JessieMJ

Hi everyone,

After 2+ years of travel and living abroad I'm making my way home!

I'm based in the UK at the moment and have got about 6-7 weeks in Jan/Feb next year to try and see the rest of what is on my 'travel list'.

The problem is that the places left I'm desperate to see don't seem all that logical to do together and I'm hoping someone out there has some advice on the best way to try and see them all.

The places I want to go are:
- Spain: Barcelona for 5 or so days and explore some other cities (still to be decided)!
- Egpyt: we will be doing a 7 day tour of all the main sites
- African safari: I really have my heart set on doing a 2-3 week trip through Kenya/Tanzania and Uganda. I know it might not make sense to do it with this trip, but it is so much harder and more expensive to do it from home than it is from back home. It's something I've wanted to do for so long...

So what do you all think? Too ambitious?
What do you think would be the best and easiest travel route to incorporate these places?

Thanks in advance!

hetismij2

January - February is peak time for Tanzanian safaris so you need to get that part sorted out asap. You can fly to Arusha from Amsterdam or to Nairobi from London. Arusha is not a cheap flight btw.

I assume you aren't planning on going from one trip straight on to the next? That would be ambitious and tricky to do I suspect.

JessieMJ

Well yes, it would all be one trip - that's the problem!

With only 6 weeks to travel before we have to go home, we don't really have the option of taking 'time off' between each trip. Trying to fit it all in is what's worrying me!

Part of me thinks we should leave Spain for another trip - that seems 'easier' and more accessible than Africa. But the other part thinks it is such an essential part of Europe to see while I'm living here!

Decisions, decisions!

annhig

well, Egypt and the safari add up to about 4 weeks, so by my maths you have 2 weeks left.

assuming spain to be at the top of your remaining bucket list, in 2 weeks you could see Barcelona and Valencia [see current thread at http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...n-between.cfm],

or Andalucia [perhaps better this time of year].

hope you enjoy the rest ot your time here in the UK.

Leely2

As hetismij says, it's getting late to plan a safari in Tanzania for 2013. Also, be advised that safari is very, very expensive. Depending on your wallet, the cost and lodging availability in East Africa may determine how much time you have in Spain.

Sounds like a marvelous trip, though! I'll suggest Rwanda too, if you can--stunning country.

hetismij2

OK all in one trip -fly to Barcelona, from Barcelona you can fly to Cairo, and from Cairo to Nairobi (on Egyptair direct). Then back from either Nairobi or Arusha to the states, via London or Amsterdam.
Your priority should be to get your safari organised and then work the rest of the trip around that. Have a look at the Africa forum for ideas. When I went to Tanzania I went with Africa Travel Resource who are based in Dorking. I found them very helpful and they were happy to tweak things to meet our limited budget whilst still giving us a real safari feel in tented camps etc. There are of course lots of others who do similar things -- the Africa forum can offer help on that.
Decide what you want to see/do in Egypt. If you give Spain a miss then perhaps booking a tour from the UK is your best option for that, but instead of flying back to the UK fly onto Nairobi.

It may be an idea to talk to a good travel agent if you can find such a beastie nowadays for such a complicated trip though.

flanneruk

I doubt whether there's really any sense in making this one trip.

Flights between, say, Arusha and Luxor are non-existent and the cost (and time) of the moderately roundabout routing via Nairobi, Athens and Cairo almost certainly higher than going back to London then back again. A one way flight from Cairo to Barcelona will probably cost more than a return cheapo to Cairo from somewhere in England.

You probably haven't got time to plan and organise all these three yourself. Decide which you DO want to organise (if we're honest, that's Spain), buy ex-UK package holidays for the others, then come back to Britain, get the Easyjet or Ryanair from your local airport to one of the Catalan airports (Girona's usually cheaper than BCN), hire a car and drive yourself around.

Be very, very wary of conventional High Street travel agents, whose sole skill lies in doling out Thomson Holiday brochures. But if you can get to a Trailfinders, you're very likely to find someone who can offer really useful suggestions. Your local STA might also be useful: it certainly won't hurt to pop in and see if they're any use

Sandy_junior

Barcelona is amazing ... for sure you must go there