Three months to travel - where would you go, what would you do?

June 26, 2018 8:27 PM

I have three months of paid travel almost anywhere in the world. I'm looking for recommendations of where to go and what to do. I've travelled quite extensively but this would be my first time traveling alone, something I'm a little anxious about as I'm not super outgoing. I would love to use this opportunity not just to travel but also to learn something new and/or volunteer. I think doing things like that would also help with my anxiety about doing this alone.

Things I'm considering: Spending a month studying Spanish in San Sebastian, Spain (both because I love San Sebastian and because I want to learn Spanish) and volunteering in Southern Africa (I'm from South Africa so I'm drawn to the region but I would go anywhere there was a need and a trusted program). I'm looking for general ideas of things to do as well as specific recommendations of programs or tours.

Only criteria is that it must be outside of North America and safe for a solo female traveler.

posted by doublenelson to Travel & Transportation (12 answers total)

I suppose it’s feasible to study Spanish in San Sebastián but it’s a slightly odd choice as the indigenous language is, rather insistently, Basque. If you want to study Spanish in Spain, you might consider other locations (Toledo? Seville? Granada?). I love Spain and Portugal for solo travel in general and spent 12 weeks there some years ago.

Generally, you might consider Chile? Or Japan?
posted by vunder at 8:53 PM on June 26, 2018 [4 favorites]

I would not travel to Paris alone again. (My experience there solo was not good, like really not good)

I felt pretty safe traveling alone in Berlin, throughout Germany and Switzerland.

I also felt safe in Glasgow and Edinburgh.
posted by nikaspark at 9:15 PM on June 26, 2018 [1 favorite]

I've been okay solo in Paris, but you have to be assertive/claim your space.

Definitely consider Japan. A great introduction to solo travel because it's so very safe and tourist-friendly - about the only thing that doesn't work solo is ryokans because many only rent to two or more people, but it's quite normal to eat alone, stay in other accommodations alone, and sightsee.
posted by I claim sanctuary at 9:39 PM on June 26, 2018 [4 favorites]

I just got back from Berlin, had no problems on my own in Kreuzberg walking and taking transit at all hours. Found it surprisingly easy to meet people — find a Facebook or Meetup group and just show, then ask your new pals where they hang out. Plenty of political & refugee work, you could take German or Turkish or (fill-in-the-blank) language as well.
posted by fritillary at 9:39 PM on June 26, 2018

If you like hiking and outdoorsy stuff, Chile is pretty amazing and you could easily spend 3 months here, especially if you threw in some trips to Argentina or the other neighboring countries. It's not the best place to learn Spanish due to the accent/slang/idioms but it's not that bad. I moved here almost 6 years ago and love it!
posted by saul wright at 10:24 PM on June 26, 2018 [1 favorite]

If it were me, I would try and spend some time at one or both poles
posted by Morpeth at 11:26 PM on June 26, 2018

Japan. It is stunningly beautiful, safe, and clean. Very polite, very organised. The food is fantastic. There are lots of expats, and any such group should be able to put you in touch with a hiking club or whatever your interest is. You might also check out wwoof Japan - they had all sorts of people doing traditional crafts, natural dying, etc (as well as the usual small farms). If you're willing to learn a little Japanese it goes a long way, and being able to read hiragana can be handy though much is written in English characters to now.

I also had a kind of meh experience solo in Paris!

Some places on my to go list that might work for you: Iceland, Scandinavia, Belgium, Netherlands.
posted by jrobin276 at 2:01 AM on June 27, 2018 [1 favorite]

You've got to give us more to go on. Interests? Do you have work obligations at all? Your age-ish? Is money at all a concern? A quick look at your profile suggests you are a seasoned traveler.

Language classes are a great way to meet other travelers. My wife spent a month in Oaxaca, Mexico learning Spanish with a group and found it a lot of fun, safe, and a great experience. This was 10 years ago though.

Germany would be a great place to start your trip, because (A) Germany is great. (B) You can visit everywhere else in Europe fairly easily. My wife's sister travels alone throughout Europe's major metropolitan cities: Zurich, Berlin, Paris, Madrid, Rome and has never encountered serious safety issues. The public transport in these cities is clean, fast, safe, the signage excellent, and almost everyone speaks English.
posted by xammerboy at 4:49 AM on June 27, 2018

I was a solo female traveler for 4.5months in Europe. I also recommend a lot of the cities listed above. I loved Iceland which is a very safe country and it seems like everyone in Reykjavik was fluent in English. Scandinavian countries in general have a fairly high level of English fluency.
posted by acidnova at 12:36 PM on June 27, 2018

I recently spent a couole weeks in Belgrade and felt very safe as a single woman traveler. Almost everyone speaks very good English. Bonus:it is much much cheaper than touristy areas of Europe.
posted by aetg at 1:03 PM on June 27, 2018

Use the time to take a trip that would ordinarily be way outside of your visa, budget or time constraints, especially places that are hard to get to by air:

- Antarctica/Siberia/Greenland are all pretty inaccessible, but I bet there would be some great tours/expeditions you could do

- Islands you can only get to by boat? Lots of the islands in southern Thailand on the Andaman Sea coast are in national parks or only reachable by longtail.

- Somewhere HUGE and diverse, like China or Indonesia - Tibet? Eastern Indonesia?

- A region that rewards overland travel, like taking local trains across Eastern and Central Europe or walking between two countries with gorgeous scenery and good infrastructure
posted by mdonley at 7:19 PM on June 27, 2018 [1 favorite]

Personally, I've always wanted to spend time in Eastern Europe and the Balkans, so that's probably where I'd go with three months paid travel. I've never been, but I've known a few folks who've explored Croatia, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, etc. as solo ladies and didn't seem to run into any trouble and also had an amazing time.
posted by helloimjennsco at 7:39 AM on June 28, 2018