I've decided to travel somewhere alone for 3 weeks next year. French and Italian Rivieras?

[Anonymous]

The eurail passes aren't always (or even usually) a good deal these days, unless you are planning to travel first class (which IMO is unnecessary-- European trains are generally much nicer than ours).

[Anonymous]

I guess I should add, eurail passes can also be a good deal if you use them every day, but who wants to travel like that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would go to the beaches on the islands of Thailand, more bang for your buck there. And nothing like sitting on a beach and watching an elephant walk past!

15:22 here - with the luxury of 3 weeks, I would also recommend something farther away. SE Asia is amazing and pretty easy to adjust your itinerary on the fly - if you love a place stay longer, if you hate a place move on. We spent 9 weeks going through Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia. While you can cover a lot of ground in 3 weeks, you also want to give yourself time to absorb the culture and just enjoy your trip. Highlights of our trip include:

Thailand
- Bangkok - crazy energy. East meets west. No need to spend much time here, but great hub from which to hit other cities/countries.
- Chiang Mai - relaxing in Northern Thailand. Great place to take cooking classes to learn how to prepare authentic Thai cuisine.
- Ko Pha Ngan or Ko Samui - beautiful island paradises. 8 years ago we had our own private hut with a/c and a hammock on the porch steps from the beach for $10/night. We were on more of a budget, but even the all inclusive resorts weren't too expensive from what I recall. Avoid Phuket

Laos
- Luang Prabang - a sleepy colonial town on the Mekong River. You feel like you have walked on to a french colonial movie set.

Vietnam
Sapa - in northern Vietnam near the Chinese border. Mountain region where you can wake up feelingl like you are in the clouds due to the morning mist. Hill tribes live in this region and you can tour villages. Beautiful views and scenery. So relaxing.
Halong Bay - beautiful rock formations that rise from the water like miniature islands.
Hanoi - clean, efficient, attractive city tha feels like a time capsul.
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) - interesting to learn more about "The War with the US", but not a must see.

Cambodia
- Siem Reap - Angkor Wat and the other temples are not to be missed. Plenty of accomodations of all budgets. We enjoyed hiring a private tuk tuk driver for $20/day to go at our oen pace to see the sites.

I was the one who suggested Thailand, I think we would get along famously! As for your comment on Saigon, I remember learning it there as the "war of American aggression". Didn't really like Ho Chi Minh City either, much preferred Hanoi.

[Anonymous]

What level of luxury do you require? That would help knowing how far the 4-6K could reach. For me I could spend months in Europe on that budget! If you want 5 star hotels, and swanky restaurants then you will go through the money quickly. If you are willing to put the work in to shop around you can get great deals for nice places. What time of year do you plan to go. The trains are a great way to get around.

How comfortable are you with travelling alone. If you have never travelled then going somewhere like Europe is a more comfortable trip to do on your own.

[Anonymous]

I did this when I was 17--went to Europe alone for three weeks. I became INCREDIBLY LONELY. I really could not believe how isolated I felt. I spoke french fluently and was a very attractive girl, but nothing prepared me for the long, long stretches with no one to talk to. This was during the stone age before the internet and iPads ands and wifi. But still. I think I might be even lonelier doing the trip as an adult--I don't know.

[Anonymous]

What a brave and potentially exciting adventure. By alone, do you mean no family or friends or do you mean that you truly want to be alone? A dear friend found a women-only surfing school in Bali and went. She loved it and had a blast.

Similar types of supported hikes or bike trips. Or something structured around a cooking school or other interest in France, Italy or elsewhere.

[Anonymous]

Pre-DD, I loved traveling alone. I found that I met up with other travelers more easily on the gringo (or SE Asian-equivalent) trail, but that European cities had the most activities I was interested in doing on my own (museums, theater, historical sites, etc) for an extended period of time. To echo a PP, though, it all depends on your interests. Central or South America, or SE Asia, would be more affordable and you could (if you wanted) travel comfortably but at a not-so-luxurious level so you could meet other travelers, and travel with them for a bit if you wanted. If you heart is set on Europe, you could probably mix it up with cities and countryside pretty easily, although cost is more of a concern.

[Anonymous]

Go here!

http://welshcoastpath.com/

[Anonymous]

I was a little bit lonely on my first trip to Europe but honestly I was so excited to be seeing all the great works of art and architecture I had learned about in school that I was mostly busy. Sometimes I would hook up with another single traveler to sightsee - a fellow female student but from Asia for example. At the time I wished that I had a little more discretionary income for food and taxis. Mostly walked my legs off. Recommend spending 2 nights per place or making sure you have somewhere to leave your larger bag so that you don't end up having to carry it around except during transfers between cities.
Recommend Berkeley guides for money saving tips.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would go to the beaches on the islands of Thailand, more bang for your buck there. And nothing like sitting on a beach and watching an elephant walk past!

15:22 here - with the luxury of 3 weeks, I would also recommend something farther away. SE Asia is amazing and pretty easy to adjust your itinerary on the fly - if you love a place stay longer, if you hate a place move on. We spent 9 weeks going through Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia. While you can cover a lot of ground in 3 weeks, you also want to give yourself time to absorb the culture and just enjoy your trip. Highlights of our trip include:

Thailand
- Bangkok - crazy energy. East meets west. No need to spend much time here, but great hub from which to hit other cities/countries.
- Chiang Mai - relaxing in Northern Thailand. Great place to take cooking classes to learn how to prepare authentic Thai cuisine.
- Ko Pha Ngan or Ko Samui - beautiful island paradises. 8 years ago we had our own private hut with a/c and a hammock on the porch steps from the beach for $10/night. We were on more of a budget, but even the all inclusive resorts weren't too expensive from what I recall. Avoid Phuket

Laos
- Luang Prabang - a sleepy colonial town on the Mekong River. You feel like you have walked on to a french colonial movie set.

Vietnam
Sapa - in northern Vietnam near the Chinese border. Mountain region where you can wake up feelingl like you are in the clouds due to the morning mist. Hill tribes live in this region and you can tour villages. Beautiful views and scenery. So relaxing.
Halong Bay - beautiful rock formations that rise from the water like miniature islands.
Hanoi - clean, efficient, attractive city tha feels like a time capsul.
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) - interesting to learn more about "The War with the US", but not a must see.

Cambodia
- Siem Reap - Angkor Wat and the other temples are not to be missed. Plenty of accomodations of all budgets. We enjoyed hiring a private tuk tuk driver for $20/day to go at our oen pace to see the sites.

I was the one who suggested Thailand, I think we would get along famously! As for your comment on Saigon, I remember learning it there as the "war of American aggression". Didn't really like Ho Chi Minh City either, much preferred Hanoi.

Agree with almost all of this, but I didnt care for Sapa in 2005. Very hard to get to, yet still touristy. The Hill women aggressively followed us wanting me to pay for a picture with them.

[Anonymous]

You can definitely do Europe for $4-6K if you plan well and stay away from major hotels (which are boring and lacking in ambiance, anyway). My husband and I did 2.5 weeks in Italy for less than $10K, including shopping and amazing food and wine, because we enjoy staying in small, locally-owned hotels and apartments. Italy is a good location because you can travel around and see different cities with very different feels. I would LOVE to return to the Cinque Terre for a few weeks, but sadly they suffered greatly from some flooding and mudslides in 2011 and I don't know if the towns have recovered. Personally, I didn't enjoy Capri and Sorrento (further South). Capri was far too commercialized and expensive to be charming, though the views are great. Florence and Rome are must-sees, of course, and you can spend some time in the countryside in a small village in Tuscany or go up to Lake Como for totally different scenery.

I also second the above PPs recommendations for South East Asia - that's where I plan to visit the next time I have several weeks. Airfare will be expensive, but you can certainly get your moneys worth from your time there. Again, if I were traveling by myself, I'd probably select a place where you can travel around to avoid boredom and loneliness. Have fun!

[Anonymous]

If you wanted a more relaxing trip, you could also consider renting apartments for a week each in 3 different locations. You could just sightsee from there, but put down roots a little more.

[Anonymous]

I would go to Iceland.

[Anonymous]

OP here and thank you all SO MUCH! I don't have time to respond to each post, but know that I devoured every word. I'm really excited about this trip, and I do mean alone, no friends no family. I have a lot to think about, a lot to research. Thanks again!

[Anonymous]

traveling alone is great. I'm like the hiking PP.. I'd plan a European hut hike.. like on the Irish coast or something. Or in the alps. With a stop in Iceland for 3--5 days on the way over. But cities are great too. And so is Asia. The possibilities are endless! (I did find traveling in Europe more lonely than in Asia.)