Where to Travel for a Month in Summer: Budget-Friendly and Warm Destinations

[QuarkCharmer]

The beginning of next summer I will have about a little more than a month off from school and work and I was thinking about just packing a small bag and heading somewhere outside the U.S.A. I know that there are many well traveled people here on pf and perhaps one of you could recommend a nice place for me. What could I do for a month that doesn't cost too much?

I do have one strict guideline though, the place must be warm during the summer and not constantly plagued with rain. I speak near-fluent Spanish if that helps. My Japanese neighbor suggested I visit Japan, which sounds pretty interesting really. She said that it would be fairly easy for a few of us to fly over and stay for a month pretty cheap if we are not too worried about fancy western style accommodations.

 

[Astronuc]

The beginning of next summer I will have about a little more than a month off from school and work and I was thinking about just packing a small bag and heading somewhere outside the U.S.A. I know that there are many well traveled people here on pf and perhaps one of you could recommend a nice place for me. What could I do for a month that doesn't cost too much?

I do have one strict guideline though, the place must be warm during the summer and not constantly plagued with rain. I speak near-fluent Spanish if that helps. My Japanese neighbor suggested I visit Japan, which sounds pretty interesting really. She said that it would be fairly easy for a few of us to fly over and stay for a month pretty cheap if we are not too worried about fancy western style accommodations.

Europe would be interesting, as would Japan or S. America.

Consider:

Spain, Portugal, and perhaps the Mediterranean coast.

The Balkans.

Costa Rica, Belize

Argentina, Chile (my preference would be the south - the pampas and Patagonia, and the Andes)

Japan, especially if one has a guide

 

[GregJ]

I hitchhiked from the very South of Japan (Kagoshima) to the very North (Niseko). Took me a little over a week and a half. The people over there are awesome.

So Japan gets my vote. Best fun ever (although quite exhausting).

 

[micromass]

Italy!

 

[BobG]

Europe by train. http://www.eurail.com/home. By a pass and you can travel by train all over Europe. A little creative planning and you can schedule your train trips to occur at night, eliminating the need to for a hotel. If you're a student, I think there's still quite a few youth hostels in Europe, as well.

 

[estro]

The beginning of next summer I will have about a little more than a month off from school and work and I was thinking about just packing a small bag and heading somewhere outside the U.S.A. I know that there are many well traveled people here on pf and perhaps one of you could recommend a nice place for me. What could I do for a month that doesn't cost too much?

I do have one strict guideline though, the place must be warm during the summer and not constantly plagued with rain. I speak near-fluent Spanish if that helps. My Japanese neighbor suggested I visit Japan, which sounds pretty interesting really. She said that it would be fairly easy for a few of us to fly over and stay for a month pretty cheap if we are not too worried about fancy western style accommodations.

In my opinion going with a friend, is more fun then by yourself adding to this I'm sure Japan has plenty to offer. [never been in Japan, but it is on my "to-do" list...]

Also I think that traveling to country where one can face language problems is more fun...=)

 

[QuarkCharmer]

Well, she sad that Japan has something like youth hostels that would probably cost about 20-25 usd a night. I've already been all over Italy, I lived on Sicily for about 6 months and regularly hit the mainland, Germany, France, et al.

Prague sounds nice. I will have to look further into that. I was also considering Spain but nobody else seems onboard with that idea. I probably just want to go to buy a guitar anyway lol.

Sleeping on the train, clever.

 

[jtbell]

Thnking about your other thread about bicycling... you could take your bike over and spend a few weeks bicycle-camping. I did that once for two weeks in Finland, carrying a small tent and supplies in rear panniers and a handlebar bag, and staying overnight at campgrounds and youth hostels.

When I flew over and back, I was able to get all my "luggage" into the same box as the bicycle, and used the handlebar bag as my carry-on bag. I stayed with relatives for a few days at the beginning and end of the trip, so I didn't have to put my bike together at the Helsinki airport when I arrived, or pack it up there when I left.

 

[gravenewworld]

Croatia. It's absolutely unreal. I liked it much better than all of Western Europe. It's not supremely overloaded with a ridiculous amount of tourists like Spain, Italy, France, and it is still pretty cheap for the most part. Go before it joins the EU. It has everything from fantastic beaches every where, tons of history, outdoor things to do, and absolutely stunningly beautiful cities and island towns.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

I was thinking about just packing a small bag and heading somewhere outside the U.S.A. I know that there are many well traveled people here on pf and perhaps one of you could recommend a nice place for me. What could I do for a month that doesn't cost too much?

Texas!

 

[fourier jr]

I do have one strict guideline though, the place must be warm during the summer and not constantly plagued with rain. I speak near-fluent Spanish if that helps.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Way_of_St._James" ?

 

[rhody]

QC,

New Zealand in summer always held attraction for me. Long ago, I had a co-worker friend who took his wife and two kids to stay on a working sheep ranch in Australia for a month every Australian summer. They had a great time, worked the ranch in return for free room and board and got a chance to explore on weekends, a win, win all around. The airfare to New Zealand is steep, and I wouldn't do the kind of trip you are planning for less than a month. Something to think about. Maybe Aperion will chime in here with some creative suggestions of his own. Good luck.

Rhody...

 

[turbo]

I took my mother-in-law and her sister on a tour of Nova Scotia as a "thank-you" for taking care of my wife after a serious car accident. I'd love to spend a month or so in that province. It is beautiful, and there is a LOT to do and to see. It was a rough, pukey, ferry ride from Maine (not pukey for me - I spent the roughest part of the passage in a bar drinking Bloody Marys and eating salted peanuts), but the province was lovely. Instead of taking the tourist route up the Atlantic coast, we hugged the Fundy coast, and loved it.