I am currently planning to visit some 20 different countries - one after the other. Many will require evidence of my onward or return travel at the point of my arrival. The problem with that is that my visit to each country is to study and photograph the scuba diving and research the history of various outstanding shipwrecks. How long each visit will take is, therefore, not known.
One idea was to travel by ship - thus removing all excess baggage problems at a stroke. I honestly believed I could find a ship leaving the UK and heading for my first destination in Europe and then, when the time came, I would find another ship heading in my direction and so forth. Then I came across this book and quickly realised it is not as easy as I first thought.
Leaving aside my own requirements, I discovered that different companies offer passages from and to different destinations according to their own trading schedule. If, for example a company trades (by sea of course) between Europe and certain Mediterranean ports - then that is all the travel which will be offered by that company. Others based in Europe and North America offer passages to Australia and New Zealand. Passengers are provided with luxury accommodation, bar, lounge and, in some cases, even a swimming pool during their several weeks at sea. Naturally, on arrival, the ship has to unload before taking on another cargo and that is the amount of time the traveller will have in that country prior to commencing the return journey. The itinerary actually states the number of days at sea and in port.
Cheap? Certainly not, but well worth considering as a means of combining a lifetime visit to see absent relatives and a dream cruise.
As with all published prices, they are out-of date just as soon as the book becomes available. Nevertheless, this is a most useful guide.
NM