2013 Travel Plans?

**nzgirl** · 12-05-2012, 06:37 AM

Dubai, Egypt, Barcelona this April and May. Finished booking all my flights and hostels. Excited!

**TracyRoberts** · 12-20-2012, 12:17 PM

Well would highly appreciate your idea of traveling to these cities but in my opinion I would suggest the best place to drop into would be nothing better then the great city of NYC, with vibrant neighborhoods and the astonishing parks and a lot many more things available at your doorstep without involving much of traveling and if you find yourself lucky enough to stay in the the chain of Nyinns hotels.
New York housing for students and interns

**Scribetastic** · 12-20-2012, 01:51 PM

Yeah! Lots of travel happening next year for everyone. This year it was just to NYC and back a couple of times. However, a couple of weeks ago, the impulse hit and I just took off to New Orleans for the weekend. It.was.fun. I'm going to try for NYC twice and NOLA twice next year.

A friend of mine is getting married in Hawaii and I wish she'd let me know the dates because she expects me to be there (in fact, I'm going to write her after this because that much she should already know.) I also need to get myself home to L.A. I've not been since 2009 and it's just crossing to ridiculous at this point as I'm not that far away.
No international travel is planned yet because, first, I've got to renew my passport.

**masoesa** · 12-20-2012, 02:53 PM

So far Suriname and Holland are on schedule, Trinidad is tentative. I like to schedule NO too.

If I may suggest something, Suriname will be awesome in August. Carifesta will be held! A great opportunity to learn and experience Caribbean culture. You betta go!!

**newlife2169** · 12-20-2012, 03:26 PM

I'd like to travel more but I need some ideas, esp. starting off possibly traveling solo.... I'm working around a school schedule. Even some short trips to start. Thinking about Vegas as a first effort since I just visited there recently and I enjoyed it but how could I enjoy it alone? I'm a spa and show girl but I want to see some sites, too.

**Scribetastic** · 12-20-2012, 03:45 PM

Originally Posted by newlife2169

I'd like to travel more but I need some ideas, esp. starting off possibly traveling solo.... I'm working around a school schedule. Even some short trips to start. Thinking about Vegas as a first effort since I just visited there recently and I enjoyed it but how could I enjoy it alone? I'm a spa and show girl but I want to see some sites, too.

I do most of my traveling alone. I don't understand your question.

You go somewhere you'd like to explore. You find the things that interest you. You go to them and enjoy yourself. Simple.

Note that I am an only child, so I learned early on to like my own company. That just seems like an odd question to me, but I also know there are people who won't go to eat or go to the movies alone either.

**newlife2169** · 12-20-2012, 04:04 PM

Originally Posted by Scribetastic

I do most of my traveling alone. I don't understand your question.

You go somewhere you'd like to explore. You find the things that interest you. You go to them and enjoy yourself. Simple.

Note that I am an only child, so I learned early on to like my own company. That just seems like an odd question to me, but I also know there are people who won't go to eat or go to the movies alone either.

Since I perceive you are well intentioned, the bolded made me chuckle... and plus it's basic and true!

I'm not an only child but it takes me a minute to relax in an unfamiliar setting. I will go to the movies on my own and I have gone to dinner by myself a couple of times (particularly when I was out of town for work). So if I go to a new place with someone else, I'm usually ok to go back on my own. This is a bit ironic since I just relocated for work to a place where I only knew one person. I had to figure everything out on my own and so far, I think I'm doing alright.... When I went to Las Vegas, I did not go solo so I'm familiar with it enough to go back on my own. I guess the solo thing is a bit uncomfortable because there's no one there to kind of share the experience with but then part of the journey is meeting new people while you're there and that makes for the experience.

***As y'all can hopefully see, I'm processing this out loud....***

I suppose the next first step is figuring out where I want to go and what I want to see/do....

**Scribetastic** · 12-20-2012, 06:32 PM

Originally Posted by newlife2169

Since I perceive you are well intentioned, the bolded made me chuckle... and plus it's basic and true!

I'm not an only child but it takes me a minute to relax in an unfamiliar setting. I will go to the movies on my own and I have gone to dinner by myself a couple of times (particularly when I was out of town for work). So if I go to a new place with someone else, I'm usually ok to go back on my own. This is a bit ironic since I just relocated for work to a place where I only knew one person. I had to figure everything out on my own and so far, I think I'm doing alright.... When I went to Las Vegas, I did not go solo so I'm familiar with it enough to go back on my own. I guess the solo thing is a bit uncomfortable because there's no one there to kind of share the experience with but then part of the journey is meeting new people while you're there and that makes for the experience.

***As y'all can hopefully see, I'm processing this out loud....***

I suppose the next first step is figuring out where I want to go and what I want to see/do....

Yeah, other people like to f$%k with people on online forums. I don't unless they have it coming. You asked what was a sincere question. It's just a question I find hard to understand.

I just really don't understand anxiety around doing things solo. I mean, of course, traveling with other people can be fun. Sometimes though it can be a PITA. However, if people are available or, usually in my case, I just forget to ask I have a blast just going solo.

Just go and enjoy yourself. I don't think it's any more complex than that.

**skittles04** · 12-20-2012, 07:37 PM

I'm thinking about going somewhere overseas during the fall, so I'm planning to set aside a little money each month for that. I haven't decided where, yet, but I'm leaning towards France or Italy.

I've been going back and forth about going solo vs. going with a tour group, too. From what little research I've done so far, it's plain to see that doing it solo will definitely be the cheaper option. I bought a Rick Steve's guidebook to Paris and it seems doable. I also checked on airbnb and saw some decent rooms/studio apts there for about $60 a night. (Has anyone had any experiences with that service?)

I think that a tour group gives you a sense of security that you wouldn't necessarily have on your own, though. (I'm speaking strictly of inexperienced travelers here.) The best kinds I've seen are ones that are semi-structured. They schedule some events, but leave you a lot of time to explore on your own. They also take care of some of the little details for you, like booking your hotel(s), arranging for transportation during the trip, and buying tickets to some events/attractions ahead of time.

So, to that end, I've been considering some specialized tours (hiking, cycling, photography workshops, etc.). They all sound good until I get to the price tag (which usually doesn't include airfare)!

Anyway, here are some tour companies that I've come across.

www.gadventures.com
www.goaheadtours.com
www.intrepidtravel.com
www.nationalgeographicexpeditions.com
www.discoveryadventures.com
www.rei.com/adventures

I can't vouch personally for any of them, so be sure to do your research. The forums on lonelyplanet.com & fodors.com are also good places for travel info, especially if you decide to go alone.

**Scribetastic** · 12-20-2012, 07:56 PM

I can vouch for REI just in the sense that they're a known company that caters to the outdoors. They're also employee-owned. I'd think they'd have the same quality for any travel or tours that they put on that they do for their stores and products.

A couple of the others I've heard about as I've got friend who was the NYTimes Frugal Traveler at one point (he's since moved on) and he got me in to the NYTimes' travel show once. It was fun seeing all the international booths and places to go too.