The most exicting time of my life was summed up by three letters, RTW.

In the early 2010’s when Facebook was cool and Instagram was just sqaure pictures of coffee cups and travel was done for the sake of experiencing a part of the world, rather than just having your photo taken in a new place.

At the same time a three letter Initialism RTW, standing for Round the World, trip was being used for a gap year trip where you essentially travel on a medium paced trip stopping at many places on multiple continents for about a year or 6 months or whatever you had to spend. These were usually multimonth long trips.

Ours was supposed to be 1 year and we streched it into two, and then kind of just turned it into our lives.

Unfortunatly, I don’t hear anyone talking about this kind of travel anymore. We all just seem to travel to get IG pics or dance somewhere for TikTok. However, if you found this page, that’s awesome – let us tell you about our RTW trip and why you should take one too!

---

Saving for a RTW Trip

We decided to start kicking our savings into high gear after our wedding in February 2012. Our savings plan didn’t have much to do with debt but more about saving for our RTW trip. Two years without money coming in meant that we had to put major money in the bank.

~ Here is how we did it ~

Put it on paper

The first step in making the change from spending to saving was figuring out where the hell all of our money was going! Between the two of us we bring in a good amount of money, but it never seemed like we were gaining at the bank.

For the first few months, every penny we spent went into our trusty little notebook. After we had some data, we set our budgets for different categories of normal spending. For example, every month we plan on $500 USD in gas for our cars and $500 USD for groceries/household supplies.

One unexpected we learned from this exercise is you can’t plan for everything! So a budget without some money put aside for life’s unknowns is set up for failure.

Cash Diet

The biggest change in our financial situation was our approach to how we spent. Before we started saving hardcore it would be rare for me to carry any cash in my wallet, everything went on a credit card.

We never carried a balance on our cards, they were paid in full every month, but even a $1 or $2 purchase would happen on plastic. It was very easy to just swipe and get what we needed, or more often wanted. We went out and got a box of envelopes and wrote down all of the names of the categories that were variable month to month and could be paid in cash.

At the start of the month, we took out the budgeted amount from the bank and stuffed it into the respective envelopes. At first, it felt strange to be using the green paper instead of the plastic we had become accustomed to.

However, every time I would leave a store holding on tighter to my cash than I would have the credit card, it started to grow on me. Cash just seems so much more real, and I found it much harder to part with. The results, we hit our savings goal for the first time ever (maybe cause it was the first one we had ever set one), and we haven’t missed one since.

Saving Better

After a few months of living off of only cash, we felt we had learned the lessons and were ready to switch back to credit cards for everything except for our fun money. Let’s face it going to the grocery store with a wad of cash, or actually going into the gas station is kind of annoying. Going back to plastic also allowed us to take advantage of credit card rewards points which we use to help fund our travel.

Our first month back on credit cards was fine and by keeping our ‘fun money’ in cash we aren’t spending nearly what we used to. We each have an account (an envelope) where we get $25 USD every two week pay period to spend on whatever makes us happy.

Hannah’s money usually goes to clothes or shoes, while I spend my money on one of my many hobbies, home brewing usually gets most of my cash. Then we also put in money for ‘Entertainment’ where we get $100 every two week pay period. We left enough so we can go out to eat once a week or meet friends out for some drinks. Budgeting is like a diet and if you don’t allow yourself some cheat money it will never work.

Cut Backs

Along with the reduced spending in the above-mentioned categories, we had to cut some of the fat in all of our spendings. We took a look at all of our recurring and random expenses and decide which ones were really necessary. A good way to look at it is line by line, and ask yourself is this thing more important to me than being able to travel the world? If not cut it!

Our single biggest reduction was cutting the cord on the cable company. We were spending over $160 USD per month for cable and internet, with no fancy channels or anything. We dropped cable and signed up under Hannah’s married name for Internet (new customers get better deals). Our internet bill is now only $40usd / month, we did pick up Netflix and Hulu Plus for $8 per month each. Bringing our total bill to about $55-$60 per month, saving us about $100 monthly.

Other things we cut were some of the luxury beauty activities we have been doing for years saving another good chunk of money. Another place that would hurt our budget was the extras at the grocery store, we are now closer to hitting our target spending (after a lot of practice). All things considered, were haven’t missed most things as much as we thought we would, it will all be worth it as were are circling the globe!

More Reasons to Leave

It always interests me when talking taxes among other travelers to see what percentages they pay, compared to what their government supplies to its taxpayers. Before leaving we were giving the government 34% of our wages without getting our health care or university paid for. While other countries pay closer to 40% but they will never pay a medical bill or have student loan debt.

Do you have any savings tips that you think may help other travelers get enough in the bank to take a trip of a lifetime? Please post them in the comments.

500 days

Today is our 500th travel day! When we started planning our RTW trip it was going to be just over a year, and here we are in Morocco 500 days later… and no end in sight on our RTW trip. Let’s look back at all the countries we have had the privilege of “GETTING STAMPED” in over the past 500 days.

---

Belize

We started in Belize and had some highs and some lows, and even a death…Our favorite beach was the silk cayes (pictured above)

Honduras

Honduras gets a bad rap, but we survived it, and we are glad we made a stop. Adam got dive-certified on the island of Utila, and Hannah held down the beach. We visited the Copan ruins and relaxed in the best hot springs to date.

Guatemala

Guatemala is one of our favorite countries in the world, we fell in love with Antigua everything about is beautiful we were drawn to all the amazing doors. 

We spent a week learning Spanish & living with a local family. We believe the most beautiful McDonald’s can be found here as well, wouldn’t you agree?  We hike from Xela Guatemala to Lago Atitlan one of the toughest treks to date, but glad we did it.

Nicaragua

Volcano boarding sounded fun, and according to Adam, it was…but my facial expression says differently! We had our first round of illness, which had us down for the count for several days.

We planned our time to be in Granada for their version of running with the bulls, which was hilarious. We went house hunting for the perfect land for our future beach house. Can’t forget the part about almost dying on a ferry from Ometepe Island.

Costa Rica

First stop in Costa Rica was surf school in Tamarindo! Got our paddles wet for the first time white water rafting on class 4 rapids. We previously visited Costa Rica in 2010 visiting Arenal, Jaco, Manuel Antonio, Dominical, and Puerto Viejo in which we had a suicidal SUV, but this time we bused our way around.

We spent a week on the Beaches of Puerto Viejo, which is home to some of our favorite beaches in Costa Rica.

Panama

Panama really surprised us in a good way. Spent a week in Bocas del Toro before making our way to Panama City, where we cruised the Panama Canal.

Our favorite part about Panama hands down is the San Blas Islands (pictured above), which we will get back to and spend at least a week, never have we seen beaches/water like that.

Colombia

We arrived in Colombia and were ready for a change of continents, as we had several cases of travel burnout. Our first stop was Cartagena, which was unimpressive and expensive by Colombian standards.

We explored Cali, Colombia by foot, walking an average of 11 miles a day, and loved all the street art and the giant cats of Cali. However, the highlight of Colombia was Salento. Evening saying Salento puts a smile on my face.

We loved the people, town square, mountains, hiking trails, great cheap food (shout out to Lucy’s), all the fat dogs in town, and, of course, the coffee! Adam even worked a day in the coffee fields.

Ecuador

Ecuador was all about the Galapagos for us, we have so many great photos it was hard to pick one.

Peru

Hiking the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu was a bucket list item that didn’t let us down. We went with the 2-day trek aka Glamping Incan Trail package. Our day in Machu Picchu was rainy but very photogenic.

Fiji

Fiji is paradise. Here is proof a quick 60-second video. Some of the best views (like pictured) are from a seaplane, which we splurged on to get us back to the big island for our next flight.

We spent 10 nights in the Yasawa Islands our longest stay to date at that time. We were spoiled with great sunsets, friendly staff, and an overly friendly gecko…

New Zealand

New Zealand, our favorite country in the world to date. Where do I even begin…we rented a camper van (pictured above) and spent the 2 weeks exploring the South Island.

We tried to do it all: skydiving, Milford Sound, Queenstown, Abel Tasman, swimming with the dolphins, whale watching, glacier climbing, Lake Tekapo (the most gorgeous lake in the world), and much, much more.  New Zealand is top of the list of places to return to.

Australia

Whitsunday Islands a place we had seen some of the most amazing photos, was our first stop in Australia. We couldn’t afford to stay out on the islands, but we took a day trip out to Whitehaven Beach and a seaplane over Whitehaven & Great Barrier Reef.

From above we got some of the best views and photos. This is the only way you can see the heart reef (pictured above). We also climbed the Sydney Harbour Bridge, sailed the Sydney Harbour, and drank our way through the rocks district.

Thailand

Having Hannah’s parents meet us for Christmas in Thailand was the best Christmas present ever. We also revisited Bangkok, which we still love. Became expats for a month in Chiang Mai, and learned how to cook some of our Thai favorites.

Adam decided to eat a water beetle and then learned that was a bad decision. Discovering our favorite Thai island Koh Lipe, which we will return to in 2015 as it is home to our favorite meal in the world.

Cambodia

Sunrise at Angkor Wat cannot be missed, even with the 4:30 am alarm. Siem Reap is a place that deserves at least 5 days. Unfortunately, we only had 3 and must return.  Make sure to book with Sok, the best tuk tuk driver in Siem Reap.

Phnom Penh was much better than imagined, we visited the Killing Fields & prison S-21 which left us somber and speechless.

Malaysia

In January of 2014, we spent most of the month traveling through Kuala Lumpur, Penang, and Langkawi. We thought we really liked KL, that was until we got robbed by the man in the red helmet.

From there we spent Chinese New Year in Penang which was supposed to be the best place outside of China to celebrate, but it was kind of a bust, everything was closed, and there was no info on festival dates.

We learned the hard way that most people spend time at home during the holiday. So our visions of a New York City like New Years were a little off. After that, we caught the boat to Langkawi for some much-needed beach time.

We rented a car a saw what the island had to offer, but we found that to be not that much. We cut our time shorter than planned and made an unexpected trip to one of our favorite places in the world. Overall, Malaysia was just Okay.

Philippines

We caught an amazingly cheap flight to the Philippines for just $27 each so we jumped on it. We knew we wanted to go, but weren’t sure we were going to make it, but glad we did.

We stopped in Manila, Boracay, Coron, and El Nido. We saw some eye-opening things in Manila along with some interesting food and a few good sunsets, and Adam even got to eat the famous Balut egg. Next up was the island of Coron where Adam dove 100 feet deep through sunken World War II ships while getting his advanced open-water certification.

Boracay was beautiful but busy. We would love to visit again, not in peak season, because it’s a great beach and Boracay can be done in a $20 per day budget. El Nido is amazing. I don’t even want to talk about it and make it more popular 😉 There were so many things to do in El Nido we have to go back.

Vietnam

Vietnam is crazy. Crazy good, and just plain crazy too. We start in Ho Chi Minh City and worked our way north. From the insane motorbikes, amazing Pho, and war history of HCMC we head to Hue and Hoi An.

The Citadel in Hue was worth the visit, but nothing else really stood out to us except for the constant offers of drugs by the taxi drivers (no I didn’t take them up). From there, we caught a horribly cramped bus to our favorite town in Vietnam: Hoi An.

The food was worth the entire trip to Vietnam, yes it was that good. Besides the food, the town had a good feeling, a beautiful old town right on the river, and cheap beer. We opted not to light the lantern for the Hoi An lantern festival even though we planned our date specifically around doing so. Hannah played Cinderella for a day and got a dress tailored, and a purse to match.

From Hoi An we hopped a plane to Hanoi (bet you didn’t know flying can be cheaper that driving in Vietnam). A few days in Hanoi exploring the strange propaganda museums and drinking more cheap beer. Lastly, we went up to nearly the China border to the town of Sapa to see the hill tribes and hike in the rice patties.

Laos

The quiet country of Laos was at the end of our time in South East Asia and we just made it to the city of Luang Prabang. We watched the people feed the orange-clad monks and realized tourism here has completely gone wrong.

Maybe it was cause we were burnt out at this point, but the town I had such high hopes for let us down. All I can say about Laos is don’t feed the monks. I will have to give Laos another go again sometime.

Kenya

Our first African stamp came in Kenya as we touched down in Nairobi. Before taking off on our 43-day safari with Acacia Africa, we had time to explore the city and get licked in the face by a giraffe.

While on safari we stopped at the Maasi Mara game park where we saw the big 5 and a bunch more. We also visited a Maasai village and met the people who still live as they have for centuries.

Tanzania

The wildlife continued in Tanzania as we spent three days in the Serengeti National Park. Here we got up close and personal with lions, and we even slept with elephants. The excitement didn’t stop there. We also saw the ugly 5! After all of the animals, we took a beach break on the amazing island of Zanzibar in the Indian Ocean.

Malawi

Oh Malawi, what do I say? We really enjoyed our time here, not because of the wildlife, but the people. They have just about nothing but are still happy and friendly people. We saw a school without desks and our desire to help grew for the small country.

Zambia

Victoria Falls was the main draw for our travels to Zambia, but we did that and even more. We took a helicopter flight over the falls and through the canyons and many more Victoria Falls activities. Zambia was action-packed, but we did manage to sneak in a sunset cruise down the Zambezi.

Botswana

An interesting mix of desert and water we found in Botswana. We spent a few nights camping in the Okavango Delta before heading into the Kalahari desert. We were in Botswana for the new moon and saw every star in the sky. We photographed the African night sky and rowed a traditional canoe.

Namibia

Namibia is one of Adam’s favorite countries to photograph, there was never a cloud in the sky. The landscapes were always dramatic and interesting, sunrise over the sand dunes cannot be missed.

We also made some new friends with lots of spots. Here is where one day we will settle down and open a cheetah farm. There is still so much to write about this amazing country.

Related: Things to do in Namibia

South Africa

Our safari ended in Cape Town, and we booked ourselves ten days to enjoy the area and recover from sleeping in a tent for 43 days. While in the city, we went wine tasting, dove with great white sharks, and drank home-brewed beer in one of the townships, you know, the usual Cape Town itinerary…

Germany

Our European leg started in Germany, where we met Adam’s parents for a good ole’ fashioned family road trip. We traveled with them through Frankfurt, down the romantic road, and to the German castles in southern Bavaria.

We came back and forth through Germany a bunch of times, we watched the World Cup with 1,000,000 people in Berlin, and we went to Oktoberfest with Adam’s brother (on family road trip number two, parents not on this one).

Visited Stuttgart and the car museums along the way, up to Koln to see the famous cathedral, and cruised the Rhine River. I think that’s all for Germany, oh and ate lots of sausages and currywurst, saw the Berlin Wall and so much more.

Czech Republic

We toured Prague and Plzen with Adam’s parents, saw the Prague Castle, visited historic taprooms, and of course, walked on the famous Charles Bridge.

Pilzen we did as a day trip mostly to drink the Pilsner Urquell beer. We took the tour and drank fresh straight from the wooden barrel golden goodness.

Prague ended up being one of our favorites in all of Europe. There are a ton of Prague attractions you need at least 3 days in Prague.

Poland

Our first family road trip ended in Kraków, where we paid a visit to the Holocaust Museum of Auschwitz, went down the millions of steps into the historic salt mine, and ate some pierogis. We even learn to pronounce Adam’s family name in true Polish style.

Italy

Our tour of Italy began in Rome with visits to the Colosseum, the Vatican, and most of the other major sites. We snuck in some time to go on a gelato tour and take a trip out to Tuscany.

After Rome, we went to Florence, where we saw statues carved by Michelangelo in the 1500s. Other than the statues, we didn’t really find the big draw to the city. Bologna and Milan were up next, and we pretty much just ate.

I’m not complaining because that’s what we came to Italy for in the first place. There are many more things to write about from our time in Italy, including one of our surprise favorites, Venice.

Latvia

From Italy, we caught a plane to the capital Riga for none other than a family wedding. We toured the pretty city of Riga and then headed out to the countryside for Hannah’s cousin’s wedding.

The traditions of the Latvian wedding were very different from the ones we were used to, but it was a great time, and we’re glad we could be a part of their special day.

France

Our one and only stop in France was Paris. It was more of a long stopover where we got to explore the city for a few days. We made it to the very top of the Eiffel Tower, almost got robbed by a scammer, and watched the amazing Moulin Rouge show. We still managed to do Paris on a budget but with a little bit of style.

Austria

We drove through Austria on the way to Croatia this fall, with a stopover in Vienna. The city of Vienna was full of statues, and we caught a great sunset in one of the parks of the city. However, from there, it was all downhill. First, we got a massive parking ticket, and then on our way to Croatia, we got extorted by the Austrian police.

Croatia

The main event in our Croatia plans was a cruise along the Dalmatian islands. We stopped at a different island every night of our seven-day cruise. Our favorite island was Hvar, and we will definitely return.

Before and after, we based ourselves in Dubrovnik, where we walked the walls of the old city, kayaked around the walls, rode bikes through the countryside while drinking wine, and so much more.

Slovenia

Slovenia just kind of happened, it wasn’t really in the plan or even the radar, but we went as a means to break up some long drives between Croatia and Munich. We’re glad we stopped, it ended up being a nice little break.

We stayed a little ways outside of Lake Bled in a town that couldn’t have a population much higher than a couple hundred. We were surrounded by crystal-clear lakes and tall mountains. Totally could have spent a bunch more time here.

Belgium

I am not going to beat around the bush here, we went to Belgium to drink beer, and that’s all we really had planned. Adam’s brother was with us in Brussels as an extension to our Oktoberfest and beer sampling tour of Germany and Belgium.

We toured several of the Trappist abbeys and made our rounds of the bars and breweries in Brussels. After the beer, we even had time to watch the famous statue pee into the fountain and eat some pretty darn good chocolate.

Spain

In Spain, we touched down in Barcelona and Madrid again with a visitor from home. Hannah’s longtime friend joined us for food, drinks, and exploring in Barcelona and Madrid. We also learned to cook the Spanish favorite paella, ate our weight in tapas, and sailed off the shores here.

Greece

We based ourselves in Athens, taking a few day trips to the nearby cities and islands, but our main reason for being here was business. The annual travel blogging conference TBEX was held in Athens this year, which was the main reason for the visit. Along with the conference activities, we had time to see the historic sites of ancient Greece.

Morocco

We write this post while traveling through Morocco’s beautiful and diverse country. Our 14-day tour of the country with TourRadar will keep us busy until the middle of November. To see what we are up to here, check out our Morocco Highlights tour.

Well, there you have it—all 500 days in a nutshell summed up with one photo from each country. Thanks to all our friends, family, and fans for following along on our journey. We appreciate all the support and social love; every like/comment means a lot to us. Here’s to the next 500 days of traveling!

---

10 Places that should be on your RTW Itinerary

Planning a Round-The-World Trip? We have handpicked this list of our favorites from our RTW trip. These are 10 places that should be on every RTW itinerary, and if you aren’t taking an RTW trip (you should, but) you still should put these places on your short list to get to soon.

Antigua, Guatemala

The beautiful colonial town of Antigua is full of brightly painted houses and overflowing with charm. Your money goes a long way in Guatemala. The city is a great place to brush up on your Spanish by taking lessons from local teachers. Antigua is surrounded by tall volcanoes and the temperature is just right year round. There are tons of things to do in Antigua it’s worth a week for sure.

Rome, Italy

Once the center of the western world, Rome is full of ancient ruins and packed full of 2,000+ years of history. Throw in some Italian food and cheap wine and it almost makes up for the high price tag of the accommodation. Avoid the summers if your schedule allows as the streets overflow with tourists in the months of June through August. Rome may not be your cheapest destination, but a trip around the world wouldn’t be complete without a visit to this cultural capital.

Prague, Czech Republic

Of all the places we visited in Europe, we were most impressed with Prague. Maybe it just surprised us, but Prague is a huge city full of impressive buildings and landmarks. There is much more to the city than just the Charles bridge, plan a few extra nights in Prague to see all of what the city has to offer. Be sure to bring a thirst because Prague has the largest beer selection we encountered in all of our 730+ days on the road. There are a ton of things to do in Prague we always find something new. We loved drinking our way all the best beer gardens in Prague.

El Nido, Philippines

If you were to ask us what is the most beautiful place we have ever visited, we would probably respond with El Nido. The small cluster of islands off the tip of the Palawan is some of the most dramatic and breathtaking we have encountered. Tall jagged limestone cliffs jet out of the hyper blue waters. The landscape is out of this world. El Nido is still tough to get to which keeps the crowds down some, but being named the best island in the world last year has definitely increased its popularity. Get there soon. As an added bonus, the Philippines is a very budget friendly place and perfect for an RTW destination.

Koh Lipe, Thailand

The only place we have visited that would rival El Nido in raw beauty it would be Koh Lipe. The furthest south island in all of Thailand, Koh Lipe is a paradise on earth. Quiet and clean with a good beach vibe this island is always a contender for our favorite place on earth. Throw in some amazing green curry and forget about it. It’s a place you’ll never want to leave. Make sure to check out our ultimate Koh Lipe Guide.

Machu Picchu, Peru

As one of the seven new wonders of the world, Machu Picchu is no secret, but it’s well worth the trip. Built by the Inca’s in the 1400’s the modern wonder is as impressive as they get. Make sure to hike the Inca trail for the full experience. Use Cusco as your base to explore the area. Cusco is a beautiful mountain town situated high in the Andes at 11,000 feet above sea level. The city is great, but it will test your fitness level with its elevation.

New Zealand, the whole damn country

New Zealand is another one of those special countries full of amazing landscapes. The scenery will have you pulling off the road around every turn. The country is packed full of dramatic landscapes with tall mountains and pristine lakes. We spent a few weeks circling just the south island, and we would have spent a couple months. Rent a camper van make your way around this beautiful place.

Namibia

The stark beauty of Namibia is what makes this African gem a must on any RTW itinerary. Namibia is a photographer’s dream. You have plenty of wildlife in Etosha National park, a 900-year-old petrified forest, and the world tallest sand dunes.

Not to mention the world’s oldest desert. The red sands of Namibia’s deserts will suck you in and capture your imagination. There are so many things to do in Namibia, we can’t wait to go back.

Cape Town, South Africa

A city like no other in Africa, Cape Town could fit in anywhere in Europe or California. The city has a stunning coastline, a celebrated wine region, and the iconic table mountain towering behind the city.

However, it’s still Africa. It’s a city of contrast with the very wealthy, and then those with nothing more than a tin shack to call home. There are miles and miles of white sand and pounding surf. It also has the world largest population of Great White Sharks where the cold Atlantic meets the warm Indian ocean. Cape Town holds so much to do in a very pretty package.

The Serengeti, Tanzania

When you think of African Wildlife you think of the Serengeti. Tanzania’s premier game park is like a real-life Lion King. The lion population in the park is so strong you won’t have any trouble spotting one, two, or even fifteen lions in a tree. The Serengeti is a very special place and is probably one of the best places in the world to see wildlife.

When planning an RTW trip it’s about more than just where you are going to go, there’s a lot more to it than that. What you pack will dictate who good of a time you’ll have while on the road. We packed too heavy at first and started to be held back by how much stuff we had. You don’t want to be constantly worrying while on the road either. Make sure to get quality travel insurance that covers you and your gear while you are traveling. Trust us, we have been robbed and had gear destroyed in the middle of the desert. Our travel insurance has always got us back in business.

The last piece of advice is to go to a new destination with an open mind. Read enough to know where you are going, but not so much that you expect too much. Give yourself time to experience places for yourself. Too many times we have traveled somewhere on the recommendation of others or from a top 10 list only to be let down. These are our favorites and I don’t think they will let you down, but every experience is different, make it your own.

---

I can’t believe its been a month already! We have done a lot of stuff and seen a lot of things already each month we will recap our stats and favorites.

Miles Traveled

• Flown: 1949 mi  /  3118  km
• Bused: 1087 mi  /  1739.9 km
• Boat: 115.6 mi  /  185 km
• Walked: 175.5 mi  /  280 km
• Total: 3,327.1 mi  /  5323.4 km

Number of beds: 12

Beers Drank (Adam): 100

Ice Cream Cone Consumption (Hannah): 16

Items lost, ditched, or otherwise MIA: 2

• Lost – JawBone Pedometer/Sleep Tracker – Cost: $139 USD (ouch!)
• Lost – Medium size bottle of Hand sanitizer – Cost: $0.99 USD

Best Of:

Best Beach:  Silk Cayes – Belize

Best Bar: Barefoot Beach Bar – Placencia, Belize

Best Beer: Moza Gold – Guatemala

Best Ice Cream: Tutti Frutti – Placencia, Belize

Cutest Kitty: The cats of Rubi’s Inn – Utila, Honduras

Best Dish: Guava Glazed Ribs – Hopkins Bay Resort – Hopkins Village, Belize

Best Sunset: Antigua, Guatemala – Volcan de Agua

I can’t believe it’s been 2 months already! We have done a lot of stuff and seen a lot of things already, each month we will recap our stats and favorites. Make sure to check out month 1 recap in case you missed it!

Miles Traveled

• Flown: 337 mi  /  542  km
• Bused: 697 mi  /  1115.9 km
• Boat: 15 mi  /  24 km
• Walked: 162.8  mi  / 262  km
• Total:  1,211.8 mi  / 1,943.9   km

Money Spent: $1,864.67 This is the amount spent on credit cards for the month, and ATM withdrawals through the end of the month.  We are averaging the conversion rate to a whole number example 8Q-$1 25C-$1 and not including ATM fees as we get those back thanks to our awesome bank!

Number of beds: 15 (including 2 floors on our trek)

Beers Drank (Adam): 77

Ice Cream Cone Consumption (Hannah): 15

Items lost, ditched, or otherwise MIA:

Lost: 6 very expensive IB Profen pills (purchased in Guatemala), and Adam broke his only pair of size 15 sandals!!

Ditched: We sent all of this back home with our first visitor, cause we had WAY TOO MUCH STUFF! Full post to follow on what our new bags look like.

Best Of:

Best Beach:  Hermosa Beach, Nicaragua (The beach where Survivor Nicaragua was filmed)

Best Bar: Ocelot – Antigua, Guatemala

Best Beer: Gato Malo: Volcano Brewing Co. – Costa Rica

Best Ice Cream: Ice cream bar we had on 2-day of our 50km trek!

Cutest Kitty: This cat follow Hannah everywhere! At night she wanted to sleep with us too, she would sit outside the window and cry to come in.

Best Dish: Singapore chicken salad in Granada, Nicaragua

Best Sunset: San Juan Del Sur, Nicaragua – On a Boat!

The month started in Tamarindo, Costa Rica and took us all the way to Salento, Colombia. Follow our route north to south on the map below, blue is by bus and, green by plane. We took a few boat day trips, but no major ship time this month.

Miles Traveled

• Flown: 768.8 mi  /  1230  km
• Bused: 1108.2mi  /  1773.1 km
• Boat: 70 mi  /  112 km
• Walked: 172.91 mi / 276.65 km
• Total:  2,119.91 mi  / 3,391.86 km

Money Spent: $5,095.59 This is the amount spent on credit cards for the month, and ATM withdrawals through the end of the month.  We are averaging the conversion rate to a whole number example 8Q-$1 25C-$1 and not including ATM fees as we get those back thanks to our awesome bank! This month was VERY high, due to us purchasing our flights from Asia to Africa ($1308), hotels in Cape Town for 2 weeks ($981), 3 flights within Asia ($295), flight from Cusco to Lima ($275) deposit on our campervan in New Zealand ($240).

Number of beds: 11 

Beers Drank (Adam): 94

Ice Cream Cone Consumption (Hannah): 23

Items lost, ditched, or otherwise MIA: 1 cable lock

Ditched: Nothing, still working on that big list of stuff we ditched earlier in August & September!

Best Of:

Best Beach:  San Blas Islands, Panama

Best Bar: Tasty Waves Cantina, Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica

Best Beer: La Rana Dorada Brewing Co.Porter – Panama City, Panama

Best Ice Cream: Cute old man with soy ice cream machine in Salento, Colombia.  This man was a salesman at heart.  Everyday, we would see him with a crowd of people around his ice cream station, and he was handing out his sample cups!

Cutest Kitty: I (Hannah) literally almost stole this cat right off of someone’s porch…….it was sooo cute and purring.  I think she wanted to be an American cat and was looking for an older sister AKA Tinkerbell!

Best Dish: Lucy’s in Salento, Colombia- For $3 you get a HUGE meal!  Your meal starts off with some tasty chicken soup, even though you have to BYO crackers…and for some reason, there is a whole banana served with your soup.  We always brought our banana back to the hostel. After you finish your soup, your plate comes which is complete with rice, your choice of meat (chicken breast, chorizo, or fish), salad, and choice of veggies or potatoes.  And like always a glass of fresh juice!  We ate at Lucy’s 3 times during our time in Salento.

Best Sunset: Salento, Colombia- Tim, the owner of our amazing hostel The Plantation House, has his house built just in the right spot for an amazing sunset! He invites all hostel guests to come up to his house to catch the view.

The ending of month 4 means our time in Latin America is up! Our time in Central America and South America are now over.  We survived 4 months in Spanish-speaking countries, and eat an unknown amount of rice & beans and pollo!  We are ready to change continents once again.

The month started in Salento, Colombia and ended in Lima, Peru. Follow our route north to south on the map below, blue is by bus and, green by plane. This month had some major ship time, we cruised through the Galapagos Islands for 6 nights/7 days.  Living on a boat was a new adventure from us.

Miles Traveled

• Flown: 7,564 mi  /  12,102.4  km
• Bused: 318.75 mi  /  510 km
• Boat: 352 mi  /   566.49 km
• Train: 40 mi /  64.37 km
• Walked: 155.65 mi / 250.59 km
• Total:  8,430.40 mi  / 13,493.85 km

Money Spent: $5,786.70This is the amount spent on credit cards for the month, and ATM withdrawals through the end of the month.  We are averaging the conversion rate to a whole number example 8Q-$1 25C-$1 and not including ATM fees as we get those back thanks to our awesome bank! This month was VERY high, our Galapagos trip for flights/park entrance/tips was $1,325, purchased the new Go Pro $400, wide angle lens for our DSLR $627, new unlocked smartphone for Asia $100, new shoes NOTE never bring white Nike’s on 2 year trip $71, $439 on supplies bought back at home (jeans, hard drive, electric razor, hair, some food, etc) and purchased some other new supplies.

Number of beds: 9 

Beers Drank (Adam): 108

Ice Cream Cone Consumption (Hannah): 19

Items lost, ditched, or otherwise MIA: Adam’s only long sleeve shirt

Ditched: Nothing, still working on that big list of stuff we ditched earlier in August & September!

Best Of:

Best Beach: The red sands of Rabita Island, Galapagos, Ecuador

Best Bar: Los Amigos, Salento Colombia

Best Dish: Burger at Los Perros in Cusco, Peru.  The burger was almost the size of Hannah’s head! Good thing we split it, it was worth the $9!!

Best Sunset: Cruising the Galapagos Islands we were treated with nightly sunsets!

Cutest Kitty: This month we have an exception…Tito wins the cutest cat, even though he is obviously a dog.  We spent 5 nights with Tito at Hostal Wara Wara in Cusco.  Tito was a great treat to have at the hostel, he liked to sit by my feet as I worked on the blog.  Never heard him bark, except once when a guest accidentally stepped on his paw!  I miss him already!

Best Beer: Bogota Brewing Company, a local microbrewery had several of Adam’s favorite style’s of beer, their porter was his favorite.

Best Ice Cream: Chocolate Brownie Fudge gelato at the grocery store in Lima, Peru…Sorry, the picture is missing I inhaled it every time I forgot to get the photos!

The ending of month 5 means our time in Fiji is up, and were almost finished with New Zealand!

The month started in Milwaukee, Wisconsin USA and ended in New Zealand. Follow our route on the map below.

Miles Traveled

• Flown: 9,524.3 Miles (15,238.9 Km)
• Bused / Campervaned: 2021.75 Miles (3234.8 Km)
• Boat: 73.4 Miles (117.4 Km)
• Train: 0 Miles
• Walked:94.4
• Total: 11,713.85 Miles (18,712.16km)

Money Spent: $6,958.66 This is the amount spent on credit cards for the month, and ATM withdrawals through the end of the month. We are averaging the conversion rate to a whole number example 8Q-$1 25C-$1 and not including ATM fees as we get those back thanks to our awesome bank! This number makes me sick! This was the most expensive month we have had to date! This month was VERY high, Fiji and New Zealand were much more expensive than our last few countries we traveled to.  We also bought a few other expensive items: $3,565 in Fiji roughly, $365 flights from Philippines to Vietnam in February, $80 cut/color for Hannah back at home, $161 fees for our flight home, $753 camper van rental fees, $80 Amazon prime membership, $105 new hard drive, $1,610 in New Zealand food/gas, $53 monthly adobe software fee, $72 lens filter/shorts/laptop sleeve, $24 expensive face wash, and few other odds and ends.  But as you can see it all adds up REALLY quick!

Number of beds: 3 beds, 1 airport floor, 1 airplane, and 14 nights in a campervan

Beers Drank (Adam): 45, his consumption was way down due to the cost of beer but you will see Hannah made up for it with her Ice cream consumption

Ice Cream Cone Consumption (Hannah): 25, I would like to thank McDonald’s for having 50 cent cones, and Fiji for 60 cent scoops!

Items lost, ditched, or otherwise MIA: nothing

---

Best Of Month 5:

Best Beach: Suntan Beach, Yasawa Islands Fiji only above water for an hour or two at low tide!

Best Bar: 1867 Queenstown, New Zealand $3.50 pints of beers at Happy Hour

Best Beer: Macs Black Beer, New Zealand

Best Ice Cream: Maria at Coralview Resort, the friendliest lady always serving me ice cream with a smile

Cutest Cat: Tinkerbell, got to see my baby when we were home for 3 days!

Best Dish: Cheese platter on our wine tour in Queenstown, New Zealand

Best Sunset: Yasawa Island, Fiji

The ending of month 6 means our time in Oceania is up, and we’ve moved onto Asia!

The month started in New Zealand and ended in Cambodia. Follow our route on the map below.

Miles Traveled

•  Flown: 9,489 Miles (15,182.4 Km)
• Bused: 97.9 Miles (156.6 Km)
• Boat: 63 Miles (100.8 Km)
• Walked: 142.8 Miles (228.48 Km)
• Total Miles: 9,792.7 Miles (15,668.2 Km)

Money Spent: $6,384.01

Before your jaw hits the floor let me explain a little! Another expensive month in the books, but it was one we expected to be.  We always new Australia wouldn’t be nice on our wallets, and with family visiting, we didn’t quite stick to our Asia budget.  But we wouldn’t have done it any different!

We had to renew our travel insurance which was $772, money spent while in Australia was over $2150, $160 on our last night in New Zealand and top off peaches with some gas, $1500 on Christmas gifts to ourselves (new lens, new unlocked Samsung Note 2, swimsuits HANNAH, sandals, etc), $1300 in atm withdrawals while in Thailand, $200 Cambodia atm to ensure we had a great New Years Eve and $280 in Malaysia where we only had a 20 hour layover but now have extra cash when we return. We hope the next few months here in Asia are well under $2,000 a month, fingers crossed.

Number of Beds slept in: 1 campervan, 1 airplane, and 11 beds

Beers Drank Adam):99, would have expected this number WAY lower do to the cost of beer in Australia.  Adam made up for the missing beers in Thailand, taking advantage of the much cheaper price! Plus he had a beer drinking buddy, my dad!

Ice Cream Cone Consumption Hannah): 29, ice cream cones were one of the ONLY things we could afford in Australia.  Therefore, we took well advantage of the 30 cent treats!

Items lost, ditched, or otherwise MIA:nothing lost or MIA BUT we did get some nice Christmas gifts and I (Hannah) did some swapping out of clothes and bikinis!

---

Best of Month 6:

Best Beach: Whitehaven Beach, Australia

Best Ice Cream: McDonald’s $.30 Cones in Australia

Best Beer: House Cask Beer at Free House Bar – Nelson, South Island, NZ

Best Meal: Green Curry in Thailand

The ending of month 7 keeps us exploring Asia!  We have already made our way through Thailand, Cambodia, and still in Malaysia.

The month started in Cambodia and ended in Malaysia  We started the month exploring Angkor Wat, got bored in Kep Cambodia, caught crabs from a Cambodian woman, overheard an interesting boom-boom conversation in Phnom Penh Cambodia, got robbed in Kuala Lumpur, got bored in Langkawi Malaysia, and ended up in paradise aka Koh Lipe Thailand.  Follow our route on the map below.

Miles Traveled

Flown: 929 miles/1,483.2km

Bused: 591.25 miles/946km

Boat: 104 miles/166.5km

Walked: 184.95 miles/295.92km,

Total Miles: 1809.20 miles/2,894.72km

Money Spent: $2,694.45

Remember last month how I said I didn’t want to spend over $2,000 this month.  WELL, that would have happened, BUT we reserved our rental car for our 4-week road trip in Europe for September.  We also decided to go a few more islands in the Philippines, and we purchased flights as opposed to signing ourselves up for the 8-12 hour boats (too many horror stories from other travelers).

Number of Beds slept in: 10 beds!!! This month no airplanes/airports/vehicles!

Beers Drank (Adam): 91, this number was influenced by the 50 cent beers in Cambodia and my father being with us for 4 days the month of January.  Alcohol prices in Malaysia are much higher, we have taken a pass on the beer for awhile.

Ice Cream Cone Consumption (Hannah): 25, once again we would like to thank Ronald McDonald for his 25-30 cent cones in Cambodia & Malaysia!

Items lost, ditched, or otherwise MIA: Drain plug…yes a drain plug.  This is a crucial piece to us and our clothes not stinking, and now we somehow have to find one in a foreign country.  This should be VERY interesting!  Our first laundry fail happened in Malaysia, one of my favorite shirts was DESTROYED with bleach.  Post to come!

Best of Month 7

Best Beach: Sunrise Beach Koh Lipe, Thailand

Best Ice Cream: Some crazy street stall ice cream in Penang, Malaysia! It had shaved ice, red beans, green jelly like spaghetti, kinda tasted like Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cereal when you ate it all together.

Best Beer: Lion Imperial Stout –  found in Langkawi, Malaysia (brewed in Sri Lanka) Deliciously strong at 8.8% ABV, sweet stout with a hint of roastyness.

Best Dish: Sunrise Restaurant on Sunrise Beach in Koh Lipe, Thailand. They make probably the BEST curries I have ever had, and not a bad view! Hannah loved their red Penang curry, which is like the baby between the green and red curries. Penang curry has the red tomato base, but with the lime leaf and basil of the green, its the best of both worlds. We ate here daily, curries for breakfast, Papaya salads for lunch, we even had curry over fried eggs. Amazing food for $3, with this view…….

Cutest Cat: This cute kitten welcomed us & said goodbye to us in Koh Lipe, Thailand.  Immigration happened to be at a bar where this cutie lived.  We got to play for an hour while I waited for my passport to get stamped.

Best Bar: Forgot the name, but it had the cutest little bartender!  It was on walking street in Koh Lipe, Thailand. This is her seat in the bar! The real bartenders/owners are a Spanish and Thai couple who cook up a tasty backpacker meal for 100 Baht. Drinks are reasonable, and the owners are talkative and friendly. Look for the yellow bar with the dog behind it, and have a drink!

We did a good amount of moving this month hitting 8 cities, and 2 of them twice (Kuala Lumpur and Phnom Penh).  Also somehow we ended up back in Thailand, but oooo was it worth it!  Our next stop, the Philippines!

Month 8 Recap of our RTW

 Month 8 has our bums in beach most of the time as keeps us exploring Asia!  We have already made our way through Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, and now onto the Philippines.

The month started back in Kuala Lumpur where we have a little bit of rough history, it’s where we got robbed in Kuala Lumpur.  We moved onto the Philippines, we started off in Manila where Adam ate the infamous balot egg! We spent 23 days bouncing around 3 different islands. On the last day of February, we started our journey to Vietnam! Follow our route on the map below.

Miles Traveled

Flown: 3735.17miles/5,976.27km

Bused: 409.95miles/655.92km

Boat: 1.25 miles/2km real short ride to Boracay

Walked: 150.76 miles/241.22km, Jawbone recorded 74.76miles
in the first 9 days of February.  The other 19 days we estimated 4 miles a day.

Total Miles: 4297.13miles/6875.41km

Money Spent: $3,262.88

I keep saying we are going to have a month under $2,000 but once again that didn’t happen.  This month was higher due to a few larger purchases: $926 flights from Africa to Europe at the end of June, Adam got advanced open water dive certified $345, bought our flights from Morocco to Turkey (we won’t be allowed back into EU until 2015) since we can’t go via boat to Spain $369, flights from Germany to Italy in July $158, $150 on camera items needed for Africa (tripod/accessories), and about $40 for a new Otterbox & battery for the replaced phone.

Number of Beds slept in: 10 beds, which was more than necessary.  Our Manila-Coron got canceled so we had to spend an extra night in Manila (airline put us up), and in Coron we slept on 3 different beds.  We can blame a nasty bucket flush toilet for 1 change, and the noisy security guards for another, and finally ended at amazing QUIET hotel with a proper flushing toilet.

Beers Drank (Adam): 72 Beer was priced right, could be found for 75 cents at happy hours! But Adam always had a slight cold, and with diving he didn’t indulge in the cheap beers too much.

Ice Cream Cone Consumption (Hannah): 21, I found my friend Ronald on the beach in Boracay so I did visit him daily…

Items lost, ditched, or other wise MIA: I had a SMALL mishap on the bus from Penang to Kuala Lumpur.  Yes, another bad thing in KL. When boarding the bus there was no room above my head for my day-pack, so I put a few seats back.  5 hours later we were being rushed off the bus as we had arrived, and you I bet can guess it… I forgot the bag, and I realized it as it was turning the corner.  I got a hold of the bus company and driver, but after speaking with our hotel they said it was 1.5 train ride away and then a taxi to get to the bus office where my bag was.  They also informed me if anything valuable in the bag it might not be there.  So we decided to let it ago.  Recap of what was lost: RayBan sunglasses ($100), water dry bag ($30), 3 books we hadn’t finished reading, umbrella, my new favorite pants from Cambodia, lip gloss, emergency pack with band-aids/antibiotic/etc. We are over it.

The worse thing is my Jawbone got fired on Boracay. Not sure what happen, all of a sudden it kept vibrating on my wrist and then nothing. So for this month we will have to estimate our walking distance as it broke February 11th.

Best of Month 8

Best Beach: Malcapuya Beach Coron, Philippines

Best Ice Cream: Nothing picture worthly I wish we had a picture of my face when I bit into my Ice Cream cone that had chunks of what I believe to be Kraft singles (highly processed cheese). When asking the ice cream lady her flavors we both thought we heard cheese, we repeated cheese?!? And then she says “no no vanilla” well she sure fooled us. 

Best Beer: San Miguel Pale Pilsen, which oddly enough is the cheapest beer

Best Dish: Pork tocino, eggs & garlic rice for breakfast at Corto del Mar in Coron, Philippines

Cutest Cat: Not many cat sighting’s this month, but I still remember seeing this little girl and her white kitty in the slum known as Smokey Mountain right outside of Manila, Philippines. The white cat was a huge contrast against her dirty face dirty with charcoal.  

 Best Bar: Pat’s Bar on White Beach in Boracay had 2 beers for 70Pesos (1.75USD) from 4-8pm and 3 rum & cokes for 120Pesos

Month 9 started in Vietnam and barely ending in Chiang Mai Thailand. We arrived into Chiang Mai with 6 hours left in the month, but we will be staying here for 23 days in an apartment!  Overall 25 days were spent in Vietnam, 5.5 days Laos in which 2 were spent on a boat making our way to Thailand.

The month started back in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam where we spent the week exploring & trying not to get run over by motorbikes. We didn’t know what to expect in Vietnam, and we learned a lot (I bet you didn’t know these 10 things about Vietnam). We spent a total of 25 days in Vietnam, we headed north stopping in Hue, Hoi An, Sapa, and Hanoi. The highlight being Hoi An, we miss it already, and would spend most of our time here on a future visit. Posts to come on all cities.

We made the decision to fly to Laos, as opposed to 30+ hour bus. We had heard nothing but horror stories about the roads & busing in Laos. We opted for the $171 flight from Hanoi to Luang Prabang, this was 3x the price of the bus, BUT only a 1-hour flight.  We 4 spent nights in Luang Prabang before starting our 3-day journey to Chiang Mai. The trip would take 3 full days, 2 days which are spent on a 100ft wooden boat for 9 hours a day, and then 8-hour tuk-tuk/mini-van/shuttle/taxi adventure to Chiang Mai from the boarder. It was a never ending trip, I can say I have been on the Mekong River, but next time I will fly.  Month 10 has us staying here in Chiang Mai where we will be based for the next 3 weeks.

Miles Traveled

Flown: 1009 miles/1,614.4km

Bused: 396.88miles/635km

Boat: 378.75miles/606km

Train: 451.75 miles/722.8km

Walked: 182.43 miles/291.88km

Total Miles: 2418.94 miles/3870.08 km

Money Spent: $8,135.80

Yep, it happened again..another painful month. Biggest expenses being: 0ur local payment for our upcoming African Safari was due, which was $4550+, purchased flights to my cousin’s wedding in Latvia $600, Laos flights $340, Vietnam flights $200, and decided to go to TBEX in Athens Greece $200 flights.

Number of Beds slept in: 11 beds, two beds were on a train to Sapa, four nights being 1-night stays, which are always more than frustrating.

Beers Drank (Adam): 128, Gonna have to blame Hoi An for being so awesome and having 15 cent, yes 15 cent, or 3000 dong for fresh draft beers. 

Ice Cream Cone Consumption (Hannah): 25, Had plenty of KFC/Burger King cheap cones and a few Magnum bars this month.

Items lost, ditched, or other wise MIA: Just some more stupidity… Losing items again this month. We got out of a cab too fast at Ho Chi Minh City airport and forgot plastic bag with a few small souvenirs approx $15 worth, and just yesterday a plastic bag with water & coke for the 8-hour minibus ride.

Best of Month 9

Best Beach: No beaches this month, yes it’s true.

Best Ice Cream: Chocolate Chip gelato in Hoi An, Vietnam at The Fresh Market (across the river)

Best Beer: Beer Lao Dark

Best Dish: It’s hard to pick one, when you get this whole table of food for $5.50  at Cafe 43 Hoi An, Vietnam. Pictured is fried wontons, white rose  (shrimp), and  cao lau. 

Cutest Cat: I found the cutest pack of kitten’s on our lunch stop on our way to Chiang Mai from Laos. I skipped lunch and played with these cuties for 30 minutes, talk about a happy cat lady!

 Best Bar: Cafe 43 Hoi An, Vietnam had tasty 15 cent drafts, free Wi-Fi, amazing food, and good service WINNING!

Month 10 started in Chiang Mai Thailand, where we are living for 23 days in an apartment!  After 23 days in Chiang Mai, we headed back to Bangkok our favorite Asian city (big city) for 5 nights to buy all the supplies for our African Safari, a lovely 20 hour layover had us in Dubai for a night, and the month ended in Nairobi Kenya which happens to be the starting point for our 43 day safari.

Our time in Chiang Mai flew by so fast. We are so behind on the blog, you don’t even know how many blog posts we have yet to tell write and share with you. Sorry in advance, we are playing catch up here. It is hard work traveling full time and trying to run a website. We probably worked 10 hour days each during our time in Chiang Mai. We didn’t do 1 tourist thing, except maybe 2 days of Songkran. No like, not even one temple in was visited.

I celebrated my 30th birthday during Songkran, which was AMAZING! Only would have been better with some friends and family from home… Make sure to check out the birthday video Adam made me. No birthday is complete without a Dairy Queen ice cream cake, thankfully there was one less than a mile from our apartment. I also made time to get a few beauty treatments, I was well overdue for my blonde highlights so I got my hair did, saw the dentist for my 6-month checkup, ended up in the hospital to see a doctor, pedicures, and my few times a week Thai massages…

The best priced flights to Africa were out of Bangkok, which was perfect as it is one of our favorite cities. Here we had a long shopping list, as there were many things we needed for our African safari (sleeping bag, sleeping pad, warm clothes, batteries, goes on and on). We had 5 nights to shop,and get our fill on our favorite Thai foods before saying goodbye to Asia for at least 9 months.

Our journey to Africa took 3 flights, and 2 days. We had a 20 hour layover in Dubai, which was good as it was enough time to justify getting a hotel for the night. We got a good nights rest before our final flight. Landed in Nairobi Kenya at 730pm, and checked into our hotel little after 9pm. Month 11 will be all about exploring Africa, stay tuned.

Miles Traveled

Flown:  6795 miles/10,872 km

Taxi:   67.37 miles/107.8 km

Walked: 193.45 miles/ 309.52 km

Total Miles: 7055.82 miles/11,289.31 km

Money Spent: $6,454.23 BUT $2,150 of that was money taken out in Thailand in which we bought USD for our African Safari (need USD there), $600 paid for our rental car in Europe with Adam’s parents, $150 hotels in Europe, $100 got my hair colored, $65 doctor visit, $55 dentist visit, $112 gym membership in Chiang Mai for the month, $412 apartment for month, $112 electricity bill, $1629 was for supplies for Africa (New Camera lens $750, tons of spare batteries, sleeping bags, sleeping pads, warmer clothes, new duffel bags, you name it…). Next 2 months the spending should be minimal, fingers crossed.

Number of Beds slept in: 5

Beers Drank (Adam):  38, the lowest every BUT remember our time in Chiang Mai was all about catching up on the blog. Only drank for my 30th birthday, the first day of Songkran, met up with a high school friend of Adams, and a few here in there to beat the heat. 

Ice Cream Cone Consumption (Hannah): 28, keeping up with my dairy consumption via ice cream!

Items lost, ditched, or other wise MIA: Some where on our journey from Asia to Africa my cat necklace has been lost. I can only assume with all the bags we were carrying, and purse on my neck.

Best of Month 10

Best Beach: Does Songkran festival in Chiang Mai count?? I think so, because I was SOAKED!

Best Ice Cream: Dairy Queen ice cream cake

Best Beer: Only beer consumed was Chang…

Best Dish: You should have seen my face when I saw the restaurant 25 Degrees (up scale burger joint) pop up on my FourSquare app…This is one of my favorite burger places in all of the USA, they only have 4 locations and my luck BANGKOK is the newest one. So Adam and I settled in to a burger (had to share at $12 a piece), and luckily we went during happy hour for buy 1 get 1 on curly fries & onion rings. It was a pricey snack at $15 for both of us, but well worth it.

Cutest Cat: No cats this month, only a few street dogs near our apartment…which I wanted to rescue!

Best Bar & Sunset: Red Sky on the 55th floor in Bangkok

Month 11

Month 11 started in Nairobi Kenya, where we were preparing to leave for our 43 day Africa Safari!  We spent 5-days in Nairobi, but I’d say that was 4 to many… Then we were off on an adventure of a lifetime.

Our first stop on our safari was the Maasai Mara, where we were lucky to spot the big 5 within 2 days. I never expected to see so much in the first few days, next we were off to the Serengeti where I got my lion fill! After a few weeks of camping & game drives, I was ready for a few nights on the beaches in Zanzibar in a REAL bed.

We went from a nice beach resort to Malawi, which is now one of our favorite countries, but it’s a country that needs a lot of help… Our eyes were opened on a tour of the village, which brought us to a school without desks. We visited a local hospital in which we visited the HIV testing room complete (actually incomplete) without a ceiling and hand-drawn information posters. Malawi is a place that made us go WOW, and a place we plan on spending more time in.

Drove:  3250 miles/ 5200 km

Ferry: 90 miles/144 km from Dar es Salam, Tanzania to Zanzibar

Walked: 62 miles/99.2 km Not much, my jawbone count was way off do to the all the bumps on the road. I am guessing we averaged 2 miles a day of walking.

Total Miles: 3402 miles/5543.2 km

Money Spent: $907.63

Our African Safari was already all paid for last month, and we previously took $2,000 USD to bring to Africa for spending along the way. This months money was taken out in cash from ATMs to get local currency in each country. Our meals were included 90% of the days, only leaving us snacks & booze to purchase.

Number of Beds slept in: 6 actual beds (3 were indoors and 3 were in permanent tents), 16 number of times w took down the tent and laid our sleeping pads down in a different campsite.

Beers Drank (Adam):  76

Ice Cream Cone Consumption (Hannah): 9, I was going through withdrawals!

Items lost, ditched, or otherwise MIA: Not that we are aware of, we were living out of our backpacks scattered around 3 lockers on the safari truck it was hard to find ANYTHING.

Best of Month 11

Best Beach: Zanzibar

Best Ice Cream: Ice cream shake topped with smarties (I had to supply my own smarties)

Best Beer: Castle Milk Stout

Best Dish: Lasagna made by our tour leader Kelly was amazing and it was served with tasty garlic bread made by our driver Richard. Sorry, it was so tasty I ate before a picture could have been taken..

Cutest Cat: The lions at Lion Encounter in Victoria Falls I will always remember, don’t think I will ever get this close to lions again in my life.

Best Bar: Booze cruise in Victoria Falls

Best Sunset: River cruise on the Chobe River in Botswana

Month 12

Month 12 started in Botswana where we only had 15 days left of our 43 day Africa Safari! The last 15 days of our safari had us over driving through Botswana & Namibia before ending in Cape Town, South Africa on June 15. We had our 1 year travel anniversary in Frankfurt Germany on June 29th. It has been one hell of a year pushing me way outside of my comfort zone and bringing us to 28 countries over past year. Our month ended in a quaint little village called Steingaden, Germany.

We spent 9 nights in luxurious neighborhood of Camps Bay in Capetown, South Africa. We splurged a little on a hotel but got a steal for only $65 a night at Primi-Royal hotel. We had a huge king size bed, claw foot bathtub, huge shower, ocean view great for the sunsets, and our own private outdoor hot tub. We needed these 9 nights of luxury after camping for 40+ nights.

• Fly: 5855.87 miles  /  9369.39km finally back in the air after 2 months of land travel!
• Drove:   2903.12 miles  / 4645 km Africa safari 2362.50 miles/3780km, 540.62 miles/865km Germany driving
• Walked: 118.27 miles  /  189.23km We were on our safari the first half and my jawbone count was way off do to the all the bumps on the road. I am guessing we averaged 2 miles a day of walking.
• Total Miles: 8877.26 miles/14203.62km

Money Spent: $4,093.12 We were spent half of June still on our African Safari which was already all paid for last month, and we previously took $2,000 USD to bring to Africa for spending along the way. This months money was taken out in cash from ATMs to get local currency in each country. Our meals were included 90% of the days, only leaving us snacks & booze to purchase. The other half of the month we had to cover our hotel & meals.  We did have to renew our travel insurance which was $966. We spent $813 on hotels, $80 on wine tasting & bottles for our fantastic room in Cape Town. You can’t go to Germany without getting a beer stein or two, that was $72. We had a slight accident with souvenirs in Namibia $586 and went on a 2.5 hour ATV in the sand dunes $105. Also got some clothing for the upcoming wedding in Latvia $80. Our guides with Acacia- Africa were so amazing we had to tip them they earned every penny (and probably more) of the $200 tip. Shark diving in Cape Town $135, still to tell you that story. A few pampering sessions (massage & pedi) $75.  Other random gifts $65, and tours/sightseeing fees $152.

Number of Beds slept in   6 actual beds, 1 overnight on an airplane, and 10 times we put up the tents and laid down our sleeping bags…

Beers Drank (Adam):  52

Ice Cream Cone Consumption (Hannah): 18

Items lost, ditched, or otherwise MIA: Before going to Africa we had to purchase more shirts and warmer items, but along the way we donated/traded for Malawi carvings. We bought a ton of souvenirs in Namibia we have 50lbs that we will be sending back to the USA.

Best of Month 12

Best Beach: Camps Bay, Cape Town South Africa

Best Ice Cream: Frozen mint & chocolate yogurt topped with Smarties, yes, please!

Best Beer: Germany Kolsch beer straight from Cologne, Germany!

Best Dish:  Amazing steak at Hussar’s Grill in Cape Town, we ate here 3 times during our stay. Oh and they had BYO wine with no corking fee!

Best Bar: Mitchel’s Brewery on the waterfront in Cape Town, South Africa. We meet up with our safari mates to catch round 1 of the world cup. We cheered on Germany from the get go, as Simona (on the left) is from Germany. We also happen to be in Germany for the final!

Best Sunset:  Camps Bay Cape Town, South Africa taken right from our balcony of our hotel room. We had amazing sunsets 9 nights in a row at Primi-Royal hotel.

Cutest Cat: Hands down the Cheetah farm in Namibia

Year One Recap

One year ago today we set out on an adventure of a lifetime. We quit our jobs and said goodbye to friends and family to circle the globe. We have seen so many amazing things and meet tons interesting people in our first 365 days. We have touched down in 28 countries on 6 continents, here is a quick highlight reel of the first year of our RTW trip.

For the past 12 months we have been featuring a monthly recap of our RTW trip. The recap features months travel statistics in distance traveled, number of beds slept in, items lost/mia, money spent, beers Adam has consumed, and ice cream cones Hannah has ate.  On top of the stats we feature a “best” beach, ice cream, beer, bar, sunset, food dish, and the cutest cat of the month.

We just celebrated our 1 year travel anniversary, crazy to say we have been traveling for over a year already but it’s true! We have made our way through 28 countries and many more to come. We thought we should recap this past year as a whole.

Picking our best’s was no easy task, but some things still stick out in our head as THE BEST.Adam and I didn’t always agree on what was “the best” so in some categories we each have our personal “best” listed below. So here we go!

• Flown: 47,956.14 MILES/76,729.82 KM
• Bus/Drove:  12,949,17 MILES/20,718.62 KM
• Train: 491.75 MILES/786.80 KM
• Ferry: 1,263.05 MILES/ 2,020.88KM
• Walked: 1,795.99 MILES/2,873.58 KM

Total Miles: 64,456.10 MILES /103,129.76 KM

Number of Beds slept in

• 107 Actual beds (3 were outdoor in permanent tents on our African Safari)
• 3 over-night flights on airplanes
• 1 night on an airport floor in Auckland, New Zealand
• 1 night spent 10 hours in a Starbucks chair in Lima airport
• 1 night on the concrete floor of a community center while on our 3-day Guatemala Trek 
• 
• 1 night on the floor in a rural Guatemalan family house on day 2 of our Guatemala  trek
• 1 campervan for 14 nights as we drove all across the South Island in New Zealand
• 26 different campsites where we pitched our tents on our African Safari

Beers Adam drank: 973

Ice cream treats Hannah ate: 253

Money Spent: $55,044.74 This includes all ATM withdrawals and credit card charges over the past year. We have spent nearly $2,500 on camera equipment since leaving home. Adam has purchased additional lenses required for different shots (wide angle and, of course, the super zoom for Africa). We purchased a GoPro after our Nikon underwater camera died in the Galapagos Islands. Also, our travel insurance with World Nomads was around $1,900 for the year. Our insurance was great as it paid us out when we were robbed in Malaysia and the sandstorm that ruined camera gear in Namibia.

Best Of Year 1

Best Beach

Hannah: Koh Lipe, Thailand we rented a beach hut for 5 nights and feel asleep every night to the waves crazy just steps from our hut. The water was some of the best to date, and the beach just look at it! And Koh Lipe didn’t break our budget, Koh Lipe on a budget is possible.

Best Ice Cream:

Hannah: I have eaten my fair share of ice cream over this past year, so picking my favorite was difficult. But the chocolate chip ice cream I had in Hoi An, Vietnam was something special. Chocolate chip isn’t even one of my top 3 flavors, but the chocolate chips were amazing and the creamy vanilla ice cream. As pictured, I went for a double scoop…

Adam: I usually save my ice cream money for beer, but if I had to pick one it would be Tutti Frutti in Placencia, Belize with their awesome Peanut Butter Gelato.

Best Beer:

Hannah: There are 2 beers that stick out automatically to me Tona from Nicaragua and Savannah from Africa. Tona goes down really easy, nice and refreshing and you can drink several of them. Now Savannah is a cider, so some would say it’s not really a beer, but yes it is…I don’t even want to know how may Savannah’s I consumed while on our African Safari. But if I had to pick one, Tona win’s as it was a beer I could drink several of, as Savannah you can only have a few due to it being a cider!

Adam: You expect me to pick a favorite beer of the whole first year? Do you know how many beers I have tried? Well, neither do I, but it was a lot. The only fair way to do it is by region.

• Central America: La Rana Dorada Brewing Co. Porter – Panama City, Panama
• South America: Champiner’s Porter – Bogota Brewing – Colombia
• Oceania: Black Mac’s – Mac’s Brewing – New Zealand
• Asia: Beer Lao Dark – Laos
• Africa: Castle Milk Stout – South Africa

Best Bar:

Hannah: Red Sky in Bangkok, Thailand! High up in the sky this rooftop bar had amazing views, free bar snacks, and happy hour 2 for 1 drink specials on beers & mixed drinks! Adam and I sipped on some mixed drinks while watching the sunset over Bangkok.

Adam: Los Amigos Salento, Colombia. Drinking beer with people from around the world all while playing Tejo, Colombia’s take on corn hole (or bags as some call it) that involves explosives, you just can’t beat it.

Best Dish:

Hannah: Hands down the Penang Chicken Curry at Sunrise Beach Koh Lipe, Thailand. No joke we would go there for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. They even let us order curry for breakfast, curry is good eaten any time of the day. Also, you can’t beat that view while eating the tastiest curry ever.

Adam: Green Curry, same place. Ridiculously good.

Best Sunset:

Hannah: A sunset booze cruise on a catamaran has my name written all over it, and top it off with an amazing sunset and I  am sold. We had such the trip in San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua.

Cutest Cat:

The afternoon that we spent playing with the Cheetah’s in Namibia was something I will never forget. They were just like house cats just a little bigger!

---

Year 2 – Travel Recap

Month 13

Month 13 started in Germany where we had Adam’s parent’s visiting us for 2 weeks. They landed just before our 1 year travel anniversary in Frankfurt Germany on June 29th. It has been one hell of year, pushing me way outside of my comfort zone, and bringing us to 28 countries over past year. We ended this month in Riga, Latvia where we had Hannah’s cousin’s wedding.

Month 13 had us all over, we started in Germany, made our way to Prague, a few days in Krakow, Poland all it did was rain. From there we went back to Germany to explore Berlin, flew to Italy where we made our way to Rome/Florence/Bologna/Venice/Milan over 16 days, and finally ended in Riga.

We both really got into the World Cup, and cheered on Germany from day 1 in Cape Town, South Africa and couldn’t believe we were in Berlin for the final. It was us and one million other German’s cheering them on. We are still writing about the amazing times we had in Africa with Acacia Africa. Check out the new posts: Find out what an African massage is, and watch the sunrise over the sand dunes in Namibia.

Month 17 stats:

It was then time to for our Drunk on Color tour, which would be taking us from Casablanca to Marrakesh visiting 10 cities in total over 14 days. It was a great trip, but we were moving almost every day…busy busy busy! For us it was the perfect way to see Morocco, there is no way we would have seen as much of the country if we didn’t do it this way.

Morocco was so home to all climates. We had hot 90 degree (~30C) days in Casablanca, freezing nights in the Sahara desert, snow in the High Atlas mountains, and rain in Marrakesh. Adam and I hadn’t played in snow in 2 years, so I naturally had to throw a snowball at him!

We got our fill of mint tea, tajine, and Adam even indulged in a camel burger. I gave the camel burger a pass…Adam did report back it was tasty, but after seeing the camel’s head in the market I just couldn’t do. Would you try it?

The highlight of month 17 on our RTW trip was the night we spent in the Sahara desert. We rode camels to our desert camp. Let me tell you, camels are not a comfortable mode of transportation or fast, but the ride was worth the trip to Morocco alone. Once at camp we settled into our tents, enjoyed a great dinner, and drank wine under the stars. We woke up early to ride our camels back to town and catch the sunrise over the sand dunes.

After our time in the desert, it was time to drove through the High Atlas mountains and make our way to Marrakesh.  These roads are not meant for a weak stomach, I was doped up on car sickness pills, can you see why?

I think it was worth the sickness in the end. We had a great scenery and amazing photo opportunities the entire drive. Before we knew it we were in Marrakech, where we had 2 nights before making our way to the beach, yes beach after just being in snow! The beach town of Essaouira is completely different than any other city we visited in Morocco. It had a much more chill vibe, we called it “Morocco light”, we did most of our souvenir shopping here as the vendors weren’t pushy and they started their prices fair, unlike in Fes & Marrakesh. We spent 2 nights catching great sunsets, eating gelato by the sea, and enjoyed the rest of our Drunk on color tour.

Marrakesh is full on Morocco. The markets are so full of color & life. We enjoyed people watching from the rooftop cafes. Adam captured the below just as the sun had set and the night was just beginning. We stayed at Riad Belle Eqoque a lovely riad just 10 min walk from Jemaa el-Fnaa.

From Morocco, we made our way to Istanbul, Turkey but for some reason our flights had us flying into Gatwick London airport with a 13-hour layover and taking off of Heathrow airport…and who would have thought it would cost $80 to take a bus for 40 mins to get between airports! Finally, after 24 hours we reached Istanbul, where we stayed at Sirkeci Mansion which had a ridiculously comfortable bed we never wanted to get out! We aren’t sure if we were just so burnt out of traveling after 500+ days of traveling, or if the rainy weather outside. We spent 4 nights in Istanbul and a good 12 hours a day in this bed…

We flew from Istanbul to the Cappadocia region, where we would be staying in cave hotel outside of the tourist town of Goreme. We were at the foot of a castle, not only have gorgeous views but Kale Konak Cave hotel had gorgeous rooms literally built into a cave. Cappadocia was literally freezing, we even got caught in a snowstorm. We were nervous a cave hotel might be cold, we were wrong. Nice and toasty, with a hot shower that warmed us up nightly.

You can’t go to the Cappadocia without going on a hot air balloon, every morning (weather permitting) 100 balloons take off at sunrise. We were lucky because the balloons only took off 1 out of our 4 days we were in the Cappadocia, the day we were scheduled the balloons were canceled due to high winds but thankfully Voyager Ballons were able to move us to the next day which did take off! The highlight of our trip to Turkey.

Our journey to Chiang Mai, Thailand started at 4 am thanks to a snowstorm in the Cappadocia…our rental car couldn’t make it up the hill to our hotel so we had to get an early start walking with our bags. A total of 4 flights and 26 hours later we landed in Chiang Mai. A quick nap and our apartment search was on. We looked at 3 apartments before signing a lease, we moved in less than 24 hours after landing in Chiang Mai. We now have a great balcony with perfect sunset views.

Favorites

Favorite City: Essaouira, Morocco

Favorite Photo:  Cappadocia, Turkey

December Travel Plans:

We are slowing down finally, it’s safe to say after 500 days on the road we need a break. We have hit a wall, every 3 months we get burnout and it’s happening right now. We have so much yet to write about and we just haven’t had the time. Chiang Mai was the perfect place to sit still and catch up, and really just catch our breath.

Month 18

Month 18 started in  Chiang Mai, Thailand and ended in Chiang Mai, Thailand. December was a month of catching our breath after the whirlwind of month 17. Last month we visited 4 countries and had too many flights (8)…. Month 18 we were recovering from extreme travel burnout mode. By the end of the month, we are feeling all settled into our new apartment make sure to come take a walk through with us here.

Month 18 stats:

---

Item	Day in Country	Food	Drinks	Lodging	Transportation	Activities	Supplies	Visa Related	Misc	Average Daily	Country Total
Belize	10	$210.46	$133.62	$23.00	$65.50	$87.00	$0.00	$37.50	$0.00	$55.71	$557.08
Guatemala	17	$308.86	$157.63	$279.74	$281.26	$447.11	$39.87	$0.00	$0.00	$89.09	$1,514.47
Honduras	10	$240.50	$111.80	$200.00	$230.25	$419.00	$1.25	$0.00	$2.50	$120.53	$1,205.30
Nicaragua	23	$581.83	$59.60	$276.12	$138.72	$142.40	$25.96	$20.80	$5.72	$54.40	$1,251.15
Costa Rica	14	$361.70	$92.90	$0.00	$97.00	$0.00	$24.77	$2.00	$52.84	$45.09	$631.21
Panama	11	$232.10	$98.00	$140.00	$245.00	$109.00	$2.80	$0.00	$0.00	$75.17	$826.90
Colombia	15	$367.64	$47.95	$179.00	$299.09	$100.00	$7.37	$0.00	$54.47	$70.37	$1,055.52
Ecuador	13	$173.79	$57.75	$39.00	$1,138.89	$425.00	$15.94	$0.00	$47.42	$145.98	$1,897.79
Peru	10	$330.42	$68.73	$148.36	$451.00	$829.40	$0.00	$0.00	$194.91	$202.28	$2,022.82
Fiji	15	$1,189.33	$173.43	$385.29	$2,582.71	$284.00	$0.00	$0.00	$79.58	$312.96	$4,694.34
Australia	14	$312.93	$240.08	$709.09	$1,008.03	$707.27	$6.68	$0.00	$0.00	$213.15	$2,984.08
New Zeland	14	$341.92	$107.50	$350.83	$2,468.23	$78.33	$4.17	$0.00	$71.66	$244.47	$3,422.64
Cambodia	15	$391.47	$58.95	$215.00	$406.02	$68.00	$18.90	$40.00	$149.40	$89.85	$1,347.74
Malaysia	17	$320.09	$56.29	$331.34	$289.61	$69.97	$27.52	$0.00	$37.98	$66.64	$1,132.80
Philippines	23	$508.56	$52.06	$333.78	$740.76	$573.11	$31.48	$0.00	$110.00	$102.16	$2,349.75

Belize

Our trip started in the Cayo district in the western part of the country outside of the town of San Ignacio. This was our jungle time where we Bug hunted, bird watched, and rode horses.

From there we spent 4 nights in Hopkins village where we first got to the sea. We got out to experience the local Garifuna culture, went sea kayaking, hiked in Cockscomb Basin, and had a great 4th of July Barbeque.

Next stop was down the coast to Placencia for our final 3 days in Belize. Placencia takes our prize for the best stop. We really loved Placencia we even took time to talk with a realtor… just to see… about maybe someday… The town had just the right level of tourist stuff with plenty to do without being overwhelming. The town still felt like it had a good local presence, along with some good cheap street food and reasonable drinks. Adam needed a reasonably priced bar, so he could try all the beers of Belize! Going snorkeling in the Silk Cayes was a perfect day trip!

Still unsure if killing a chicken on a chicken bus is a highlight or low light…..We will let you be the judge of that.

---

Guatemala – 17 days

We were over our Guatemala budget by about $14/day, maybe we drink too much because we had some friends with us, and we were pretty active too. I guess we will have to be extra cheap in Nicaragua, the next stop!

Our first time in Guatemala was spent in Livingston, which was a quick boat ride away from Punta Gorda, Belize.  Livingston exceeded our expectations, this cute little Caribbean fishing village is worth 2-4 nights for sure.  Livingston was our “home” for 2 nights, as we made our way into Honduras.

After 10 days in Honduras, we took an 8-hour bus ride from Copan to Antigua, Guatemala.  We spent a week in Antigua, we had Spanish lessons 8am-1pm for 5-days, and lived with a local family.  Being in the same city for 7 nights was a change for us, but we really enjoyed it.

Antigua is the most photogenic city we have ever been to, and due to this we had 1,000’s of photos to go through! We fell in love with the houses, and the amazing doors hiding their beautiful courtyards.

Besides studying hard……some more than others…we also had a fun at the local bars in town.  We tried the local Mezcal and after a few shots we needed a little late night food, so we headed over to the most beautiful Mc Donald’s ever. We had friends from home that joined us in Antigua before heading out on our trek!

Off to Xela we went, when we heard the brewery was not too far from our hotel we set off on a mission for a BREWERY TOUR! Well, that didn’t exactly happen, apparently brewery tours aren’t allowed in Guatemala without proper government permission. EPIC FAIL!

We had signed up for a 3 day, 47km hike prior earlier in the year.  We really had no clue what we were signing ourselves up for.  Day 1 of the trek was the hardest thing I have ever done, it was no joke!  Day 2 of the trek wasn’t as bad, but I was on a mission to get to the town where I was promised ice cream would be! It was the best ice cream bar I have ever had, and most real earned too! Waking up at 3:45am on Day 3 of the hike from Xela to Lago Atitlan was rough, especially after our second night sleeping on concrete floors. It was all worth it as we watched the sunrise over Lake Atitlan.

---

Honduras 10 days

The Highlights:

We started our trip on the island of Utila, which was a journey in itself getting to from Livingston, Guatemala. Honduras was also where our first visitor from home came to visit us! We wanted to make sure Catie had at least one beach in her 3 week trip with us!

Our main purpose for coming to Utila was for Adam to get dive certified.  We had pre-arranged his dive shop from back at home, which we highly do not recommend doing.  Wait to pick your dive shop once you are on the island, and you can personally go into the dive shops.

We had an amazing day trip out to Water Cay. It was a perfect little island to spend the day snorkeling and sunning!

After 7 days out on the island of Utila, it was time to hit the mountains and head to Copan.  It was quite a long journey from Utila to Copan, involving a ferry, then a taxi, and then a VERY long bus ride through the mountains!  Copan was a nice change of pace coming from Utila. We really wished we could have spent a few more days there.

Copan is most known for the famous Copan ruins, which we spent several hours wandering through and taking it all in. We also had a great day trip in which we went horseback riding through the mountains, visited an indigenous Mayan village and had the opportunity to visit the local elementary school, and then took a tuk-tuk up the mountains on a 3 hour trip to the lunar jaguar hot springs.  These hot springs were amazing, some of the springs were too hot to even touch!

The best thing of all was that we SURVIVED HONDURAS!! We had heard some many bad things about Honduras, but we really liked Honduras and we plan on returning in the future!

---

Nicaragua Breakdown – 23 days

We had very high expectations of Nicaragua.  Years and years we were saving for our beach house, which we always thought would be in Nicaragua.  So while we were there, we went beach house hunting! For some reason, we thought San Juan del Sur was “our spot”, so we rented an apartment for a week and got to know the town.  We indulged on a catamaran booze cruise, which was great fun and ended with an amazing sunset.

Yet another hike….this hike was another challenging one that ended with a rewarding waterfall at the end! Well worth the sweat lost on the hike,

We planned our time in Nicaragua around the Running with the Bulls in Granada.  It was quite a sight to see, but not what we expected.  We really enjoyed our time in Granada, reminded us of Antigua, Guatemala but hotter. We spent 2 nights in luxury, living like kings & queens!

Having Adam risk his ONLY pair of shorts being modified to be pick-pocket proof by a cute little old Nicaraguan grandma.

Low-Lights

Our first stop in Nicaragua was Leon.  The main draw for backpackers here is the FAMOUS volcano boarding.  Adam may consider this one a highlight, but if you look at the pictures in the post you can tell I am less that thrilled!!!  Was I happy I did it…YES, but would I do it again NO!

---

Costa Rica – 14 days: $631.21

Do not go to Costa Rica expecting to do this budget.  We were lucky to have hotel sponsors for our entire Costa Rica trip, plan on $25 for 2 people in a dorm at a hostel or $40 in a private room.

---

Panama

Panama uses the USD so it was very easy for us to know exactly what things cost, that is when they ACTUALLY had a price tag!

We were so ready to get out of Costa Rica, we kind spent freely in Panama.  We no longer felt taken advantage of, so we ate & drank a little more.  We also learned we will never take our budget to the extremes we did in Costa Rica.  Traveling is not fun when you are living on Bologna let’s just admit it…….So we ate & drank and pretended we were on vacation in Panama!

We spent most of our time relaxing in Bocas del Toro, and 4 nights in Panama City.  It was a good mix of city & beach, and we hadn’t been to a city our entire trip!  We fell in love with Panama City, kinda felt like home a little bit.  I think that is exactly what we needed.  So now you’re wondering how did we do money wise, not too bad if I say it myself! Pretty good if you ask me!

---

Colombia – 15 days

We were ready and really excited to step foot in South America. Lots of other traveler’s stated Colombia was one of their favorite countries. We both didn’t know what to expect to see/find in Colombia. Our family & friends were nervous for us to travel to Colombia. Colombia doesn’t have the best reputation in the past, and most people only know about the past when it comes to Colombia. We were on a mission to discover Colombia on our own, and form our own judgments.

We spent 4 nights in Cartagena, Colombia an old colonial port town. Cartagena was the most expensive city we visited in Colombia, mainly due to the amount of tourists it sees. We didn’t realize the amount of cruise ships they get daily, and Disney cruise ships are the most common. Tourists=Money, which=higher prices. We weren’t the biggest fans of Cartagena, we have many colonial towns and Cartagena wasn’t anything special.

After Cartagena we headed to Cali, again we had no clue what to do there or what to expect. We ended in Cali due to it’s location and cheap flight we found. We flew from Cartagena to Cali for $45 each including luggage. Cali was located only 4 hours away from Salento which we had planned to go and relax for a week. Cali surprised us, it was quite a nice/large/safe city. We found ourselves walking 30 miles in 3 days discovering the city.

Total Spent in Colombia $1,055.51 average of $70.37 a day

---

Ecuador 13 days

Ecuador uses the USD so it was very easy for us to know exactly what things cost, that is when they ACTUALLY had a price tag!

Our last week in Peru we got offered to go on a Galapagos cruise!  How could we turn this down? We couldn’t….so we had to re-look our “plans” and make things work.  We already had a flight into Guayaquil from Colombia on October 7th and a flight out of Quit on October 19th.  The cruise was departing on October 13th and returning on October 20th.  We were able to get flights to the Galapagos on October 13th out of Guayaquil and back to Quito on the 19th.  Luckily it wasn’t a big deal to get dropped off a day early from the cruise.  It actually couldn’t have worked out any better.  Only downside was we only got to see Montanita (which we dreaded), and the Galapagos.  The 5 hours spent in the Quito airport don’t count.  So we will have to return to Ecuador to explore all that we missed and to return to the Galapagos Islands again because they are that amazing.

The Galapagos Islands, where do I begin?  I honestly didn’t know too much about them or what to expect.  What I didn’t expect was to basically us running into sea lions & iguanas, etc. Think of a zoo without cages, that is the Galapagos.  We were fortunate to be guests of Ecoventura, and we cruised with 13 others for 6 nights.  If you get a chance to go it’s worth every penny.

Total Spent in Ecuador $1,854.37 average of $142.64 a day

---

Peru 10 days

Our last stop in South America!!!  We can’t believe Peru is our last country in our South America adventure.  We are already planning our trip back since we missed so many great spots. But nonetheless, here we are in Fiji recapping Peru!  Happy to be here but sad our journey in South America was so short, only being 6 weeks long!

We knew going into Peru it wasn’t going to be very nice to the budget. Only spending 10 days in the country doesn’t let us stretch out the expensive flights & activities out. Our biggest expense was our Inca Trail hike to Machu Picchu, but it was worth every penny of $815 (including tip)!  We booked our trek back in May, as trail permits sell out months in advance.  We also had 2 friends back from home joining us for our entire time in Peru, so we had everything pretty much planned out.  Our second biggest expense was the flight back to Lima from Cusco, which was $275.  Also, traveling with friends, we tend to splurge a little on going out to eat at fancier places, aka LESS plastic chair restaurants! And of course a few more happy hours.

Total Spent in Peru $2,022.82 average of $202.28 a day

---

Fiji – 15 days

Going into Fiji we had no real plans other than to relax on the beach and do a lot of NOTHING!  Adam knew he wanted to get a few dives in, so we factored that into our budget.  We found a good deal on a package that included accommodation, 10 dives, all meals, and transportation from the mainland.  We scheduled that for the first 5 days and then wanted to head up to the Yasawa Islands.  As we heard the further north you went the more beautiful it got, which is true!

Once in the Yasawa, we knew we would spend the rest of the time there, relaxing for 10 straight days.  It was our longest stay to date, and we loved every moment of it.

If you are looking for Paradise, head to Fiji!

Now, what did it cost us, well keep in mind one of the biggest expenses is the flight.  We had two one-way tickets from LAX.  The flight was direct and went by super fast.

We spent 15 days in Paradise.  All prices below in USD, $1USD=1.85 Fijian dollar while we were there.

Total Spent in Fiji $4,694.34 average of $312.96 a day

---

Austrailia – 14 days

Oh Australia…After our beach days in Fiji ended 2 weeks ago, I was excited to get my bum back on my beach blanket.  Our time in Australia was going to be split between  Airlie Beach and Sydney.  We had plans to catch up with the blog and the sun in Airlie, with day trips out to Whitehaven Beach & Great Barrier Reef.  In Sydney, we wanted to catch all the iconic Sydney sights, and some hidden gems only locals know about too.

I knew the day would come when I would have to dig deep into my pockets just to buy a Coke.  Yes, it is true, Australia is quite expensive.  We luckily got an apartment while in Airlie Beach, so we cooked most of the meals, which helped a lot.  We also went to the store at the end of the day, when they had marked down the prices on several items (dairy, meat, veggies, etc).

Now what did it cost us, well keep in mind one of the biggest expenses is the flight.  We came from New Zealand therefore, our flights from Christchurch to Proserpine were a lot cheaper than those coming from USA or Europe.

We spent 14 days in OZ.  All prices below in USD, $1USD=1.10 Australian dollar while we were there.

We were lucky to have stayed with a friend of a friend in Sydney. Thanks again, Jodi, for setting us up with Wes & Whitney. They were great! With no hotel to pay for in Sydney, we used the extra money going out! Wes & Whitney knew about all these fun bars we would have never found.

---

Cambodia 15 days

Finally, we are back on soil with 50cent beers! Cambodia was a country we have been really looking forward to, it would be our 2nd Asian country to date.  We still had my parents with us, as they had wanted to visit Angkor Wat & The Killing Fields. They were with us in Cambodia for 5 days, the other 10 days. We had the best tuk tuk driver in Siem Reap his name with Sok, can’t wait to see him again.

After our time in Siem Reap and Phnom Penh, we made our way to Southern Cambodia to hit up Sihanoukville & Kep.  None of which were anything special, so we just laid low.  This was also my first time being sick on the trip, so overall it was a bust. We will return to Cambodia next year, as we really enjoyed the north, and the kids stole our hearts.

I finally felt good about my bank account situation in Cambodia.  It feels great to go to restaurants and order almost anything on the menu, and not really think twice about it.  We are glad to be back in Asia.

We flew in from Kuala Lumpur, as opposed to coming by land from either Thailand or Vietnam.  This would have been a  much cheaper option, but we had my parent’s with us and limited time.  Also, since they were with us we bought souvenirs that we were able to send back with them.  Normally we don’t purchase any, as my backpack is already busting at the seams!

Total Spent in Cambodia $1,347.73 average of $89.85 a day

As you can see we did our fair share of eating, and not over thinking the menu.  There is some great food to eat in Cambodia, our favorite dish was Nom Banh Chok. This will change in the upcoming countries.

*Please note Cambodia requires a visa to enter the country, most passports are allowed visa on arrival, but always check prior to departure to be sure.

---

Malaysia 17 days

We ended up spending 17 days in Malaysia,  visiting Kuala Lumpur, Langkawi, and Penang. Our first stop was Kuala Lumpur (KL) for 4 days, where we planned our visit around attending the Thaipusam festival at the Batu Caves. At first glance we really liked KL, it was diverse and had anything we could ask for. That all changed after getting robbed in KL, bad things kept happening to us while in this massive and modern city. From KL we headed to the beach, naturally! We found cheap flights to Langkawi; which is an island off the very northern shores of peninsular Malaysia, almost at the Thai border.

Once on Langkawi for a few days, we were bored, there was nothing ‘special’ about it. With Malaysia being a Muslim country there wasn’t much of a nightlife, and alcohol was expensive, and it just didn’t have a fun holiday vibe. The food was okay, just okay. The beach was nice, but that’s about all it had going for it. The best part about the island was the daily good sunsets in Langkawi. After 5 days we escaped to the nearby Thai island of Koh Lipe, which was only a 1.5 hours away by speedboat. We jumped on the opportunity to get to this paradise island, as we had seen all there was to see in Langkawi. Once there we rented a beach hut, and had 5 days in paradise!

After our small detour to Thailand, we headed back to Langkawi on the speedboat, and then directly caught the ferry to Penang. We had heard Penang’s Georgetown has the largest Chinese New Year celebration outside of China. Off we went, only to be YET again disappointed, apparently all the Chinese people go home to be with family, and it’s not a huge festival that we were envisioning. After 3 nights, we headed back to Kuala Lumpur. We already had flights to the Philippines waiting for us here. We found great flights for just $27, so since we were going to be in KL for 5 more nights, we opted to do it in luxury platinum status style.

Malaysia wasn’t anything like we expected, but it we have decided we shouldn’t have expectations anymore.  So back to the wallet details:

Total Spent in Malaysia $1,132.80 –  Average of $66.64 per day for 2 people

---

Philippines 23 days

The Philippines wasn’t on our “for sure route” but a cheap flight from Kuala Lumpur made up our minds to go. Who can pass up a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Manila for $27 with luggage?  We ended up traveling the Philippines for 23 days, before traveling to Vietnam.

Once in the Philippines, we had our eyes on a few destinations. Other travel bloggers rave about El Nido, so we had to go see it for ourselves. Getting to El Nido wasn’t a quick and easy trip, nor was it cheap but well worth it.

Related Article: El Nido Palawan Guide

Adam wanted to get back in the water to go diving, and the island of Coron had several shipwrecks calling him. He decided to get his advanced open water certificate, otherwise, he would not have been able to dive as deep as the wrecks. Lots of people seem to love Boracay, others (mainly local Filipinos) said not to go there and it was overrun with tourists. Well we went, it was beautiful,it was very touristy, but we were able to do Boracay on a budget. We did splurge on a really nice hotel in Boracay for 3 nights on our anniversary. The other nights we stayed at more budget friendly hotels in Boracay.

In all the Philippines are gorgeous, I think the pictures speak for themselves. Adam enjoyed trying all the Filipino food, including the infamous BALUT EGG!

Total Spent in the Philippines average of $102.16 a day

---