Where to Travel for a Year

Maldini29

I have come to a point in my life where I would like give up working to travel. I haven’t a clue where to start though. How much money I would need for it and how long could I go realistically? Is there a way that I can do transportation and accommodation cheap and easy? Also I’m not sure what continent I should explore. The usual places like New Zealand or North America seem to be the done thing but somewhere more unusual excites me more. I’m stuck between South America, Asia or Africa. Would there be any where in particular that would be advisable or avoidable for an Irishman to go to?

Bananaleaf

Hi there

How much independent travel have you done up to now? And what is the longest time you have been away?

Not that it really matters, but just make sure travelling is definitely for you before you pack up your bags and jack in the job.

Of the three destinations you mention, I've only been to South America. I would think that Africa would be the most expensive, and probably the most dangerous. South America is expensive to get to, but pretty cheap once you are there.

If you are worried about money etc one option for you might be to get a TEFL course (Teaching English as a foreign language) under your belt. With that you could travel Asia and as your funds run low you could park yourself somewhere for a few months and teach English to build up your funds a bit more.

Immaculata

Maldini29 wrote: »

I have come to a point in my life where I would like give up working to travel. I haven’t a clue where to start though. How much money I would need for it and how long could I go realistically?

How much money you need and how long you could go for are sort of linked questions. You could save up three or four grand, for example, and spend it on three months backpacking around South America, or India or other parts of Asia such as Cambodia (I love Cambodia!), Thailand, and Vietnam. Alternatively you could go to relatively expensive places like Norway or Japan or South Africa or Switzerland, and get through the same amount of cash in less than a month. Maybe less than a fortnight! It all depends really on where you fancy going and how comfortable you are with different methods of travel. Some people like hotels and eating in restaurants, some people like hostels and eating in cafes or having picnics, and some people are happier living in a tent and cooking on a portable stove. I have friends who do really barebones travel, who hitch everywhere, who sleep in a tent on a beach or in a local park, and who get their meals by taking stuff out of a supermarket dumpster or by busking for spare change. They love that way of travel and enjoy every moment. Personally I would hate it! So it's really something to think about, because travel style is really a personal choice and down to your personal tastes.

I would suggest you could get started on your plans by going to your local library and look through the travel guides, or visit roughguides.com and lonelyplanet.com, for the places you might like to go. Have a look at the costs of a bed for the night and the cost of a meal or three. Bear in mind that internet and published information is always a little out of date, but still that should give you an idea of the daily cost of living in those countries.

Add to that the cost of getting to the country or countries you want to visit. So if you wanted to go to, say, New Zealand, visit skyscanner.ie or call trailfinders.ie and figure out the prices of air tickets.

You will also need a passport, visas, and shots if necessary. So add all that up and see how much you need to save. This can be a frightening large figure, but I will say that the longer you are away for, the cheaper the trip tends to be per day, because a lot of the cost is in the setup (like getting a passport and arranging visas) and in the transport to the country. Once you're there, you can easily keep to a budget by self-catering, by choosing inexpensive accommodation, and by getting the same local transport that the locals do.

Maldini29 wrote: »

Is there a way that I can do transportation and accommodation cheap and easy?

Transportation (by which I mean, getting from Ireland to any other country) tends to be expensive. Depending on your age and where you're going, it can be managed with things like student cards and/or travel passes. For example, if you're going to Europe, try searching for 'railpass' on seat61.com or visit ricksteves.com/travel-tips/transportation/ or eurolines.com/en/eurolines-pass/. Although some of my friends hitch, I wouldn't recommend hitching as it is dangerous. I think if you do some research, and pick a place or two that you want to go, you can then look into the most affordable ways to get around. If you go to Asia or South America or places like that, it's just getting to that area that is expensive, and then moving around once you're there is cheap.

Some people base their travels around their transport, like going on a bike trip or going caravanning, or they take an organised overland trip with an operator like dragoman.com, which can be a good way to see the world. Taking a flight is the most popular way to travel but there's many ways to get around.

Maldini29 wrote: »

Also I'm not sure what continent I should explore. The usual places like New Zealand or North America seem to be the done thing but somewhere more unusual excites me more. I'm stuck between South America, Asia or Africa. Would there be any where in particular that would be advisable or avoidable for an Irishman to go to?

I think it's really down to where you fancy exploring. NZ or North America are good places to visit, however personally I found them, and Australia, very similar to home - apart from the climate! I'm used to Europe, where there are loads of different cultures and different places and people in a relatively small area. I found that Australia, NZ, and the US, while interesting to visit, were similar in that they are quite like England except with the interesting bits spaced really faaaaaar apart. I remember being in Sydney and some nice lady from the tourist board going on about some church that was the oldest in the city, all of two hundred years old. I have furniture older than that. I have clothes older than that! As a fan of history and architecture and architecture, Australia and NZ and the US weren't really my cup of tea. It was great to see them but I'm not in a hurry to go back. But if you like the outdoor life, extreme sports, and wide open spaces, you'll be in your element.

Having said that, if you really want new experiences, South America or Asia or Africa would be as different from home as you can get. India alone is somewhere you could spend a year without getting bored.

There's no reason you have to limit yourself to one continent. If you want to get a round the world air ticket, again trailfinders.ie can give you an overview of prices, or visit bootsnall.com. Often a round the world trip air ticket can be much cheaper than booking individual flights. You'd be surprised.

One good way of travelling on the cheap is by trading a few hours work a day for accommodation and food. Various sites match up volunteers and host families, like helpx.net, workaway.info, and wwoof.ie. You could theoretically move around a country basically for free. I'm a workaway host and the last workawayers who stayed with me stayed for two months before moving on to Cork, and plan to be in Ireland for at least a year. They came over with twenty euro between them, once they'd paid for their flights.

A great resource for planning a trip is artoftravel.com.

Wishing you a good trip. :cool:

ocli64

If you have the money Africa would be a great place to start. If you are travelling solo there are plenty of options to join with other groups to make things cheaper and you can really get a bit of everything without the crowd of some of the more popular backpacking routes. I've been to africa the last 4 years in a row and never get tired of it. East Africa would be a great place to start. If animals interest you, you could join an overland safari through Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania. Once in Tanzania you have Kilimanjaro and Zanzibar where you could easily pass a few weeks (or in my case a few months!). I have never come across friendlier, more open people than in Tanzania which makes travelling there a lot more comfortable. Everyone I met wanted to point me in the right direction or show me something I would never have found going by a guidebook alone. If you're looking for off the beaten track, you will find it there.

There seems to be a perception that Africa is a dangerous place to travel but it is a huge continent and the majority of countries are very safe to travel in. East Africa is very well set up for tourists and as a result is a little more expensive than maybe South America but I think for the experiences you get there it is completely worth it!

imme

Is there anywhere in particular you would like to go?

Do you have any language skills?

Have you traveled much, if you haven't then you won't know if you like it until you're doing it.

In terms of budget you should be able to work out roughly what you'll need by where you decide to go.

The most expensive places (obviously) are Australia, USA, Japan.

There are of course ways of living cheaper if you chose any of these places, hostels/ woofing / couch surfing etc etc.

There are all sorts of opportunities, working along the road of your travels, crewing a boat... the possibilities are endless.

Personally I'd recommend South America as an ideal start point, incredible sights to see, lots to experience, lower costs generally than many other regions, a good infrastructure for travelers of all budgets.

Why not pop down to the local library and check out their travel books section.
It might give you a start point to get some ideas.

There should be an overall 'around the world'-type guide to give you some ideas, Lonely Planet or Rough Guide etc.

The websites of the airline alliances, Oneworld, Star Alliances etc should be able to give you an idea of cost if you chose to buy a round-the-world airline ticket.

The likes of Trailfinders would do the same for you and might be able to give tips for stops along the way that you mightn't have thought of.

Another idea is to look at guided tour operators Intrepid/ G Adventures etc to see if that's the way you might want to go.

The price will obviously be higher than going independently (usually) but you'll have a guide and accomm booked for you and transport provided.

It will all be your call, price/ budget will more than likely come into it, doesn't it always. :cool:

Good luck, fair sailing. :cool:

Maldini29

I have been to most of Europe including Russia (loved it) but other than that no. My language skills are limited but I presume if I improved my Spanish it would stand to me if I traveled to South America. Is the language barrier in Asia a problem?

imme

Maldini29 wrote: »

I have been to most of Europe including Russia (loved it) but other than that no. My language skills are limited but I presume if I improved my Spanish it would stand to me if I traveled to South America. Is the language barrier in Asia a problem?

Excellent Spanish or even good Spanish isn't necessary for South America imo.

Mine didn't improve massively because I was mixing with English-speakers among fellow travelers.

You will find people anywhere in the world who take offence at you not learning their language.

Is it fair to expect non-native speakers to learn a language to visit a country. :cool:

I traveled a small bit in China, I didn't need Chinese but how much Chinese did I want to learn for a short trip.

In Thailand/Malaysia/Indonesia I didn't feel I needed massive local languages other than basics.