travelling in your 30's

jadie

Hi all,

I am planning of going travelling next jan/feb by myself. Thinking of going to Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. I was in Thailand already 9 yrs ago though not the northern part. I looked over some older threads here and a lot of people have said SE asia is quite young. I don't want to feel like an aul wan over there just wanted to know what other peoples experiences were. I will be 33 by then. I was also considering south america but the cost is an issue for me. as regards flights am I better off booking soon or waiting a bit longer? I want to fly after xmas. Final question, ia northern Thailand worth visiting? I'm not interested in doing an elephant trek. Thanks guys

!!!

SEA has all ages. I went at 18 and bumped into a lot of teachers from Europe (your age) travelling there for summer.

solerina

I cant comment on SE Asia as I havnt been (yet) but you would definately be fine in South America...its mostly people in the 26+ age bracket and I didnt really see an upper age bracket !!

Bruz82

I done this trip for 10 weeks solo last September-November, i'm 28, was probably one of the oldest but TBH I think every1 is on the same boat of havin a good time, meeting new people for all over the world, that it dosent really cross people's mind. There not gona look at you differently so dont worry about it!!

Pisco Sour

South America definetely has an older/ less lager lout/ less leaving cert party type crowd to it.

Who cares about it being a bit more expensive. It's an amazing place. Best continent in the world in my humble opinion. DO IT!

billyhead

04072511 wrote: »

South America definetely has an older/ less lager lout/ less leaving cert party type crowd to it.

Who cares about it being a bit more expensive. It's an amazing place. Best continent in the world in my humble opinion. DO IT!

Folks,

I am 30 and have a tonne of leave to take in the workplace. I was planning to head off on an adventure somewhere and was tempted by South America. For those who have travelled their what sort of itineray would you suggest, how much overall would it cost for about 6 weeks and where did you stay etc and did you have all your accomdation booked in advance or just went with your backpack on your back and stayed whereever:)

jobless

i definately recommend south america.... i´m on my second visit here at the moment...
two years ago i went for 6 weeks... itinerary was roughly buenos aires (flew to iguazu to visit falls), back to buenos aires up to salta by plane, bus then into Tupiza(Bolivia) did the salt flats tour from there (brilliant trip).. sucre, la paz (cracking city), from there into Peru for lake titcaca, floating islands and then cusco for the inca trail (we did go back to la paz to fly to cusco due to time constraints).. we then flew out of Lima home..
if you can throw in some internal flights you could do similar.... we only booked accomodation a two or three days in advance...

you wont regret visting there anyway!

Bruz82

Billyhead,
If u have a tonne of leave then i recommend at least 3 months and upwards for SA. I think its best to do it right the 1st time, After 6 weeks u may say to urself..."there was a lot more to see and do"!!
I was there for 5 months and still missed out on abit. Definates would be
- Rio
- Iguazu Falls
- Soccer Match in BA
- Trek to Macchu Picchu and there is plenty more....

Peru and Bolivia is dirt cheap. Brazil,Argy and Chile are bit more expensive.
no need to pre book hostels, just arrive at the door and 90% of the time ur sorted.

Balmed Out

Who would you be going with?
If its with a girlfriend whereby crazy parties not very important then Venezuela is hands down my fave part of South America. Its got the best scenery I came across and a great year round climate. Havent been to Columbia though which is also meant to be great. Have a look at the weather for the time of year too as certain areas in their summer can be very hot.
Really liked Peru and Guatemala (central america) too but im a bit of a history head.

jadie

Thanks for the replies guys, I am still veering towards SE Asia, will just stay away from the massive party spots over there. I think in two months will be able to do Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam more comfortably that South America. Am open to any other suggestions though, just going to request the leave at work this week, fingers crossed

Pisco Sour

jadie wrote: »

Thanks for the replies guys, I am still veering towards SE Asia, will just stay away from the massive party spots over there. I think in two months will be able to do Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam more comfortably that South America. Am open to any other suggestions though, just going to request the leave at work this week, fingers crossed

I spent 10 weeks in South America and saw 6 countries, and never felt rushed. You don't have to do the entire continent at once.

Daisy78

Hey,

Female in my early 30's - I travelled around SE Asia (Cambodia, Vietnam, etc) last year for 8 weeks on my own, had a great time, met lots of other independent travellers of all ages and nationalities, come to think of it more so in the late 20's, 30's bracket than any other age group. Throughly enjoyed and would do it again at the drop of a hat. Always felt safe and never felt vulnerable as a lone female traveller. Haven't been to SA so can't comment on that.

I think the trick to meeting people is choosing good hostels (rather than hotels) where there are good facilities, restauarnt, bar, etc.

MobileUser

Try these:
www.geckosadventures.com/
They do guided tours but use locals, no singles supplement. They do amazing trips in the area youre talking about

esme003

Daisy78 wrote: »

Hey,

Female in my early 30's - I travelled around SE Asia (Cambodia, Vietnam, etc) last year for 8 weeks on my own, had a great time, met lots of other independent travellers of all ages and nationalities, come to think of it more so in the late 20's, 30's bracket than any other age group. Throughly enjoyed and would do it again at the drop of a hat. Always felt safe and never felt vulnerable as a lone female traveller. Haven't been to SA so can't comment on that.

I think the trick to meeting people is choosing good hostels (rather than hotels) where there are good facilities, restauarnt, bar, etc.

Hiya, am thinking of hitting Cambodia & Veitnam (mainly Cambodia)for a month next jan/feb, could you recommend some hostels as am going solo, an do think tis prob the best way to meet people.

Areas i hope to stay in are Siam Reap, Phenn Penn (excuse the spelling here)and anything else that maybe you could recommend.

Cheers.

jadie

that's the same time as I'm going, also interested in accomodations reccs:)

solovely

esme003 wrote: »

Hiya, am thinking of hitting Cambodia & Veitnam (mainly Cambodia)for a month next jan/feb, could you recommend some hostels as am going solo, an do think tis prob the best way to meet people.

Areas i hope to stay in are Siam Reap, Phenn Penn (excuse the spelling here)and anything else that maybe you could recommend.

Cheers.

Cambodia and Vietman don't really do hostels the way Europe and Oz do. It's more guesthouses. However, these are extremely sociable and you will meet lots of people.

Siem Reap is very expensive versus the rest of Cambodia but much better quality accommodation. I do remember it being the one place that was more difficult to meet people though, but that could have been cos of where we stayed. Where we stayed was lovely though. Pnom Penh is very friendly though. Most people stay by the lake, although I've heard this can be a bit dodgy. If you don't meed people in the hostels/ guest houses, you will in the cafes anyway.

Vietnam again, it's more guest house style, but with common areas where you meet people. You will most likely meet people in the internet areas, at reception, stuff like that...and bond over how you are being ripped off by the locals.

If you go to Vietnam, definitely definitely do Hoi An. And do tours like the Mekong Delta and Halong Bay as these are also amazing and great ways to meet people!

I found SE Asia in general full of solo travellers from 25-40, so I wouldn't at all think that 33 would be old. The only place I would avoid/ skip through quickly if you want to avoid the young, lager lout, backpacker type thing would be Vang Vieng....you might as well be in the south of Spain or something!

Enjoy!!!

blorg

I've been in Western China for the last two months (Sichuan & Yunnan.) Would reccomend it. SE Asia up next. I am 35, certainly not a problem.