Itinerary: 28 Days Around the World

I absolutely love making itineraries. It’s always the first thing I do when I start planning a trip and it ends up being my bible for everything I need before, during, and after the trip.

I want to share some of my favourite itineraries for trips that I’ve taken. This one in particular is one of my favourites. We hit up 6 countries and 13 cities/towns  in 29 days. It was a hectic schedule, but we were hungry to see as much as we could in the limited time we had. Here is a very brief summary of the trip.

Overview

• Countries covered: Turkey, Egypt, Thailand, Singapore, Italy, Switzerland
• Highlights: Pamukkale, Cappadocia, Great Pyramids of Giza, Krabi, Rome, Venice, Amalfi Coast
• Time: May-June, 2015

 

28 Days Around the World Itinerary

 

Day 1: Istanbul, Turkey

• Explored Galata. This the neighbourhood we stayed in and we loved it, definitely check out the Galata Tower and the Galata Bridge.
• Took a Bosphorus Cruise, totally recommended.

Day 2: Istanbul

• Visited the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia. You can’t really go to Istanbul and not come here.
• Attempted to haggle our way through the Grand Bazaar, but probably still overpaid.

Day 3: Istanbul

• Visited Topkapı Palace
• İstiklal Avenue: Come here in the evening for the atmospheric streets and bars.

Day 4: Istanbul-Pamukkale

• Basically a transit day. We flew from Istanbul to Denizli and then took a bus to Pamukkale.

Day 5: Pamukkale

• Spent the day exploring the travertine terraces that Pamukkale is most known for
• In the afternoon we went hang gliding over the terraces and it was AMAZING – this can be easily booked once you’re there
• Overnight bus to Goreme, Cappadocia. This was not the most pleasant but it was the easiest and most efficient way, not to mention the cheapest. Other option would have been to fly back to Istanbul and then fly to Cappadocia.

Day 6: Goreme, Cappadocia

• Arrived bright and early. Checked into our hotel and explored Goreme, including the Open Air Museum.
• Booked our hot air balloon flight for the next morning.

Day 7: Goreme, Cappadocia

• HOT AIR BALLON FLIGHT! Aka the most magical experience ever.
• Our flight was at sunrise and we were back at the hotel by 8am. Decided to go on one of the popular tour routes around Cappadocia – the Green Tour.

Day 8: Goreme – Istanbul

• Woke up at sunrise again, this time to watch the balloons rise.
• Flew from Kayseri-Istanbul.

Day 9: Istanbul – Cairo, Egypt

• We scheduled this 14-hour layover in Cairo because we wanted to see the Pyramids.
• Our private layover tour of Cairo included the Pyramids, Saqqara, Memphis, Islamic Cairo and the Khan el Khalili Bazaar.

Day 10: Cairo – Bangkok, Thailand

• Arrived in Bangkok by noon and ready to eat. My favourite thing about Bangkok was the food. We stayed near Terminal 21 and its food court was to die for.
• Wandered around Sukhumvit, the nightlife is insane. It’s so hot during the day I think everyone just comes out at night.

Day 11: Bangkok

• Visited the Grand Palace and Wat Pho. We wanted to go to Wat Arun but it was under construction when we were there.

Day 12: Bangkok – Ao Nang, Krabi

• Checked into Ban Sainai Resort in Ao Nang, Krabi. Highly recommend this place, it’s absolutely gorgeous.
• Continued our Thai food marathon in Ao Nang, one of our favourite restaurants was Boat Noodle.

Day 13: Railay Beach, Phra Nang Beach

• These two were the picture perfect Thai beaches that you see on postcards, complete with the long tail boats and limestone cliffs.

Day 14: Ao Nang, Krabi – Bangkok

• Spent the day hanging out in Ao Nang before returning to Bangkok

Day 15: Bangkok – Singapore

• 12 hour daytime layover in Singapore. This seems short but we managed to do a lot.
• We ate at a hawker centre, walked around the Marina Bay area, went on the Singapore Flyer, got a drink on the Marina Bay Sands rooftop bar, checked out the Gardens by the Bay, and ate chilli crab at Jumbo Seafood.

Day 16: Singapore – Rome, Italy

• Arrived in Rome early morning. Rested for a bit before heading out to explore the Colosseum, Palatine Hill, Roman Forum, and ended the day in Trastevere.

Day 17: Rome

• Visited the Trevi fountain, Pantheon, Spanish Steps, and Villa Borghese. In between we wandered many charming streets while eating lots of pasta, pizza, and gelato.

Day 18: Rome – Venice

• Visited the Vatican in the morning before taking an afternoon train to Venice.

Day 19: Venice

• Explored Venice and got very lost many times, which is pretty much the norm there. Picnicked by the Grand Canal in the evening with pizza and wine from Antico Forno, which turned out to be our go-to pizza joint because it was amazing.

 Day 20: Burano & Murano

• Took a ferry to explore Burano and Murano. If you are in Venice do not miss Burano. It is one of the most charming and colourful places I’ve ever been.

Day 21: Venice – Sorrento

• Took the train to Naples before transferring to a local train to Sorrento. This local train (the Circumvesuviana) was pretty sketchy and unpleasant so beware.
• Watched the most spectacular sunset in Sorrento and ate delicious seafood in the Marina Grande.

Day 22: Capri

• Boat tour to Capri. The boat took us around the coast of the island where we got to see the amazing grottos and rock formations (the Faraglioni). It then dropped us off at the marina and we got to explore the island.
• We walked around Capri and ate the best Caprese sandwich ever. Then we hopped on a bus to Anacapri where we took the chairlift up to Monte Solaro – the views were insane.

Day 23: Pompeii & Sorrento

• Explored the archaeological site of Pompeii. Pretty fascinating and a must if you’re in the area.
• Wandered around Sorrento some more. It actually turned out to be my favourite stop in the Amalfi Coast (yes, even more so than Positano).

Day 24: Sorrento – Positano

• Took the bus to Positano in the morning. This place is even more spectacular than it looks in pictures – how is that possible? Then spent the afternoon relaxing at the beach and exploring the town.

Day 25: Positano

• Hiked the Path of the Gods (Sentiero Degli Dei), a trail that takes you high up along the Amalfi coast with incredible views of pretty much everything.
• Ate dinner at La Sponda, the Michelin-star restaurant at Le Sirenuse. To this date this has been my favourite meal ever.

Day 26: Positano – Rome

• Wandered around Positano a bit more before returning to Rome in the evening. To avoid taking the sketchy Circumvesuviana train again, we took a ferry from Positano to Salerno before taking the train from Salerno-Naples-Rome.

Day 27: Rome – Zurich, Switzerland

• Arrived in Zurich by noon and headed out to explore the city. Walked around the old town and checked out Ltake Zurich. The weather wasn’t great so we couldn’t see the Alps unfortunately.

Day 28: Zurich – Toronto

• Ate breakfast in Zurich before hitting the airport to head back home.

 

And that’s it! While we didn’t spend as much time in some places as we wanted, it was a great introduction to each destination and we definitely plan to return to some of them. Would you do a trip like this? Have any questions? Let me know in the comments!