Where should I go in August?
July 18, 2010 1:23 PM Subscribe
I have a little under a month off, starting the first week of August. I plan to use it to do some (relatively) low-budget world traveling. I'm 28 year old guy in grad school and I haven't been many places, so everywhere is an option. What's my best bet this time of year?
I'm exactly on a shoestring budget, but I'm going to stay in hostels, eat cheap meals, etc., so I'm looking for a region or series of countries that I can wander around in for a month without spending too extravagantly. Plane fare looks like it's going to be expensive no matter what, so I'd like to minimize day-to-day costs to the extent I can once I'm there.
Aside from costs, other priorities are: good balance of interesting scenery/sites as well as active nightlife, and a region with a lot of traveling options -- I like the freedom of not sticking to an itinerary and being able to change destinations on the fly. It's summer, so I'd also like to stick to warmer/sunnier climates.
The main places I've been considering are Colombia/Peru/Bolivia, Brazil (though I understand it's not really a country for budget travel, and summer isn't the best time to go there), and Eastern Europe/Turkey (Croatia and Hungary, in particular seem appealing, though I'm not sure how budget-friendly that region is today).
Thoughts or suggestions?
I'm exactly on a shoestring budget, but I'm going to stay in hostels, eat cheap meals, etc., so I'm looking for a region or series of countries that I can wander around in for a month without spending too extravagantly. Plane fare looks like it's going to be expensive no matter what, so I'd like to minimize day-to-day costs to the extent I can once I'm there.
Aside from costs, other priorities are: good balance of interesting scenery/sites as well as active nightlife, and a region with a lot of traveling options -- I like the freedom of not sticking to an itinerary and being able to change destinations on the fly. It's summer, so I'd also like to stick to warmer/sunnier climates.
The main places I've been considering are Colombia/Peru/Bolivia, Brazil (though I understand it's not really a country for budget travel, and summer isn't the best time to go there), and Eastern Europe/Turkey (Croatia and Hungary, in particular seem appealing, though I'm not sure how budget-friendly that region is today).
Thoughts or suggestions?
You can't go wrong with Southeast Asia. The ticket might be a bit more expensive, but your dollar will stretch much, much further than most places, and the backpacker path is well-worn, so you won't have a problem finding cheap accommodation geared towards someone like you, and other travelers with the same mind-frame. Start in Bangkok and explore as you wish.
posted by nitsuj at 1:27 PM on July 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by nitsuj at 1:27 PM on July 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
It occurs to me that Scandinavia would be great at this time of year. Going that far north things are usually pretty cold, so August should be quite comfortable, I would think. The equator runs through South America, which means it's probably summery most of the year, and undoubtedly very hot in August.
I know Denmark is quite flat, which makes a bike tour an excellent choice. I know nothing of Norway, Sweden or Finland, unfortunately. Maybe someone else can chime in on those destinations.
posted by wwartorff at 1:47 PM on July 18, 2010
I know Denmark is quite flat, which makes a bike tour an excellent choice. I know nothing of Norway, Sweden or Finland, unfortunately. Maybe someone else can chime in on those destinations.
posted by wwartorff at 1:47 PM on July 18, 2010
Re Southeast Asia, I'd be careful traveling through Thailand right now. I'm pretty sure it's monsoon season in Southeast Asia right now, as well. Though a friend of mine was in Bali last August/Semptember and didn't seem to have any issues with it.
Scandinavia is stupid expensive - I was recently reading a travel article that mentioned $20 pints of beer. In Scandinavia you could easily spend over a weekend what you could live on for a couple months in a more backpacker-friendly destination like S. E. Asia or Latin America.
I just got back from Peru and loved it - it's winter there, now, too, so you'll get to beat the heat for a few months. And the height of the high season will be over by the time you go, so it won't be too crowded. A few weeks seems to be about the amount of time people go for - I had a month, which was a bit long for the main tourist hubs of Lima, Arequipa, Cusco, and Lake Titicaca, but not long enough to squeeze in the new archeological discoveries in the northern part of the country.
I've also heard fantastic things about Argentina, though it will be colder there right now. Also Colombia if it won't freak out friends and family too much - I didn't go because I mentioned it to my father and he about cried thinking of his baby girl all alone, kidnapped by FARC terrorists. But it's apparently perfectly safe, especially in the popular tourist cities like Cali and Cartagena.
A little more expensive, though not as nuts as Scandinavia - what about Berlin or Prague? Greece?
posted by Sara C. at 2:04 PM on July 18, 2010
Scandinavia is stupid expensive - I was recently reading a travel article that mentioned $20 pints of beer. In Scandinavia you could easily spend over a weekend what you could live on for a couple months in a more backpacker-friendly destination like S. E. Asia or Latin America.
I just got back from Peru and loved it - it's winter there, now, too, so you'll get to beat the heat for a few months. And the height of the high season will be over by the time you go, so it won't be too crowded. A few weeks seems to be about the amount of time people go for - I had a month, which was a bit long for the main tourist hubs of Lima, Arequipa, Cusco, and Lake Titicaca, but not long enough to squeeze in the new archeological discoveries in the northern part of the country.
I've also heard fantastic things about Argentina, though it will be colder there right now. Also Colombia if it won't freak out friends and family too much - I didn't go because I mentioned it to my father and he about cried thinking of his baby girl all alone, kidnapped by FARC terrorists. But it's apparently perfectly safe, especially in the popular tourist cities like Cali and Cartagena.
A little more expensive, though not as nuts as Scandinavia - what about Berlin or Prague? Greece?
posted by Sara C. at 2:04 PM on July 18, 2010
Also, re the equator, South America, etc - the closer you are to the equator, the hotter it is in general and the less variability there is between seasons. However, microclimate issues like altitude can be more important than geographical location.
Peru, for instance, is very close to the equator, so it should be "hot" there year round. And it is, sort of. In Lima, for instance, which is on the coast at low altitude, it's in the 70's-80's Fahrenheit for most of the year. But if you head into the mountains, the weather is much more temperate and includes clear-cut seasons. In May and June (their late autumn) I needed a sweater and light jacket, and ended up buying lots of woolly accessories both as souvenirs and to keep warm after the sun went down.
posted by Sara C. at 2:10 PM on July 18, 2010
Peru, for instance, is very close to the equator, so it should be "hot" there year round. And it is, sort of. In Lima, for instance, which is on the coast at low altitude, it's in the 70's-80's Fahrenheit for most of the year. But if you head into the mountains, the weather is much more temperate and includes clear-cut seasons. In May and June (their late autumn) I needed a sweater and light jacket, and ended up buying lots of woolly accessories both as souvenirs and to keep warm after the sun went down.
posted by Sara C. at 2:10 PM on July 18, 2010
Freiburg, Munich, Füssen, and Konstanz.
I suppose it depends on how you define budget but Northern Europe (incl. Germany) wouldn't be top of my list and Munich in particular is expensive - I grew up there.
posted by koahiatamadl at 3:42 PM on July 18, 2010
I suppose it depends on how you define budget but Northern Europe (incl. Germany) wouldn't be top of my list and Munich in particular is expensive - I grew up there.
posted by koahiatamadl at 3:42 PM on July 18, 2010
Really interesting article in today's New York Times about inexpensive alternatives to hotels, particularly where hostels are lacking: Europe without Hotels. Despite the title, one of the services it reviews, airbnb.com, is global.
posted by WestCoaster at 4:23 PM on July 18, 2010
posted by WestCoaster at 4:23 PM on July 18, 2010
Again, SE Asia fits your bill exactly. You can get away with spending practically nothing. It's the best place to start if you're trying solo international travel for the first time.
posted by fso at 4:40 PM on July 18, 2010
posted by fso at 4:40 PM on July 18, 2010
We went to Guatemala for two weeks last September and it was amazing, and amazingly cheap. With a month, I'd add in Honduras and/or Nicaragua. It's hot and humid in the lower-lying areas, but can be quite cool in the highlands.
posted by jshort at 5:02 PM on July 18, 2010
posted by jshort at 5:02 PM on July 18, 2010
I loved Brazil in August. I was there last year for about three weeks -- and although we weren't on a particularly tight budget, most of the places we went were (by US/western Europe standards) dirt cheap.
Our itinerary was basically Iguacu Falls - Rio - Manaus and the Amazon - Sao Paulo. All of them were great in their own ways. In Iguacu Falls we stayed cheap-ly and fun-ly in a hostel -- we paid to have our own room, but if we'd done the dorm-style thing it would have been crazy cheap. In Rio we rented an apartment (we were there for about ten days). In Manaus, we spent a couple of nights in a cheap hotel in town, and stayed the rest of the time at a lodge a few hours upriver (on the Rio Negro). We got a B&B for the last couple nights in Sao Paulo. The lodge was expensive, but the rest were $20-60/night.
I don't have time to tell you about how awesome this trip was. The Falls: one of the most remarkable things I've seen in my life, and one of the most poorly represented by photos (which tend to be of one tiny little part of the falls; what makes them amazing is the fact that they go on and on and on). Rio: wonderful beaches, ridiculous high-octane nightlife (and yes, crushing poverty and lots of crime -- but with care you'll be fine). Amazon: this made the trip for me, and I wrote about it at length in reply to an earlier question. We were only in Sao Paulo for a couple of days, with (for whatever reason) low expectations, but had a fantastic time there, too.
I actually thought August was a pretty good time for this trip: I mean, it's not summer in Rio but it was still plenty warm. Manaus is basically on the equator, so was predictably skin-meltingly-hot -- but that would presumably be true for most of the year.
So yeah. Just: go. If not this time around, some other time.
I actually also really like Hungary and Eastern Europe generally -- and hey, you could end up in Budapest for St Stephen's day (August 20th, I think), which would also be awesome. (I happened to be there for it once, and keep meaning to come back. They have an air show! On the Danube!)
posted by chalkbored at 5:44 PM on July 18, 2010
Our itinerary was basically Iguacu Falls - Rio - Manaus and the Amazon - Sao Paulo. All of them were great in their own ways. In Iguacu Falls we stayed cheap-ly and fun-ly in a hostel -- we paid to have our own room, but if we'd done the dorm-style thing it would have been crazy cheap. In Rio we rented an apartment (we were there for about ten days). In Manaus, we spent a couple of nights in a cheap hotel in town, and stayed the rest of the time at a lodge a few hours upriver (on the Rio Negro). We got a B&B for the last couple nights in Sao Paulo. The lodge was expensive, but the rest were $20-60/night.
I don't have time to tell you about how awesome this trip was. The Falls: one of the most remarkable things I've seen in my life, and one of the most poorly represented by photos (which tend to be of one tiny little part of the falls; what makes them amazing is the fact that they go on and on and on). Rio: wonderful beaches, ridiculous high-octane nightlife (and yes, crushing poverty and lots of crime -- but with care you'll be fine). Amazon: this made the trip for me, and I wrote about it at length in reply to an earlier question. We were only in Sao Paulo for a couple of days, with (for whatever reason) low expectations, but had a fantastic time there, too.
I actually thought August was a pretty good time for this trip: I mean, it's not summer in Rio but it was still plenty warm. Manaus is basically on the equator, so was predictably skin-meltingly-hot -- but that would presumably be true for most of the year.
So yeah. Just: go. If not this time around, some other time.
I actually also really like Hungary and Eastern Europe generally -- and hey, you could end up in Budapest for St Stephen's day (August 20th, I think), which would also be awesome. (I happened to be there for it once, and keep meaning to come back. They have an air show! On the Danube!)
posted by chalkbored at 5:44 PM on July 18, 2010
Don't go to anywhere in Europe (even Eastern Europe). The easiest way to keep it low-budget is to go to SE Asia (not Vietnam, Singapore or Thailand), South America (not Brazil), Africa (not South Africa) or India. Lots of SE Asia is now pretty expensive compared to many other options, so choose your destinations carefully. You can easily survive well on $500 a month in many, many countries.
posted by turkeyphant at 6:30 PM on July 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by turkeyphant at 6:30 PM on July 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
One thing I'd say about money and the choice of a destination is that, if you have a little bit of money, sure, pick Europe, if you want to go to Europe. It's great to travel to parts of the world where things are incredibly cheap, and it can definitely get you more bang for your buck if funds are limited. But it's kind of pointless to go to Laos over Ireland simply because you'll have more money waiting in the bank when you get back from Laos.
It's also relatively easy to stretch your travel dollar in Europe if you're desperate to go there -- couchsurfing and WWOOFing are both very real possibilities for longer term travelers, as is the possibility of working in exchange for a hostel bed. Of course, if you can't afford to go to Europe no matter how cheap the accommodations (and don't want to be out on a farm in the middle of nowhere), definitely look at other cheaper parts of the world.
Just don't pick a place because "OMG it's so cheap, wheeeee!"
posted by Sara C. at 6:44 PM on July 18, 2010
It's also relatively easy to stretch your travel dollar in Europe if you're desperate to go there -- couchsurfing and WWOOFing are both very real possibilities for longer term travelers, as is the possibility of working in exchange for a hostel bed. Of course, if you can't afford to go to Europe no matter how cheap the accommodations (and don't want to be out on a farm in the middle of nowhere), definitely look at other cheaper parts of the world.
Just don't pick a place because "OMG it's so cheap, wheeeee!"
posted by Sara C. at 6:44 PM on July 18, 2010
I'd recommend against (Northern) India in August. It's the tail end of the monsoon, and even though it doesn't necessarily rain heavily, it will rain for a few hours just about every day. This would be OK if it weren't for the fact that it's still quite hot so the humidity from the evaporating rainwater will just about kill you unless you get up into the mountains, but if you do you'll be hit with the problem of mountain roads washed away by rivulets & landslides.
I haven't been to the South at that time, but that's hotter still, and the monsoon has different timings - check for yourself, but I *think* the Southern monsoon starts & finishes later (?) than in the North.
Peru in September was a nice enough climate. Not too hot, not too cold, coast & highlands. Plenty to see & do.
posted by UbuRoivas at 6:48 PM on July 18, 2010
I haven't been to the South at that time, but that's hotter still, and the monsoon has different timings - check for yourself, but I *think* the Southern monsoon starts & finishes later (?) than in the North.
Peru in September was a nice enough climate. Not too hot, not too cold, coast & highlands. Plenty to see & do.
posted by UbuRoivas at 6:48 PM on July 18, 2010
@turkeyphant: Why not Vietnam? It was still very cheap as of a year ago.
posted by ageispolis at 1:38 AM on July 22, 2010
posted by ageispolis at 1:38 AM on July 22, 2010
Because it's substantially more expensive than nearby countries (I wouldn't call it shoestring budget) and also is much more touristy.
posted by turkeyphant at 6:03 PM on August 1, 2010
posted by turkeyphant at 6:03 PM on August 1, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by decoherence at 1:25 PM on July 18, 2010