Where to Next? - TravelPUNK Backpacker College Student Budget Travel Message Boards!

**LiveFreeorDie** · 10-27-2007, 12:18 PM

So, I want to go somewhere in the Spring, maybe April or May timeframe. I will probably have 10 days or so (slave to the job). I cannot decide where I want to go. I am torn between doing a wilderness type trip to say Alaska for fly fishing (would prob have to be May or June) or maybe a diving trip to Micronesia/Truk Bay vs more a straight travel adventure to South America or Eastern Europe. It will be partially dependent on where I can go on my frequent flyer miles. I have more than enough miles with Star Alliance to go anywhere I want, just have to check on routes and availability.

I am really torn. Places I have already been include SEA, Australia and parts of Western Europe. My to-do list includes Brazil/Argentina, Eastern Europe/Russia, South Africa, Egypt, Scandinavia, India, Japan and New Zealand.

Decisions, decisions.

Any suggestions?

**TheJake** · 10-27-2007, 12:22 PM

south america all the way!

**BelfastFlyer** · 10-27-2007, 12:26 PM

I don't know if it's your cup of tea, but I'm doing one of these next year

http://www.stormchasing.com

http://www.international-rail.com/gl...e-canadian.asp

The canadian rail trip is the cheapest (I can get a flight with zoom from belfast to toronto then van back to bfs for £350 which is amazing). But god dammit I've always wanted to go storm chasing and it'll work out about twice the price for flights etc

**pinknic38** · 10-27-2007, 12:28 PM

I say eastern europe, cos I'm all about it right now!! april/may is a great time to see russia (moscow/st. petersburg anyway), according to my LP city guides... then again I like a place that never gets hotter than like 75 degrees lol. scandanavia would be sweet as well.

**pinknic38** · 10-27-2007, 12:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BelfastFlyer

But god dammit I've always wanted to go storm chasing and it'll work out about twice the price for flights etc

oh. my. god. meee toooo! I think "twister" is one of my top 5 favorite movies of all time, and I am not even kidding (ignore the fact that bill paxton is the worst actor ever)...

also if I were to be going on leave in the spring (like I was supposed to), I was planning on a trip to ecuador & the galapagos. airfare from columbus to ecuador is not too shabby (under 700 I think, last time I checked on kayak.com). so that's something to think about too. I have a good amount of info if you're interested.

**LiveFreeorDie** · 10-27-2007, 12:39 PM

^God, I totally forgot about the Galapagos. That has always been on my list too. Great suggestion!

**pinknic38** · 10-27-2007, 12:47 PM

a lot of places in ecuador can arrange your travel over there, they have stuff from low end to high end pricing, so pretty much anyone with any budget can go. most places don't include the 100 dollar entrance fee to get into the galapagos "national park" or whatever, so keep that in mind. there's so much you can do out there though. I want to kayak out there. I bought the BBC documentary on the galapagos and was in a trance while I watched it. amazing!

**pinknic38** · 10-27-2007, 12:50 PM

an additional note: I just checked out that storm chasing website, and I must say, if they would let me keep a cooler of beer in the van, that might be the most amazing trip ever. I want to go!!

**florencia9699** · 10-27-2007, 04:12 PM

Totally random, but keep in mind that by tose ddates it'll be fall in the southern hemisphere!

**marc873** · 10-27-2007, 05:12 PM

Of course since we are heading to Eastern E. I am going to say to go there. But to narrow for a 10 day trip, how about Croatia and Italy. The ferries connect each country up and down the coast of each, so it would be pretty easy to do the 2 countries, if you don't mind overnight ferries. I do know that Air lingus flies into Croatia from Dublin, so that could be an easy connection unless of course you flew into Italy, somewhere close to the east coast. Plus, the weather would be pretty decent that time of year, and the heavy tourist push wouldn't be there yet.

**Esterina** · 10-27-2007, 06:41 PM

Lucky Jamie !

From your list, I've only been to Eastern Europe, so if you decide to go there, I could help you. Croatia-Italy and Moscow-St.Petersburg are very good suggestions for a 10-day trip. Another one that would make a pretty neet introduction to Eastern Europe is Prague-Krakow-Auschwitz. Eastern Europe in May can be nice and warm, with weather between 15-20 Celsius or even over if it's a "good year". I had temperatures over 25 throughout my 6 weeks, but it was unusual people said.

India isn't in this time priority, saving it for a longer trip ? Makes sense!

**freespiritz** · 10-27-2007, 07:21 PM

Come to Italy since I'll be there.

Umm. Galapagos sounds sweet though.

**lost in texas** · 10-27-2007, 08:24 PM

The wilderness stuff sounds pretty sweet. I've always wanted to check out Alaska too. You've got great options though, even with a couple of travel days you still have a good week to get out and do stuff.

**LostFarmboy** · 10-28-2007, 05:30 PM

In my opinion, 10 days is too short for an international backpacking type trip, you would hardly have enough time to get over the jet lag and get into the swing of things. However, 10 days is an awesome amount of time for a fishing trip. So, I'm going with the 10 day Alaskan fly fishing adventure.

**worldwidemike** · 11-01-2007, 09:27 PM

I'm with Nicole...go for the Galapagos! Then you can come home and tell me all about it and help me plan MY trip there...whenever that is!

worldwidemike

**TheJake** · 11-02-2007, 12:55 AM

laura reminded me tonight how i need to start planning a trip. Something to look forward to.
I'm thinking somewhere in central america, maybe nica?