I'm going on a solo trip in the Spring
 

So, I have decided that I needed a change in my life. A Big one. My lease ends April first and I'm not staying in this apartment. I decided I'm taking three months (or more) off and travelling. Here's the very raw and very beginning of my trip...

Going out to Colorado for a week to visit a friend who is joining the Navy.

Going to California to visit my best friend for a week or so.

Drive with said friend to Portland for a few days.

Fly from Portland to Iceland. Spend a few days there.

Fly to England.

Backpack Europe. I have no idea where I want to go yet.

I'm saving money for the next five months. I know I can get to ten grand but I'm going to save as much as possible.

Anybody ever do something like this before? Travel advice? Is ten grand enough? Where should I go. I'm very new with this and I want to do it right.

Went to Iceland (and other countries in Europe you may/may not be interested in) in May this year. I can give you advice on what to do there, where to stay, general handy info, etc. if you want.

I didn't go for as long as youre planning but I think $10K is probably going to be enough. The most expensive part is the to and from flights. Flying through Europe is pretty cheap and youre probably going to be staying hostels id imagine (and recommend) which is also good for cost saving.

Dude, sounds hella fun! You can go to Norway. Norway is in Europe. Or if you go to Romania, you can visit Castle Dracula.

I'd look into the flight cost above all. Hit up All of the cheap hotel sites ala orbit and then wing it after that. England is expensive when it comes to travel. I still haven't seen all of The US so the World is gonna have to wait, but it sounds like one hell of a trip. The year I graduated high school I toured the US with all my deadhead buddies and it was life altering so i'd say hit the ground running and just do it man. You are never gonna be in the situation you are in now where you can just cast away all doubts and go all in. Ten Grand sounds like enough to at least do that and if not wing it and just make sure you put enough away to make it home safe.

I'd love all the advice you can give. I'm very new to this. I'll be staying in hostels and camping at campgrounds when I can. There is a lot of camping in Europe apparently.

Norway is on the list.

I'm going to buy the tickets out west and out to Iceland this month once I confirm staying arrangements with my friends.

I did backpacking around Europe about 20 years ago :) and hell 10 grand sounds more than enough. Most of your money will go on accommodation so if you can get into hostels and campsites you'll save a bundle. Also Europe has a whole load of currencies to contend with, so checking the value of the $ against the countries you'll be going to is another must but most countries will be in the Euro.

Also you need to think of the weather and when you'll be travelling as the weather between northern and southern Europe is like north to south USA.

Sounds cool.
Never done something like this though, I love comfort way too much.
Let me know if you find yourself in the south of Germany.

Go to Paris and get wine at McDonald's.

Where in California?

x2

Come to my house. I'll Hoover just for you.

I can do a solo harsh noise performance for you if you visit my region of the left coast.

I'm planning a trip to Germany hopefully for next year!

Damn Exo, I'm jealous. I wish I was in a position to backpack, being able to travel is one of the things that made me want to do environmental research. I look forward to the pictures.

The last time I did something similar, it was 1996. I stayed at B&B's instead of hostels or campgrounds. My expenses were for lodging, rail/subway/bus tickets, food & drink, museums/attractions and entertainment. I got by on $50 to $60 dollars (US) a day (not including airfare) which would be the equivalent of $75 to $90 in 2015 dollars. Hostels & campgrounds would've saved me some money but I prefer a private room with (usually) a private shower/bath & toilet. You should be fine with 10 grand over 3 months (including airfare.)

ATM's are your best bet for convenience and to automatically get the best exchange rates for whatever amount you need to withdraw wherever you are. I'd recommend having a credit card or some other form of debit card as an emergency backup in case your primary card is lost or stolen. I once had my card eaten by a bank machine (on a Friday afternoon, no less) and had to use Western Union to have some money transferred to me because the card was irretrievable. I had some traveler's checks with me also, but their $ amount wasn't enough to cover the rest of my trip before returning home the following week and it would've taken 2 weeks at the time, to get a replacement card sent to me.

Make sure you bring some quality footwear. Improper/substandard footwear can make you miserable very quickly and slow you down or possibly keep you off your feet for a while and put a dent in your itinerary.

I saved a lot on meals by getting my food at supermarkets and outdoor farmer's markets most of the time.

Probably some more I can add here later, when I think of it and have time.

My advice is to have fun. Sounds obvious, but it's surprising how many people get stressed travelling.

Rememeber that trains and flights get delayed, and buses are missed, and so you probably won't visit all the places you want to. With that in mind, enjoy the travelling as much as the destinations. Be prepared to change your plans because circumstance will change them whether you like it or not. Have fun. :)

I left everything behind when I was 19. I took a bus from Chicago to L.A. and then I ended up in the Army going to Germany. It was the best decision I ever made though, and I'd love to be able to do it all again. Some really good advise from everyone so far.

:laughing: travelling is automatically stressful and in all the years I've travelled I've never known it to ever be relaxing. Airports are stressful, plane travel is not really designed for humans, coach travel is designed to make you sick and train travel is only relaxing if you facing the opposite direction to the one you're travelling, but then you miss all the the scenary.

Car travel in other countries is always a challenge, with bad drivers and not knowing where you're going, best advice is to stay at home or enjoy the stress levels that vacationing brings.

Santa Rosa. My best friend from home moved there two years ago to grow weed. I'll be spending a week there.

Definitely. I should be spending a day or two in London.

There will be so many pictures. So many.

Thanks for the extensive advice.

After London my plans are totally on the fly. I designed it like this so I don't get stressed.

Sounds awesome! Wish I could do this, solo or not. Would be nice to take more than a few weeks off work at a time. Stupid mortgage and other responsibilities.

Of course you will. Take pictures.

I'll be there on 420.

:bringit:

The envy seeping from my pores tastes like salt water taffy.

I loathe salt water taffy. But have fun anyway.

Do you have any plans to visit outside of London? There is more to England than London, and it doesn't take long to see these places.

If you're not going to be on a set itinerary, you may find yourself wanting to spend more than a day or two in London. There's so much to see and do in that city. Just being there for a day or two wouldn't even give you enough time to scratch the surface.

Yeah. I still have to see where I could go. I'd like to visit Ireland too.

You've not lived until you get lost in London tube.

If you are able to travel around Great Britain, check:

Bath
York
Worcester

^ For quintessential Englishness

Gower for beauty

Then:

Birmingham
Liverpool
Glasgow
Edinburgh

Don't be one of those ignorant dicks that thinks UK = London.

I also highly recommend spending some of your time in Scotland. Loads of mind-blowing scenery up there. I could easily spend months just wandering around the Scottish countryside if I had the free time to do so.

Fully agree.

Scotland >>>

Wales also >>>

Throw a brick though Trollheart's window for me.

Well if you are driving or riding from the East to Santa Rosa you will more than likely drive right through where i live....if your going to be there on April 20th i'll be in Florida.....i fly back to Reno on the 19th and i could easily drive to Santa Rosa on the 22nd and stay for a couple of days....its just a three hour drive....and one of my absolute favorite breweries is there

WWWP also lives there and i'm sure she would love to hang out....and San Francisco is only a half hour or so south of there....and you have to cross the Golden Gate to get into the city....which is in its own right a treat

just let me know man....it would be great to get together for drinks and pretentious movie talk :)

Weren't WWWP and Exo always flirting back in the day? Sounds like prime time for a hook up. Take pictures.

Sounds boring why are u sticking within the Western world ..???

Canada America and most of western Europe has non of my intrest cus its all the same

anywho of course every body wants to travel and have adventure

I really want to got to like most of Central and South America countries plus Visit most of South east asia and def want to go to Russia maybe one day

Sounds radical

Just bought my ticket for my flight to Denver. Leaving this bitch on April 7th. Got it for $134 which I find to be just fine. I also called a friend who said he might join me and we decided that we would consider renting a car and driving to Santa Rosa from Denver. Take a f*cking acid trip in the desert along the way.

First step baby.

Get ready to stink. They never mention the stinking in the movies.

There was always Florida you asshole.

Sounds really exciting Exo!

My first piece of advice is to keep your backpack as small as possible - it´s so difficult to hump them around on a crowded train, and trust me, in England all the trains are crowded!

You might want to check out "student" rail passes for UK and Europe; they used to do special monthly deals for people under 25.

Also, if you don´t mind a rather boy-scouts atmosphere with curfew, strictly no booze, and dormitories for sleeping, you can investigate these guys for a network of cheap, well-placed accomodation:-

https://www.yha.org.uk/membership

What you forget my number?