Amsterdam, Paris, Nice, Cinque Terre, Rome, Florence, Venice, Innsbruck, Salzburg, Vienna, fly out from? Germany or Switzerland?

These rich lawyer moms clearly forgot how to travel on a budget. If you are on your own who cares if you are crashing at a hostel (you don't have to be young to use them except in Germany) or a cheaper hotel? Get a Eurorail pass and a hostel membership and start planning. While I was just-pregnant with #1 DH and I did a trip where we flew into the Netherlands and flew out from Milan and just went where we wanted by train.
Recommend Italy (Rome, Florence, Venice) if you have to stick to one country and have never been anywhere.

What are your interests OP? What appealed to you about the Rivera? What types of things do you like to do - Arts & Culture, outdoor recreation? Beaches or Mountains? etc., etc.

For instance, I LOVE hiking, so one of my dream trips is a supported hike along the Via Alpina - high mountain hiking by day, wonderful small B&B type inns for shower / dinner / bed by night, but I know that's not everyone's cup of tea and many folks would prefer cities. Let us know what YOU like to do, and I'm sure you will find lots of folks on here who would love to help you plan a trip and live vicariously.

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.

OP, what I found was that when going to family/beachy sort of places by myself, I felt very lonely -- it was exclusively couples and/or families and NO single people (unless they were tagging along on a family trip), so you really didn't get much chance to talk to anyone at all. Things that I was ok with doing on my own were big cities as there would be museums, sights, shopping, and plenty of restaurants/bars. One thing you might want to consider within your budget is a cruise (but unless it is a singles cruise, you will be one of the few single people there, I know that from experience). Mexico is also a possibility, the flights to the Maya Riviera would be more reasonable than to Europe and the Mayan ruin sights are fantastic to see. If you do go to Europe, look into apartment rentals that are further out (but still on a metro) as that may be more reasonably priced. You can spend a week in London, a week in Paris, and a week in Rome. All of those are places that are wonderful to see and great for the novice travelel as people speak English (for the most part), they are easy to get around on the metro and there is plenty to see and there are plenty of tourists. You can fly into one city, take the train to the other 2, and then fly home from your 3rd city. Also, you might want to look at the professionals in the city website -- they do international group trips that are within your budget. You can pay to upgrade to a single, and you can stay with the group when you want and go off on your own when you want, but you get the benefit of having someone arrange everything for you. The trips to Thailand are well within your budget for a 2 week trip.

http://www.prosinthecity.com/trips.php

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!

OP here and I haven't done any research yet. I just made this big decision yesterday! I'm open to anything. Where would YOU go? I'm just in the idea forming stage.

OP,

Have you researched hotel/lodging rates and factored in the weak dollar? Europe is expensive these days!

What about South America?

I agree with 15:32, but you'll have to be careful exactly where you'll be staying because as a PP said, $4-6k is not a lot of money for 3 weeks in a European city like Paris or Rome. To be honest, many parts of Asia or Eastern Europe would help your money go a lot further, but this is your first trip overseas, so perhaps you want to stay someplace closer to home.

First time abroad...I would hit cities (Paris/Rome/Amsterdam-Etc.) Take trains from one destination to the next.

While you probably could do the Riviera on a budget, it wouldn't be my first choice. You'd feel like you're on the outside looking in. I'd go to somewhere like Provence. Stay in little villages and eat at small local restaurants. You can spend a lot of money there as well, but it would be easier to do it on the cheap.

Good for you OP! While I don't have specific experience along French or Italian Rivieras, Dh and I have traveled extensively. Depending on the amenities you are looking for, with some research and good resources, you can travel more frugally without sacrificing much in any location. I'm sure others on this board will scoff at this suggestion, but we've often used Lonely Planet as a resource when planning a trip. Similar to Trip Advisor, you can find candid reviews on accomodations, tours, sights, things to avoid, safety concerns, all over the world. While this was a few years ago, we arrived in Venice with no reservations and ended up in a lovely little hotel about a 3 minute walk from Piazza San Marco for under 100 euros with the help of Lonely Planet.

Hmm. That's not good. I'm not set on a location, but it must be a long trip. Any alternatives suggestions?

4-6K will buy you a week at best along the French and Italian riviera. But it sounds like a blast - have fun!

I've decided that I need to get away alone for 3 full weeks. I've never been out of the country, never planned a trip, and never traveled alone, but I am doing this. The budget is 4-6k. I was thinking of hitting spots along the French and Italian Rivieras but I don't know where to start. Should I get a travel agent or just do this myself? Any tips? What would your ideal trip like this look like?