[Ramryan]

Hey people- I need your ideas. I've got between now and the very start of September, to go travelling- and I'm looking for different original ideas- with a bias on destinations particularly in Africa and South America (maybe India too).

I've already done a fair bit of travel- so not so interested in the following areas- volunteered for a long period in Japan, backpacked in south east asia (thailand, vietnam, phillippines, laos, etc) China + voluntary work there, studied in Hong Kong, done the trans-siberian railway through CHina Mongolia Russi Belarus and beyond, fair number of short trips in continental Europe etc. Several weeks in Mumbai. My grad job in September is going to take me for at least a year in somewhere like the US, and possibly the far east again.

As you might have guessed I have a bit of taste for unusual destinations and a real sense of adventure. I'm a graduate but still pretty chilled and would be happiest with an 18-25 crowd.

Also happy to exchange advice on any of those destinations I previously mentioned if any of you guys are interested in going there. Thanks in advance.

tldr- need exciting interesting backpacking destinations for up to 12 weeks.

[xHuStLeR23]

Ting ma ma de hua

[Ramryan]

I'm not a big Jay Chou fan, sorry.

[letsdothetimewarpagain]

I have my heart on traveling south america at some point, at one point did a hell of a lot of research and even got as far as a route from brazil -> argentina -> chile -> bolivia -> peru -> brazil. I found the cheaper two compensated for the more expensive ones and I costed a budget of around £3000 for 12 weeks but can't remember exact figures

[Ramryan]

(Original post by letsdothetimewarpagain)
I have my heart on traveling south america at some point, at one point did a hell of a lot of research and even got as far as a route from brazil -> argentina -> chile -> bolivia -> peru -> brazil. I found the cheaper two compensated for the more expensive ones and I costed a budget of around £3000 for 12 weeks but can't remember exact figures

Sounds amazing- this is exactly the sort of thing I would be interested in. When you were planning routes were you thinking of doing it independently, or were they pre-organised things? I've had mixed experiences with pre-organised ones.

[miml]

Definitely recommend S.Am.

3k will easily last you 3 months (maybe don't spend too much time in Brazil) - I did Peru, Bolivia, Argentina and Chile, all of which were amazing. Almost everyone I met along the way recommended Colombia, so definitely don't miss out on that.

Definitely go independent as well, no point doing pre-orgasined stuff in S.Am as it's so easy to travel around there.

If I had the time and money this summer I'd consider Central America as well.

[letsdothetimewarpagain]

(Original post by Ramryan)
Sounds amazing- this is exactly the sort of thing I would be interested in. When you were planning routes were you thinking of doing it independently, or were they pre-organised things? I've had mixed experiences with pre-organised ones.

It was independant which is why I didn't end up going, one of my friends (out of 5 that went together) had a bad experience so my mum had a mini heart attack about it all. Have to say though 1 out of 5 having a bad experience is probably a good sign more than anything.

The only bit that was going to be arranged was a bit in peru with the inca trails

[liv89]

Quest Overseas do a 6 week summer andean expedition in Peru and Bolivia. You would go to the bolivian jungle and the inca trail amongst other things. Their summer trips are aimed at people aged 18-25. http://www.questoverseas.com

[jakecolombia]

Definitely recommend Colombia, had one of the best times of my life there and now have moved out here to work

[jakecolombia]

I would also recommend travelling through Argentina, especially in Salta and Yujujy, Machu Pichu is a little over rated but Cusco is WOW, had many nice beers there as well

Maybe you should do some volunteering, you said you wanted backpacking but really that can get tiresome, i did an internship at the Ministry of Environment in Colombia via Intern Latin America - pretty reasonable prices & I met A LOT of people through them too.

Otherwise India sounds pretty cool, but i cant comment, never been!

[jakecolombia]

website is www.internlatinamerica.com by the way for the guys I went with in Colombia if this helps. Feel free to mention me - Jake the Arsenal fan from London - Johanna & the guys will knwo who you are talking with!

[Shenin...]

Estonia seems lovely and unusual I guess. I don't know whether it is suitable for back packing or not.