Where to go next? General travel

cocoshovel

Hey all. Im not long after being back from my last journey and already dreaming about where to go next year:rolleyes:.
I love an adventure, I love scenery and culture. Sun is a plus but Im not too pushed at all. Hiking is great but not a must.

Ive always wanted to spend a month or so in Vietnam, Laos, and head off to the really remote unheard of regions of China. But I think Im going to leave that for when Im more experienced and older.

Some places that I've been pondering are.

Madeira, looks like a great place for hiking and scenery, nice sun and possibly beaches too.

Singapore, looks like a great city, but its a small place and doesnt seem to have much more to offer other than the city itself.
Asia in general greatly appeals to me, but as I said I want to leave a lot of it until Im older

Greenland. Sounds mad right? Cons are its expensive, but it looks like another great place for an adventure holiday and have always dreamed of going there.

So guys, any suggestions for me? 21 year old (next year), lone male traveller. You can throw in where you're off to next year too, or any cool places you want to go.

General discussion will be welcomed too

bazingaboom

Definately head to Asia, why do you want to leave it until you are older? You are the perfect age to be backpacking around there now, there are thousands of backpackers over there in their late teens and early 20's.

If you think China or Vietnam might be a bit daunting then head to Thailand where travelling is the easiest thing in the world.

I was a 19 year old solo female when I landed in Bangkok and had the best time of my life

cocoshovel

bazingaboom wrote: »

Definately head to Asia, why do you want to leave it until you are older? You are the perfect age to be backpacking around there now, there are thousands of backpackers over there in their late teens and early 20's.

If you think China or Vietnam might be a bit daunting then head to Thailand where travelling is the easiest thing in the world.

I was a 19 year old solo female when I landed in Bangkok and had the best time of my life

Because Vietnam, Laos, and the far corners of China are tough, a bit crazy, and I could even say slightly dangerous (Im not ready to cross a vietnamese road yet!). Ive already been to Japan, and pretty much every part of Asia interests me.

Thailand probably less, everyone seems to go there, it seems to be packed with tourists and drink. Something Im not that interested in.

Anybody got any info on Taiwan, Singapore, or hey even Shanghai and Beijing, but I dont want to be stuck in one city. Also my budget would be about 2.5k including flights. I know wikitravel is great, Im just so unsure of where I want to go

Savman

Singapore is impressive, but not a 'must see'. There are many other spots I'd run back to first in all honesty, Singapore is very westernized and, as I seen described on a forum somewhere, "Asia Lite".

Bangkok is good fun and I liked it more than I thought I would.

cocoshovel

Savman wrote: »

Singapore is impressive, but not a 'must see'. There are many other spots I'd run back to first in all honesty, Singapore is very westernized and, as I seen described on a forum somewhere, "Asia Lite".

Bangkok is good fun and I liked it more than I thought I would.

Perhaps combining it with Malaysia would be nice.

Procrastastudy

Been to Africa yet?

Kenya or Ghana amazing places.

cocoshovel

GCDLawstudent wrote: »

Been to Africa yet?

Kenya or Ghana amazing places.

Africa is a place I would love to do! My father did a Kenyan safari, but its very expensive! The thing about Africa is its so unstable that you're fairly restricted to where you can go.

Crossing the Sahara on foot with a caravan (if possible) would be awesome.

Ill actually consider Kenya

Procrastastudy

Just be careful where you go. Kenya and Ghana are very stable - Obviously watch yourself if you're close to the Somali border.

If you're into adventure have you thought about taking up sailing - there are some amazing places available for crew and would be an excellent way to travel cheaply(ish)

cocoshovel

GCDLawstudent wrote: »

Just be careful where you go. Kenya and Ghana are very stable - Obviously watch yourself if you're close to the Somali border.

If you're into adventure have you thought about taking up sailing - there are some amazing places available for crew and would be an excellent way to travel cheaply(ish)

Nairobi sounds a bit dodgy tbh. Nah, Sailing isnt something I could take up. I cant afford to, and already have other hobbies. Im not that loaded with money. I save all year around for a few weeks of travel.

Procrastastudy

I loved Niarobi - odd city that few live in it just around it. I have to admit we were guided though.

shane.

spent a month in vietnam and its probably one of the best countries to visit especially halong bay and hanoi, also its a very safe country as the government are very strict on locals messing about with tourists, would highly recommend

mel.b

cocoshovel wrote: »

Africa is a place I would love to do! My father did a Kenyan safari, but its very expensive! The thing about Africa is its so unstable that you're fairly restricted to where you can go.

Crossing the Sahara on foot with a caravan (if possible) would be awesome.

Ill actually consider Kenya

Do you want independent travel or would you be happy with a group. I did an 8 day long trip/safari with intrepid travel to Kenya and Tanzania and it was amazing. You could combine it with climbing Mt kilmanjaro and / or a beach break in Zanzibar and it would come in around you budget of €2500 inc flights.

http://www.intrepidtravel.com/trips/YGOT#overview

http://www.intrepidtravel.com/trips/YGOMC#overview

http://www.intrepidtravel.com/trips/YDVA#overview

bazingaboom

cocoshovel wrote: »

Because Vietnam, Laos, and the far corners of China are tough, a bit crazy, and I could even say slightly dangerous (Im not ready to cross a vietnamese road yet!).

Vietnam and Laos arent tough where have you got this idea from? Iv travelled both as a solo female twice and never had one problem. They would both be a lot more travel friendly than South America or Africa.

cocoshovel

bazingaboom wrote: »

Vietnam and Laos arent tough where have you got this idea from? Iv travelled both as a solo female twice and never had one problem. They would both be a lot more travel friendly than South America or Africa.

Not quite sure. It has always come across as a bit crazy to me, the hectic roads filled with bikes, the thick jungles, bustling city, dangerous speedboat trips down the river, and so on. It just seems like a huge adventure which Im not perhaps experienced enough for yet.

bazingaboom

Nah Laos is one of the quitest places in the world. And in Vietnam you will only get the really hectic traffic and city vibe in Hanoi and Ho chi minh.

Halong bay and Hoi An are amazing, quite and two of the most beautiful places Iv ever been. Dont be scared of these countries, the tourist trail is well marked out and tbh I couldnt recommend it highly enough for someone your age.

Le_Dieux

bazingaboom wrote: »

Nah Laos is one of the quitest places in the world. And in Vietnam you will only get the really hectic traffic and city vibe in Hanoi and Ho chi minh.

Halong bay and Hoi An are amazing, quite and two of the most beautiful places Iv ever been. Dont be scared of these countries, the tourist trail is well marked out and tbh I couldnt recommend it highly enough for someone your age.

I love Thailand, then again my Wife is from there:-)

However, like someone above says, where You got the idea SE Asia is tough, I don't know. Laos & Cambodia are amazing places, some places to visit are Luang Prabang, Vientianne, & Siem Reap - visiting these 3 spots, and the travelling there, are holidays within themselves.

AND...A LOT safer than Africa - sad to have to say!

And You still can go back then as Vietnam is a trip in itself, being so large!

Todd Gack

Iceland sounds like it would be up your street, plenty of scenery and adventure activities. It's very well set up for tourism and most people speak good English. Cons are it's expensive, think Ireland plus a little extra but it's far cheaper than it was a few back however.

Seeing as you fancy Greenland, Iceland has more to see, is easier to get to and easier to get around.

lc180

One place I see that always gets overlooked when people ask for advice for an adventure is the USA. Outside of the big cities and obvious destinations there is so much culture and diversity to see.

I did a road trip with a bunch of mates and it was the best 8 weeks of my life.
Don't bother with NYC, LA, Chicago etc, hit the southern states. Texas, Tennessee, Georgia, New Orleans. The food, music, history and different people is strangely diverse considering its all in the same country. Maybe even combine it with a few days in Mexico.

The one negative for the US is it doesn't seem to have much of a hostel culture, we stayed in cheap motels and overall our spending wasn't that much. Found we could live extremely comfortably on 50 bucks a day.
I've done 24 out of the 50 American states so my big goal one day is to tick everyone of the list.

My next little adventure is Thailand for 2 weeks this October. Really looking forward to it, never been to Asia before!

Whatever you choose, have a great time and keep us informed

Tipperary animal lover

Why don't you fly into singapore spend 2days(plenty) there do your touring and get a cheap flight upto Saigon make your way up through the country to Hanoi from there make your way over the Chinese border and on to hong kong and get a flight back to Singapore and home.... We did Kenya Tanzania and Zanzibar as back packers and the hassle and more hassle we had, never had a break from the morning to nights end ...... Zanzibar was beautiful with less hassle, Thailand is a waste you see more westeners than Thais it was fantastic back in the 90's but now you could meet your neighbour walking down one of the soi's of Bangkok how tropical is that!!!!

cocoshovel

Tipperary animal lover wrote: »

Why don't you fly into singapore spend 2days(plenty) there do your touring and get a cheap flight upto Saigon make your way up through the country to Hanoi from there make your way over the Chinese border and on to hong kong and get a flight back to Singapore and home....

That sounds good, but I want to see more of China. Now that I have had my confidence in Vietnam restored Im feeling a bit more adventurous. Been thinking about doing a lot of China. Intrepid travel offer a few cool tours but they're expensive and dont include flights to and from China.

Ill keep what you said in mind, as it sounds like a nice little trip doable in a short while and maybe not too expensive.

and yeah, your reason is why Thailand doesnt interest me. Its such a shame really.

bazingaboom

Id leave China till your a bit more confident as the language barrier will be an issue and those trips are so expensive unless of course you have loads of money.
In Vietnam iv been to Hanoi, Halong Bay, Hue, Hoi An,Nha Trang, Mui Ne and Ho Chi minh. Unfortunately iv missed out on places like sapa, Dalat and the mekong delta but nonetheless i had the time of my life in Vietnam and if you decide to go let me know and I can give you a few more tips.

cocoshovel

Its still a year or more away so plenty of time to make up my mind etc. Who knows, by then I might not even go on a holiday if something comes up. As I said, Im not that rich!

For Vietnam, best time of the year to go for weather (avoid rainy season, avoid extreme heat and humidity if at all possible etc)? Best/cheapest airline to fly with? Best city/airport to fly into?

Sorry about all the questions, Im just so curious

bazingaboom

Anytime of the year is fine, its always going to be humid but may get a bit cool up north during their winter.
Your best bet is to fly into bangkok or KL and then get an air asia flight to hanoi and work your way down!