What's the longest you've spent travelling & do you feel like a waster?

Glacier

I'm 24 & thinking of traveling for a couple of years, what's the longest anyone has spent traveling? Do you think there's an age you get too old for this?

Latchy

What's the longest you've spent travelling & do you feel like a waster?

If you have travelled around various countries for seveal months or longer and enjoyed the expierence ,which is what it's supposed to be all about i wouldent call it wasted or myself a waster. I travelled around europe for such a period back in the early 80s and enjoyed it so much .Wish i had carried on a bit longer than 4 months

Flynn

No man we're not wasters! i was talkin to a friend of a friend today about traveling and he got me all pshyced up.. he was on his way to NZ on a working visa a few years back and stopped off in Cambodia on the way for a month, he ended up stayin for a year and a half doing volunteer work.. he then went to columbia to a wedding for 3 weeks and ended up staying for a year and a half teaching.. he visit ireland twice during that but he was away for 3 years, he's got the coolest stories and he plans to **** off agian soon..

can't wait, i've made plans to extend my trip already..

oh btw neamh if your reading this.... are you still flying from mexico - cuba - venezuala? i'm checking one-way flights out for something similar but they all cost a fortune.. ??

Neamhshuntasach

Yeah i'm still doing that route. I'm gonna book with Cubana. It's about 230 dollars for cancun to havana. That's roughly 150 euros at the moment. And havana to caracas is a little more expensive. it's around 350 dollars (240 euros). the 2 flights should be under 400 anyways. i'm keeping extra money for any on the side flights i have to take. so i don't mind paying it to get to cuba.

Flynn

yea i got the same price on cubana, tried to include it in the RTW but can't as USA is on my ticket (even though i'd be flying from mexico).. I was hoping to head to Buenos Aires form Cuba, that flight is $650 which is a balls as that's 2 flights i cant do on the RTW ticket.. As i'm finishing my trip in Oz i need to use up flights..

I'm thinking i'm gonna have to pick another island... maybe jamaica..

Meathlass

Glacier wrote: »

I'm 24 & thinking of traveling for a couple of years, what's the longest anyone has spent traveling? Do you think there's an age you get too old for this?

Spent a year doing the RTW thing and working in OZ, 4 months in America on a J1. Recently spent 9 months travelling around South America which was amazing. I'm 28 now and while I mightn't go travelling for such a long time again you're never too old and you're not a waster. I'm always supscious of people who haven't gone to america or oz or somewhere more than 2 weeks in spain. Will they suddenly go crazy later on in their 30's and ditch everything? I'm luckly with my job in that I can take time off very easily, so I can take a month off to go to Turkey later in the year with no hassle.

Saying that I have met plenty of people (esp in South America) who just seem to be hanging around living on the generosity of others, trying to get free drinks and taking food out of hostel fridges. I met a guy in Pucon in the Lake District in Chile who'd been travelling for 15 years and had been in this small town for 6 months (most people spent a few days there) doing odd jobs. Now I wouldn't find a lifestyle like that enjoyable but each to their own.

dory

Meathlass wrote: »

Saying that I have met plenty of people (esp in South America) who just seem to be hanging around living on the generosity of others, trying to get free drinks and taking food out of hostel fridges. I met a guy in Pucon in the Lake District in Chile who'd been travelling for 15 years and had been in this small town for 6 months (most people spent a few days there) doing odd jobs. Now I wouldn't find a lifestyle like that enjoyable but each to their own.

Those people amaze me! How some people can travel on so little money. It would scare the life out of me that something might happen and you couldn't go anywhere. Met some crazily cheap people, travelling on motorbikes etc. with signs saying 'buy me petrol!'.

I've been travelling for almost 8 months now. I feel a bit like a waster, but I'm learning Spanish which I will need for my future career so it's ok. Just odd that I'm wandering around and all my friends are working. I'm 22 btw, so I guess I should chill out for another bit before worrying.

Meathlass

dory wrote: »

Those people amaze me! How some people can travel on so little money. It would scare the life out of me that something might happen and you couldn't go anywhere. Met some crazily cheap people, travelling on motorbikes etc. with signs saying 'buy me petrol!'.

I've been travelling for almost 8 months now. I feel a bit like a waster, but I'm learning Spanish which I will need for my future career so it's ok. Just odd that I'm wandering around and all my friends are working. I'm 22 btw, so I guess I should chill out for another bit before worrying.

Yeah, I know it's ridiculous. I met an American guy in a bus station in Cairo, there were lots of women and children begging who were poor and he just came up and asked me if I could give me the price of a bus ticket to the next big city. Didn't even try and come up with a story.

When I was in South America I got depressed sometimes that all my friends were getting married and buying houses but wouldn't swop it for the world. Now a couple I know are going travelling for 6 months and they're having problems getting a mortage holiday, the bank are less than kin. Practically want them to sign in blood that they have jobs to come back to! At 22, like the OP you should just go for it.

Glowing

Spent all of 2006 travelling, and just back from a 2 month trip in South America .... i'm already planning my next one Oh, I'm 27 .....

gary the great

Went to SE Asia for 3months after college in 2006, went to london for a year and worked, stressed me out so i went to Oz/Japan for 3months, have had enough since ive been back (just doing temp work) so think ill go to South America. Im 24 btw, i dont worry about career etc, these things fall into place and im gonna work hard enough in my 30s,40s and 50s!

Dinkie

I spent 8 months backpacking around America when I was 21 and when I was 23 I went off for 3 years backpacking around asia / Australia....and I had the time of my life.

Now I'm in a really good job which I love, and am quite happy to limit my travels to a few weeks here and there.....for now.

I never feel like a waster.... I'm developing my mind and widening my experiences:D

Glacier

I'm assuming you finished College though? I didn't. I'm 24 & really do feel like getting away for a few years but you can't be 27-28 with no qualifications or even job experience. How do you explain that on a CV?

raemie21

Insecure.

Glacier

What do you mean?

dory

Glacier wrote: »

What do you mean?

I'm pretty sure they're only trying to start an argument or something.
Ignore him, more than likely never gone further than Santa Ponsa for 2 weeks.
Go for it!

watna

Glacier wrote: »

I'm assuming you finished College though? I didn't. I'm 24 & really do feel like getting away for a few years but you can't be 27-28 with no qualifications or even job experience. How do you explain that on a CV?

How have you no work experience if you're 24? You say you want to go travelling now for a few years and didn't go to college so were you not working for the last 6 years? How will you get money to travel if you aren'y working? Sorry, that part just confused me!

Why don't you travel and combine work? Get a WHV for OZ, then NZ. They both last a year so you can get some work experience for a few months and travel for a few months. That way you'll get to see lots and add a bit to your CV. Most people travel now so have gaps on your CV.

nialinho

Dinkie wrote: »

I spent 8 months backpacking around America when I was 21 and when I was 23 I went off for 3 years backpacking around asia / Australia....and I had the time of my life.

Now I'm in a really good job which I love, and am quite happy to limit my travels to a few weeks here and there.....for now.

I never feel like a waster.... I'm developing my mind and widening my experiences:D

not sure you would call it travelling/backpacking if you were working in oz though? Ive been away from ire for nearly 18 months in asia and oz but wouldnt say ive been travelling for all that time (i had a 3 month and 6 month jobs in that time, i wouldnt consider that travelling)

Sqaull20

Yep your too old to go traveling at 24 :rolleyes:

You will be practially dead in 50 years, old in 20 and past your peak in 10.

Work/ go back to college then

Hope this helps

Edit: I was in Oz for 8 months or their abouts when I was 19 (20 now), blew most of the €3500 needed to get in, in the first month and worked for the rest off it in Sydney/Brisbane.Thought Oz was ok, much prefered my 3 week break in Bangkok

Beerlao

15 months working and travelling in Australia and Japan and SE Asia... do i feel like a waster... no! I've seen more of Australia than most Aussies will ever see in their whole life and met friends for life from all over the world. i think my mates who stayed at home going to the same bars in Belfast every weekend and doing the same thing all that time are wasters!

i'm 26 (27 on monday) and i've just committed myself to a 3.5 year trainee accountancy contract in Dublin, but once i've qualified i'll be off to South America and hopefully Africa.

Squall, how did you spend 3 weeks in Bangkok? it's a dump! should've gone to the islands down south or gone north to Chiang Mai and Pai etc

whatsgoinon

I'm 28, spent 2 years teaching english in asia, great money which funded the rest of my travelling South Korea, china, japan, thailand, vietnam, laos, cambodia, borneo, philippines, malaysia, oz, fiji, guam, saipan, back in uni now, planning on how to raise enough moolah to get me to south america for summer, oh yeah had enough money left over to pay for my return to uni, all i had to do was pay for my accommodation, non-repayable loan for tuition fee from uk and doing a professional course so get paid monthly, not what I'm used to, but enough to get by and save a few pounds at the same time