# two week vacation in fall, where should I go?



## lobby (May 30, 2017)

I get two weeks off and slow time for us is late august early september. I've traveled extensively in north america, most of western europe and some eastern europe. So looking to branch out from there. I have a rough budget of $4000 including flights, but my accommodations are mostly going to be hostels and couch surfing. I speak decent spanish, so the idea of south america is alluring, but i'm also extremely eager to check out asia. 

Any recommendations?


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## inzite (May 30, 2017)

lobby said:


> I get two weeks off and slow time for us is late august early september. I've traveled extensively in north america, most of western europe and some eastern europe. So looking to branch out from there. I have a rough budget of $4000 including flights, but my accommodations are mostly going to be hostels and couch surfing. I speak decent spanish, so the idea of south america is alluring, but i'm also extremely eager to check out asia.
> 
> Any recommendations?



have never been fond of couch surfing but you should hit up japan and asia i think you can stay in hostels if you are going alone and they are cheap and safe.


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## WildBoar (May 30, 2017)

Hmmm, you should have come to the ECG last weekend since you are in DC! But I digress...

It sounds like you should go knock around in Thailand, Vietnam Cambodia, Laos, etc. But hostels and sofas will be tough if you don't speak the language. That's where Inzite's recommendation makes more sense; those would be easier countries to get around in if you don't have someone helping you along. My real vote is for Australia, but you would need to add another week to make it worthwhile since it can take 2 days to travel each way.


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## Nomsdotcom (Jun 1, 2017)

I've been traveling through Thailand for the past two months and couldn't recommend it more. With that budget you could go pretty crazy. But there are so many good choices. I'm sure South America would be awesome. Costa Rica is pretty fantastic


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## pete84 (Jun 1, 2017)

Another vote for Thailand

With 4k as a budget you can have a great time over 2 weeks, food and accommodations are cheap!

Very tourist friendly country and Thai people are generally very open and helpful to foreigners


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## Badgertooth (Jun 1, 2017)

South Africa and Mozambique.

Start in Cape Town, eat and drink world class food and wine in neighbouring stellenbosch. Head east through rain forested garden route and take stops along the way to marvel at the water getting warmer as it transitions from Atlantic Ocean to the Indian Ocean. Cut inland near the mozambiquean border to go to the Kruger National Park, twice the size of Yellowstone & full of lions, elephants & rhinos. Continue on to Mozambique and enjoy the best, most rustic beach holiday of your life. 

I realise that food is a hard sell to industry folk but, having lived abroad in Europe and eating at a good selection of Michelin starred joints, I can confidently say that the food to be had in the cape Winelands is as good as or better than most 2 star joints at about a half to a third of the price.


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## MontezumaBoy (Jun 1, 2017)

Totally agree with Badger. Krueger (is amazing / one of the best places to go and see wildlife in the world IMO) can get booked up though if you are staying inside the park (which I really, really recommend) at the various camps & a car is necessary but the US $ is strong vs the Rand so that helps quite a bit. Awesome country (I'm married to one as well!) and have spent many trips there (go every three to four years) ... Might have to weight the time of year though as it is winter for them ... good for game viewing but it can get quite cool ... direct flights from Dulles to Jo'burg I believe on SAA. Also it's a very diverse country, geographically, than you tend to think - very different corner to corner ... so it is nice to get around to see it ... PM me if you go this route and I will try and put together some info for you.



Badgertooth said:


> South Africa and Mozambique.
> 
> Start in Cape Town, eat and drink world class food and wine in neighbouring stellenbosch. Head east through rain forested garden route and take stops along the way to marvel at the water getting warmer as it transitions from Atlantic Ocean to the Indian Ocean. Cut inland near the mozambiquean border to go to the Kruger National Park, twice the size of Yellowstone & full of lions, elephants & rhinos. Continue on to Mozambique and enjoy the best, most rustic beach holiday of your life.
> 
> I realise that food is a hard sell to industry folk but, having lived abroad in Europe and eating at a good selection of Michelin starred joints, I can confidently say that the food to be had in the cape Winelands is as good as or better than most 2 star joints at about a half to a third of the price.


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## panda (Jun 1, 2017)

Oz


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## malexthekid (Jun 1, 2017)

panda said:


> Oz



What he said... though i don't know if 4k US is a realistic budget for a trip here


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## Badgertooth (Jun 1, 2017)

malexthekid said:


> What he said... though i don't know if 4k US is a realistic budget for a trip here



Yup was thinking of recommending NZ but that buys you a night in a backpackers, 3 coffees and a bag of limes.


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## zetieum (Jun 2, 2017)

1. Coast between Marseille and Toulon in France. It will be perfect weather, perfect food. I am there right now. It is amazing. Check my instagram (@zetieum). You can camp easily + youth hostel. But it can be pricy, but with 4000$ you should be fine.
2. Marocco: you get everything: another culture, montains, desert, sea side, excellent food. They speak arabic, french, spanish and some english. Easy innexpensive.
3. Ghana: one of the few western Africa english speaking country, another culture, safe, wild animals to observed, some history with the slave trade. I do not know for accommodations.


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## Badgertooth (Jun 2, 2017)

zetieum said:


> 1. Coast between Marseille and Toulon in France. It will be perfect weather, perfect food. I am there right now. It is amazing. Check my instagram (@zetieum). You can camp easily + youth hostel. But it can be pricy, but with 4000$ you should be fine.
> 2. Marocco: you get everything: another culture, montains, desert, sea side, excellent food. They speak arabic, french, spanish and some english. Easy innexpensive.
> 3. Ghana: one of the few western Africa english speaking country, another culture, safe, wild animals to observed, some history with the slave trade. I do not know for accommodations.



I'll put in a strong vote for this too. I like the Eastern side of the Languedoc. We stayed in Uzes which is a centre for truffles. Good food, super cheap wine. We downloaded the wild swim guides and swam at some incredible spots including the Pont du Gard, the largest and oldest extant roman aquaduct over a beautiful river.


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## zetieum (Jun 2, 2017)

Badgertooth said:


> I'll put in a strong vote for this too. I like the Eastern side of the Languedoc. We stayed in Uzes which is a centre for truffles. Good food, super cheap wine. We downloaded the wild swim guides and swam at some incredible spots including the Pont du Gard, the largest and oldest extant roman aquaduct over a beautiful river.



I was pretty sure you were a man of taste. That confirms it.


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## toddnmd (Jun 2, 2017)

I'll put in another vote for SE Asia. 
Lots of great things to see, sounds like it would be different from a lot of your previous travel. You can find very reasonably priced accommodations, food isn't too expensive. A lot of good street food in Thailand (that is generally pretty clean and safe to eat). I lived in Thailand before and would highly recommend it. It would be easy to add on Cambodia (where I currently live) and/or Vietnam from a Thailand-based trip. Thailand has the big city of Bangkok, beaches in the south, temples all over, ruins (Ayutthaya and Sukothai are the most famous), northern city of Chiang Mai, hill tribe villages in the north, plus more, lots to see and do. Angkor Wat in Cambodia is an amazing historical site that is worth a several days visit. Tons to do in Vietnam in various places, I like northern (Hanoi, Halong Bay) or central (Hue and Hoi An). HCMC in the south if that's of interest, plus it's close to the Mekong Delta.


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## Mute-on (Jun 3, 2017)

Japan
Obviously


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## barramonday (Jun 4, 2017)

Come to Cairns , lots of cool stuff to see here, reef, rainforest etc.


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## malexthekid (Jun 4, 2017)

barramonday said:


> Come to Cairns , lots of cool stuff to see here, reef, rainforest etc.



Be real... $4k at cairns would be flat out getting a pub meal &#128520;. Haha.

God damn aussie tourism. It was cheaper for me to spend 2 weeks in Hawaii than 10 days in Cairns/Port Douglas


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## GRoc (Jun 5, 2017)

Greece! Early September is the best time to travel there.
Try the west side of it and Ionian islands for the best bang on your buck.


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## mise_en_place (Jun 5, 2017)

Come to Vietnam! I'll buy you a beer.


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## mille162 (Jun 5, 2017)

Bali. Life changing.


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## DaveInMesa (Jun 5, 2017)

I'm curious how you know you can couch surf when you don't know where you're going. Doesn't couch surfing require you to know someone at the destination?


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## lobby (Jun 8, 2017)

theres a website, couchsurfing.com that facilitates everything and offers a feedback system etc.


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## Matus (Jun 9, 2017)

New Zealand. Take more vacation


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