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First solo trip, where should I visit?
I'm a 30 year old lady, and I'd like to take a solo trip in July or August for a week. I'd prefer somewhere warm.
I enjoy art, history, and nature. My budget is about $1,000 - $1,500, and I'm thinking of staying at a hostel.. Which city would you recommend and how would the itinerary look? Thank you in advance :-) |
It would help if you tell us where you'll be beginning your trip. I see you've also posted an inquiry for a So. American destination in June with a friend, so will this one be a continuation of that trip, or instead of that one, beginning from your home? It makes a great deal of difference in cost and time spent getting there.
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Thousands of cities in the world that offer art and history, and thousands of places with nature to explore. Your budget is pretty small for you to travel far, so where is your home?
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I live in Nevada, the United States.
This July or August trip will be a solo trip I want to take by myself:-) |
My advice = go to the place that MOST appeals to you and that fits within your budget. Assuming you don't completely disregard safety (e.g., you might want to exclude Somalia and South Kenya from your immediate travel plans), you should have a wonderful experience!
Many of us are fully addicted to solo travel, and this thread might give you some ideas. http://www.fodors.com/community/trav...collection.cfm Identify a few high priorities and then go to your local library to do some in-depth research. You are about to open the door to a world of amazing and rewarding options! |
$1000+ doesn't go very far if one has to fly to get there.
Most anyplace in the northern Hemisphere will be warm in July/August . . . some uncomfortably hot. Mexico would likely be the cheapest from Reno or Vegas. |
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I'm not sure Vancouver would be what I'd call reliably "somewhere warm" but thanks for the YWCA tip, looks great!
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Have you stayed in hostels before? I've stayed in several of HIs all over the US, and I would be happy to expand/compare/contrast as much as you'd like about that. Just let me know!
But my first thought- where I'd personally start price comparing- D.C. Or Chicago or San Diego Why? Well, the main reason would be affordability in both flights and hostels. The really good hostels on the coasts- SF, LA, Boston, and NYC are comparatively VERY expensive during high season. They have no competition, and rent is expensive. So a bed in a dorm is very often 50-60 dollars a night. And then on top of that, NY and Boston are pretty expensive food/attraction wise, although it is possible to do NYC relatively cheap. Chicago has great neighborhoods, a fantastic lake trail for biking. Great window shopping on Michigan ave. fantastic museums that aren't too pricy. Beaches to sunbathe along the lake, many terrific parks. It's a great and less expensive city during the summer than many destinations. The HI is well located and really nice. Chicago is serious about its food and that goes for hot dogs, pizza, and ice cream just as much as the Michelin star restaurants. DC is hot and muggy, but it has the monuments and the zoo and is a transportation hub so you could do trips to Baltimore or Philly or even Williamsburg. It has the monuments, world class smithsonian zoo and museums- all free, all can fill up weeks. It can be an expensive city of course, but it's also one of the cheapest US cities I've been to, because all you really need to pay for is the transportation, hostel and the food. And a really good day trip is Philadelphia- you can see the historic stuff, walk old town, eat your way through reading terminal Market. Again, hostel is really nice and well located (and also oddly cheap- less expensive than it's any and Boston counterparts). There's the national aquarium in Baltimore, and a historic Fort that you can reach by water taxi. I'm throwing San Diego in the mix for the weather and also because it's another in inexpensive hostel destination. Less humidity, great beaches. You might be a beach person. I am not, which is why I would not go to Mexico solo. I'd be bored silly. (Not that beaches are the only thing to do there- it's just that the people I know who hostel and sightsee cheap there do it for the beaches and booze). Let's say 300 hundred for ticket, 40 a night for the hostel. (7 nights, 280.that leaves you 900 for food and entertainment, possible budget in all cities I listed. If the ticket costs more, I would shave nights off- 5 would be good. I tend to take longer trips- 2 weeks- but in both Chicago and D.C., I got all of my "must sees" done in 4-5 days). (Note: I have not stayed in San Diego hostel, and I've never been carless there. It struck me as possible to get around but probably less easy than D.C. and Chicago which have really good transit.) |
I have visited DC in July (escorting out of country visitor). No way would I recommend the experience.
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The OP is from 'dry heat' country -- DC (or even Chicago) in the middle of summer would kill her off >)
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I'd be interested to know just how warm rhemakaelle wants her destination to be. To me, warm begins in the high 70s. Others likely have a different idea of "warm". That could make all the difference coming up with a recommendation.
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True. Nevada (at least the parts I'm familiar with) isn't exactly cool in the summer, though, dry heat or no. So I assumed 85+ is what she meant by warm, if she's talking about the US. Also assumed flying, as she mentioned hostels. Parking in the major cities doubles your hostel bill easily. I'd camp if a car is involved. And lot of the US hostels are on the coasts, and best transit is east coast.
But there are really neat and reasonable coastal hostels in California, if she is driving. Less art and history but short drive to SF for that (which I don't consider warm, but certainly a more comfortable temperature.) |
Maybe she's spending the summer away from Nevada, with the 2 trips we know about, because it's too "warm". She needs to give us her preferred temperature range, we can't assume. That means we're just guessing.
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Once you are east of the Mississippi the problem is not just the temperature, it's the humidity.
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<i>Assuming you don't completely disregard safety (e.g., you might want to exclude Somalia and South Kenya from your immediate travel plans), you should have a wonderful experience!</i>
Uhhh, what's wrong with southern Kenya? Northeast Kenya borders Somalia, it is true. But most of southern Kenya borders Tanzania. Although East Africa is nowhere near the OP's budget. If you're in Nevada, OP, have you thought about Northern California? Or is that too boring/close? |
If I have misstated the relevant risks, my apologies.
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For history and art, consider Boston. I do not know about hostels, and hotels are expensive, but perhaps air B&B, or stay in a small town and take the train in.
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Thanks for your suggestions...am I being too optimistic? I envisioned visiting somewhere outside the States...80 degrees is warm, I don't mind humid or dry. Just don't want to go somewhere freezing. Even 75 degrees is warm enough��.
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Thank you to all for the tips and links so far :-) !
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I can't speak to what would meet your budget, but I would note that there are places in the US that have a decidedly European feel. New Orleans comes to mind.
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Outside of the US airfares will eat up almost your entire budget . . . except for Mexico and parts of the Caribbean
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Budgets trips for a one of a kind adventure! Well, as far as I know everyone loves to travel as far as they can but has limited budget on their pocket. As I searched in the net, I found out that Thailand remains so popular with backpackers. Maybe if you want so, you can visit there.
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@kja - but New Orleans in July and August has the same problem as DC. For a foreign feeling in North America I would head for Montreal or Quebec City, or possibly parts of Nova Scotia.
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What about Mexico City/Puebla? I think you will find inexpensive flights even in July August from LAS. And you probably won't need to stay in a hostel.
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Try looking at airfares here for a better idea about flight prices for your dates: http://matrix.itasoftware.com/
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Kayak Explore allows you to search from your home airport and set a price cap. I don't know if ita does that.
https://www.kayak.com/explore |
I suppose it depends on how you like to search. I like the calendar of low fares and not sure I'd want a price cap search. Sometimes it pays to pay a bit more for airfare and economize somewhere else. In any case, I want to see them all, including fares from nearby airports which can result in surprisingly different fares.
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...and check all the sites, no reason to limit the search to one.
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Here's another: https://www.skyscanner.com/
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I haven't been to Iceland during the summer, so I don't know about temperature. And I found it expensive food wise. But I know Icelandair has had a sale going on, so you might be able to make that work. Maybe Quebec/Montreal? Vancouver Island? The exchange rate is in your favor.
Santa Fe is probably not enough of a change, but depending where you are in Nevada, you.maybe be able to catch Amtrak. With a budget like that, the less you spend on transportation the better. |
Coastal Mexican resorts are well above 80 degrees that time of year.
You can get a simple Mexican hotel for ~$25/night in Puerto Vallarta. You'd need another $30-40/day to eat and get around. Plane fares out of Las Vegas are around $450 in August. That gets you sun, heat, and out of the US within your budget and is a friendly, safe city to visit solo (I go there twice a year). Not a lot of history but plenty of art and nature there. |
A higher elevation in Mexico will likely get you better weather.
At sea level, Puerto Vallarta, av. high in August is 93˚ & 12" of rain for the month: http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/w...Jalisco-Mexico Airfare from Las Vegas 400-450. Oaxaca at 5,000', 83˚ & 5" of rain: http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/w...-Oaxaca-Mexico Airfare from Las Vegas from about 250. A colonial city with a great cultural scene, lots of good restaurants, few tourists that time of year and likely lower hotel rates than PV. You can eat well on $20 a day. City is very walkable. |
Of course, that's all true, just depends if you'd like a beach or not.
And as far as PV hotels, in the summer (low season) you can get the local places, a simply single room for $15-25usd per night. |
I wonder if Ecuador would work for you, try COPA airlines. They fly from LAS via Panama City to Quito.
July and August are the drier seasons in the Andes. Quito will have the history and Art. You can take inexpensive tours or local buses once inside Ecuador. There are a few trip reports you can look at on the SA forum. You might want to do several days in Mindo, which is a very reslaxed town a few hours from Quito with great nature and warmer weather. It is busy on weekends. I would go there during the week and Quito on the weekend. Otavalo is also good for local culture and hiking. Once in Ecuador you will find expenses are quite low. |
Sorry, I wasn't paying sufficient attention. thursdaysd is right -- New Orleans would not be a good choice for July or August.
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I love to wander around the world by myself. So refreshing, no stress. Just living a life the way I wanted.
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Thnak you for all the detailed and helpful advice.
I'm now making 2 lists, one for within the US and one for outside the US! So far going to decide between the cities mentioned in Canada, Mexico, and Ecuador. Oaxaca is looking more attractive because it seems to get less rain than PV. Thanks for the flight ticket links. I'm looking into those right now. |
Here are my Oaxaca blogs, a really lovely city:
http://www.travelgumbo.com/blog/port...my-of-a-trip-1 |
Absolutely. August/September is most definitely the rainy season in Puerto Vallarta.
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