Over the past couple of years, I’ve begun to travel. Kris and I have been traveling in groups, but that’s expensive and leaves me feeling isolated from the cultures we visit. I have the itch to travel more, and to spend more time off the beaten path. Meeting a swarm of travel bloggers at the recent World Domination Summit has just made this feeling stronger.
As a result, I’m going to do a little solo travel. Kris isn’t interested in “roughing it” just yet. Plus, her hours aren’t as flexible as mine. (I can write from anywhere, right?) So, I’ve looked at the calendar for the rest of 2011 and have picked out three extended periods during which I’ll travel alone.
But where will I go? That’s a great question, and one for which I have no answer yet.
My first window of opportunity comes during early August. I’d love to visit a Spanish-speaking country in the Western Hemisphere, but which one? Cuba interests me. So does Mexico. And what about Ecuador?
At the end of August, I think I’m going to hike Hadrian’s Wall in northern England. “You’ve been talking about that for years,” Chris Guillebeau told me on Sunday. He’s right. I’ve been wanting to do this ever since I met him, but I’ve never had the guts to go. Well, now I’m going to do it. (And I’m actually toying with the idea of simply spending the entire month of August in England and France. We’ll see.)
Chris also had another piece of advice for me. “You should just go,” he told me. “Go now. Don’t wait until August, but leave tomorrow or next week.” Tempting. But I’m too much of a traditionalist to just jump ship like that, I guess. I have some commitments I need to see through. But once those are done? Well, I’m not adding any more commitments to the calendar. I need to scratch this travel itch, don’t you know.
Enough about travel! I know many of you get bored by the subject. Instead, let’s look at some recent personal-finance stories from around the web.
First, today Trent at The Simple Dollar posted 15 shopping rules of thumb. I don’t usually like list posts, but this one made me consider my own shopping habits. I’m not actually much of a shopper anymore, but when I do buy things, I actually adhere to many of Trent’s suggestions.
Next up, my pal MP Dunleavey stirred the pot over at Daily Worth today. She complained that there are insufficient, overpriced, erratic child care choices for working families, and dozens of readers chimed in with their own experiences. Kris and I don’t have kids, but we know parents with similar predicaments. How do you deal with these sorts of dilemmas?
Elsewhere, Meg Favreau at Wise Bread shared her number-one favorite frugal tip last week. It’s not what you might think. In fact, it’s decidedly GRS-y. Favreau says her top frugality tip is simple: Persevere. “When trying to achieve any goal, there will be trial and error. There will be setbacks. The most important thing is to keep at it.” I like it.
Writing at Dumb Little Man, Celestine Chua offers 6 simple ways to say “no”. As I mentioned over the weekend, I’ve managed to craft a pretty amazing life by learning to say “yes” to the things that scare me. But I’ve also developed a bad habit of simply saying “yes” to everything, which leaves me drained. I’m starting to say “no” more, and Chua’s advice will help me do this.
Finally, Jay wrote to point out that ING Direct is for sale. Its Dutch parent company is looking to get out of online banking in the U.S. What will this mean for ING Direct customers like me? I’m not sure. Something tells me it may be time to look at other online savings accounts.
GRS is committed to helping our readers save and achieve your financial goals.Savings interest rates may be low, but that’s all the more reason to shop for the best rate.Find the highest savings interest rate from Ally Bank, Capital One 360, Everbank, and more.
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Sounds like fun, London is one of my favorite cities I’ve visited. So much history and great architecture. It will be interesting to see how the solo travel thing works out.
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Another thought on planning your trip finances: call your bank or credit card company before you leave. About ten years ago I went on a solo trip to Peru for two weeks and a few days into it my credit card company called my home and left a message saying they were going to cancel my card because someone was using it to withdraw cash from ATMs in Lima. Luckily my husband called them back in time and told them I was travelling on that card. Maybe things are different now, especially with cell phones where they can check with you directly. Just a thought.
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In England many B&Bs are inexpensive. Do not think fancy fluffy B&Bs like in the USA. Although you can find them there, there are many cheaper places that are just an extra room in somebodies house. You can find them listed at the Visitor Center in any town. I expect many are on the internet these days too. Take it slowly and enjoy a few days in different villages along the way. And yes….you might want to rethink August. It is a pain to have to prebook everywhere because it is a busy time. Sounds a wonderful trip.
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Argentina is an amazing country, JD, with beautiful scenery, awesome culture, amazing food/wine and friendly people. Maybe a little too friendly… it seems your wife is a lot more understanding than my (now ex) wife, but she wouldn’t let me travel there by myself after seeing the “water quality” of the women in Buenos Aires.
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If you do head out to England in August you should definitely catch a soccer (football) game as well. If I am in town (London) when you’re here I’d be up for it instead of coffee
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I agree with Chris Guillebeau on this one. You already know you want to hike Hadrian’s Wall. What’s left to plan? Go and start hiking!
My most memorable solo travels have started by flying from the U.S. to Europe with no plans other than the first night’s lodging and a return flight a couple months later. Don’t overthink it.
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I (second, third, fourth) going to Europe in September rather than August. The reason most people go in August is that their kids go back to school in September. You don’t have kids, so you don’t need to go in August!
I haven’t travelled NEARLY as much as I’d like to. But I couldn’t get over the beauty of England’s Lake District (I mean the more remote lakes, not Windermere (a tourist attraction) or Consiton (also a bit built up, but much less so), although both are convenient for exploring. If you go there, it’s best to be central.
We went there for a week in April, and stayed on a working sheep farm. Check out Wastwater, for example. Just stunning. And there’s a very low-key youth hostel there too.
Another trip we LOVED was Panama, with a bit of Costa Rica. The Kuna Yala is breathtaking. And there are charitable missions going on there as they try to improve access to fresh water. And if I had to pick ONE place to go, I would pick Corcovado National Park in Costa Rica. We stayed at La Leona. It is the only place I have ever visited that I want to go back to, rather than explore somewhere else. You can stay at the Eco-Lodge, or “rough” it in the adjacent camping grounds.
The walk down the beach (40 min) to get the “Collectivo” (2.5 hours) to get to the bus to take us to the boat to catch yet another bus to the nearest real “city” is still my screensaver, three years later.
My dream is to go back there, and hike to the research station at Sirena.
So much world, so little time!
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Two comments: go. Just go. If it makes you feel better to plan ahead, buy the tickets for August and plan. But go. It’s worth it. And I’m sure Kris is a big girl who can take care of herself, with the aid of the local police should the occasion arise.
And as for child care, all I can say is MP Dunleavey is right on. Expensive, inadequate and in my case, unavailable until FALL. That would be three months with no day care.
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Buenos Aires is like being in an inexpensive, Spanish-speaking Paris. With the most amazing steak and ice cream you’ve ever had. I cannot wait to go back.
Next major trip on our list: Puerto Rico.
Regardless of where you go — packing light opens up so many opportunities that are harder to come by when you’re schlepping luggage. Francine Jay over at http://www.missminimalist.com has some great posts on this, if you’re interested.
Have fun!
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If you want to head South, I highly recommend Peru. Traveled there in college, and really, the ticket is the most expensive part (and I took college classes while I was down there). They’ve had a bit of an economic boom, so I don’t know how far the $$ goes.
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wanted to chime in and say I’ve really enjoyed using couchsurfing, and I also recently discovered Crashpadder. You do pay a small fee to stay in the person’s guest room, but it’s likely cheaper than a B and B and it’s a nice experience. check out the website
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Come to Bedfordshire JD!
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There’s lots to Canada, but my favorite top spot recommendation is Newfoundland and Labrador. This province is huge (geographically), sparsely populated, wildly colourful (as are the people), the language is English but you will have to listen carefully to understand the lingo (unique to other Canadians) and the accent. Breathtakingly beautiful, and in the summer not too hot…umm, it’s rarely hot!
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I’m a little late to the discussion, but for what it’s worth…
I agree that Europe should be avoided in the summer. I’ve been at several times of the year, and the rest of the year is much nicer, especially in the big cities (Paris, Rome, etc.). London, however, is always crazy. I can’t speak for the rest of England.
Don’t neglect the rest of the world for Europe. As far as bang for the buck goes, Europe is low on the list. I highly recommend central / south america. Incredibly cheap and so much to see and explore. Especially if you’re going to stay for a while.
You may feel iffy about it, but you are in a fantastic position with your blog to travel for cheap or even free. You already have many people offering to put you up. Of course, you won’t always want to stay with people and “talk money” (most likely), but it’s a very nice option. Somebody else suggested giving talks at places; not a bad idea either.
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JD,
My husband and I went and wandered around England for a couple of weeks last summer. I’d always wanted to walk along Hadrians wall and we made that a priority. You might enjoy reading our blog and see photos of where we went…it was a great trip.
Here’s our blog site: http://chuck-pat.blogspot.com/2010/07/day-1-arrival-in-london.html
My photos from the trip: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pshorten/sets/72157624535550264/with/4926934427/
If you want to know any more about any of the places we went just drop me a note.
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When I was young and unencumbered I went (solo) on a volunteer work brigade to Cuba and it was the single best experience of my life. It humbled me, fulfilled me and still, 10 years later the friends that I made there, and the memories get me through tough days at the office.
You have talked about giving back more, I highly recommend this type of experience.
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Hello, just read your blog for the first time and found it interesting, especially since you were talking about just traveling off the beaten track and alone w/o husband. Might I suggest India as a destination. It is a truly fascinating place and I can recommend a guide who will definitely take you off the beaten track. First time I went, it was just my 16-year-old daughter and myself (hubby didn’t go till the following year), and I just fell in love with India. Just think about it.
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Have you thought about Argentina? I went on a trip there and loved it! Buenos Aires has a European feel to it.
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Go to Ecuador. I went last summer, on the cheap. It has the Amazon, Andes and the ocean. Galapagos too! Galapagos will set you back a bit more than everything else, but overall, very inexpensive and they use the USD. I brought $500 cash with me for what I hadn’t paid for in advance, (Amazon eco-lodges were paid in advance… I tried not to use an ATM the entire time and succeeded) and came home with extra cash at the end of the 3 and a half weeks.
Only cautions…. Over 1,000,000 people die a year on the roads in Latin America. They are a bit scary. Flying within Ecuador is relatively cheap–Less than $100 for anywhere, really. I wish I had known that beforehand. I almost died about 5 days before I left, when my bus driver fell asleep at the wheel and flipped our bus upside and I was thrown out of the window. Mucho dolor por dias!
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I highly recommend traveling in South America. I am in Buenos Aires (and will eventually move on to Chile, Bolivia, and Peru over the next several months). The travel blogging community is wonderful, so definitely reach out when you decide where you want to go.
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Guatemala. Loved it – friendly people, great prices, and definitely get a private (they aren’t too pricey) guide to take you to Tikal. Spend a week or so in Guatemala, and then side trip over the border to Belize. I can’t recommend the country enough – although it’s English speaking so not quite what you’re looking for. Don’t just go to the coast, make sure you spend some time inland.
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JD, I want to second the person who said there is a wide range of travel from roughing-it backpacking style and tour groups. I hate tours, really. You don’t get as much bang for your buck and you see what someone tells you to see, and half the fun is figuring stuff out.
But, all you need to DIY is to pick your location, pick your lodging (a hotel!), then the internet or a guidebook for some plans. I do think the solo/minimalist type of travel you are thinking about might be lovely for you, but you should drag Kris along on at least one non-tour, but pleasant, trip. Just to see how it goes.
Places. Well, SE Asia is cheap and fun (maybe don’t bring kris there yet!) – thailand, malaysia both were quite nice.
I’m dying to go to Patagonia for a hiking/camping type vacation.
I did a bit of the tour du mont blanc in europe. Not cheap, but very charming, walking in the french/swiss alps from village to village. Again, that is pretty intense hiking (10 miles a day), probably not for everyone, but might be something you’d like. I’m also dying to do some trekking in Nepal, but I’m not even far enough in that planning to know where exactly.
Oh, and kilimanjaro. Very expensive, but actually, a really doable mountain, at least compared to it’s peers.
Most places in Europe would make nice trips for you and Kris to do together, if you can swing the expense.
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I *need* to say something regarding Cuba because, well I’m Cuban. Please don’t go. The government still leeches major money from any sort of tourism (even “humanitarian”) and it’s just wrong. It fills their coffers so they can continue abusing a nation that’s long been tormented.
Actually, the one way I’d be ok with you going to Cuba (would even STRONGLY encourage it) is if you went to see (and stay with) Yoani: http://www.desdecuba.com/generationy/ She will show you the real Cuba.
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My husband and I both love to travel and the only thing preventing us from going more is getting time off from work. Our usual level of planning is to buy plane tickets and book someplace to stay the first night. We have a general idea of the places we want to go, but decide on the fly how much time we want to spend in each place. We were in Ireland this spring for 9 days and saw about 2/3 of the island (including Northern Ireland). It was amazing.
I would recommend reading Travel as a Political Act by Rick Steves. He writes about a lot of topics that made me appreciate traveling, experiencing diverse cultures, and being in other countries even more.
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I have two websites for you. One is to plug 1. http://travel.state.gov.
There’s an international travel section with country specific information. While U.S. travelers often don’t need a visa for tourism, you don’t want to get stuck at the border.
Make sure your passport is valid for the entire length of travel before you go. Depending on your plans, you may want to consider adding some extra pages to your passport. Make sure you have enough for all of your visa stamps.
I definitely recommend signing up for the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP), and letting the State Department know your travel plans. If there’s an emergency (earthquake, civil unrest), then the State Department (local embassy or consulate) can send you alerts and other information.
2. http://www.TalesMag.com Tales From a Small Planet is mainly about expat experiences, so you’ll get info from non-natives who live in the country you’re interested in. The site contributors primarily answer questionnaires, my favorite question (that isn’t always answered) is “recommended books related to the city.” It helps when you want to learn more about a place before you go.
Happy (and SAFE!) Travels!
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