The Long Way
Around
Swimmers at dusk on La Punta, Zicatela, Puerto Escondido

BNE17·02·2027one-way-ish

The long way around*

Brisbane to Bolivia via London, the Salzburg ski slopes, Munich and every wiggle of the map between Mexico City and the salt flats. About a year. Barely a plan. That’s the point.

—days
—hrs
—min

until wheels-up · 10:10am · BNE

*about 37,500 km of it, as the crow flies

Start scrolling

The deal

Four flights booked.
Everything else is a maybe.

Booked

Paid for, in the inbox, not moving. Solid lines and pink stamps.

Maybe

Pencilled in, dreamt about, argued over. Dashed lines. Subject to vibes, weather and whoever we meet on the bus.

Already in the bag

The bit that’s actually booked.

Twenty-one days, three continents, four boarding passes. After 10 March, the tickets stop and the story starts.

China SouthernEconomy · bags checked

BNEBrisbane
CANGuangzhou
Date
Wed 17 Feb
Departs
10:10
Lands
17:15
Booked01

China SouthernRed-eye · after the dumplings

CANGuangzhou
LGWLondon Gatwick
Date
Thu 18 Feb
Departs
01:30
Lands
06:30
Booked02

British Airways · BA EuroflyerDirect · cabin bag only · rent the skis

LGWLondon Gatwick
SZGSalzburg
Date
Mon 22 Feb
Departs
08:55
Lands
11:55
Booked03

Train, probablyNights & transfer still open

SZGSalzburg
MUCMunich
Date
Before 10 Mar
Departs
after skiing
Lands
for pretzels
Maybe—

Iberia · one stop~17 hrs · cabin bag only · the big one

MUCMunich
MEXMexico City
Date
Wed 10 Mar
Departs
12:10
Lands
22:10
Booked04
A brightly painted ferry at San Jorge with Concepción volcano on Ometepe behind

less hurry.

more life.

Follow the line

West, west,
then south.

Keep scrolling and the planet turns with us. Pink is booked. Blue dashes are the route our Google Maps pins are pulling us along, stop by stop, all the way to the salt. The little dots are every place we’ve saved.

  1. Booked17 Feb 2027 · 10:10

    Brisbane

    Queensland, Australia · 0 km

    Last flat white for a while. Bags zipped, house handed over, heads spinning.

    Brisbane River and city skyline

  2. Booked17 Feb · 8h layover

    Guangzhou

    Guangdong, China · 7,082 km

    Technically a layover. Spiritually a dumpling run under the Canton Tower.

    Huacheng Square and Canton Tower lit up at night

  3. Booked18–22 Feb

    London

    England · 16,557 km

    Land 6:30am, jet-lagged and cold. Thames walks, Borough Market lunches and maybe a show if we can stay awake.

    Stalls and shoppers inside Borough Market

  4. Booked22 Feb, 11:55

    Salzburg

    Austria · 17,588 km

    Fortress views, Old Town lanes, Mirabell Gardens in their winter coat. Possibly snow. Definitely strudel.

    Aerial view of Hohensalzburg Fortress above the city

  5. MaybeLate Feb · powder, hopefully

    Skiing in the Alps

    Zell am See–Kaprun, Salzburgerland · 17,645 km

    About an hour and a half on the train from Salzburg: ski runs down to a frozen lake, and the Kitzsteinhorn glacier up top. We’re on cabin bags, so rent the lot. Last snow for a year.

    Snowy Zell am See town and lake below ski runs on the mountain

  6. MaybeLate Feb → 10 Mar

    Munich

    Bavaria, Germany · 17,774 km

    Train over when the legs give out. Marienplatz, the English Garden, a beer hall farewell to winter.

    The English Garden with Munich's Old Town towers beyond

  7. Booked10 Mar · 22:10

    Mexico City

    CDMX, Mexico · 27,621 km

    The last booked thing. From here on it’s buses, boats and gut feel. Tacos al pastor at midnight to celebrate.

    Aerial view of the Palacio de Bellas Artes, Mexico City

  8. MaybeSam’s pinApril-ish

    Oaxaca & San José

    Oaxaca, Mexico · 28,078 km

    Mole and mezcal in Oaxaca city, then up into the misty pine mountains of San José del Pacífico on the road to the coast.

    Sunset over the mountains from Hierve el Agua

  9. MaybeSam’s pinStay till it hurts to leave

    Puerto Escondido

    Oaxacan coast, Mexico · 28,148 km

    Watch Zicatela’s monsters from the sand and surf La Punta. Then along the coast: Chacahua’s lagoon, Mazunte, and the point at Barra de la Cruz.

    Two kids playing in the shore break at sunset on Zicatela Beach

  10. MaybeSam’s pinThe long bus east

    Holbox

    Quintana Roo, Mexico · 29,346 km

    No cars, sand streets, hammocks over the water. The overnight bus from the Pacific side will be worth it.

    A palm-lined white-sand beach on Holbox

  11. MaybeBoth pinnedBelize

    Caye Caulker

    Belize · 29,771 km

    Go slow on the island that says so on its signs. Snorkel the reef, look down into the Great Blue Hole.

    Aerial view of Caye Caulker and its turquoise channel

  12. MaybeBoth pinnedMaya country

    Belize ruins & Tikal

    Belize → Petén, Guatemala · 29,990 km

    Xunantunich, Lamanai, Altun Ha and Thousand Foot Falls on the Belize side. Then Flores on its lake, and Tikal’s temples poking out of the jungle.

    Temple I at Tikal, a steep stone pyramid

  13. MaybeSam’s pinDeep in the jungle

    Semuc Champey

    Lanquín, Guatemala · 30,139 km

    Stepped turquoise pools on top of a river that disappears underground. Tubing, caves by candlelight.

    Turquoise stepped pools of Semuc Champey among jungle

  14. MaybeSam’s pinGuatemala

    Lake Atitlán

    San Pedro La Laguna, Guatemala · 30,309 km

    Three volcanoes, one impossibly blue lake, little boats between villages. A strong contender for “we stayed a month by accident.”

    Lake Atitlán with volcanoes rising from its shore

  15. MaybeBoth pinnedSpanish school?

    Antigua & Acatenango

    Guatemala · 30,369 km

    Cobbles and yellow arches, then the big one: an overnight on Acatenango watching Fuego erupt. Down to El Paredón’s black sand to recover.

    Santa Catalina Arch framing Volcán de Agua in Antigua

  16. MaybeBoth pinnedEl Salvador

    El Zonte & Santa Ana

    El Salvador (+ Copán, Honduras) · 30,511 km

    Point breaks at El Zonte and El Sunzal, a hike up to Santa Ana’s green crater lake, Playa Las Flores in the east. Copán’s Maya ruins just over the border.

    The turquoise crater lake inside Santa Ana volcano

  17. MaybeSam’s pinNicaragua

    León & Las Peñitas

    Nicaragua · 30,848 km

    The whitest cathedral in Central America (you can walk on the roof), then surf and sunsets at Las Peñitas.

    León Cathedral's white facade

  18. MaybeSam’s pinVolcano island

    Granada, Ometepe & Popoyo

    Nicaragua · 31,023 km

    Colourful Granada, the ferry to twin-volcano Ometepe, horses on the island. Then Popoyo for horse surfing (yes, really) and San Juan del Sur.

    Painted ferry at the dock with Concepción volcano behind

  19. MaybeSam’s pinCosta Rica

    Santa Teresa

    Nicoya, Costa Rica · 31,235 km

    Dirt roads, easy beach breaks, the waterfall walk at Montezuma. Sunsets that make everyone stop talking.

    Fishermen on rocks at sunset, Playa Santa Teresa

  20. MaybeSam’s pinInland detour

    La Fortuna

    Arenal, Costa Rica · 31,344 km

    Hot rivers at the foot of a perfect cone, hanging bridges, sloths if we look up long enough.

    Arenal volcano rising over rainforest

  21. MaybeSam’s pinThe wild south

    Osa & Corcovado

    Costa Rica · 31,593 km

    Manuel Antonio, Dominical and Uvita on the way down. Then the wildest corner: Corcovado, jungle hostels, and the long left at Pavones.

    A small palm-covered point on the Corcovado coast

  22. MaybeSam’s pinCaribbean side

    Puerto Viejo → Bocas

    Costa Rica → Panama · 31,753 km

    Reggae-slow Puerto Viejo and Manzanillo, then over the border to Bocas’ stilt houses. Back to the Pacific via Boquete coffee, Santa Catalina and Playa Venao.

    Aerial view of Bocas del Toro's stilt houses

  23. MaybeSam’s pinPanama → by sea

    San Blas

    Guna Yala, Panama · 32,132 km

    No road crosses the Darién Gap, so we sail it: a few days hopping palm islands on a small boat to Colombia.

    A small palm-covered island in the San Blas archipelago

  24. MaybeSam’s pinHello, South America

    Cartagena

    Colombia · 32,503 km

    Bougainvillea-drowned walls and a night in the house on the water off Santa Cruz del Islote. Continent number two.

    Colourful colonial street in Cartagena draped in bougainvillea

  25. MaybeSam’s pinSierra Nevada

    Minca & Ciudad Perdida

    Santa Marta, Colombia · 32,675 km

    Hammocks in the hills at Minca, then four or five days walking through jungle to the Lost City.

    Thatched huts along the Ciudad Perdida trek

  26. MaybeBoth pinnedColombia’s middle

    Barichara → Salento

    Colombia · 33,415 km

    Cobbled Barichara and the Chicamocha canyon, then wax palms taller than seems reasonable in the Cocora valley.

    Tall wax palms on green hills in the mist, Cocora Valley

  27. MaybeSam’s pinSmall plane, big ocean

    Nuquí & El Valle

    Chocó Pacific, Colombia · 33,649 km

    Only reachable by little plane or boat. Jungle meets black-sand surf at Cabaña Tello; humpbacks visit around Jul–Oct.

    Sunset over rocky islets at Nuquí

  28. MaybeJasmin’s pinEcuador

    Cotopaxi

    Machachi, Ecuador · 34,338 km

    Jasmin’s orders: stay at the Secret Garden, wake up to a snow-capped volcano. Cross the equator on the way.

    Snow-capped Cotopaxi volcano above grassland

  29. MaybeSam’s pinSurf town

    Montañita

    Ecuador · 34,631 km

    Ecuador’s party-surf town. Waves by day, questionable decisions by night.

    Beach and headland at Montañita

  30. MaybeSam’s pinNorth Peru

    Huanchaco & Chicama

    Peru · 35,349 km

    Reed-boat fishermen who’ve been surfing for centuries, and Chicama, one of the longest left-hand waves on the planet.

    Totora reed boats stood upright on Huanchaco beach

  31. MaybeSam’s pinCordillera Blanca

    Huaraz

    Peru · 35,587 km

    Glacier-blue Laguna 69 at 4,600 m. Our lungs will have opinions.

    Turquoise Laguna 69 under snowy peaks

  32. MaybeSam’s pinDesert oasis

    Lima & Huacachina

    Peru · 36,129 km

    A stop at Sierra Morena outside Lima, then sandboarding into a desert oasis.

    Huacachina oasis surrounded by huge sand dunes

  33. MaybeSam’s pinPeru · 3,400 m up

    Cusco & Waqrapukara

    Peru · 36,543 km

    Acclimatise, then Machu Picchu, the Sacred Valley and the horned ruins of Waqrapukara that hardly anyone visits.

    Machu Picchu with Huayna Picchu behind under dramatic clouds

  34. MaybeInto Bolivia

    Lake Titicaca

    Peru / Bolivia · 36,952 km

    Isla del Sol, Inca terraces, water so blue at 3,800 metres that it looks fake.

    Terraced hillside and turquoise bay on Isla del Sol, Lake Titicaca

  35. MaybeBolivia

    La Paz

    Bolivia · 37,074 km

    A city spilling down a canyon under snowy Illimani. Ride the cable cars at dusk; take the stairs slowly.

    La Paz filling the valley below snow-capped Illimani

  36. MaybeThe finish line (roughly)

    Salar de Uyuni

    Bolivia · 20.13°S · 37,483 km

    The biggest salt flat on Earth. In the wet season it turns into a mirror and you walk on sky. Seems like the right place to stop. For now.

    A 4x4 reflected perfectly on the flooded Salar de Uyuni

Straight from our shared list

81 pins
and counting.

Every place we’ve saved to “Central-/South America 🏄🏻‍♀️” on Google Maps. It’s mostly waves, then jungle, then ruins. Tap a dot to see what it is.

Sam 65Jasmin 16Planned route

Tap a dot

Every pin tells a story.

Sam has saved 65 of these, mostly surf breaks. Jasmin’s 16 are all ruins, glaciers and crater lakes, and six of them are well past Bolivia.

    Suspiciously far south

    The finish line
    is negotiable.

    The plan says Bolivia. The pins say otherwise. Chile, Argentina and Brazil keep sneaking onto the list: Patagonia’s ice, the surf at Pichilemu, Villarrica’s volcano, Bonete’s hidden beach. The sequel, or the extension?

    Swirling blue and white marble cave walls over turquoise water
    Marble CavesChile · Jasmin’s pin
    The Perito Moreno glacier face above a lake
    Los GlaciaresArgentina · Jasmin’s pin
    White dunes with a blue rainwater lagoon
    Lençóis MaranhensesBrazil · Jasmin’s pin
    Flooded Amazon riverbank with a stilt house near Iquitos
    IquitosPeruvian Amazon · Sam’s pin

    The year, roughly

    Fourteen-ish months.
    One loose rhythm.

    Everything after 10 March is a first sketch that follows our pins down the map, with the seasons worth knowing about. Toggle to see just the solid stuff.

    1. Feb2027Brisbane → London → Salzburg
      17
      BNE → CAN 10:10, lands 17:15. Dumplings in Guangzhou.
      18
      CAN → LGW 01:30, lands 06:30. Breakfast, river, nap.
      19–21
      London, loosely South Bank, Borough Market, a museum or a show.
      22
      LGW → SZG 08:55, lands 11:55. Cabin bags only.
      late
      Ski days Zell am See–Kaprun or the Ski Amadé resorts, both an easy trip from Salzburg. Rent gear, eat Kaiserschmarrn at the top.
    2. Mar2027Munich → Mexico City
      early
      Salzburg → Munich A short train. Nights still open.
      10
      MUC → MEX 12:10, one stop, lands 22:10. The last ticket we hold.
      21–28
      Semana Santa Easter week: buses and beaches fill up fast, so book those few days early.
    3. Apr2027Oaxaca & the coast
      ~
      Mountains to the Pacific Oaxaca city, San José del Pacífico, then Puerto Escondido, Chacahua, Mazunte and Barra de la Cruz.
    4. May2027Holbox → Belize
      ~
      Islands and reef Holbox, Caye Caulker, the Blue Hole. Holbox’s whale sharks usually arrive around June, so we might be early.
    5. Jun2027Belize → Guatemala
      ~
      Temples and pools Xunantunich, Lamanai, Tikal from Flores, then Semuc Champey. Green season starts: afternoon downpours.
    6. Jul2027Guatemala → El Salvador
      ~
      Volcanoes and point breaks Atitlán, Antigua, the Acatenango overnight, El Paredón. Then El Zonte, Santa Ana’s crater and a hop to Copán.
    7. Aug2027Nicaragua
      ~
      Cathedral roofs and horse surfing León and Las Peñitas, Granada, Ometepe, Popoyo, San Juan del Sur.
    8. Sep2027Costa Rica
      ~
      Pura vida, lots of rain Santa Teresa, La Fortuna, Manuel Antonio, Uvita, Osa and Pavones. Sep–Oct is the soggiest stretch down south, so pack a proper raincoat.
    9. Oct2027Panama → by sea
      ~
      Two coasts and a sail Puerto Viejo to Bocas, Boquete, Santa Catalina and Venao. Then the San Blas sail to Colombia.
    10. Nov2027Colombia’s Caribbean
      ~
      Walls, water and the Lost City Cartagena and the house on the water, Minca, the Ciudad Perdida trek.
    11. Dec2027Colombia’s middle & Pacific
      ~
      Canyons, coffee, a tiny plane Barichara, Chicamocha, Salento, then Nuquí and El Valle. The humpbacks leave around October, so we’d miss them. Worth reshuffling?
    12. Jan2028Ecuador → north Peru
      ~
      Volcano mornings, left-hand waves The Secret Garden at Cotopaxi, Montañita, then Huanchaco and the endless left at Chicama.
    13. Feb2028Peru
      ~
      Up high and down in the dunes Huaraz, Lima, Huacachina, Cusco and Waqrapukara. The Inca Trail closes every February, but the train to Machu Picchu still runs.
      ~26
      Carnaval de Oruro? Bolivia’s devil dancers. Dates follow Carnival: rush Peru to make it, or let it go.
    14. Mar2028The salt flats
      ~
      Uyuni in mirror season Rainy-season water turns the salt into sky, usually around Jan–Mar. Then… Patagonia?

    Places we’re dreaming about

    The keen list.

    The pins we can’t stop talking about. Tap the dots to say how keen you are. It saves on this device, so we can each fill one in and compare over a wine.

    Little travel ideas

    Pick a card,
    any card.

    Small missions for a big year. Deal one, keep the good ones, ignore the rest.

    Food

    Rate every taco al pastor on a strict ten-point scale. Publish findings.

    No. 01

    Our list 3

      Saved in this browser only.

      Before we go

      Luggage tags & little details.

      Bags change by flight

      Checked bags on BNE → LGW. London → Salzburg and Munich → Mexico City show cabin bags only. Pack light or pay up.

      Two seasons in one bag

      February Europe is proper winter, and we’re skiing on cabin bags, so thermals only and rent the rest. Mexico City in March is warm by day. Give the beanie away in Oaxaca.

      Staggered arrivals

      The London and Austria legs aren’t identical for both of us. Keep each ticket handy and lock in meeting times.

      Altitude is real

      Cusco sits around 3,400 m, La Paz and Uyuni higher still. Arrive slowly, drink water, try the coca tea.

      A year of cover

      Travel insurance that covers the whole year, every country and any surfing. Book a travel-doctor visit 6–8 weeks out.

      Leave room

      Only the stamped flights are booked. Every other date on this page is a suggestion, and that’s on purpose.

      A lone figure silhouetted at sunset on the reflective Salar de Uyuni

      About March 2028 · 3,656 m above sea level

      See you on the salt flats.

      here’s to the long way around.

      Back to Brisbane