Most of the places I go I start by researching popular travel destinations. I then pick places that are nowhere near those locations.

Also, youth hostels are fun. I've met people that I'm still in contact with over 10 years later at hostels. I've done a lot of traveling alone. It's fun in a lot of ways. Very freeing. I think everyone should take a big trip alone at least once in their life.

If you can afford it, Semester at Sea was the most incredible experience of my life. You don't have to be in college, they take lifelong learners too. It's a great intro to international travel because they teach you to be a traveler rather than a tourist. They have service projects at some of the ports you visit and there are field programs you can go on with the professors. You'll definitely be a savvy international traveler after this trip!

My sister and I have been doing escorted tours and really like them. We've been to Ireland, Scotland, and mostly recently Italy. It takes the worry out of booking hotels, renting a car, omg which side of the road am I supposed to be on, etc. And you make some new friends along the way.

I was born and raised abroad, in Haiti, so have traveled both alone and with my American parents and family as a child. I traveled to all the Bahamas, other small islands near Haiti, been to Canada.

As a married adult I traveled with my ex to Haiti, Mexico, Australia, Tasmania, Japan, etc.

Since 2010, I've been single, teaching in Thailand, and traveled to nearby countries, like Malaysia, Laos, and Cambodia.

My favorite place besides Thailand is Australia.

I have only been overseas twice. Both times by invitation. I went alone and felt safer once I was out of the states. As for the interior, I have stories galore. Either way, I highly recommend both!

For Australia bear in mind that the island is about as big as USA but generally the habitation is on the Eastern seaboard. Adelaide in SA and Perth in WA are reasonbly sized cities. The interior is pretty much uninhabitable. It gets quite humid in the summer from Brisbsne up. The people are lovely and will be your best friend. Whatever you do don't brag. Aussies are very good at self-depreciation but in a humorous ironic way. If you seem to look down on anyone you'll get ignored. A prominent culture among Australians is 'mateship '.a sense of belongingness with each other. Hope this helps

I seem to look for places that I have not been to before and also look out for good deals. Am on holidays at the moment, writing this from Warnemunde, Germany.

I have traveled the U.S. extensively, in my SUV and done it alone, with a spouse, with platonic lady friends and with non-platonic lady friends. It has all been good. I have visited virtually every state and a lot of the National Parks. I retired early (age 50) and have never regretted it. There is just so much out there that is off the charts. For example, how many have been to the Cadillac Ranch...or even heard of it? The Mother Road (Route 66) was one of my favorite things to explore. Bishop's Castle? I've been there. Key West? Been there 3 times. Charleston, SC and the Angel Oak? Seen it. Glacier National Park? The crown jewel. Been there 3 times. I have one more trip left in me. Anyone want to go?

The best kept secrets happen when one travel alone........ Well, works until that day when one gets skunk drunk and spill all the freaking details ????

My wife and I have traveled quite a bit in Scandinavia (latest trip), Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Central America, South America, Australia, New Zealand, and Africa. Pay attention to seasonal weather patterns to where you are going as continuous rain, very high heat, etc. can be prohibitive. I have loved each destination but two favorite are Greece and Tanzania (Africa). Greece was the only place we did a regular tour (with a tour bus). Not for the entire trip but for mainland Greece. It's great because that provides a knowledgeable guide at all the many major historic sites. Ours had to explain things in three languages which was a bit much. We did a safari in the Sarengeti and the un'goro un'goro crater in Tanzania. Absolutely fantastic but more than about 3 days is an over kill. Pick up the safari in the city of Arusha. Cautions: pick pockets are everywhere and can easily pick your wallet out the front pocket of bluejeans (get a money belt). It's almost as expensive to buy new clothes than use hotel laundry services (Laundy services in Africa do not wash underware!). Tourist attractions, especially in Italy and some in Spain can be extremely crowded. Scandinavia is very expensive but very interesting. We have been our for three weeks using one small "carry on" size suitcase each. Not a problem if all your clothes are "quick dry" to wash out clothes in hotels (shampoo works fine). "Hop on-hop off" busses are fun and usually not too expensive. We got a camper van in Australia which was a blast but we were almost killed a couple times driving on the wrong side of the street.

I have done international travel for work. A lot. Personal travel took me to places that were attractive because of their history...like Israel and Egypt. I have traveled alone, with my husband when he was alive and on guided tours. If I were you I would just decide based on something that excites your own curiosity. You can get on a tour through a travel agent. Good luck....I wish you joy and excitement!

Every trip has come about in different ways.

Some were carefully planned, others were completely spur-of-the-moment "let's go!" road trips.
The ones out of the country were always planned far more carefully, and were either with a partner or a small group of people. My trip to England was highly-
organized, and itinerary-heavy. If I ever get to go again, it'll be much less regimented. The Bahamas was as laid-back as anyone could imagine.
Bermuda was a wonderful combination of both, until I wiped out on my moped.
Many were fishing trips with my ex-bf. We'd throw the john-boat in the back of the pick-up, and haul ass for days at a time.

There have been a number of trips I've taken on my own, just because I felt
like getting away for a minute. Those were the 'just jump in the car, fill it with gas, and drive to Cleveland because I want to see the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame', kind of situations.

Be flexible, always protect yourself, and be bold.

Go alone, take no tours unless you like waiting on line. Find the cheapest airfaire to where ever in central Europe and learn about Mega Bus, Mein Bus, Flix Bus and what Hostels are all about. Hostels are the key to staying in Europe for a Month or more. They are clean, informative and give tours for a tip. I would suggest to go for a month to Germany which is pretty cheap and has excellent travel accommodations in most cities plus access to other countries be it Paris, Belgium or Amsterdam. Get on line and check out Hostels. com and Cheap O Air.

I have a question. i responded to this post and received notification from the site that my comment had been denied. i was not given a specific reason, but rather a list of possible reasons, none of which seemed to me to apply to my comment. there was a link to come here and edit, so i did so... and i see my post here TWICE! did i accidentally submit it twice? did i submit it thrice and have the third one denied? can y'all see my comment? it begins "when i was quite young" (except the w is initial-capped lol). oh and i am seeing someone else's comment thrice! this is so weird. i am new here and don't want to break the rules. first order of business: is my comment there, however many times? please tell me! thanks.

g

When i was quite young, only 23 or so, i took my first paid vacation, all alone, everything up to me! i didn't like flying so i calculated how long i could spend on a train and still have time to spend at the destination. my choices, leaving from d.c., were minot, north dakota, or new orleans. they both sounded exotic, but i chose the latter. i thought it would be pretty relaxing. turns out the superbowl was there that year.... ha! but i still had a wonderful time, including on the train rides (best grits i ever tasted! also the first grits i ever tasted!) decades later, when i lived in japan, i chose the following route: paris, brittany (certain cities, including rennes, as i wanted to travel out from there to find merlin's grave in broceliande, now known as paimpont), normandy, a ferry to cork, off to glengariff, dingle, galway and inishmore (one of the aran islands) to climb dun aengus, all by bus until i got back to galway, then a train ride across ireland to dublin, a ferry ride to wales to visit portmeirion, then down to cornwall, across england through devon, a visit to stonehenge, and finally to a weekend in london before heading home (to japan). well, that was an eight-week trip, all planned out in advance, reservations all made and everything, and without the internet too -- but i broke my arm a week and a half into it. i bought a rolling cart and emptied one of my suitcases into it, packed one suitcase into the other, strapped that to the cart and proceeded with the rest of my plans! sometimes i had to as strangers to cut up my food, but i didn't let that bother me!

some strange tips coming from an atheist: 1. in london, on some weekdays, the parish church of st. martin-in-the-fields has free chamber music concerts as long as you arrive before 1:05, after which you have to pay for a ticket. on weekends there is a dandy little flea market behind the church. (the camden flea market is HUGE -- i forget whether it's just on weekends. maybe.) 2. in dublin there is a jewish-irish museum. it's really neat! i will say that when i went to brittany, i forget the name of the city i visited but i like to visit graveyards, so i went to one... and ran back out of its gate to catch my breath. those are BIG ol' crosses on those graves! i mean really, really, REALLY BIG! they did freak me out a little. in edinburgh (different trip) there is an old church where you can see thomas da quincy's grave. i don't mind churches as architecture; i am much more interested in synagogues, as architecture and as a representation, too, of my heritage. oh, and if you like jmw turner, last time i looked there was a floor of the tate gallery in london permanently dedicated to his work. start at the beginning; it's competent but quite ordinary. watch him blossom into his amazingly fiery seascapes.

oh i will mention this: the second time i stayed in dublin, i was put up in the home of a lovely family, and the parental units were not of the same faith. one was protestant and the other was catholic. in ireland, that means something! so peace IS possible!

g

I'd love to float down the Missouri River from the headwaters to St. Louis.

I am going to the Adirondack Balloon Festival Sept 20-21 near Albany NY....anybody want to meet for coffee?

For Australia bear in mind that the island is about as big as USA but generally the habitation is on the Eastern seaboard. Adelaide in SA and Perth in WA are reasonbly sized cities. The interior is pretty much uninhabitable. It gets quite humid in the summer from Brisbsne up. The people are lovely and will be your best friend. Whatever you do don't brag. Aussies are very good at self-depreciation but in a humorous ironic way. If you seem to look down on anyone you'll get ignored. A prominent culture among Australians is 'mateship '.a sense of belongingness with each other. Hope this helps

For Australia bear in mind that the island is about as big as USA but generally the habitation is on the Eastern seaboard. Adelaide in SA and Perth in WA are reasonbly sized cities. The interior is pretty much uninhabitable. It gets quite humid in the summer from Brisbsne up. The people are lovely and will be your best friend. Whatever you do don't brag. Aussies are very good at self-depreciation but in a humorous ironic way. If you seem to look down on anyone you'll get ignored. A prominent culture among Australians is 'mateship '.a sense of belongingness with each other. Hope this helps

I seem to look for places that I have not been to before and also look out for good deals. Am on holidays at the moment, writing this from Warnemunde, Germany.

I've been to 25 countries, all of the ones you want to go to and can give you tips on all of them if you message me. I would suggest you go to the library and get Steve's Ireland for instance. There's a Steve's book for many places which will give you tips on where to stay, where to eat and what to see. Myself I like to stay in Bed & Breakfasts for a few reasons: 1) You're not in the room much, you're there to see the place;, 2) You get the inside scoop from the owners on what to see and do, and 3) usually cheaper than a hotel. Case in point on the tip from the owner: Everyone traveling around Ireland goes to the Ring of Kerry, but the owner of my B&B turned me on the the Ring of Beara. Amazing!

I've traveled most of the world by myself--more dangerous for a female so you might want to find a friend but on the flip side people bend over backwards to help women travelers I've found.

Best place ever if you like animals...Kenya--safari, I recommend Big 5. Might want to do it sooner than later before the animals are gone. Kenyan safari you can do alone because they put you with others in your jeep and they put you in a group. Check out vacations2go.com for 60% off cruises and skyauction.com for other trips. Feel free to message me to discuss specific places.

I always tried to go to a place that's wildly different from what I'm familiar with. Therefore, I haven't really traveled around EU: same-ish kind of culture, civilization, and quality of life. Instead, spent my time around Asia - Thailand, Hong Kong, the Philippines...

I like to travel alone. I have a lot of hobbies, so I look for a class I want to take in a desirable location. I then plan my trip around the class. This gives me a chance to get to know some locals and still have time to see the sights.