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• Reputation: 366 Q&A: 3 0 5 216 10 0 Classifieds: 0 0 what's this? Follow Following 0 Gloria

  2 0 Maybe I'm speaking from a place of privilege, but you'll get other chances to travel. You may not be able to do it for the same amount of time (a year will be really difficult as you have more commitments), but the opportunity will certainly exist, especially once you have employment. I don't really mean to be lecturing or anything; I just recognize that I had the same feeling a few years ago when I was finishing up my bachelor. Then I ended up going to Italy :D You might have your heart set going overseas, but I'd suggest Canada. Another commentator has the really good idea of the West, so I'll suggest the East coast. The Maritimes provinces are really gorgeous, quiet, with lots of opportunities to see historic and natural sights. My boyfriend's family is from New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, and both provinces are just beautiful. That said, since it's North America, it may well end up just as expensive as going to a cheap budget place overseas. I have no experience there, so hopefully someone else can help you too! Gloria answered in Long Distance Travel about 1 year ago | Report Comment on this answer Enter your comment or ask a new question preview THIS IS A PREVIEW: Click "Post" to submit it or "Edit" to make changes. edit Please wait… This could take a minute if the tubes are clogged.

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  2 0 I'd say visit Australia but (a) I don't want to sound parochial and (b) with the dollars as they are at the moment it is probably a bit expensive. If it is not too expensive, there are great things to see and do here - just ask Fnarf! ozchick answered in Long Distance Travel about 1 year ago | Report Comment on this answer Enter your comment or ask a new question preview THIS IS A PREVIEW: Click "Post" to submit it or "Edit" to make changes. edit Please wait… This could take a minute if the tubes are clogged.

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  1 0 You are a wise woman! Take advantage of your free time. I think the easiest and safest thing you can do is head to Western Europe and get the Eurail pass for a few countries. I think when I went we did a 9 country pass. Flights into and out of Paris are pretty cheap, especially right now. You can start there, head up through Belgium and Amsterdam, up through Denmark, back down through Germany, Prague, Italy, Spain and back to Paris. You can do this in about 2 months and under $3K if you spend wisely. So fun and so many great people to meet! You can also get really cheap cruises up to Alaska for last minute customers. Shannon Osten answered in Long Distance Travel about 1 year ago | Report 1 comment by inquisitive206… 0 0 I'm always compelled to shoot down the "buy a Eurail pass" because I feel like the fixed cost subconsciously makes people travel faster than they 'should' to try to get as many rides, over as long a distance as possible. I took a quick look at rates and if you have a rigid itinerary, it could be good value. However, if you want to remain flexible, you could do well to buy tickets on local trains between small towns and those rides may cost around $10. I did this in southern Germany and had a great time tramping about on the cheap. My whole three-month tour of E and W Europe plus all of the UK cost about $450 for all that train travel plus an Aer Lingus r/t flight. inquisitive206 commented about 1 year ago | Report Enter your comment or ask a new question preview THIS IS A PREVIEW: Click "Post" to submit it or "Edit" to make changes. edit Please wait… This could take a minute if the tubes are clogged.

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  1 0 Banff and Jasper national parks are amazingly beautiful and if you go by car you can also do Glacier National Park on the way. Marty Unger answered in Long Distance Travel about 1 year ago | Report Comment on this answer Enter your comment or ask a new question preview THIS IS A PREVIEW: Click "Post" to submit it or "Edit" to make changes. edit Please wait… This could take a minute if the tubes are clogged.

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• Reputation: 775 Q&A: 20 0 3 266 6 11 Classifieds: 0 0 what's this? Follow Following 0 Tracy M

  0 0 If you're looking for something outside the country, but a bit nervous about some of the more exotic/off-the-beaten-path destinations solo, I'd suggest Costa Rica. A very established tourism industry, offering all pricing levels of activities, tours, accommodations, etc. If you don't know Spanish, spend some time with a phrase book and a great attitude. Most people are wonderfully patient and friendly. (I can basically just order a beer and ask for the bathroom). Lots of backpacker level places, but you could also splurge on a fancy spa-resort for one night. Staying in hostels is easy and affordable, and a great way to learn about local guides/tours (whether it be day trips or 2-4 night adventures). Public transit options are decent, and if you make friends with a few people in the hostel, you can generally hire a driver with trusty Toyota to take you across the country for darn cheap. It's a small-enough place (geographically) that you can experience much of country in a shorter time frame (2 weeks or less). Plus, wonderful variety of landscape (beaches, mountains, rain forests, cloud forests, etc). Do a bit of research, as with any country, there are some areas/cities that aren't as safe as others. The Lonely Planet website has a GREAT travel forum, but it can be a bit intimidating, as many of the users are seasoned travelers and sometimes look down upon newbies. But there are also great helpful people there, as well. Costa Rica is one of my favorite places in the world. If your Spanish is non-existent and you find yourself too worried about attempting the phrase-book thing without a travel-partner, Belize is a nice option as well (and, being a former British colony, the national language is English). It's more expensive than Costa Rica, but not out of reach. If snorkeling is important to you, the Cayes in Belize are amazing...but also VERY VERY expensive by central american standards (exacerbated by the fact that this region is used to cruise ships). Other regions of Belize are more economical. The west is fun and more established for back-packer tourists, and also affords the opportunity for a day trip (or 2-3 night trip) into Guatemala to view Tikal (amazing!). Personally, I love the southern area of the country...it's more off the beaten path...less official tourist activities. However, my travel companion felt out-of-place, a bit lost, and bored there, whereas she loved San Ignacio in the west. Same deal goes for doing your research on safety. The capital can be a bit dodgy...most tourists get off the plane and hop a taxi, bus, or small plane to the rest of the country. Either would make for a great, relatively user-friendly, solo female backpacker destination. Plus, MONKEYS!! I think Costa Rica has more to offer, but they're both wonderful. Also, my travel-buddy in Belize was not interested in hostels, so our time there was in the cheaper hotels (Toucan Trail website offers a nice collection), which was nice, but keeps you a bit more isolated from fellow travelers. If you stay in hostels, you're more likely to make friends/meet people with whom you can share a day tour, etc. Tracy M answered in Long Distance Travel about 1 year ago | Report Comment on this answer Enter your comment or ask a new question preview THIS IS A PREVIEW: Click "Post" to submit it or "Edit" to make changes. edit Please wait… This could take a minute if the tubes are clogged.

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  0 0 Make some friends on sofasurfer.com and head to Asia. It is significantly less expensive than anywhere in N. or S. America or Europe. You can live on a few dollars per day depending on where you are going. You can even meet up with fellow travelers to do segments of traveling together. I would suggest starting somewhere like Vietnam or Thailand. TerraSapient answered in Long Distance Travel about 1 year ago | Report Comment on this answer Enter your comment or ask a new question preview THIS IS A PREVIEW: Click "Post" to submit it or "Edit" to make changes. edit Please wait… This could take a minute if the tubes are clogged.

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  0 0 I like the Canada idea, but I also think why not travel overseas while you can? The whole "we could all be dead tomorrow" mentality. Anyway. Thailand. It's wonderful and amazing and all sorts of other positive adjectives. I stayed with a theatre group in Bangkok but backpacked by myself around the North. It's safe (as long as you aren't stupid, same goes for anywhere) and there are a lot of other young people traveling there that you can meet. Also, it's really really cheap. The guest house (like a hotel/hostel) I stayed in in Chaing Mai was something around 8 US dollars a night. And it was one of the nicer places. You can traipse through the jungle and along the beach and through cities and temples. There really is nothing like it. new york state of mind answered in Long Distance Travel about 1 year ago | Report Comment on this answer Enter your comment or ask a new question preview THIS IS A PREVIEW: Click "Post" to submit it or "Edit" to make changes. edit Please wait… This could take a minute if the tubes are clogged.

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