tough decision!

[ashlee]

hi all!

deciding where to go is a TOUGH decision!

how far in advance, would you say, that you start *really* planning a trip? my husband and i are looking to go away next summer (june, july, or august).

we'll have about 7-10 days, and our budget is $3500. that includes our flights and everything..so we're definitely looking to do it on the cheap!

we've got a year to plan this trip..but i want to put a lot of thought into our itinerary, and get everything planned before we go. the last trip we took..we spent a considerable amount of time wondering WHAT to do because we weren't propery planned in advance.

well, looking forward to reading through all of the posts in this section, and hopefully get some ideas!

[pinknic38]

it's never too early to plan.

for 7-10 days, 3500 is a lot of money!

I traveled for 14-15 days and I spent 1000 total on transportation (airfares and railpass) and then stayed in hostels for around 20 euros a night everywhere I went. I didn't spend a lot of money at all. I did grocery stores for food except for the few times I ate out, and spent maybe 150 on tours, etc.

So for 3500, you should be golden.

Well if you're traveling next summer, that's prime time in Europe where everyone travels. Are you thinking Europe? Asia? South America? Narrowing it down to a continent helps lol. I always think of places I've always wanted to see, then wikitravel some of the countries, ask around, etc. I just did Germany & Poland.

In your timeframe I suggest 2 or 3 cities. No more than 2 countries. You could do Spain (Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia perhaps?), France (Paris you would want more than 2 days though, for sure)... maybe Germany or maybe Benelux area... Bruges, Brussels, Amsterdam...

It just all depends on what you wanna do. Pretty much all those countries use the Euro, so it's about the same.

Anyway hope this helps!

Also remember in August, a lot of places in Europe won't have all the stuff available during June & July cos in Aug a lot of folks in that area go on holiday and things are shut down. I know folks who have gone to Italy and to Spain and have encountered that same issue.

[Esterina]

For such a short period of time, I'd suggest you stay more or less within the same time slot, so that you avoid the jet lag. I'm thinking of South America, during their winter, when the weather is not too hot.

I know I proposed Vietnam on another thread, but I didn't know only had one week.

[LostFarmboy]

Central or South America are definately good places if you want to stick to a tight budget (although, $3500 isn't really a tight budget for 7 days). I wouldn't over prepare for any trip, it takes away a lot of the fun and adventure. All I would do is decide where to go (my recommendation being Central or South America), pick a few key attractions you want to see, and book your flights, then I'd let the rest fall into place while you're actually there. I wouldn't go as far as creating a day to day itinerary and booking all accommodation and tours before you go, that's not fun at all.

You want an adventure, right? Any definition of the word adventure will contain the word 'risk'. Thoroughly planning and preparing for a trip will almost certainly guarantee that you will see exactly what you want to see, but it will also remove all risk from the equation, and without risk there is no adventure.

...and that's what I reckon

[simply_angelic]

I think she might mean 3500 for both of them...if this is the case then it's pretty resonable...(depending on the cost of flights...)

what sort of places are you thinking? europe? south america? asia?

[ashlee]

yes! it's definitely 3500 for BOTH of us, and ideally, i'd like to get off even cheaper! lol.

we have no idea where we want to go. there are so many places we'd like to see, it's so difficult to narrow it down! our attitude at this point is, just pick a damn place, and GO! lol. not to give it too much thought, because we know we're going to be happy with where we end up anyway. we're quite easy to please!

some things to keep in mind about us when suggesting places. we don't really like your traditional tourist attractions like museums and festivals. we are big on landscapes, scenery, taking photos, buying little handmade cheapy items from local vendors, sampling cuisine, just roaming around together, hiking, etc. we are both into photography, so that is the biggest thing we do during travels.

[bluewaveted]

Oh then maybe you might appreciate trekking in Vietnam, or the Guoliang tunnel in China! Good luck in picking out places!