I am so excited to be taking my 17 year old niece on a trip to celebrate her high school graduation. The problem(actually question) is where?? She is very sweet, perky funny loving girl and not matter where we go we will have a blast. I refuse to take her any where that we will just hang out on a beach I want her to see that there is a different world other than Souther California and want her to experience some culture. But, I don't want to give her a chance to get temple"d out either. Ideally, I would love to take her to Africa on a safari but time and money will not permit that. So, where would you go?
Thank you for your time.

If you're looking for ideas in Asia, a Bangkok, Northern Thailand itinerary would give you culture, scenery, hill tribes, elephants, etc. and you could add in beach time too if you wanted to.
Bali would also be a great choice; it's small enough to get around easily with a driver and you could choose from a whole list of activities with little travel "angst" between them.
If you give us an idea of how long you'd like to go for that might help.

Also time frame. If we're talking (North American) summer, then I would definitely lean towards Bali and Indonesia. While there's more than enough on Bali to occupy you, also think about adding Yogyakarta (Borobodur, Prambanan, Candis) or Tana Toraja for a little more 'culture'.

Hi

What time of the year are you planning on going? And are you planning on staying 2 weeks? I think Thailand is a nice destination and my wife and I are going there again in May this year...a few days in Bangkok and then relaxing days at Samui. Bangkok can offer shopping, sights...and a bit of a culture shock of course In general Thailand is pretty cheap, the food is great and it is easy to get around. Here is a trip report with some pictures and links from our last trip to Thailand in 2002: http://gardkarlsen.com/thailand2002.htm

Regards
Gard
http://gardkarlsen.com - trip reports and pictures

Bali. The most accessible culture I've ever seen...you can take part rather than just observe.

You've already gotten lots of good ideas. Let me throw in another: Malaysian Borneo!

On teh Sabah side, you can stay in a lodge in the primary rainforest and take walks each day with a naturalist to see various animals including the amazing Orangutans. For culture, head to Sarawak, and you can take overnight trips out of Kuching to stay in longhouses (I'm not talking about the Hiton's longhouse, but real villages). That would be a really amazing trip!

I wrote a report on Borneo search for "Kathie's Borneo Trip report" posted at the end of 2005. We didn't get to the longhouses from Kuching - but we'll be back.

You can see our trip photos at www.marlandc.com

for simple ease of getting there from CA, and for getting around i would suggest thailand..

for most interesting and fun i too would suggest bali....it is unique...and there you can have culture along with beach in the same day...

for cost thailand would win out...hotels, food and shopping....bali would not be far behind but it takes more time to get there and probably more cost...

europe would also be an alternative....london, paris combo--expensive however....germany is another interesting place....italy...

Thank you all for your time and suggestions.
I am wanting to travel in June/July for & can only be gone for 10 days max.
Kathie- I could not find your report.Karlsen- great photo's and very informative journal.
Although Europe is great I wanted to show her more romote countries.
I prefer to travel on my own but thought not only would it be cheaper to do a package but since my niece is very friendly she could socialize with other travelers. What do you think?

I would absolutely travel independently. It will much cheaper, and you'll get to see and do what you want to see and do, not what the tour company wants you to buy.

If you search for Kathie's Borneo in the search box above, my report will pop up, about 3rd down the list.

I would take her to either...in no particular order... Thailand...Bangkok and the northern part of Thailand/ Bali/ or Ghana, West Africa which is far less expensive than an African safari. The infrastructure is quite good and the people are great. It's an English speaking country with LOTS of culture. I've been twice. Pilot Guides video has quite a good video on Ghana called West Africa...Ghana&Ivory Coast at www.pilotguides.com Tel.(323) 962-9345. The office is here in L.A. I bought the video from a travel store before I went. Happy Travels!

Do you mean 10 days max including the travel time to and from or 10 days max after landing somewhere? Happy Travels!

Guen-
I am all for travel to Africa (am planning a trip to Senegal and Bots for later this year) but do you really think its the best place for a 1st trip out of the country for a teenager???

have 10 days total (from the time I leave my house and back). Guen- Ghana is a great idea (I actually was there last March) but do think it would be too rough for her to start. BTW-Ethiopia was my favorite African country which I have visited.
Kathie- I found a 8day trip with air from LAX to Bangkok, hotels and some tours for $899. It's hard to think I could beat it independtely. What do you think?



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If $899 includes all taxes on tickets, etc., and if the airline and connections are ok, it sounds good. The question is whether the hotels are worth staying in or whether they are a "throw away." Likewise, the tours may be throw aways. Is it just to and from Bangkok? What are the hotels, what tours do they specify?

the problem with the $899 will be that the hotels are only so so, not nice, but not bad either and probably not centrally located...

a tour like that will yank you around to death...airfare alone is at least $899 from usa...

http://www.escapesltd.com/thailand/thailand.htm

This package does not really include much but as you say the price is good and at least it will get us to Thailand and I think I could arrange upgrades.
If you agree that I should do this should I arrange a guide/driver to get us around.
I really appreciate your help so much!
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Ok, the package is on Singapore Aire, which is good. When exactly are you going? I note that the package is good only after Sept. 1. It is for Bangkok and Phuket and early fall is is VERY wet in Phuket. You'd be better off with all Bangkok or say, Bangkok and Hua Hin or Bangkok and Chiang Mai. Part of whether the package is a good deal depends on what they would charge for upgrades at the hotels. Sometimes those packages look cheap, but turn out to be expensive because they charge so much for a nice hotel.

I wouldn't book thte package until I'd checked airfares. Take a look at Singapore Air (though you have to go through Singapore to get to Bangkok) and look at Thai Air (which has a non-stop). You may well find airfares in that price range. We can help you with websites to book hotels at very reasonable rates.

I never use an car and driver in bangkok. The Skytrain, water taxis and taxicabs work fine. SOme people do like to have a driver or a guide for a day but it certainly isn't necessary.

I don't think Ghana would be too rough at all. I think it would be perfect. I don't consider it a "Rough" place if you don't want it to be.There are much rougher places in Africa. There are plenty of ways to get around the so called roughness. I helped a Canadian family on this forum plan their trip to Ghana a few years ago.If you go to the African forum and type in Ghana they will lead you to a website where they wrote a great story about their trip. The poster's name was Sandye.They took their three children there...ages around 9-preteen and traveled for two weeks. Now, that was a great cultural experience for their kids. Happy Travels!

I forgot to mention that the Canadian family's story can be found on travelpod.com then type in "hooktravllers" in the top box and click on travel blog...then scroll down and the travelogue will pop up. Happy Travels!

Thank you all so much for your time and inputs as well as all the wonderful reading material with your journals.

I am closing this for now and hope to revisit this very soon. My brother is concerned about her upcoming college schedule and her track and field practice which will begin before the semester starts but does not know when. There is not only conflict between that but other schedules. BOY, WHEN YOU WERE A KID WOULDN'T HAVE JUST LOVED YOUR AUNT TAKING YOU ON AN INTERNATIONAL TRIP?? I will make it happen just don't know when. So, for now until I get a go head from the parents I'm parking it. THANKS AGAIN!