“It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out of your door. You step into the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there is no knowing where you might be swept off to.” – Bilbo Baggins
For the first time in my life, I’m fully accepting my reckless tendencies. And I have my wife to thank for it.
We alluded to this adventure in our first post of 2018, and that resolution has now become a very present reality. Starting this summer, Angela and I will embark on a year-long journey to all seven continents. Not only will we be searching in earnest for a place to call our next home, but we will also be photographing and writing about the adventure as part of a quest to promote peace through experience and understanding.
It is an trip for which I have been preparing my whole life, and one which could only be realized through my marriage to Angela. For I found in her a wanderlust that only amplifies my own and an optimism that has reinforced the same in me.
We hold firm to the belief that people throughout the world are generally kind, gracious, and welcoming. Indeed, it has already been our experience that this is true.
We can’t wait to meet the world. We hope you’ll come along with us.
Our planned route
We have already booked travel for nearly half of this trip, excepting a few rental cars and some train tickets that have not yet become available for purchase. This isn’t some all-inclusive travel package that has zero flexibility; instead, this is a trip that we have painstakingly planned over the course of nearly two years.
We have attempted to include slow travel whenever possible and plan on driving in over 60 countries, seeking out the smaller towns and authentic experiences when we can.
The following list of planned destinations includes UN recognized countries, as well as several independent territories, disputed regions, and some micro nations.
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| Europe | ||
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| Middle East | ||
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| Africa | ||
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| Oceania | ||
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| Antarctica | ||
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| South America | ||
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| Caribbean | ||
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Follow our blog to follow along! And if you have suggestions for things to see and do along the way, please leave your recommendations in a comment. We’d love to hear what you love!
Mike, I am one of your Alabama cousins and I can’t wait to share this adventure with you!!
Thanks, Dianne! Always good to have the support of the home crowd!
Mike I so love reading your blogs!! I love travel and just dream about being able to do a trip like this!! I can’t wait to hear all about your amazing adventures!!!
Julie
Thanks, Julie! Ever since Saudi Arabia in seventh grade, I’ve wanted to spend a full year traveling. Now that I’m an old man, it’s finally going to happen! Thanks for following and supporting this craziness.
Wait! Let me get my suitcase! What a journey!
You would be welcome to come along, Jeannie! We still need to hear details about your trip to Jerusalem. Maybe you would be willing to write a guest post? 🙂
I’ll work on it😍
Sounds amaaaazing. All the best with your year of travels.
Thanks, guys! Any tips about Toronto? It’s going to be our first stop.
Aaaah, my hometown! Toronto is a great place for eating and enjoying city life. One of my favourite places to eat is a vegan restaurant called Planta that serves plant-based dishes. As for sightseeing, you can’t go wrong with Casa Loma, the ROM, or taking a ferry over to the Toronto Islands. And, if you have time, I would highly recommend going to a baseball or hockey game. Being surrounded by the fans is half the experience – you won’t be disappointed (even if the home team loses).
Thanks again for the tips! We’re staying in an Airbnb just off Lake Shore Blvd in Mimico. Not quite walkable to the ROM, but I could see us taking a Lyft to that section of town and then walking about.
1). I am beyond excited for you.
2) Is it too late to add Slovenia and see the Plitvice Lakes? We loved that area.
3) Croatians have better English than Italians. Go figure. (Huge generalization, of course.)
4) In Sri Lanka, I assume you’re climbing Sigiriya which is cool. But I would also encourage you to stay at least one night at the Galle Face Hotel. After a week of sweating all over the country (and freezing in the highlands), this little slice of heaven was magical. Their afternoon tea (a magnificent buffet with the right mix of tradition and casual) counts as one of my all time favorite travel experiences. Our guide tried to discourage us from staying there (they don’t give free rooms to guides as other hotels do), but we stood firm and didn’t regret it.
5) In Zambia, check out Chiawa camp. We stayed a week there right after I graduated from college. It was much less posh then, but Grant Cumings (the son of the owner) will take great care of you. Also, in 1993 at least, Lusaka was the armpit of the planet, IMHO.
6). In Italy, stay in Bolzano if you can add it. Utzi The Iceman is SO worth the trip, and the town is charming. We’ve been back more than once because we live be it so much. The ParkHotel Laurin is another magical place to stay with beautiful gardens.
7). Don’t skip the museum in Naples. All the good stuff from Pompeii is there. Including some giggle-inducing ancient erotica.
8). Spring for a tour of the Vatican. I think the extra insight is worth it.
9). Don’t drive in Naples.
10). We loved Canberra, Australia even though other people seem to think it’s not a must see. I mean, the Great Ocean Road is a must drive and Canberra doesn’t compare to that, but we loved the Australian War Memorial and the Capitol tour.
11). Speaking of war museums, Knox highly recommends the Imperial War Museum in London. I highly recommend standing in line to get Day seats to as many shows as you can. And for potential future expat housing, try the Kensington Olympia area. We lived there a couple of years ago.
12). Ha Long bay in Vietnam is super touristy. After Phang Nga Bay in Phuket, Thailand, it was super disappointing.
13). Is it too late to add a sea canoeing trip in Phang Nga Bay? It’s kind of touristy, too, but so beautiful. And the food is fantastic (unlike our overnight junk in Ha Long Bay).
14). Also I had MAJOR culture shock when faced with the propaganda in the Hanoi Hilton, so maybe my opinion doesn’t count.
15) If you can squeeze in a couple of days to visit the sand dunes in Natal, Brazil, we would recommend it. Get a guide to take you on a heart-stopping dune buggy ride. It’s fantastic.
16). Iguazu Falls is AMAZING. I assume you’re doing Victoria Falls in Zambia/Zimbabwe, but this is different. Do it. And see it from both sides. (Also, Argentine is SO cheap. Have a caipirinha for me. Or six.)
17). Fernando de Noronha is a fantasy island to visit, but it’s pricey. We loved our time there.
I’m sure I think of more, but mostly I can’t wait to read about your adventures!!!
These are some awesome suggestions, Gina! I’m going to need to take some time to respond to all of them in turn. Quickly, though, I can say that we ARE going to Slovenia and Piltvice — oversight on my part, not including that in the list. Basically, we’re going to every place in Europe except Estonia and Corsica. Call me crazy, but I get a thrill by leaving just a few stones unturned. Maybe it makes it some kind of guarantee that I’ll return one day…
This looks truly amazing! Good luck, I look forward to sharing your adventures.
Thanks, Jane! I’m glad you’re along for the ride!
You know it! I can’t wait for your trip! It will be like me travelling through your blogs. Next best thing to doing it myself 🙂
Thanks, Kasia. Isn’t that what travel writers do, live vicariously through each other’s posts until they can visit in person? I certainly know that’s what I’ve done through your writing. Glad you are along for the trip!
That makes two of us! 🤗 To travels!
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