August?3 weeks backpacking?Colombia maybe or any other suggestions?

irishguy1983

Booked 3 weeks off at the start of August.

Would like to go somewhere warm and cheap (I need to be abe to walk around in shorts/t-shirt/flip flops for 3 weeks).

Already done the South East Asia thing (Thailand,Cambodia,Vietnam,Laos).

Travelling on my tod.

Any suggestions? Looking for a South East Asia buzz I suppose - warm, cheap and plenty of backpackers to meet.

Would Colombia meet this requirement? Anyone been?

Cheers.

irishguy1983

P.S. If anyone knows how to get a cheapish flight to Colombia let me know

Cheapest I can find is 1,400 Euro!

jobless

if you want the asia buzz go to asia ....

yeah i'd recommend Colombia for the climate and meeting other backpackers...although you'll meet them where ever you go in South America...

as regards nightlife.... we didnt really go out at night much in the big cities but has great craic in some of the smaller places we visited... but i'm sure you'd find it in most places if you talk to enough people...

It's a beautiful country and the people in the main are very nice.... if you search this forum you'll find plenty of discussions on it

irishguy1983

jobless wrote: »

if you want the asia buzz go to asia ....

yeah i'd recommend Colombia for the climate and meeting other backpackers...although you'll meet them where ever you go in South America...

as regards nightlife.... we didnt really go out at night much in the big cities but has great craic in some of the smaller places we visited... but i'm sure you'd find it in most places if you talk to enough people...

It's a beautiful country and the people in the main are very nice.... if you search this forum you'll find plenty of discussions on it

I meant Asia Buzz in terms of cheapness and climate (not in terms of culture!).

is it super cheap over there? 400 Euro a week cover you nicely?

Would you see much in 3 weeks? Don't want to be on buses/trains the whole time - looking to relax a bit aswell as I would be returning to work

Todd Gack

irishguy1983 wrote: »

I meant Asia Buzz in terms of cheapness and climate (not in terms of culture!).

is it super cheap over there? 400 Euro a week cover you nicely?

Would you see much in 3 weeks? Don't want to be on buses/trains the whole time - looking to relax a bit aswell as I would be returning to work

South America is more expensive than SE Asia, Peru and Bolivia are probably the cheapest countries there. Travelling is all by buses as flights are relatively expensive given the lack of low cost carriers in SE Asia and Europe and journeys can be quite long as you're regularly covering long distances and travelling across the Andes.

If you're looking for a more relaxing backpacker vibe try Goa or Kerala in Southern India, fairly cheap, hot and has plenty backpackers. Plenty beaches and that to chill out. You would need a visa before you go but that's fairly straightforward. There's an Indian Embassy in Dublin that accepts postal applications.

jobless

irishguy1983 wrote: »

I meant Asia Buzz in terms of cheapness and climate (not in terms of culture!).

is it super cheap over there? 400 Euro a week cover you nicely?

Would you see much in 3 weeks? Don't want to be on buses/trains the whole time - looking to relax a bit aswell as I would be returning to work

its not super cheap but it is cheap..... you could live on 400 if you were in dorms and weren't out partying everynight.... but you'll want to do other things like tours, and to get around you'll need to bus it. You could see a bit in three weeks you just need to decide where you'd like to go and if you mind spending that amount of time getting there.

I had one internal flight from Bogota to Santa Marta which save a days travelling

Trippie

I live in colombia and work for a tourism company, send me a pm with any questions you have

Fizman

irishguy1983 wrote: »

P.S. If anyone knows how to get a cheapish flight to Colombia let me know

Cheapest I can find is 1,400 Euro!

Play around with Skyscanner for a start. I just did a quick search there and after seconds I saw flights for €1,2850. I'm sure you'll find closer to 1k with more time spent.

token101

Trippie wrote: »

I live in colombia and work for a tourism company, send me a pm with any questions you have

Any jobs?

irishguy1983

Fizman wrote: »

Play around with Skyscanner for a start. I just did a quick search there and after seconds I saw flights for €1,2850. I'm sure you'll find closer to 1k with more time spent.

Yeah - that is what I was getting - a ridiculous amount TBH.

Not sure what to do really.

irishguy1983

Todd Gack wrote: »

South America is more expensive than SE Asia, Peru and Bolivia are probably the cheapest countries there. Travelling is all by buses as flights are relatively expensive given the lack of low cost carriers in SE Asia and Europe and journeys can be quite long as you're regularly covering long distances and travelling across the Andes.

If you're looking for a more relaxing backpacker vibe try Goa or Kerala in Southern India, fairly cheap, hot and has plenty backpackers. Plenty beaches and that to chill out. You would need a visa before you go but that's fairly straightforward. There's an Indian Embassy in Dublin that accepts postal applications.

Wouldn't touch India - just heard too many mixed reports. Finding it very difficult to come up with a suitable place.

Might just go back to SE Asia but want to try somewhere new really but with similar kind of lifestyle.

Fizman

irishguy1983 wrote: »

Wouldn't touch India - just heard too many mixed reports. Finding it very difficult to come up with a suitable place.

Might just go back to SE Asia but want to try somewhere new really but with similar kind of lifestyle.

Have a look at my thread in the travel forum, along similar lines to yourself and some very interesting ideas! I'm currently looking at return flights of €765 and Central America ticks many of your boxes by the sounds of it.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056601773

irishguy1983

Fizman wrote: »

Have a look at my thread in the travel forum, along similar lines to yourself and some very interesting ideas! I'm currently looking at return flights of €765 and Central America ticks many of your boxes by the sounds of it.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056601773

Can we just join our 2 threads??!!

I have my heart set on Colombia but 1,200 for a flight is just too much.

BTW South Africa is awesome but Cape Town will not be warm in July/August.

I'll keep an eye on your thread - you seem to be getting more ideas than me!

Fizman

irishguy1983 wrote: »

Can we just join our 2 threads??!!

I have my heart set on Colombia but 1,200 for a flight is just too much.

BTW South Africa is awesome but Cape Town will not be warm in July/August.

I'll keep an eye on your thread - you seem to be getting more ideas than me!

I don't have a problem joining them, as long as mine stays in the main forum.

Ha, ya I was where you were about 6 weeks ago, really like the idea of Colombia (and in fairness to Trippie - I got some great info from him/her), but it seems a stretch too far for us at the minute I think.

Trippie

one option regarding flights to find cheaper ones is with spirit/jetblue, they fly miami to cartagena and bogota and are normally quite cheap. just a matter of finding a flight to the states then.

Trippie

Fizman wrote: »

I don't have a problem joining them, as long as mine stays in the main forum.

Ha, ya I was where you were about 6 weeks ago, really like the idea of Colombia (and in fairness to Trippie - I got some great info from him/her), but it seems a stretch too far for us at the minute I think.

I knew i spoke to someone about colombia. couldn't remember for the life of me who though.

Fizman

Trippie wrote: »

one option regarding flights to find cheaper ones is with spirit/jetblue, they fly miami to cartagena and bogota and are normally quite cheap. just a matter of finding a flight to the states then.

Ya I found Spirit prices to be excellent considering the airmiles you're actually covering. The big hitter is the flight to the US though in most cases.