Drinking From The Ganges

Planning for a ‘RTW’ trip requires much of the following (in no particular order):

-dedication

-money

-patience

-research

-more money

-determination

-time

-more research

-more time

Coming up with places I would like to travel was relatively easy….EVERYWHERE! However, narrowing it down from EVERYWHERE to a more realistic itinerary based on time and money was the challenge.

How does a person narrow down the entire world from continents, to countries, and finally to cites? Well, I began with the following questions:

1. Where do I want to go?
2. Where have I already been/flip side, where have I not been?
3. What are my interests, e.g. wonders of the world, food, culture, natural beauty, etc.?
4. What places given the location (flight, land mass, transportation within given country, etc.) would require more than two-three weeks of vacation time from employment to see?
5. What is a countries difficulty rating- is it a second or third world country?
6. If I retired at sixty-five and planned a trip to visit specific countries/cities, would I be capable of doing it -given my current age, health, income, etc.?
7. How far will my dollar go- where can I get the most for my dollar?
8. What is the level of ‘wow’ factor-what sites; natural beauty, history, culture, food, etc. exist in the given country/city based on a 1-10 scale?

And these are just a few of the Q&A I had to consider. As you can see it is no simple task to write out an itinerary, nor is the answer the same for all people. My itinerary took me almost seven months to finalize and I ‘m sure it will change, as I begin my journey. So based on many of my questions and final answers, below is my ‘final’ itinerary:

**All Subject To Change-100% Positive it will**

South America
-Argentina -Chile -Peru -Ecuador
-Galapagos Islands

Europe
-Italy
-Greece

Africa
-Egypt
-Morocco
-Jordon (yes- not technically in Africa)
-South Africa
-Madagascar

Asia
-India
-Nepal
-China