Travelling ideas

dia squish

Hi,

I'm looking for some ideas/opinions on where would be good to go for a first travelling experience.

I'm 24, female, will have 2-3 weeks off in summer and up to €2000 to spend, maybe a bit more. I'll most likely be going alone. I haven't travelled much at all - only been on family holidays. I'm willing to go anywhere. The only thing is I'd be a bit nervous being a girl and being alone so somewhere safe where there are lots of other travellers would be good.

One thing I was thinking of was inter-railing around eastern Europe but I don't know if this would be good alone? Anyone got any other ideas/experiences to share?

Thanks.

Meathlass

If this is your first solo trip and you're a bit nervous would you consider going with a company like Intrepid etc where you're with a group. It might be too much for your budget though. Failing that somewhere like South East Asia is full of backpackers you could meet up and travel with.

I don't know how easy it would be to meet other people interrailing.

coolmoose

You should check out the Thorntree forum on lonelyplanet.com, there is a section there where you can look for travel buddies, might be an idea for you?

Iospir

I did a lot of solo travel when I was your age and it's great as long as you stay in hostels where you'll meet loads of other solo travellers and backpackers. It allows you to potter around doing your own thing during the day and hook up with other travellers for nights out. I wouldn't try South East Asia for a first trip alone though (need to hone your travel street-smarts somewhere easier first time I think although it's great once you're a bit more confident). I inter-railed around Eastern Europe and that was fine, just research your hostels etc first. Try to arrive in daylight in each new city to get your bearings better.
A compromise I used to do was to fly into somewhere like Amsterdam for 2 or 3 days, take a train to perhaps Berlin or the like for another 2 or 3 days and then fly down to the Greek islands from there. Greece is great for backpackers expecially Ios, Santorini, Paros etc. Easy to meet people and have a holiday as well as travel. Just check out cheap flights in advance. Easyjet do Greece from a number of locations.

RubyK

Ohhh, go too Greece and Island hop for 2-3 weeks Aerlingus have a sale on at the moment (finishing Fri 25/1), and you could get return flights from Dublin to Athens for about €250. You can then get a ferry from Pireaus Port, to any of the island groups - Cyclades, Dodecanese, Sporades etc. So much choice, and a fabulous way to spend a few weeks. You'll meet lots of people doing the same. Have a look at www.greeka.com for info on the different island groups, and for ferry details. Enjoy

dia squish

Thanks everyone.

I never thought of an organised tour. Would they be a lot more expensive than doing the same thing alone?

Greek island hopping sounds great for meeting other people doing the same thing but would it be more of a sun-holiday-thing than travelling? I'd prefer to get more variety and see as much culture as possible. I'm not much of a beach/sunbathing type of person.

LiamMc

dia squish wrote: »

Thanks everyone.

I never thought of an organised tour. Would they be a lot more expensive than doing the same thing alone?

Greek island hopping sounds great for meeting other people doing the same thing but would it be more of a sun-holiday-thing than travelling? I'd prefer to get more variety and see as much culture as possible. I'm not much of a beach/sunbathing type of person.

The value of for the organised trip increases if it includes activities or destinatons you may not have a chance to do or see if you arranged it on your own.
The difference in price between independent v. organised is usually higher in many Developing World destinations and the difference is smaller in more expensive economies.

gadventurers seem to get good reviews on this message board.
http://www.gadventures.com/trips/europe/
Their two tours that include Albania (a different destination) work out at under €100 per day, which at least would be reasonable close to an indepents budget.

On the Go Tours offer numerous tours of Turkey. Incld Istanbul to Cairo for €1250.
http://www.onthegotours.com/Turkey/Tours


Even the islands in Greece have numerous historic sites. You could combine the Turkish Coast (airport Bodrum BJV; Izmir airport ADB further north) and Rhodes Island (Greece) (airport RHO) and have your fill of history.
Moving in the hot summer takes some stamina and travelling on ferries will keep you cool and more refreshed.

Rhodes
http://www.rhodos-travel.com/english.htm

dia squish

Thanks.

Right now I'm looking at a kind of mini inter-railing trip taking in Slovenia and Croatia and maybe somewhere else. Has anyone any experience of this? Would it be better to do alone or find some organised tour?

Also, since I might only have 2 weeks to spare, would it be best to stick to looking at Europe only?

con1982

How about Poland? The weather is amazing in the summer.

Gdansk, Warsaw, Krakow. You could even head cross the board to Prague or Kiev.

Civilian_Target

dia squish wrote: »

Thanks.

Right now I'm looking at a kind of mini inter-railing trip taking in Slovenia and Croatia and maybe somewhere else. Has anyone any experience of this? Would it be better to do alone or find some organised tour?

Also, since I might only have 2 weeks to spare, would it be best to stick to looking at Europe only?

Yeah, I've done it, and I know plenty who have done the same - it's a lot of fun. There's plently of backpackers, a good hostel network, lovely beaches, great nightlife and lots of things to do. Fly into Venice and out of Dubrovnik, and you'll have no issues filling two weeks in-between

mimihops

Yup went around Croatia, Slovenia and Serbia this summer and would totally recommend it. Got chatting to so many people on the trains too which made the longish train journeys a lot of fun.

dia squish

Civilian_Target wrote: »

Yeah, I've done it, and I know plenty who have done the same - it's a lot of fun. There's plently of backpackers, a good hostel network, lovely beaches, great nightlife and lots of things to do. Fly into Venice and out of Dubrovnik, and you'll have no issues filling two weeks in-between

Would flying into somewhere else like Vienna work as well? I've been to Venice before, I'd prefer to go somewhere I haven't been!

Anyone know what the best/most scenic train journeys are that go into Slovenia?

Tombo2001

OP...

Can I make the following observations:

Firstly, ten years ago (when I was your age) I went to Asia for 8 months and £2000 in my pocket and came out with change.

The reason I say that is the following:

What type of holiday experience do you want.

I would suggest that if you want the 'back-packer' experience then you will find it hard to get it on a two week holiday as
(i) You wont have much time
(ii) You wont know what you are looking for..... (what I mean by that for example, is that if I was to go to Morocco for two weeks.....I would fly into Agadir, get a taxi to taroudannt, and the following morning have another taxi bring me to a village in the Anti-Atlas mountains where I would meet a guide and go hiking for ten days.....in other words, I know exactly what I would want to do).
(ii) Most 'back-packer' destinations are a long haul flight away......so a large chunk of your time is either flying or recovering from flying.

The back-packer thing is more about having lots of time than having lots of money.

For whats its worth, if I had that cash for a three week holiday, the destinations I would consider are
(i) Cuba
(ii) Thailand

In terms of safety, personally I dont think it follows that because a country is more developed then it will be safer. I think you are more likely to be mugged in Rome than in New Delhi for example.

On the other hand, in terms of annoyance, then yes you are more likely to be pestered by a street hawkers, restaurant waiters, taxi drivers in New Delhi than Rome (when I say pestered, I mean they want you to buy their goods at exorbitant prices).

I think Cuba, because it is a communist state with strong policing, is a safe place to visit. But you'd want to do your own research on that. Also, if you drive, it is a good place to rent a car.

I think Thailand is a great starting point for a backpacker type experience because it has a very good tourist infrastructure, it has good internal transport links and also there are a lot of direct flights there from Europe. The people are very friendly and the food is great.

I'd also give a shout to Kerala in India. Cochin is a nice town (and you can fly there via Abu Dhabi with Etihad). There are lots of nice hotels there at very good prices, and this sort of thing might be of interest to you..... http://www.thehouseboatskerala.com/

Ultimately if you are worried about safety, you might be better off going in an organised group.....say on a hiking holiday. I accept that cost may prohibit against that though if you do it say through a UK operator.
On the other hand, the same thing could be purchased at your destination (e.g. Chiang Mai in Thailand) far more cheaply.

Ultimately, possibly the best way to approach this is
(i) what do you enjoy doing/ what do you want to do......
-Are you more interested in seeing cities or countryside? If cities then Eastern Europe could be great. If countryside then Kerala could be great.
-Are you looking to experience a completely new culture (for example, culturally Latin America is much closer to Europe than say India, because Latin America has a European language and religion).
- Are you a foodie person? Thailand and India are wonderful for food.......Pakistan or Laos not so much......for example.
- Are you into visiting historical sites? Tonnes of these in India.....not so many in China......
- Are you interested in street life and markets? Where are the best street markets? (this was always my favourite thing travelling, much more so than visiting historical locations).
- Are you interested in scenery? Trekking? Mountains?
and then
(ii) what are the options that tick those boxes.

Final point.....I did the island hopping thing in Greece on my own.....didnt enjoy it at all....everyone there was on package holidays with their mates.....it was hard to meet people and there wasnt much to do on your own. You want to be somewhere that there are youth hostels so you can meet other people.

dia squish

Tombo2001 wrote: »

I would suggest that if you want the 'back-packer' experience then you will find it hard to get it on a two week holiday as
(i) You wont have much time
(ii) You wont know what you are looking for..... (what I mean by that for example, is that if I was to go to Morocco for two weeks.....I would fly into Agadir, get a taxi to taroudannt, and the following morning have another taxi bring me to a village in the Anti-Atlas mountains where I would meet a guide and go hiking for ten days.....in other words, I know exactly what I would want to do).
(ii) Most 'back-packer' destinations are a long haul flight away......so a large chunk of your time is either flying or recovering from flying.

The back-packer thing is more about having lots of time than having lots of money.

I would love the back-packer experience but I'm in my 2nd year of a 4 year postgrad course and the most time I can take off in one go is 3 weeks. When I finish the course I'm planning on going travelling properly. But I can't wait that long so that's why I want a little taster now.

Tombo2001 wrote: »

For whats its worth, if I had that cash for a three week holiday, the destinations I would consider are
(i) Cuba
(ii) Thailand

Cuba is somewhere I would absolutely love to visit and now seems like a good time to go too? I'll look more into this definitely, any tips - pass them on!

South east Asia and India are places I'd maybe like to visit when I travel properly so I might leave them for now. Although Thailand seems like a good option for a short stint, but I think I'd be comfortable in a group? Not sure.

Tombo2001 wrote: »

Ultimately, possibly the best way to approach this is
(i) what do you enjoy doing/ what do you want to do......
-Are you more interested in seeing cities or countryside? If cities then Eastern Europe could be great. If countryside then Kerala could be great.
-Are you looking to experience a completely new culture (for example, culturally Latin America is much closer to Europe than say India, because Latin America has a European language and religion).
- Are you a foodie person? Thailand and India are wonderful for food.......Pakistan or Laos not so much......for example.
- Are you into visiting historical sites? Tonnes of these in India.....not so many in China......
- Are you interested in street life and markets? Where are the best street markets? (this was always my favourite thing travelling, much more so than visiting historical locations).
- Are you interested in scenery? Trekking? Mountains?
and then
(ii) what are the options that tick those boxes.

To be honest all of that sounds great to me, that's probably my problem...

Tombo2001 wrote: »

Final point.....I did the island hopping thing in Greece on my own.....didnt enjoy it at all....everyone there was on package holidays with their mates.....it was hard to meet people and there wasnt much to do on your own. You want to be somewhere that there are youth hostels so you can meet other people.

Yeah this is why I think Greek island hopping might not be for me.

Tombo2001

Hiya,

A couple of pointers on Cuba so....

My favourite part of that country was Vinales, lovely countryside, great place for hill walking and interesting because its where all the tobacco is growing.

Havana obviously is an interesting place, great architecture but a bit crumbing down...

Struggled to find nice beaches there surprisingly, was a bit disappointed with Varadero.....but I have no doubt there are nice beaches to be found.

Trinidad is a lovely town.

There is great music.

Not so many hostels, but lots of B&Bs which are a good way to meet locals.

Restaurants were not so good when I was there, fried chicken and a fizzy drink was as far as it went. However the home cooked food in the B&Bs was great.

I believe the transport network not great, but car hire is a good option.

Was there ten yrs ago, might have changed.