If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. |
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
7-country itinerary -- 2-month timeframe realistic?
I'm planning a 7-country itinerary for this summer, and I'm trying to
figure out how much time it should take. The route will take me from the coast of Mozambique (Beira) to Malawi (down the lake), along the border of Tanzania and Zambia, down Lake Tanganyika, through Burundi and Rwanda, and up the west coast of Uganda to the Sudan border. I'm going to be stopping off at a few places en route - Gombe stream, Ruwenzori gorillas, etc - but not really dawdling too much otherwise. For various reasons, the route is more important than the various stops, and I'd actually prefer to take less time than more, without running myself ragged. I'll be backpacking mostly, since seeing as much of the route in person is a priority. Stopping for a few days at most at some places en route, but mostly moving. I'm trying to figure out how much time to budget. I'm wondering if two months is reasonable - or even generous? Also, I'm planning on going in July and August, roughly. Good months, weather-wise? |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
7-country itinerary -- 2-month timeframe realistic?
You can do the trip in less time, but I don't see the point. If it's
simply a case of "doing the route", then rather hire a car and you could do the trip in about 20 days, but you'll be ragged by the end of it. A trip like you're planning, is possible in 2 months, but you'll be on the move constantly. After 60 days of backpacking and using local transport, you're going to be exhausted. Marc On 20 Mar 2007 09:31:59 -0700, "Julian Smith" wrote: I'm planning a 7-country itinerary for this summer, and I'm trying to figure out how much time it should take. The route will take me from the coast of Mozambique (Beira) to Malawi (down the lake), along the border of Tanzania and Zambia, down Lake Tanganyika, through Burundi and Rwanda, and up the west coast of Uganda to the Sudan border. I'm going to be stopping off at a few places en route - Gombe stream, Ruwenzori gorillas, etc - but not really dawdling too much otherwise. For various reasons, the route is more important than the various stops, and I'd actually prefer to take less time than more, without running myself ragged. I'll be backpacking mostly, since seeing as much of the route in person is a priority. Stopping for a few days at most at some places en route, but mostly moving. I'm trying to figure out how much time to budget. I'm wondering if two months is reasonable - or even generous? Also, I'm planning on going in July and August, roughly. Good months, weather-wise? |
#3
|
|||
|
|||
7-country itinerary -- 2-month timeframe realistic?
On 20 Mar 2007 09:31:59 -0700, Julian Smith wrote:
up the west coast of Uganda to the Sudan border Julian, there's Lake Edward and Lake Albert, but to call their shores "the west coast of Uganda" seems stretching it a little bit. Are you sure you have a clue about where you intend to go? That said, I think two months is tight for such a long journey. I once crossed the entire continent, then the Sahara, in three months, but I used a light aeroplane for that. Without that, on foot, I think you may well not make it, and if you make it, I believe you'd be missing a lot because of all the time you spend on boring roads, rather than in interesting or beautiful places. I would recommend to reconsider and shorten the route to make it less of a race. It sounds contrarian to inexperienced travellers that shortening a route should make you see more, but that's exactly what happens. What you would gain in breadth, you'd lose in depth, or vice versa. Hans-Georg -- No mail, please. |
#4
|
|||
|
|||
7-country itinerary -- 2-month timeframe realistic?
Good point Hans-Georg,
I drove from Johannesburg to Arusha in 6 days, and obviously saw nothing en-route, and drove from Kampala to Johannesburg in 7 days and saw even less :-) However, the OP said that doing the route was important, not the places along the route. I don't understand that rationale, but hey, each to his own I guess. Marc On Sun, 25 Mar 2007 15:21:41 +0200, Hans-Georg Michna wrote: It sounds contrarian to inexperienced travellers that shortening a route should make you see more, but that's exactly what happens. What you would gain in breadth, you'd lose in depth, or vice versa. Hans-Georg |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Realistic Expectations | roberts | Travel - anything else not covered | 0 | March 24th, 2005 12:25 PM |
Realistic Expectations | roberts | Travel - anything else not covered | 0 | March 24th, 2005 12:25 PM |
Itinerary for a month in Australia | Anonymous | Australia & New Zealand | 2 | August 2nd, 2004 01:54 PM |
Itinerary for a month in Australia | Steve Gerdemann | Australia & New Zealand | 3 | May 12th, 2004 10:11 AM |
International train travel - a realistic option? | Al Grant | Europe | 11 | October 1st, 2003 01:15 AM |