Having a tough time narrowing down where to go
 

Hi everyone! I’m (24M) planning a solo trip as a gift to myself for starting my new job. I have 4-5 weeks before I start my new job to travel. Tentative dates would be July 5th to August 2nd. But I don’t start until August 8th so I’m a bit flexible.


This would be my second time solo travelling and I’ve only ever so far soloed Italy and France. I’m looking to get some recommendations on some places I should go to.


Here are some details:

- budget: I mainly do hostels but do like eating out. I have a very healthy amount budgeted but I doubt I will get close to spending even half of it, even if I did hotels and dined out at nice restaurants.

- I’ve been to a decent amount of Europe (Paris, London, many cities in Italy, Prague, Vienna, Kyiv), US, Canada, and Israel



- travel dates: Whole month of July 2022



- I love being surrounded by interesting architecture, I love wandering at night, I also am looking for the occasional club scene. A place where it’s good to be your early mid 20s



- I enjoy exploring like going on cool hikes



- Don’t mind museums but am not a fan of art museums (at least older stuff like renaissance)

- I have American citizenship


So far I’ve been considering a few options:


- Japan or South Korea (looks like Japan is now open for tourists, although only on guided tours. SK is fully open).

- Thailand/Vietnam/Cambodia (only downside I see is that it’s the rainy season and will be humid)

- South America (Argentina/Peru/Brazil)

- AUS/NZ

- Big Europe trip (Paragliding Switzerland, partying in Berlin and Budapest, Chilling in Amsterdam, maybe even checking out the Baltics and maybe Spain and more of France or even the UK)

There’s so much of Europe to see that I wouldn’t mind doing it again. At the same time doing non-Europe would open up a new continent I have never been to. In an ideal world I would probably want to visit Japan solo, but it’s closed off for only guided tours. I felt very inspired by the movie “Lost in Translation”

Peru seems cool because I’ve always wanted to visit Machu Pichu

Are some locations better to visit while young? I assume some are better/worse in July time frame too

ill be posting this in numerous forums since there’s no general world forum.

Spain (southern, eastern or northern coast come to mind)

Malaga, Granada, Seville Cordoba

Barcelona and north

Bilbao and Santander

One of my ideas if I did Europe was that I really wanted to see these places: Berlin, Amsterdam, Budapest, and Interlaken. Spain would also be interesting and I think I could add it on

I would suggest you go to Berlin, Amsterdam, Budapest and Interlaken.

Yeah if I did that route based on my interests in each city and travel style I would devote 5 days to Berlin, 4 days to Amsterdam and Budapest, and probably 3-4 days in Switzerland. If we count half a day of traveling for 4 destinations, that’s 18-19 days in total used up. Still have another 10ish days so was thinking I could add on Iceland or Scotland.

Take advantage of having so much time, visit a place that is less easy to reach, where you need more time for sightseeing and travel time, and save Europe for when you will have less time, but can do short, focused trips.
New Zealand and Australia both seem to have a young vibe with interesting cities, a great art and theater scene and beautiful landscapes.

This is exactly what I was thinking. Europe is easy to do in short timeframes. I will take a look at Aus and NZ!

You need a visa for Japan nowadays.
It is peak holiday time in Europe, which means places will be busy, including probably hostels. Even with 4-5 weeks your Europe wish list is rushed. Travel between cities take longer than you think, flying is a pia with huge queues, potential for last minute cancellations, plus the pollution. Trains take longer but are likely to be less crowded and better for the environment - we are talking your future here.
Plenty of young people travel around Europe by train.
Have you considered exploring your own country?

Your biggest problem with either Europe or some parts of the USA . . . you have left things very late. Flights, hotels, hostels, etc will be slammed - finding seats on the flights you want may be difficult, and hostels all over Europe are reporting massive bookings.

Plus airfares have close to doubled.

OZ/NZ may be a better option - though it is winter there

What about Columbia? or Brazil?

I agree with heading farther out, with that length of time. Koh Samui will be less rainy than other parts of Thailand, and it has that youthful vibe I’m told. Bangkok and Singapore are wonderful any time from both the architectural and food point of view.

We visited Siem Reap one May, supposedly the height of the rainy season. Fewer tourists, and the rains only arrived in the afternoon, so we explored in the mornings (a guide and tuktuk driver are a must) and shopped or rested in the afternoons. Clear again by nightfall, as a rule.

You're young and have lots of time and evidently a generous budget. I'd skip Europe and head to Asia or South America if I were you.

Here is my take on your options FWIW.

Europe - I friend has offered to pay for a week in Europe next month. I have spent the last couple of days, with the kind assistant of people here , trying to decide where to go. However, that is not the main problem, finding flights and hotels is. Flights from London to anywhere in Europe are 4-5 x normal rates and hotel room are rapidly getting booked out and are also expensive. You had better have a VERY healthy budget.

Australia and NZ. Yes it is winter in Australia but its a big place and will still have decent weather somewhere , mostly in the north. We always visit NZ in winter and rent a camper van. Most people think we are mad but we love it . Amazing hiking and a great place to be if you are into winter sports. Queenstown has a young vibe but think you may struggle to find much happening elsewhere. Sydney is arguably one of the most exciting cities in the world for a 20 something regardless of the weather but is very expensive.

Japan will not be open for anything other than v expensive small group tours - if you could find one of those, you are likely to find your companions are more likely in their 60s or &0s that 20s! It is not a great time to visit from a weather perspective.

SE Asia is problematic because of the weather at that time of year. It shouldn't necessarily put you off visiting parts of the region but if weather is important to you, head for Borneo or south of the equator to Indonesia .

South Korea is a good alternative to Japan and worth considering - a big club scene in Seoul. Perhaps not as easy a country in which to travel as Japan but similar in many respects

Taiwan wasn't mentioned but we spent a week their in July and wished we had a month , it was that good.

South America is an amazing continent. My favourite countries are Peru, Colombia and Argentina and, of those, I would suggest Peru is the easiest for first time visitor but you could easily spend a month in any of those countries and not run out of things to see/do/eat!

Some of these places I have covered in more detail in our blog.https://accidentalnomads.comwhich may provide some ideas. Just click on the destination tab.

Happy travel planning!

I would never go to Japan in July or August even if you paid me. Miserably hot plus it’s typhoon season. Unless of course you are going to Hokaido.

I've been to Japan in the summer. (thrice!) and had a great time each time. It is not humid, so there is relief from there sun anywhere there is shade or if you have a floppy hat. Women can be seen carrying parasols. In South Korea we had four big rains during monsoon season, and even then it did not dampen our enthusiasm, though we did need to adjust our trip once to account for a very big storm.

Every place I’ve checked even for the nice hostels during my dates aren’t booked. Neither are activities I wanted to do. At least in the main European cities I wanted to visit.

I also have a very healthy budget ($20,000 USD), so I can afford to book last minute stuff.

Taiwan seems to be closed to tourists, otherwise it would be my #1 :(

Ok so in order to narrow down locations and actually get closer to planning/making a decision, I’m gonna axe Japan and save it for later. I may also axe Thailand and save it for a better time.

So far that leaves Oceania, Europe, South Korea, and South America.

If I did South America I would probably do an Intrepid or GAdventures tour. If I did SA I would definitely want to see Machu Pichu.

The other countries seem pretty friendly to solo traveler and not be on a guided tour.

If I did Europe I would want to see Iceland (1 week), Scotland (3-4 days), Berlin (4-5 days), Budapest (4-5 days), Amsterdam (4-5 days), and Switzerland (3-4 days, I have a dream of going paragliding). That would account for 5 weeks. I probably would have to axe out a location or 2. I checked and availability for hostels among all the locations were good.

South Korea seems amazing especially for nightlife and I have only been to Europe/North America/Middle East so it would let me see another continent (unless you count Israel as Asia) but idk if a month would be too much for SK?

And after seeing lord of the rings I’ve always wanted to see NZ. How big of a deal are snakes in Australia? I have a big phobia

Snakes in Australia. The old joke, the spiders have eaten all the snakes.

Oz is home to an unfair proportion of all killing animals.

There are no snakes at all in New Zealand.

Snakes are a big issue in Australia. If you have a phobia, scratch that form your list.

I don't think a month is too long for South Korea, we had three weeks there and wanted more. Although, do check the weather as I think it may be the monsoon season then meaning high temps , humidity and heavy rain.

Hostels may well have availability in Europe but I would check flights too. Planning my own trip in Europe and I am finding very high airfares and limited availability throughout europe . Probably caused by the chaos at understaffed airports, industrial action etc. etc...

In your situation I would definitely be looking at South America a great time to visit and way more "bang for your buck".

Honestly I’m not gonna let a fear ruin seeing a beautiful country. Is Oz good to visit in July? Ditto for NZ

I checked flights and they were affordable to Reykjavik, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Berlin, and Paris. Anything wrong with repeating a Europe trip? I was thinking ring road in Iceland + Amsterdam + Switzerland + Berlin + Budapest.

Honestly I’m not gonna let a fear ruin seeing a beautiful country. Is Australia good to visit in July? Ditto for NZ

ill take a look at South America, maybe Inca trail!

I decided I’ve narrowed down my options to Europe, South America, Oceania, and maybe SK.

I really don’t want to let a phobia not allow me to see the world. I might do some exposure therapy via YouTube videos and honestly from talking to Australians who work at my current company, they maybe see 1-2 a year.

Is NZ good in July? Isn’t it mainly just winter activities?

well it is winter and south island gets snow, but north island is still sub-tropical in parts

We always visit NZ in July /Aug/Sept far fewer crowds but you should expect rain, snow and sunshine, often in the same day. There is absolutely no way of knowing . Australia is so vast that there will always be somewhere where there is good weather.

Where would you be starting from?

What about flying around the world? Are you okay flying in economy? (At 24 I'd imagine you'd be okay with that.) You could buy a round-the-world (RTW) ticket good for up to 16 flights and do some serious traveling. Have a look at this thread I posted some time ago - https://www.fodors.com/community/air...fares-1660486/

As the thread mentions, the prices for these tickets are very different depending on where you begin and end. For example, a 4-continent Oneworld Explorer RTW ticket in which you begin and end in Norway costs around $2050 plus taxes and fees. The same ticket starting in the US is around $5400. A round trip ticket from most parts of the US (which is why I asked about your whereabouts) to Oslo next month, returning a month later, is around $1000, so together you're still over $1000 cheaper than starting in the US. (If you start in Canada, it's around $4050, so splitting the difference, but requiring a train, car, or bus ride (or flight) to some Canadian city to start.)

With a four continent ticket, you could fly a route something like this - https://tinyurl.com/jul22rtw1

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...b294a8a7fb.jpg

Of course this route is imaginary - your preferences might be entirely different. It starts in Norway, then you'd travel to South Africa via Qatar. You'd visit Cape Town and Johannesburg (possibly then going on a quick safari someplace) then shoot across the Indian Ocean to Sydney. Visit Sydney, Melbourne and Cairns (for the Great Barrier Reef) then over to Auckland. In July I'd head to the north end of North Island - it's subtropical and drop-dead gorgeous.

Then across the Pacific, possibly with a stop at Honolulu, then up to Anchorage. (Alaska Airlines is now a Oneworld member.) Then down to the lower 48, check your mail, then finish the trip in Europe - New York to Barcelona, then up to Iceland, across to Finland, and back to Oslo, followed by the return portion of the ticket you bought to get there in the first place.

This imaginary trip meets all the criteria for the Oneworld Explorer ticket. There are thousands (millions?) of similar options, depending on where you want to go. You can stop over for as long as you want, or change the route for $125 in a flat change fee. The prime rule is you have to cross both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans in the same direction, one time for each, so no doubling back across the oceans. But you can zigzag and backtrack within any continent, fly on your own dime on loops (e.g. Oneworld no longer has Latam as a member, thus intra-continental travel in South America is more complicated than before, so you might have to make some short flights "outside" of the RTW ticket.)

Maybe worth some thought - use the month to sort out places for more in-depth exploration later?

Happy to answer any questions.

If eating delicious food is one of your priorities I would recommend Georgia. Tbilisi has many, if not all, the things you are looking for. For a good nature hike you can take the cable car up (or walk, like we did) to the Mother of Georgia statue. Near there is the Narikala Fortress and a quite extensive National Botanical Garden. Good trails.

July is winter south of the equator and you would have to be ready to deal with more unfriendly weather. Melbourne is about the same latitude south as Washington DC is north. Would you do DC in January?

You haven't mentioned a part of Europe I really like. Why don't you consider doing a big loop: Munich / Bavaria -- Swiss Alps -- Italian Lakes -- Dolomites -- Slovenia -- Croatia -- Budapest -- Vienna / Austria. You could flex this loop to exclude a place you've seen before and include a place like Berlin.

Ive already narrowed down my decision to just Europe. Reason being that given my small turnaround time of planning (literally a week) and that it’s not the best weather in the Southern Hemisphere.

This is actually sort of the idea I had! Except I had another idea which was to do 1 weeek in Iceland then start in Berlin and do the loop you mentioned. Although maybe that’s fitting too much in 4 weeks? If so I’ll just save Iceland for another trip!

My other idea was to do a 3 week trip in Turkey and add on Budapest or 1 destination in Europe.

Georgia is another place I’ve always wanted to visit! I also speak fluent Russian so it will be easy to get around. Idk if I would want to spend a whole month there, but maybe I could do 1-2 weeks Georgia and add on something else. You and the other commentor after you had great Europe ideas! Will just have to pick between them :)

I like Krakow, Prague, and Vienna much better than Budapest.

Save Iceland for another trip. There is SO much to do and see there that 2 weeks is a good STARTING point, with more trips later. Trust me, we are going on our 4th trip there;)

Ive already been to Prague and Vienna, but may checkout Krakow. Never been to Budapest.

Thoughts between the option you stated and maybe Turkey and Greece for a month? These are the big options I’ve been considering. Oh and maybe Scotland/England

When I was in Prague, people told me that Krakow is like what Prague used to be like before the tourists. It is quite a bit different from Prague, far more Eastern Europe rather than Western, and a has an exotic and mysterious feel to it. When I first saw the market square, my jaw dropped. A highlight of Europe. It still gets left off many itineraries. Although it's not the capital of Poland, it is considered to be a cultural capital for its history and preservation.

One of the unique aspects of the market square compared to Prague is its size within the historic core. As where the central square of Prague is taken over by tourists, everyone who lives and works in the core of Krakow has to pass through the market square, so its importance as a place to meet is still very much for locals, despite the high touristic interest.

If I don’t do Turkey, you got me sold on Krakow!

OK -- maybe we've been bit too credulous here. In the OP you say the trip would be July 5 (like next Tuesday) through the first week of August . . . here it is June 29 and you are no closer to making a decision, other than somewhere in Europe . . . and NOW you throw in England Scotland for the first time. Flights are running completely full and many are being cancelled, causing overbooking situations on other flights. Could all of this have been just day dreaming??

Airlines are in pretty much a total melt down -- Delta just issued a world wide travel waiver because they know lots of folks already booked won't be able to get to their destination in the next week. Time to get off the pot and make a decision and book something -- or continue trolling.

We were just in Amsterdam at the end of last month, beginning of this month and the LAST place you want to leave from is their airport. And I heard it's going to get a lot worse this summer.

Friends of mine who live around there and who have been traveling by train to Germany or Switzerland (live concert friends of mine who follow bands) have this month been complaining a LOT about train travel, especially those who haven't reserved seats. Been super busy and most people are not masking up.

It's been a pretty hot summer so far in Europe (it was 101 degrees the day we arrived in Paris mid-June), so do check on the temps. If you have a problem with heat. Whether you do or don't, remember most cities have public pools to cool off in, and they are generally unlike any public pool you find in the states. For example, in Salzburg, their public pool in the local park has 3 pools (one for kiddies), a beer garden and playground. It's more like a country club!

Nope. My last trip to Italy I planned it literally a week before going. I just am a last minute planner lol. Had an amazing time too!

I am delaying my date to July 12th, however due to another reason, so the length is the same just starting later.