I can't decide

[blinkchick2134]

I can't decide guys! I want to do so many trips but I'm having trouble figuring which one to do this year. I'm starting college in the fall (Aug 20th) and there's 3 trips I wanna take.

1st: Taking a road trip (either my crappy car or Greyhound) across America following graduation this June. Note: I've only seen the east coast (Toronto to Tennese).

2nd: Visit Norway on winter break (namely to see the Northern Lights). (Winter break is 3-5 weeks - end of Dec to mid-Jan)

3rd: Save up and spend a month backpacking in Europe after my freshman year. (Jun-Aug)

I'm on a budget, duh, and change my mind about which trip every 5 minutes. Please help me out!

[Canadian Dude]

2nd: Visit Norway on winter break (namely to see the Northern Lights). (Winter break is 3-5 weeks - end of Dec to mid-Jan)

I like this one because it the soonest, as well as it is over seas...

Save up and spend a month backpacking in Europe after my freshman year. (Jun-Aug)

This is my second pic, because time flies this will be here sooner than you think, and its over seas...

Taking a road trip (either my crappy car or Greyhound) across America

Road trips though your own country are an excellent way to travel, and I have just started to do it, lifestyles change and opertunities to travel over seas can slip through your fingers, and never return...don't let that happen...

[Ozpacka]

Yeah, Norway would be great. I planned on getting there through this summer, but just to save a bit of time so i can spend more time in other places, im leaving it out until jan/feb as i assume its not that hard to ferry there from the uk. Im still going to see denmark/sweden/finland and estonia, but Norway, and the northern lights and those fjords, whats not to like.

[blinkchick2134]

thanks guys. i'll put your picks to use.

[tumblezweedz]

Ozpacka,

If you have time, don't forget Latvia and Lithuania while you're in the Baltic region. They're a lot different from Estonia, and cool to visit even in the winter. Cheap, too, since what kind of lunatic travels in northern Europe in winter? We took our winter vacation (in Feb) and went from Lithuania to Sweden - you know, to get away from the ice and snow! There's a great hostel in Stockholm, the Af Chapman. There's a boat and a building, we stayed on the boat. Very cool to hear chunks of ice booming on the hull at 5 a.m. - but maybe you won't be awake then...we have little kids! Anyway, the location is superb - an unobstructed view of the old town, and just a couple minutes walk from that and almost everything else in the downtown area. Right on a bus route, too. There are at least three museums on the same little island as the hostel, too, so even if the weather is absolutely horrendous, there's stuff to do within minutes.

Blinkchick,

Try to get overseas now - it's easier and cheaper to travel in North America when you have a real life with only two weeks vacation and hardly any money!

If you do the round-the-country thing (now or later), consider Amtrak. I travelled a 10,000+ mile round-the-US circuit, with a brief stop at home (in Canada), starting in Arizona and eventually ending up in Alabama, covering all but the far northeastern states, and a couple mid-western states the train doesn't go through, on a ticket that cost less than $200. I got to stop in three different places for as long as I chose, during the month the pass was valid. The rest of the time, I slept in my relatively comfortable seat, ate mostly in the cafeteria, though occasionally in the dining car, and enjoyed a look at the country that you can't get from the interstates, as well as some interesting travel companions. My trip was several years ago now, but Amtrak still have good passes available, especially if you travel outside the busy northeastern corridor.

Take the train, you'll see more than by car, be more comfortable than on the bus, and you won't have to pay for accommodations along the way. You weren't planning to sleep in your car, were you?!

I recently read that there's a combined VIA Rail/Amtrak pass for travel in both countries, but I don't know the details on that. VIA used to have a month cross-Canada pass as well, but I haven't looked into that in a long time.

Have fun!