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Greetings from Patagonia!
With 2016 in the books, and my rundown of last year’s travel here, I thought I’d share my upcoming travel plans.
I pretty much know exactly where I’ll be in January and half of February, see a few options for the rest of February and March, and then have no idea what I’ll do from April on. Here’s my best guess through mid-May.
First I’m going to do the eight day Torres del Paine circuit hike with my friend from Hawaii, then head to Puerto Montt for some Volcano hiking, cross into the lake district of Argentine Patagonia where we’ll do some more trekking and camping, and head to Buenos Aires. I’ll hang out there for a few weeks before heading to Hawaii for a week or two.
Then, from mid-February, I’m wide open.
I’ve discussed one of my options, below in red, that would see me visit Fiji (and hopefully Couchsurf), assess Melbourne as a future Southern Hemisphere Summer base, visit the Philippines for the first time, and fly Qatar A380 First Class.
A second option, above in black, is to go east to see a few UVA basketball games and visit friends on the East Coast before heading to Europe.
A third option, not pictured would be to return to Buenos Aires or somewhere in Brazil for a few more months of South American summer and fall.
Hopefully eight days away out in nature, away from screens, will give me the clarity to choose a great option for the rest of the year.
With a job I can do from anywhere and no wife and kids, I have plenty of time to decide. I’ll let you know when I know.
Countries on My Radar for 2016 and Beyond
Ones I Have Never Been To That Are Calling My Name
- Iceland
- Russia
- Belarus
- Moldova
- Myanmar
- Laos
- Sri Lanka
Ones I Want to Return To The Most
- Brazil
- Colombia
- Lithuania
- Latvia
- Romania
- Serbia
- Croatia
- Bosnia (Republika Srpska)
- Ukraine
- Hungary
- New Zealand
- Cambodia
What are your travel goals for 2017? You really should take 10 seconds and write a comment. The mere act of writing them down increases your chances of accomplishing them. (Your comment may not post immediately. It is in moderation. I will approve it when I see it.)
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I have a stupid question. May I know how to plot the map with those red and black lines please? Thank you.
No question is stupid… gcmap.com!
Cuba, Peru (and perhaps another part of South America ), other parts of the US (Austin, TX, maybe New Orleans, Utah), also the Caribbean at some point.
Places I want to go in the future that might not fit into 2017: Ethiopia, Australia/NZ, Indonesia, Mongolia, Croatia, Morocco, Tanzania/Zanzibar, Kenya, Easter Island
Goals for this year – Victoria Falls region (three or four countries), Pacific Hopper plus Tahiti, Eastern Europe
Do you plan to post pics from your Torres del Paine trek? I went there 25 years ago but only did a one night stay in a refugio. Don’t remember much (other than drinking water straight from waterfalls and hoping not to get sick) and sadly no photos. Would love to see more recent pics.
Can highly recommend Russia. Get a Visa for twice as long as you plan to stay, you can easily leave early but it’s very hard to extend. We used miles to get to/from Europe and cheap flights on Germanwings to/from Germany.
You ever thought of going to Antarctica? Some friends and I are exploring the option for Nov 2017
Going to St Regis Maldives in 2 weeks via Dubai (2 day stay). After that, its up in the air, but I’d really like to get to Bora Bora in the summer time. And maybe a weekend getaway in early winter 2017 to one of the 50 states that I haven’t been to yet, thinking of Texas.
Travel goals on my list this year include a combination Iceland/Greenland adventure, as well as Croatia. Here’s to a great 2017 full of exploring!
Big Island of Hawaii shortly. Searching and plotting for a trip this summer.
Working my miles programs to use a combo of UA and AA out of DFW. Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, etc. for scuba would be a fun trip.
While Down Under check out Adelaide from mid-Feb to mid-March, for the Festival, Fringe, Tour Down Under, Womadelaide, V8 cars and more in a month of constant festivals, not to mention the wine and food:
http://southaustralia.com/en/lonely-planet
Oh, and rated by the Economist as the 5th best City in the world to live in, admittedly 4 notches below Melbourne!
1. Andaz Papagayo with my sweetheart for Valentine’s Day weekend – on the books already, flights and hotel stay all covered with points.
2. South Florida – on the books.
3. Try out the new United Polaris class service to Switzerland – on the books and paid with miles. (I won’t get the new seats, but I’ll get to try out the new service and the one finished Polaris lounge at ORD). Hiking in the Tirolean Alps. I’ll fly home from Germany in economy, paid with miles.
4. Get the two oldest kids their first flights. My wife and I plus our two oldest kids will be traveling with another points and miles couple and their 2 kids. 5 nights in the Orlando/Disney circus. All airfare and hotel stays for both families will be paid for with points and miles!
5. More diligent and frequent writing on my own blog, to make it 1% closer to the awesomeness of Milevalue.com! 🙂
Trips up to July:
Jan/Feb – Guam, Palau, Tokyo
Mar – USA for a wedding (VX epic MR time!), throwing in Qatar and Sri Lanka
Apr/May – Nepal
June – Fiji, Vanuatu
Might have work trips in May (China), and June (Taiwan). Confirmed work trip to Chiang Mai in July.
Am trying to fit in S. Africa, Egypt, Oman, and Europe for the rest of the year. If Air Asia continues to fly to Mauritius, I might take a weekend trip to Mauritius as well.