leaving at 10pm and getting me into Victoria at 10:33pm on a Dash8-400. I booked this flight through AirMiles and used 1,010 air miles, and $55.42 CAD to get pre-board and seat selection.
l was finally booked...there was no turning back! I was excited and petrified at the same time. Now, the next steps were to book activities and hotels; plan how I would get from the airport and get around the cities; where could I use my lounge passes, and what I decided I wanted to see...I was glad to still have six months to finish planning.
Hotels & Excursions
I booked a CityPass for Santiago which gave me HopOnHopOff Bus, Cable Car and Funicular passes. I planned to get downtown with an Uber, which seemed somewhat convoluted due to airport restrictions with ride-sharing. I'd figure it out when I got there.
In Sydney, I would meet up with my birth mum and visit the Taronga Zoo. We left Bondi Beach as a possibility, but with such a short layover, I didn't see it happening. Spoiler alert: My mum surprised me with a couple other family members, and we only had time for the zoo.
In Ho Chi Minh CIty, I booked a scooter food tour through Viator for $53 CAD. This would give me time, before and after, the tour to explore the city. My next layover would be Dubai. Arriving at 4am, I wasn't sure what I would be able to see but I ended up deciding on an Uber tour, once I arrived there.
I had planned a bunch of red-eye flights and didn't need to book my first hotel until Day 6 in Nairobi, Kenya. I booked the Best Western Plus Meridian for one night at just over $100 CAD. I then booked my safari to Amboseli National Park through Viator for $570 CAD. In hindsight, I guess it seems expensive, but I was just excited to check this off my bucket list. Spoiler alert: It turns out that I booked a private safari tour and it was worth every penny.
I booked the Hotel Erguvan in Istanbul for two nights for $228 CAD. It was close to all of the sights that I wanted to visit and seemed to be a perfect place to stay. Istanbul Airport is not close to where I was staying, so I would need to leave at 3AM for the airport. I also booked a CityPass and was able to arrange a free Dinner Cruise on the Bosphorus Strait for my first night. The pass also allowed me to go on tours of the attractions that I wanted to visit.
I would arrive in Bucharest and take transit to get down to the train station. With the length of my layover, I figured that I would be able to drop my backpack at the train station and possibly explore some of the old town before I would get on my 17-hour overnight train to Vienna.
After a short layover in Vienna, I would transfer onto a train that would take me to Prague, Czechia. I looked at several hotels in Prague and ended up deciding on Boat Hotel Matylda which set me back just over $300 CAD for the two nights. It's more than most places that I was looking at in the area, but it's a boat - a once in a lifetime experience. I would have just over 41 hours to explore the city with another CityPass before I would leave on a morning train to Berlin.
The train to Berlin would take approximately four hours and I would arrive late morning. I would be getting a CityPass and transit pass for Berlin so I would be able to drop my backpack at the EasyBerlin Hotel in Hackescher at a cost of €99.00 ($150 CAD) - this was the cheapest place that I could find that was near both the train station and sights that I wanted to see. I would have a 28-hour layover and figured that I would be able to visit most of the places that I wanted to see. My mum lived in Germany in the early 60's and I asked her for suggestions of places to see in Berlin. She had crossed through the wall in 1962 and had a few suggestions, but most of them were already on my list - the one place she added was the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church.
Mid-afternoon the following day I would jump on a train to Brussels with a transfer in Cologne. It was initially a very tight connection, so I ended up booking a later connecting train. My mum had also recommended taking some pictures of the Cologne Cathedral which I figured was possible with the cathedral being next to train station. I booked a hotel in Brussels which was close to the train station and also close to the Grand Place. I booked a room at Dansaert Hotel for €99.00 ($150 CAD) - great location and fairly inexpensive considering the area. I was hoping that I would be able to visit the Grand Place, but really it was just a place to sleep before my Eurostar train to London the next morning.
I would be leaving around 8am for London, but it was recommended that I arrive 2 hours before departure. After a quick 2-hour trip through the Chunnel, I would arrive at St. Pancras Station and meet up with Clare, my high school friend that I hadn't seen in 35 years. She had moved back to England in 1989 after high school graduation and volunteered to take me on a tour around the city. I splurged and booked the Strand Palace Hotel for a whopping £270 ($480 CAD) for the night. It would be my last hotel and I would be sharing it with a good friend - after travelling around the world for two weeks, I decided to go out with a bang. I sent a list to Clare about the places that I may like to see and she sent me back a more detailed itinerary than I had planned for my entire trip. She told me that we'd just travel everywhere by the Tube (London Subway) and could tap on and off with our visa cards with a daily max amount. My big go-to's were Hyde Park, Tower Bridge, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben and a good fish & chips with a pint of beer for dinner.
The next day...the last day...I would be spending most of the day travelling. After an early morning wakeup, I would grab coffee on the way to the train to the airport. Using the last of my airport passes, I would have some breakfast there before leaving for Iceland. My short layover in Reykjavik wouldn't allow enough time to leave the airport so I'd be spending time in the Saga lounge that my Business Class ticket provided me. Lastly, I would probably just chill in a restaurant at the Vancouver airport while I waited for my last flight to Victoria. Hubby would be picking me up at the Victoria airport and we would arrive home approximately one hour later.
Miscellaneous Expenses
Visas
I researched which countries that I would need a visa in - I was sure that I would need one for Australia, Kenya and Vietnam; and unsure about my layovers in New Zealand and United Arab Emirates. After looking online, the best way to arrange all of my visas seemed to be the iVisa app. I probably would've been able to navigate all of the visa application processes, but this was a convenience that I was willing to pay for...to have everything in one place, digitally on my phone. I was able to pay an annual fee which was a savings on the processing fees. All in all, my visas ended up costing me $390.70 CAD.
Vaccines
I checked several websites for what vaccines I may need...some were websites of the countries that I was going to and several were Travel Clinics. I learned about, not only vaccines to protect me, but vaccines that may be required for countries that I was visiting. As I don't have a family doctor, I was trying to avoid the consultation fee that most travel clinics charge and was hoping that my local pharmacy would be able to assist me as I knew which vaccines I needed.
I made an appointment at the Shopper's Drug Mart through their website and was disappointed when I found out, at my appointment, that they weren;t able to help with anything other than TwinRix. I broke down and booked an appointment at a Travel Clinic close to where I work. After a longer than normal consultation, due the number of countries that I would be visiting, she came up with a recommended list of vaccines and preventatives. She agreed that I didn't need one for Yellow Fever...Kenya needs proof of vaccination if you have been to most of the South American countries...thankfully Chile was not on that list. I ended up getting Twinrix for Hepatitis A&B, Dukoral for Cholera, malaria pills and also my DPT (Diphtheria, Pertussis & Tetanus) as I hadn't had my booster for several decades. All in all, my vaccines/preventatives cost $391.50 CAD
Travel Insurance
I looked at several options for both flight and medical insurance. I had great travel medical through both my and my husband's insurance and also had flight insurance with both of the credit cards that I used to book my tickets, but I would rather have more than less. I ended up deciding on BCAA which I also have a roadside membership with and will be using them again on future trips. It allowed me to enter all of my flights and they would track all of the flights and as it turns out, when I had a delayed flight, automatically sent money to me for compensation. The cost was $425.70 CAD which worked out to $350.70, as I received a $75 payment for a flight I had technically paid nothing for, as I booked it with miles.
Communication
One of the big concerns that my husband had with me galavanting around the world, was being able to keep in touch with me and see where I was. I had the option of using my provider for travel data, but it would be an astronomical cost. I decided on a Global eSIM with Airalo which would give me 20GB of data for $93.88 CAD. I know that 20GB seems a bit over the top for 16 days, but the difference between 10GB and 20GB was small enough that I went higher, so I wouldn't have to worry about data on my trip.
I knew that I would probably be using Facebook Messenger for audio calls, Google Maps while exploring, and Pokemon Go always running in the background (yes, I'm a 50-yr old child at times). I also have an eSIM for my local provider so I would be able to receive calls/texts to my local number, if needed.
Lastly, I would bring a couple of AirTags with me and shared their location with my husband. I would have one for my fanny pack and one for my backpack. My iPad, iPhone and Apple Watch would also show on Find My iPhone. I wanted my husband to feel comfortable with my travel...I even did up a spreadsheet which listed the flights, trains, and hotels converted into Pacific Time so he would always know where I'd be. This gave me a sense of security as well, because he'd know where I was supposed to be and could notify authorities if I disappeared lol.
Final Thoughts
Although most of my trip was booked almost six months before my departure date, I constantly checked prices for excursions...although I had booked most of them, I had done it with free cancelation...just in case. I watched tons of YouTube videos for the places that I was visiting and rethought a few of my hotels and rebooked a couple, when I found better deals or had better intel. I had initially planned on spending around $10K CAD for this trip, but with all of the flights, train tickets, hotels, food, visas, souvenirs etc., I ended up spending just over $12.5K CAD all in. All in all, it was money well-spent and I would do it again in a heartbeat.