Since the beginning of the year, my wife and I are constantly working on the project of our lives; sell everything to travel across North and Central America with our children. Two weeks ago, we made another big step by putting our house up for sale. Since we plan to leave sometime in summer 2016, we are giving ourselves about a year to sell our house. What if we sell right now, this summer? Well… we will live half the time in our RV and half the time at my mother’s house I guess! This would probably be the best case scenario considering that I could save tons of money while keeping my day job and being debt free! We’ll see, I already had my first visit last weekend!
Another Big Step: The Travel Itinerary!
Today, I want to share with you another big step for us: the first draft of our itinerary! The green line is the first trip down to Costa Rica and the blue line is the way back home:
Itinerary Milestones:
There are several places that I am eager to visit starting as close as Niagara Falls and as far as Marietas Island in Mexico going through Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks. Here’s a quick list of highlights of our trip so far. The Central America part is less detailed at the moment as we will work on it this summer.
Canada, my home and native land
We will start our travel by getting used to RVing while traversing Canada. I don’t expect to make many stops until we reach Alberta. Then, we will visit the Dinosaurs Park and head up north to spend a few weeks in the Rockies (Jasper & Banff National Parks). I expect to do lots of hiking and cliffhanging during this part of the trip. Then, we will go through the Okanagan Valley where I have family and the wine is World Class! Meanderingover to Vancouver, I will take a ferry to VancouverIsland as I have to show my kids the beauty of Victoria and really want to see the beaches & orcas in Tofino.
USA, The Western Adventure
Our first trip to the USA will be on the West Coast. We really wanted to do the mythic Western Coast road from Oregon to Mexico but we also wanted to visit the beautiful Grand Tetons and Yellowstone National Parks. This is why you see two loops inland before we continue on the road to Mexico. The second loop is to detour through Las Vegas, going through the Death Valley and boondocks in Monument Valley. I expect to spend a few weeks in California too. I really enjoyed my first trip there when I was 9, I guess San Francisco will be even better today! We will finish the state of California and continue our route in Baja California, Mexico!
Mexico, Somberos, Tacos and Chillos!
Once entered in Mexico through Baja California, we will begin “beach mode”. We expect to travel only by day and through paid route to avoid any potential problems. I’m looking forward chilling in Los Cabos, visiting Marietas Island and the ruins in Oaxaca. The ride through Mexico should take about 2 months, but we haven’t figure all the places we will stay.
The Final Route to Costa Rica
After leaving Mexico, the plan is unclear as to how long it will take to go to Costa Rica. We have to go through Guatemala, El Salvador, and Nicaragua. These are poor countries and we will have to do lots of research on them to make sure we stay on the right path. I don’t expect to spend more than a month to do this part of the trip.
Our New Home in Costa Rica
After 5-6 months of traveling, we expect to take a pause in Costa Rica. We should arrive around December and celebrate Christmas there. We want to rent a house (a casita) for 3 months before we return. We might extend our trip to 4 months, break up the stay with a visit to Panama. It will be a great time to relax from our trip and help the RV rest a bit before we start back. I hope my son will be able to play soccer in Costa Rica for a few games at least while my daughter wants to learn how to surf and do some horseback riding. Yeah… it will be the hard life! Hahaha!
The Way Back Home
Then again, the path through Central America is unclear. We want to do the Atlantic Coast, especially to spend some time in Yucatán, Mexico. Depending on how we enjoy our trip to these countries, we might stay between 2 and 4 months until we reach the USA again. I have several stops planned that I’m looking forward in the USA such as New Orleans, going back to Disney with the kids, we might drop down to see the Keys, I’m looking forward to learning more about US history driving up the East Coast (Charlottetown, Washington DC, etc) and we will definitely stop in NYC and Boston before we arrive back in Canada.
Then Hitting Home
“Home” as I call it won’t ever be the same after this trip. In fact, “home” will become my RV soon enough and wherever I go will be where I belong. We expect the trip to last around 12-13 months and then, I hope to come back as an internet entrepreneur and never have a day job again. This is very exciting!
What do you think about my itinerary? Any places you suggest?
PSST! During this trip! I’m also looking forward to meeting with investors! I hope we can enjoy a coffee or drink a beer and talk about dividend stocks one day!
I like the map Mike. I actually thought you were out in western Canada, so now I know. It’s also good to have Florida on the route. Stop by Tampa and I’ll meet you for a drink.
Be sure to research the roads of the main highway running though Central America, before you go. I’ve heard they get sketchy the further south you go from Mexico. A guy I know did the route on a dirt bike and it was fine, but an acquaintance I met tried to do it in a well equipped Toyota Land Cruiser…..and struggled mightily. That one finally paid someone to haul his truck north by rail/ferry. I hear there is a good episode of Anthony Bordain that shows the roads in Panama/Costa Rica/Hondura/Nicaragua. Might be worth a look.
-Bryan
Hello Bryan!
I’ll definitely give you a shout when I’m in Tampa!
Thx for the tip, I’ll check out Bordain’s episode and dig deeper (so my RV doesn’t stay stuck in Mexico!)
DG,
Epic trip you have planned. And to do it with kids, I’m envious!
I spent about 3.5 months slowly moving through Central America. Costa Rica is nice, but much more expensive than their neighbors. Nicaragua is actually one of the safer countries down there. Once you are down there, the distances are very short, so I’d expect you’ll find little enclaves of comfort where you’ll want to spend more time (Antiqua, Guatemala for example is cheap, safe and beautiful). Granada Nicaragua is also quite nice.
Send me an email if you ever have any random Q’s about Central America. If I can help I will. I’ve been to all the countries except El Salvador.
I’m in the DC suburbs, would be cool to have a beer.
-RBD
Hey RBD!
thx for the help! questions will surely comes as we defined further our itinerary. I didn’t expect Guatemala to be safe, I might stop there for more than a few days then!
We’ll be in touch soon! cheers,
Mike
That looks amazing! I’m super jealous.
Thought you might find this article helpful for building out a route:
http://www.randalolson.com/2015/03/08/computing-the-optimal-road-trip-across-the-u-s/
wow! great job putting this itinerary together! I’ll surely have a look! I’ll have to skip center USA if I want to keep my trip within my time frame but I’ll check both coasts!
thx!
Mike
hey dg,
I live near Vancouver so if you’re meeting up with like minded investors let me know as I’d like to meet up.
It’s nice everywhere here!
Ahmed
Hello Ahmed,
I’ve been to BC three times already, definitely my favorite province in Canada! I wish Real Estate was cheaper so I could move there!
I’ll let you know when I’m around!
Mike
Coming south through Baja visit Mexican wine country Valle de Guadalupe. One the way back you should definitely see some of the ruins coming through the Yucatan. Chichin Itza and Tulum get a lot of tourists, but Coba and especially Ek Balam are worth a visit. And if you make it to the Florida Keys, the State Park system has oceanfront camp sites at Curry Hammock and Long Key that are amazing, but you’ll need to reserve them well in advance.
Hello Nazar,
thx for the tips! I love wine, I won’t miss the Valle de Guadalupe!
Cheers,
Mike
My recommendation on your way back in Mexico try to avoid state of Tamaulipas, is not safe even for mexicans at this time.
Take your time in Riviera Maya there are so much lo enjoy and history
And try to visit Mexico City, is a fantastic cosmopolitan place with museums, parks, history, castles, and so on
Press On and keep your dreams alive!!!
That trip plan sounds pretty exciting. Your FI date is now in minus 362 days 😉
Based on your itinerary, it looks like we might not be able to meet up. If you change it, let me know.
I would need a hint as to where I have to go through to meet with you 😉
I’m jealous! It looks like an incredible trip. If you get the chance you should check out Hotel Suyapa Beach (Poneloya and Las Penitas Beaches), Nicaragua (just west of Leon).
I was in Costa Rica/ Nicaragua for a medical mission trip back in 2004 and that hotel was one of the stops along the way. Right on the ocean, good food, and really cheap drinks. One of the highlights of the trip! It would be fun to visit again and see how things have changed.
That is honestly the coolest thing ever. I too have plans to see the world. I want to visit Germany, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and Brazil before I turn 30.
Hey Mike,
Trip looks amazing.. Like I’ve mentioned before it is something our family is looking to do in the next decade or so, so I can’t wait to keep up with your journey.
Love to grab a beer when you make your way through the foothills here in Calgary. Also have spent lots of time in Belize and Honduras. Some great locations there and for great $ as compared to Costa Rica. And Belize is english lol.
Have a great adventure!
Hey Jason!
I have the feeling I’ll add many stop throughout my trip to share some times with readers. This will be amazing!
It’s tough to keep going our “normal” life right now while we prepare our trip. It’s like living a double secret life! hahaha!
Awesome trip you have planned. This is the best education you can give your kids. Good to see you are not waiting until “retirement age” – like we did. A lifestyle career that’s portable is definitely the better way to go. We enjoy our RV – but not full-time. I’m on the West Coast so can give you a few tips for your visit. Re: whale watching. Tofino has mostly grey whales. If you want to see Orcas, you’d be better off visiting Sayward or Telegraph Cove. They’ll drop a microphone into the water so you can hear them communicate. Truly a magical experience! I live in the Gulf Islands. We have resident orcas in our waters and will see them from time-to-time. The Gulf Islands are also worth a visit. Far too many highlights to mention. Just Google, for more info. Two RV parks to consider. The Living Forest is just south of Nanaimo and West Bay Marina is in the Victoria harbour. You can either walk downtown from there, or go to the Brewpub – Spinnakers – or talk the mini harbour ferries to the Empress Hotel. So many adventures ahead for you. Enjoy every minute!
Meant to say “take” the mini ferries – not “talk.”
Hello Jan,
thank you for all your advises! I’ll make sure to check the 2 RV parks!