Figuring out travel plans

We’ve been trying to figure out the best (and most cost-effective) way to start off our traveling next year.

We’ll be heading out in July 2010, and ideally we want to try to time our trip so that we work the northern countries (whatever part of Europe we touch & Russia) during the summertime, and then be down in India/SE Asia during the winter. But when it all comes down to it, ease of travel and the least amount of flying are what’s going to affect us the most.

As for Africa, we’ve basically conceded that it doesn’t really matter what time we go since it will be the hardest to coordinate.

So far, here are the options we’ve come up with:

1) Vancouver-Kenya. Kenya to London (flight). East through Russia. South through SE Asia. West to India. West through SE Asia. Exit out of Hong Kong.

2) Vancouver-Kenya. Kenya to Mumbai (flight). East through SE Asia. North to Russia. West to Europe. Exit out of London.

3) Vancouver-London. East through Russia. South to SE Asia. West to India. Mumbai to Kenya (flight). Kenya to Mumbai (flight). East through SE Asia. Exit out of Hong Kong.

4) Vancouver-London. South to Egypt. Egypt to Kenya (flight). Kenya to Mumbai (flight). East through SE Asia. North to Russia. West to Europe. Exit out of London.

5) Vancouver-Hong Kong. North to Russia. West through Europe. South to Egypt. Egypt to Kenya (flight). Kenya to Mumbai (flight). East through SE Asia. Exit out of Hong Kong.

6) Vancouver-Hong Kong. West through SE Asia and India. Mumbai to Kenya (flight). Kenya to London (flight). East through Russia. South through SE Asia. Exit out of Hong Kong.

Obviously there are plenty of variations on routes and ways to go, but these were the 6 we’ve been kind of discussing over the past few months. Vancouver-Kenya is going to cost the most, but it will also mean that we will only need one flight during our trip, so it might work out to be the cheapest option.

I think #5 is the best in terms of timing the seasons, but not sure if it’s the most cost-effective.

In other travel news, BF has convinced me to do a 3-4 week trek while in Nepal. I was originally thinking that we’d go for maybe 1 or 2 weeks, but 3-4 weeks will cut down on our travel costs and we will be able to see more of the country this way.

There’s a lot to think about, but it’s exciting to see the trip slowly taking shape.