Entries about preparation

So many firsts, so late in life.

This is my first attempt at writing a blog. I've no idea if it will be maintained or how often entries will be made.
This is also my introduction to TravellersPoint.

Planning started back in February and many hours have been spent reading comments and reviews of destinations, hotels and cruise ships.

The world tour starts in mid-September and we fly to Hawaii for 3 days, then on to Seattle for 3 days and a 7-day cruise up the Inside Passage returning to Vancouver.

We spend a week there then travel across Canada on a train with some side trips and arrive in Toronto after 11 days. We have been offered accommodation near Ottawa for a week or so then fly to Frankfurt for another 2 days.

Frankfurt to Amsterdam (3 days) to Paris (3 days) and London (3 days) by train.

Fly from London to Barcelona (2 days) and onto a cruise ship around the Mediterranean for a total of 28 days touching on Italy, Greece, Turkey, Egypt, Malta, Morocco, the Canary Islands, Portugal and Granada before returning to Barcelona (2 days).

Then we fly to Singapore for 3 days and on to Sydney and back home. We should be home for Christmas and will need a break to get over it all.

Around the World - link to map

The trip of a lifetime around the world in 95 days by bus, plane, ship and train.

Travelling 60348 kilometers, visiting 48 destinations.
o [16 Sep 2010] Moruya, Australia
o [16 Sep 2010 - 17 Sep 2010] Sydney, Australia
o [17 Sep 2010] Suva, Fiji
o [17 Sep 2010] Apia, Samoa
o [17 Sep 2010 - 21 Sep 2010] Honolulu, USA
o [21 Sep 2010 -25 Sep 2010] Seattle, USA Start Inside Passage Cruise (7 days)
o [27 Sep 2010] Ketchikan, USA
o [28 Sep 2010] Juneau, Alaska, USA
o [29 Sep 2010] Skagway, USA
o [30 Sep 2010] Prince Rupert, Canada
o [02 Oct 2010 - 10 Oct 2010] Vancouver, Canada Start Cross Canada Train Trip (10 days)
o [11 Oct 2010 - 12 Oct 2010] Jasper, Canada
o [12 Oct 2010 - 13 Oct 2010] Lake Louise, Canada
o [13 Oct 2010 - 15 Oct 2010] Banff, Canada
o [15 Oct 2010 - 16 Oct 2010] Jasper, Canada
o [19 Oct 2010 - 21 Oct 2010] Toronto, Canada
o [21 Oct 2010 - 31 Oct 2010] Ottawa, Canada
o [31 Oct 2010] Montreal, Canada
o [31 Oct 2010] Boston, USA
o [31 Oct 2010] Reykjavík, Iceland
o [31 Oct 2010 - 03 Nov 2010] Frankfurt am Main, Germany
o [03 Nov 2010 - 06 Nov 2010] Amsterdam, Netherlands
o [06 Nov 2010 - 09 Nov 2010] Paris, France
o [09 Nov 2010 - 12 Nov 2010] London, United Kingdom
o [12 Nov 2010 - 14 Nov 2010] Barcelona, Spain Start Mediterranean Cruise (28 days)
o [15 Nov 2010] Monte-Carlo, Monaco
o [16 Nov 2010] Florence, Italy
o [17 Nov 2010] Rome, Italy
o [18 Nov 2010] Naples, Italy
o [20 Nov 2010] Palma Campania, Italy
o [21 Nov 2010] Barcelona, Spain
o [23 Nov 2010] Rome, Italy
o [25 Nov 2010] Athens, Greece
o [26 Nov 2010] İzmir, Turkey
o [28 Nov 2010 - 29 Nov 2010] Alexandria, Egypt
o [01 Dec 2010] Valletta, Malta
o [03 Dec 2010] Barcelona, Spain
o [05 Dec 2010] Casablanca, Morocco
o [06 Dec 2010] Agadir, Morocco
o [07 Dec 2010] Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain
o [08 Dec 2010] Funchal, Portugal
o [10 Dec 2010] Málaga, Spain
o [12 Dec 2010 - 14 Dec 2010] Barcelona, Spain
o [14 Dec 2010] Zurich, Switzerland
o [14 Dec 2010 - 17 Dec 2010] Singapore, Singapore
o [17 Dec 2010] Darwin, Australia
o [18 Dec 2010 - 19 Dec 2010] Sydney, Australia
o [19 Dec 2010] Moruya, Australia

Well, it is all done now.

With the continued help from Jo Patton of the Batemans Bay Flight Centre Travel Agency we have nailed the final nail in the bookings for this awesome adventure. We've confirmed the rail legs from Toronto to Fallowfield, from Frankfurt to Amsterdam, from Amsterdam to Paris and from Paris to London. I was a bit surprised by the $30 booking fee but it works out at just under $4 per ticket so it isn't too bad when spread over the $900 for all the tickets.

There are only 27 days to go and with this final detail completed we can now concentrate on the horror of packing our bags. Selecting clothing to suit Hawaii, Alaska, Canada, Northern Europe, the Mediterranean and Singapore is quite a challenge. Keeping it all at or below the 24 Kg airline limit just adds to the problem.

We may have to adopt the travelling style of the couple we travelled with in China. They started out with next to nothing in the way of clothing and bought essential items as the need arose. Worked well for them but that trip was just over three weeks, this one is at least four times longer.

The next stage of the preparation is to collect all the documentation and running a fine-tooth comb through it to make sure it all matches what we planned.

I will write again when something significant occurs.