A history student and road trip enthusiast, Niall was inspired to see the Americas whilst studying abroad and taking an Ancient Civilisations course. Cue graduation and two and a half years of saving, before onwards to sharks, national parks and pyramids.
Here we discuss how he organised travelling and the key experiences he had. I know it was a lot, asking someone to condense a year’s worth of experience but you can gain so much knowledge from Niall in terms of planning your future trips.
Niall and I were roomies in Australia for some time and he had to deal with my overly chatty questions, so I’m glad you can all experience his travels too through this post.
How much preparation went into your Americas trip?
On the surface it looks like I did a lot. I looked at temperature averages throughout the year, designed a route that would hopefully leave me in Spring/Summer for the whole trip (to varying levels of success) and picked out my must-sees on that route to finalise a rough dot to dot.
Realistically, I always knew that the trip itself would be subject to change depending on how I felt about each place I went to. This was how it ended up going. I did less and less prep for each place as the trip went on. By the end I was doing a quick google for best transport links and asking locals for their recommendations.
Did you go alone?
We started as a duo, me and my buddy Ross, as we’ve wanted to do a US road trip since we did a Eurotrip aged 19. I always knew that Ross would be returning early, he had a job and girlfriend whilst I was unattached.
We explored the NE, NW and West Coast together and when he went home for a wedding I knew I was going the rest of the way alone for the first time ever!
I always wanted to try travelling solo. Even though Ross and I have a flexible approach to travelling together, which aims to fit in all the things we each wanted to do, it’s not the same as having total control. That’s what I wanted and I revelled in literally doing whatever I wanted whenever I wanted for the rest of the trip. The removal of his ultra-organised way of thinking also made me step-up to the plate in that regard. All the areas that I used to think were weaknesses became strengths because I was forced to confront them directly and come up with my own solutions.
Can you tell me more about the route you took & specific places you visited?
We started in the US, NYC and the rest of the NE before moving across the north through Chicago to Seattle, Vancouver and Yellowstone. Down the West coast through California, Vegas and Colorado. Ross then went home and I completed US part 1 in Oklahoma & Texas which totaled 3 months.
I then popped down to Mexico to catch the whale shark season (1m) before returning to Miami, Nashville & New Orleans (1m).
Central America was next and I did Belize (2w), Guatemala (1m), Nicaragua (1m) & Costa Rica (2w).
I then flew down to Brazil for Xmas (2w), Argentina (1m), Bolivia (1m), Peru (2w) & Colombia (1m).
Last stop was Hawaii (2w) before heading off to Australia.
Any singular experience that stood out for you?
So many incredible experiences, but swimming with the whale sharks was something I’d always wanted to do and I shifted the whole trip to make sure I fit it in!
I’d also advise all people that want to do it to make sure the places they go swimming aren’t harmful to the sharks. Some areas of the world (Oslob, Philippines as an example) feed the sharks to keep them there for tourists rather than going to observe them in the wild. This is hugely harmful so please, please research the places you’re considering before booking anything.
I should also mention the music. From the live performance trio of Austin, Nashville & New Orleans to the Latin parties trying to keep up with the locals as they dance the night away, the music across my whole trip was varied and incredible.
What was your favourite activity?
Climbing volcanoes, seeing the salt flats, NYE in Rio, watching the La Paz football derby, exploring the Iguazu falls, camping in Yosemite & Yellowstone. How could anyone only pick one?
Where was your favourite location and why?
I love Guatemala as a country. An astonishing variety in all aspects. The towns I stayed in were all different. Flores is a town on an island in a lake. Semuc Champey is a couple of hostels in a jungle. Antigua, the whole town is a World Heritage site, stunning Spanish architecture everywhere at the foot of a twin volcano.
I climbed Acatenango, a tough volcano hike, swam through caves with candles for light, relaxed next to lakes, partied, hiked, visited the Mayan Tikal temples, took Spanish lessons. After I left I realised I could have seen manatees in another national park, so potentially may have been even better!
Any tough moments during your trip?
There are always challenges. In Mexico I damaged my Achilles and found out it was because the trainers I was walking in. They didn’t give enough support. I was off my feet for a week and only spared a very expensive trip to a hospital because I was with a Mexican at the time. She took me to a community doctor who helped for a very cheap fee (around £5), reassured me it was only heavy bruising and gave me a prescription.
A friend has since told me that two things you should always invest in are a comfortable bed and fantastic shoes. They are the items you spend most of your time in. In retrospect this makes so much sense to me and I hope other prospective travellers learn from my mistake. Buy a good pair of walking trainers, leave the runners at home.
Did you have initial struggles when you started?
My initial struggles were mostly me not being used to carrying such a big bag. I brought a total of around 25kg with me and that was far too much. I lose things on a regular basis, so over the months the bag got lighter as things were left in hostel rooms/buses/cabs and I became used to the weight.
The only other aspect that had to be looked at carefully was budget. The US is considerably more expensive than the rest of the countries I went to, so I had to be careful not to spend all my money!
There is one last thing I’ll have to mention. Latin cabbies lie. The answer to all your questions will almost always be an outrageously overpriced taxi so after a couple of rip offs, I lost all faith in anything they said. My advice would be to check all options, even when men are shouting and urging you to make a decision within 5 seconds of your arrival to the transportation hub. They will make it seem like you need to ‘go go go, now now now’, but remember, everything in Latin America is late, you almost always have time. Check all the options and save yourself the stress and hopefully some money.
Did you go on any group tours or plan your Americas backpacking trip yourself?
It depended on the situation. Most times if I could get somewhere by myself I would go solo or with friends. Sometimes this isn’t possible, such as Machu Picchu or the Salt Flats where safety or conservation requirements quite rightly limit free roaming. Other times if the difference in cost is negligible and you want to avoid spending the energy of planning then organised trips can be excellent. I would always check the time frames of these trips though, as some are very rushed and you want to be able to relax and enjoy the sights you’ve travelled so far to see.
The stand out best trip I can remember was in Sucre, Bolivia. We went outside the city to see dinosaur footprints! The guide was superb, the footprints were amazing and I would have never have seen them if not on that specific tour. I wish I remembered their name so I could plug them here!
Did you have any stand-out encounters with locals?
Loads. I spent a good amount of time Couchsurfing which was a superb way of meeting locals and really getting to know them.
I discussed philosophy with Alexis in Buenos Aires, Dan & Alex in Boston showed me where they got married. Ross and I extended our stay with Ed and Pat in Baltimore because we got along so well, politics and religion went straight into the conversation and I loved it.
There is one stand out moment that I’ll never forget and it was in Nicaragua. I had just arrived in Managua and was staying a couple night to catch up with a friend. I missed my bus stop, so I had a 40 minute walk to my hostel. I’d toughened up by this point and purchased awesome New Balances, so I figured I’d walk instead of take a taxi. 15 minutes in I was about to unsuspectingly walk through a ghetto when a man stopped me.
His name was Carlos and he was out with his wife and daughter. He asked where I was going. I showed him on the map and Carlos explained that I couldn’t walk that direction because of “banditos”! He persuaded me to stop being a cheapskate and get a taxi, which I agreed to after working out it cost 50p.
I happily avoided a potential run in with the local criminal element and will always remember Carlos for his kindness in helping someone when they didn’t know they needed help.
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Talk to me about the food. Did you go out to eat or cook basic meals yourself? What’s the local cuisine like in different regions of the Americas?
The basic rule was I’d cook an awful lot in expensive countries (US, Canada) and eat out all the time everywhere else. The food in Latin America is so cheap it wasn’t worth sacrificing the opportunity to try new things for my same old spag bol. We’re talking 50p for a banana shake and £2 quid for a meal.
There are huge differences across the board! Even the US you need to treat as a continent and it comes with a continent’s worth of food options.
I had fresh lobster in Maine, jambalaya and gumbo in NOLA, pizza in NYC and Chicago, fried chicken in the Southern states, all you can eat buffets in Vegas, proper Tex-Mex in Texas.
We did cook some steaks whilst we went camping and the home cooked meals we got with our Couchsurfing hosts were always greatly appreciated.
Special mention to Dan in Boston, cooking us a chicken lasagna with 10 different veggies inside, after hearing our complaints about the lack of vitamins while being on the road!
Central America was a bit more uniform, especially as I was eating in the local restaurants. Lots of rice and beans with every meal, eggs for breakfast, meat for lunch and dinner.
Mexico has it’s own cuisine of course, although I had to learn that English spicy and Mexican spicy are very different ends of the scale.
South America has more options again like the States and each country has it’s specialities. Churrascaria in Rio was a stand out, which is essentially all you can eat meat with a salad bar.
Most countries also had a soup for a free starter, although the prevalence of coriander was a blow for me!
What is something you loved about backpacking through the Americas?
The landscapes. I love mountains and lakes. Luckily for me there was no shortage of either and being surrounded by nature was almost always an option.
The US has the best National Park system I’ve ever seen (other history buffs will know to thank President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal for that) and Latin America is still wild for huge parts at a time.
It is the most visually impressive place I’ve ever been and I am forever going to be annoyed that my phone at the time was a potato.
The street art needs a special mention too. I was blown away on a regular basis by the quality of the art on display as I explored Latin America.
What’s one item you took and never used?
I took some workout bands on my Americas trip that just did not get the use that I had envisioned.
My regular workouts lasted maybe a month and then I lost the routine and put on weight as I drunk and ate my way through the year.
I like to think that I’d be better if I did it again but somehow I doubt it!
What’s the one item you wouldn’t go travelling without?
I mentioned good shoes and a phone is perhaps too obviously a must.
The one other thing I’d recommend is a waterproof pack of cards. The amount of times I’ve made friends by learning/teaching card games and playing in hostels, restaurants, bars it’s incalculable.
Waterproof ofc because there’s always someone that spills their drink!
How did you support yourself financially through your Americas trip?
I saved up for 2.5 years before I left working full time and took away £16,000. I don’t like working while I travel, so I made sure I had a sizeable nest egg ready before I booked my flight. It still wasn’t enough, but maybe nothing was ever going to be enough. You see things you want to do and you do them. Why limit yourself on a once in a lifetime opportunity?
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