Exotic travel ideas

Thread from 2014:

Being newly single/separated, I'm itching to travel. I'm kinda broke but I'll have a little money for a nice trip. I've already been to mainland Europe a few times so I'm looking for somewhere different. UK, far east, middle east, tropical, whatever. Budget for the trip itself is around $1000 and I can scrape up another $1000 for spending cash. Themes to consider; single, food, culture. I MUCH prefer real experiences. I take very little pleasure in fancy hotels and guided tours of museums. I like real stuff; street vendors, locals, hostels. Enriching experience is preferred to obscurity... that is to say, I would rather have an emotionally fulfilling time in London than the coolness factor of saying that I've been to Nepal. Hot, easy women a plus.

Just watched the Dakar race. As it went through Argentina I couldn't help but want to visit. The ladies in the crowd were very nice to look at as well.

Read Drivenachodrive.com and see what you think. Some great stories of traveling through Mexico, South America, India, Thailand and more - with an emphasis on meeting people.

I've heard Thailand is the jam. I know people that go regularly.

Well what do you think I would say, but it'll cost a bit more

Remember V8Supercars run for 9 months and you have to go the an AFL football game

Singapore. Formula 1. Done.

The Philippines was great, the $1 to 50 peso thing was nice, but I think I'd enjoy Singapore or perhaps Belize, the Caymans, Bora Bora, Bahamas a bit more if I wanted to go someplace hot and foreign :)

Plus, Thailand has this:

mndsm wrote: I've heard Thailand is the jam. I know people that go regularly.

I have also heard similar things about The Philippines. East might be the ticket.

turboswede wrote: Belize, the Caymans, Bora Bora, Bahamas a bit more if I wanted to go someplace hot and foreign :)

Never did Belize or Bora Bora, but Bahamas, Caribbean, and Hawaii have been visited... albeit a while ago.

I'd start checking and see how much of distance (plane ticket wise) $1000 will cost you and go from there.

Datsun1500 wrote: Drive to Key West? Stop by New Orleans on the way? Could be almost as much fun, on 1/2 the budget.

I lived in NOLA for a while and I love it. I have been to Key West, but I think I was 12. I've heard it is a party paradise now.

z31maniac wrote: I'd start checking and see how much of distance (plane ticket wise) $1000 will cost you and go from there.

www.budgettravel.com

http://www.intrepidtravel.com/morocco/best-morocco-70565

Seriously ridiculous cheap stuff. 15 days in Morocco for under $1100 including airfare, tours, and accommodations. You'd be surprised what $1000 can get you these days.

Datsun1500 wrote:

curtis73 wrote: Plus, Thailand has this:

Yeah, but in Thailand that is a 13 year old boy

After as much liquor as I'll be drinking, I'm not sure I'll care.

I went to Peru a few years back on a student club trip. Round trip tickets were less than 500 out of Miami. The dollar went a long way for food, drink, and lodging, especially outside of Lima. Lima is a sprawling mega-city with the richest and the poorest. At a touristy club there, I was practically stampeded by beautiful locals.

I just did a quick search for flights; I was able to find a round-trip ticket from Orlando to Lima for just over $500.

The Peruvian food I ate was simple and honest. Lots of starches (they are the birthplace of the potato, after all), and plenty of meat and seafood. I stayed pretty close to the coastline the whole time, so very fresh seafood is very abundant. I ate a lot of ceviche. Most of the small-town restaurants only had one or two dishes a day. It would be challenging to eat as a vegetarian. I also recommend bringing Imodium.

curtis73 wrote:

Datsun1500 wrote: Drive to Key West? Stop by New Orleans on the way? Could be almost as much fun, on 1/2 the budget.

I lived in NOLA for a while and I love it. I have been to Key West, but I think I was 12. I've heard it is a party paradise now.

I have a friend who lived there, moved to another part of FL for a while, then moved back. He worked commodities or something in Chicago and eventually walked away after he started to see the burn catching up to start life: ver. 2.0. According to him, its the literal island of misfit toys ( which he's certainly one of. When I met him, we were working at a bike shop, he owned 7+ bikes and no car. You could build 5 challenge cars if you sold them all.) If you decide to head that way, let me know and I'll put you in touch.

curtis73 wrote:

z31maniac wrote: I'd start checking and see how much of distance (plane ticket wise) $1000 will cost you and go from there.

www.budgettravel.com http://www.intrepidtravel.com/morocco/best-morocco-70565 Seriously ridiculous cheap stuff. 15 days in Morocco for under $1100 including airfare, tours, and accommodations. You'd be surprised what $1000 can get you these days.

I clicked on the link, but didn't see where it said air fare was included?

I've read Morocco is one of the friendlier Muslim countries you can visit, but they still have their terrorism problems.

Singles cruise around the Caribbean?

PHeller wrote: Singles cruise around the Caribbean?

That will give very little opportunity for "real" experiences or hot women. I've seen the crowd on cruise ships. It's a floating Wal-Mart.

Mitchell makes Peru sound pretty good!

I have some friends who go to Costa Rica every year. They say it's beautiful and cheap.

I enjoyed the heck out of Peru! We didn't do it on a budget, we had guides and hiked the Inca Trail with porters and did a jungle lodge, but I'm sure you could do a good budget trip there. We had one meal in a Govinda (Hare Krishna restaurant) and it was $4 or so for all four of us to have a full meal with several courses and tea. The bottle of water my sister got cost more than our meal.

z31maniac wrote:

curtis73 wrote:

z31maniac wrote: I'd start checking and see how much of distance (plane ticket wise) $1000 will cost you and go from there.

www.budgettravel.com http://www.intrepidtravel.com/morocco/best-morocco-70565 Seriously ridiculous cheap stuff. 15 days in Morocco for under $1100 including airfare, tours, and accommodations. You'd be surprised what $1000 can get you these days.

I clicked on the link, but didn't see where it said air fare was included? I've read Morocco is one of the friendlier Muslim countries you can visit, but they still have their terrorism problems.

That link doesn't you're right. There was one for morocco that did include airfare for something like $1279 (If I flew out of Miami or something.)

I'm just looking for somewhere neat, good food, cheap purchasing, and maybe some hot women who don't have diseases. (Guess I just ruled out the Philippines.)

I'll look into Peru. Also heard good things about Brazil. Maybe a week or two in South America.

curtis73 wrote:

Datsun1500 wrote:

curtis73 wrote: Plus, Thailand has this:

Yeah, but in Thailand that is a 13 year old boy

After as much liquor as I'll be drinking, I'm not sure I'll care.

Just check down below to see what you're getting into before it gets into you.

I will say that the northern end of the Philippines is awesome with lots of beautiful resorts and beaches. Boracai is a well known beach area with many resorts and they are very reasonably priced.

Manila is generally a nightmare to deal with, either it is a weird utopian wet dream with huge malls, high rise condos, hotels, very rich Koreans/Chinese, etc. or it is a maze of tiny streets, shanty's and traffic. However, since you'll be riding in a bus, taxi, etc. You just have to sit back and let the chaos happen.

Either way, most everyone we met was incredibly nice and helpful and the younger people spoke fairly decent English. There is a lot of great historical areas in and around Manila, especially if you're into WWII or Spanish Colonial history. A day trip in Manila will allow you to see most of the sites.

Of course the former US military base in Subic Bay (Freeport Zone) is very nice with a great beach, duty free shops and lots of trees and jungle to hike around in. Wife and I stayed at a resort with an attached Aquarium (Camayan Resort) and swam with dolphins, quite an amazing experience and very reasonable price wise.

The Philippines is a great place to travel out of to other areas of Asia due to the relatively inexpensive airfare

The southern end of the Philippines, near Mindanao is not to be traveled lightly, between the corruption, the islamic revolutionary's and the flooding/weather related issues, etc. I'd avoid it. Maybe the Government will finally give the people of Mindanao what they've wanted since before colonization, but I doubt it.

Here's an interesting travel documentary:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1WJQptugzo

Thanks for the link. Good info.

Japan? No clue on the price but the culture is interesting. Not been there, but hoping to go in the next few years.