Quote from miamia on February 3, 2025, 10:36 pm

Hi all,

I'm planning on going travelling and I have come up with a rough plan and budget which I would love some feedback on.

I am really into my wildlife and photography, so seeing the wilder side of the places I go will be one of my main priorities. I also want to spend 8 weeks doing some conservation/research scuba diving volunteering.

I will be doing things on budget: dorm rooms in hostels, travelling overland, cooking for myself in Australia, rarely drinking alcohol, etc.

I have an allergy to peanuts, not incredibly serious but serious enough for me to need to avoid them. So obviously this will not make SE Asia, but I am planning on sticking to Western and supermarket food where available and otherwise go with plain rice or meats/veg cooked on BBQ's etc where I feel I can't trust the local food. But it probably means I can't go too far off the beaten track.

So here's my rough plan with some specific ideas thrown in:
6 weeks in SE ASIA:
Thailand:
• Week 1- Fly UK-> Bangkok. Explore Bangkok for a few days then head to Khao Yai National Park for an organised tour for a few days.
• Week 2- Head north via Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai
Laos: (One of my friends advised I skip Laos and go to Vietnam instead- opinions welcome!)
• Week 3- Huay Xai (Maybe the gibbon experience), slow boat to Luang Prebang, few days in Luang Prebang
• Week 4- Head south to the Paske region (possibly via the caves at Tham Kong Lo), to hit up the cool water falls at the Bolaven Plateau and then onto Si Phan Don.
Cambodia:
• Week 5: a week or so working down the Mekong or visiting the wilder eastern side
• Week 6: Phom Pehn to Siem Reap and three days around Angkor, back to Bankok

Diving volunteering- (End Feb - End April) - 8 weeks volunteering on a research/conservation project in Thailand? or the Philippines? Still picking between the two!

6 weeks in Australia: - probably travelling mostly by bus, or campervan if I can find people to share with
• Week 1: Fly to Darwin, Kakadu National Park, down to Alice Springs and Uluru
• Week 2: Uluru/outback, head to Queensland (possibly by air if I can afford), explore some Aussie rainforest
• Week 3-6: travel down the East coast to Sydney or Melbourne. Fly back to the UK

Here's my budget, excluding the 8 weeks volunteering which would vary in price depending on where I choose:
Kit/vaccines/insurance/ £1,500
Flights £1,500
Asia 6 weeks(£200 a week) £1,200
Aus 6 weeks (£450 a week) £2,700

Total: £6,900 (excluding cost of scuba volunteering)

I do have the flexibility to go higher than this if needed for emergencies or if something very cool came along, but would this be a reasonable budget to aim for?

Any recommendations on where exactly to go or how I should change my itinerary are welcome!

Thanks for your help.