Plan me a trip...

A

AHShorn

< 25 Posts
I need the help of all of you creative travelers out there. I am looking to plan about a 10 day-long trip to anywhere in the world, and would love your advice.

Here's my situation:
I'm a 23 year-old, single, recent grad and am currently working on a political campaign. The campaign ends in November, and I probably won't start another job till the New Year. So I have about 3 weeks in between Thanksgiving and Christmas that I want to spend at least part of traveling. Looking to spend about 2500-3000 total (including airfare).

I like beaches, cities, not really looking to camp much by myself. No real foreign language skills but happy to ******** in any language. Give me your thoughts/ideas/brainstorms and help me have a cool adventure.
 
Fly to Rio. Set up camp on Ipanema Beach. Buy a soccer ball. You'll make friends fast. Spend a few days drinking beer and sunning yourself by day and hitting the bars and clubs all night. Take in a soccer game at the Estadio Merecana. Check out the Corcovado.

After a few days in Rio, rent a car and get off the beaten path. Drive up or down the coast with no itinerary and just see what happens.

After another 3-4 days, head back to Rio and fly to Quito, Ecuador. Stay in Old Town. Don't spend much on a hotel. Quito is good starting place for lots of adventures. Climb Illinza Norte. Climb Cotopaxi. Take a motocross tour through the jungle. They have trains that travel through the Andes and you can climb on the roof and take in the scenery.

Top it all off with a trip to Bolivia. The recently altered the traffic pattern on the world's most dangerous road. They used to have two-way traffic and people regularly plunged to their deaths when their cars or buses went of the road. Now they alternate directions every 4 or 8 hours. That means you can ride a bike 30 or so miles downhill and you only have to worry about killing yourself instead of being killed by someone else. Not sure what else to do in Boliva, but I'm sure you'll think of something.

Spend judiciously while you're gone, but don't let a minor detail like you budget rob you of any real fun. You only go around once. You'll have plenty of chances to be thrifty when you get back home if you need to replenish your finances.

Bernard
 
Thanks Bernard, I like that advice. I was in Buenos Aires last summer and imagine that the rest of South America is just as cool.

If anyone has any advice/experience with any places in Asia, I'd be really interested to hear it. I've never been and would really like to.
 
Thailand is a great place to relax and recharge your batteries.

Spend a couple of days in Bangkok and then, if you like beaches, head south. It can be very cheap and there is lots of great scube diving, especially on the Andaman sea side.

Phuket, Krabi, Phi Phi, Similans on the Andaman side; Samui, Pha Ngan, Ko tao on the Gulf of Thailand side. Ko Chang is nice also, near the Cambodian border.

Only thing, with the distance, you might consider a longer stay; 3 weeks is good if you can swing it. You major cost will be the flight over, after that you can travel to your budget. I have stayed in a bunglow on ko Pha Ngan for the equivalent of $1.25 per night, and at the Oriental for in Bangkok for around $250/ night. Most beach areas you should be able to find good places for $20-$25/ night. Phuket is more expensive, however.
 
Yeah, Thailand or Vietnam were kind of what I was thinking in Asia. It looks as if a flight into Bankok is only $1300, so that isn't all that bad. Also, the flight goes through Tokyo, another city that I want to (briefly) see.
Anyone know if it is hard or more expensive to have a 2 or 3 day stoppover?
 
definitely Thailand/SE Asia. It is still cheap to travel over there, the weather will be turning to good/great and they have not completely destroyed/damaged a lot of great sites..
 
I just re-read you post and discovered your looking for a 10-day trip. I saw three weeks the first time around.

Here's another option for 10-days:

Fly to Istanbul. Get a hotel near the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque. Spend 3-4 days seeing the sights around the city. It's an incredible place.

Fly to Antalya. Rent a car. Drive westward along the coast stopping in seaside towns along the way. Lots of day trips to archaeological sites including Ephesus and Termessos. By day 10 you'll be back in Istanbul and ready for a flight home.

The weather will be a bit chilly for beach activities, but you'll have all the tourist spots to yourself as all the Euro tourists will be long gone.

I had a great time in Turkey.

Bernard
 
10 days is just a rough idea, I basically want to travel until the money runs out. If that is 20 days (in a cheap place like Vietnam or Thailand) I am definitely up for it. I'll probably leave the Sunday after T+1, and can stay until about the 20th of December. Any length of trip inbetween those dates is perfect.

Keep the great ideas coming, thanks guys.
 
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