Bucket list for 2016

So it is time to share the plans for this year, or at least start daydreaming about our bucket list of the places we want to go in 2016:

1.Namibia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe

In January we are doing an 8-day camping safari through Namibia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe. Visiting the Okavango Delta, Caprivi region, Chobe National Park and the Victoria Falls… Yupi. Can’t wait for this trip! We are so excited about this true African experience 🙂 We are also going to visit Swakopmund and Dunes in Namibia and experience a few radical adventures like Quad bikes, Sandboarding, and Rafting.

Days: 15

Budget:  2750 USD/person

2. São Tomé and Principe

São Tomé and Principe consists of two islands, situated in the equatorial Atlantic and Gulf of Guinea. The distance between Angola and the islands is 1220 Kilometers and it takes about 1h50 min to get there by plane. They are small islands, São Tomé is 50 km long and 30 km wide, Principe is 30 km wide and 6 km wide, so we can check it through a nice but short road trip.  Other than that, we believe it is a nice place to relax, lay by the beach and escape from the craziness of Luanda. It also has National park surrounded by forest, mountains, and waterfalls good for trekking and relieving your stress.

Budget: 1000 USD/person

Days: 7

3. Malange and waterfalls of Kalandula, Angola

Kalandula falls are situated in  Malange, 350 km from Luanda, about  5 hours by car. On the Lucala River, the falls, are 105 meters high (344 feet) and 400 meters wide. They are one of the largest waterfalls by volume in Africa. The best time to visit the falls is during the rainy season from September to April. On the way to Malange, we will try to visit the black rocks of Pungo Andongo, they are a series of rock formations, spectacularly shaped in different forms.

Budget: 250 USD/ person

Days: 3 days

4. Lubango, Angola

Lubango is the capital of the Huila province. The distance between Lubango and Luanda is 900 kilometers, to get there it takes about 13h00 by car and 1h20 by plane. The major attractions of Lumbago are the Cristo Rei, Serra da Leba and Fenda da Tundavala. Cristo Rei is a statue of the Christ overlooking the city of Lubango, similar to the ones in Brazil and Portugal, is 30 meters high. Serra da Leba is a mountain range, 50 km from Lubango. It’s impressive for its altitude and for the Serra da Leba pass with 56 curves some quite dangerous – A good rival to our favorite Stelvio pass, in Italy.Fenda da Tundavala situated in Serra da Leba,  with an abyss of 1500 mt is quite scaring even to look at. It is said that during the civil war they threw their enemies down the Fenda.

Budget: 500 USD/ person

Days: 4

5. Trans-Siberian and Trans-Mongolian

We always wanted to do this one… go from Moscow to Beijing via Mongolia on the Trans-Siberian train. With a length of 9,289 km, it is the longest railway line in the world, it connects Moscow with Vladivostok (the city of Russia’s borders with China and North Korea). The Trans-Mongolian Railway starts in Ulan-Ude (Russia) heads south to Ulaan-Baatar (Mongolia) before making its way southeast to Beijing (China). Our aim is to visit Russia (Moscow and St Petersburg), Mongolia (Ulan Bator, Gobi desert) and China (Beijing, the great wall of China). So we are doing the Trans- Siberian until Ulan-Ude, and then catch the Trans- Mongolian train until Beijing.

Budget: 2500 USD / person

Days: 20

6. South East Asia

This one is tricky, it will depend on our the budget and time available. But if we have those two in the equation, when we finish the Trans-Mongolian instead of returning home we will explore South East Asia.

So Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, Malaysia are some countries we would like to go. If not we have 2017 🙂

Budget and duration for this are still being planned.

What are your plans for this year? What is your bucket list for 2016?