I need a place to go! Cruises, Contiki, independent travel? I am 25, a single young woman, probably traveling solo. On a budget and not sure what to do, but I%26#39;d like to get a good week or so to vacation. I am trying to stay away from Caribbean vacations, but open to anything because I%26#39;d like to go anywhere! Spa, multi-state, multi-country, beach, you name it! Any single women travelers with advice? Places for young professionals? Thanks for your suggestions!
Need a Vacation - Young Professional
Depends on YOU.
%26gt;your budget, how quickly you want to go away, your interests, whether you are looking to meet people or just relax, how comfortable you are traveling alone, how long you have to be away...
Need a Vacation - Young Professional
I went on a 24 day Contiki through Europe last year, it was fabulous. I definitely recommend it!!! PM me if you want more info.
-megs
Although you may not have 3 weeks+ time, with a week+, a European destination would be wonderful:-) Have personally travelled solo many times to Europe and always enjoyed it..Capital Cities usually cover a diverse range of sites/activities and if it%26#39;s beach you%26#39;re looking for you can always head over to the Mediterranean coast from Portugal (actually, the Atlantic) all the way over to Greece..loads of great choices there..if it%26#39;s now through the Fall you%26#39;re looking into! Enjoy!
Where have you already been? That would be helpful to know.
For domestic/Canadian travel, if you haven鈥檛 been to San Francisco or Vancouver, I鈥檇 go there鈥攚onderful cities full of young people and not too terribly demanding on your budget since you鈥檙e spending dollars or CDN. If you want to feel like you鈥檝e gone to Europe without suffering the hit to your wallet, then go for Montreal.
While there are lots of ways to cut costs in Europe, there鈥檚 no getting around the fact that the Euro is absolutely killing the dollar right now. (Ditto the Pound.) While places like London, Paris, and Rome are worth taking the hit for, you might save those for a time when the dollar is healthier and go to Eastern Europe, where you can still get pretty good mileage out of your money. Poland is very trendy right now, for instance, and hasn鈥檛 yet linked to the Euro.
In Africa, Morocco is more expensive than it used to be but still a relative bargain and fairly easy for single female travelers.
In Asia, Vietnam is the current 鈥榠t鈥?destination (Keith McNally of Pastis, Schiller鈥檚, Balthazar, etc. is opening a restaurant there) and is very cheap for Americans. Lots of young people there, especially in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).
BUT, knowing nothing else about you, I鈥檇 probably pick Argentina. The dollar is still strong against the Argentine Peso, and there is a great mix of cosmopolitan urbanity (Buenos Aires), beaches, and nature tourism, particularly if you include a trip to Patagonia.
I would excise the idea of a cruise from your mind as quickly as possible if you hope to meet other young people!
Mopan River Resort in Belize is really cool. Its close to the Guatemala border but they pick you up in Belize City at the airport and bring you there (Continental flies to Belize City from Newark).
Its a 10? room all inclusive jungle lodge - but with all the creature comforts - cable TV, pool, included mini bar, the best drinks - Banana Velvets! Gorgeous rooms, gardens. The people who own it have traveled the world and this place is the result - every detail is perfect - and its really cheap for what it is! Every night after dinner they tell you where you are going the next day - Mayan ruins, cave tubing, cave exploration with Mayan pottery/artifacts, river kayaking, etc. All the guests are very interesting, professional world travellers.
If you have a good call with the owner, she may waive the single supplement!
South America is good. Dollar still goes pretty far (at least compared to Europe). Chile is wonderful and very safe for a single female traveler
I did a multi-city European trip alone last year. Krakow--Prague--Budapest--Vienna. Two week trip, trains between the cities. Met lots of great people as I went. Hired a private guide in one city so I was guaranteed someone to chat with. Met people while on day tours or just historical tours around certainly buildings. Had a great time staying at a small B%26amp;B where lots of other Americans were staying and ended up going out with my B%26amp;B mates a lot. I found the choice of hotel was critical to making my stay fun for me. I find big hotels too impersonal especially if I am keen on meeting other travellers.
If you only have a week I might say just do two cities. Can be exhausting to change locales all the time.
I would also recommend Turkey. I didn%26#39;t do it solo. I went with a female friend but it was very safe, an amazing country, and even a short trip to Istanbul and then maybe one other city would be wonderful.
If you had more time I highly recommend going solo to Australia. People were SOOOOOOOO friendly and I never laughed so hard in all my life than with the people I met there. Plus they have beaches, cities, amazing landscapes etc....
You might want to check out the journeywoman.com website. That%26#39;s about travel for women and I feel like they had some posts about solo travels.
PM me if you have more specific questions. I am totally a convert to solo travel and am planning another big solo trip this year.
