A month or so ago I posted about the etiquette of quitting. I just put in my two month notice (It went over well, they were very appreciative that I gave that much).

My plan is to go to graduate school in the fall of 2012. I’ll be applying this fall/winter and then in January I want to travel. I’m starting in Hawaii in December for a month, camping on a friend’s property. From there I’m going to Ecuador to work building a hostel for another month with a friend. I’m not sure where I’d like to go afterwards. My budget is 10-15k, I’d like to avoid hotels/hostels and camp for most of the trip. I don’t speak any other languages and while I don’t want that to restrict my travels, I’d prefer to go to places where there would be a few people I could communicate with. I also would like to volunteer in education/environmental positions if at all possible for up to a month at a time.

Any suggestions TWW? What are some places you've been that are 'must see?'

Edit- To make this a more general thread, lets just talk about awesome and cheap places / things to do around the world. Pictures are a plus.

[Edited on July 22, 2011 at 4:49 PM. Reason : .]

7/22/2011 4:42:17 PM

SE is dirt cheap. Lots of volunteer opportunities if that's your thing. Cambodia is still pretty sketchy but I felt perfectly safe in Thailand and Vietnam.

Camping in Japan is pretty awesome but I don't know how accessible it would be if you don't speak the language. You pretty much have to be able to rent a car and make the campsite reservations and that's tricky if you only know English.

Could always do WOOF in New Zealand for a month.

7/22/2011 4:51:08 PM

Camping by yourself is dangerous in many places, including part of the US, but especially in unfamiliar areas of developing countries. Is the premise behind camping saving money or bonding with the nature? When you say you want to go to "places where there would be a few people I could communicate with" do you mean you want to meet people that don't speak English or do you mean you don't want to talk to anyone and just be left alone? As i may have mentioned in another similar thread, my NCSU roommate is travelling around the world for a year after quitting his job, so situation is somewhat similar to yours. For part of the trip he was travelling by tour bus, camping for much of the time, all within your budget, but he does have english-speaking people around him to communicate with as this is a group tour. However, during that leg of the trip he did not do any work as you are looking to do.

Also this is on the list of "stuff white people like", see website for standard operating procedures

7/22/2011 4:55:40 PM

^ Sorry, by that I meant I would like people around that speak English, but it isn't a requirement

7/22/2011 4:58:03 PM

Oh that makes it easier. I originally read it as you want to meet as few english speakers as possible. Ill try to post up some ideas later tonight.

7/22/2011 5:00:33 PM

I highly recommend Intrepid Travel if you wouldn't mind doing something more structured. It's not one of those stereotypical tour companies but they do a lot of volunteering and conservation in their tours. I did the one that basically goes from northern Vietnam to Bangkok and it was great. We did things like volunteering at an English school in Phnom Penh and helping out at a Buddhist monastery that takes in orphaned girls. Normally I'm not into tours but I had a limited amount of days to travel the region (25ish) and they made it possible for me to see and do a lot more than I could have solo. Plus safety in numbers being a female

[Edited on July 22, 2011 at 5:04 PM. Reason : d]

7/22/2011 5:04:02 PM

I know of a small town in Bosnia that has educational volunteer opportunity, enough english speakers to enjoy, and plenty of hiking/camping in the surrounding mountains. I was there just last week actually.

7/22/2011 6:13:01 PM

I think wwoof.org might be a good idea for you...helping out organic farmers all over the world. Normally I think you stay with the family but I'm sure you could camp on their land instead Plus this is an organization that has hosts all over so you could go anywhere!

7/22/2011 8:45:37 PM

http://wfsc.tamu.edu/jobboard/

Environmentally-related jobs, internships, and volunteer programs throughout the world.

[Edited on July 23, 2011 at 9:22 AM. Reason : ]

7/23/2011 9:21:44 AM

I have always wanted to do the Camino de Santiago in France and Spain. It's a couple hundred mile long pilgrimage. You basically do some leisurely hiking during the day, eat at awesome little Spanish restaurants, drink Spanish wine, and stay at hostels at night. (don't know about camping, I think most of it is through private land) There are lots of foreigners so you will have plenty of English speaking company.

http://www.backpack45.com/camino2.html

7/23/2011 9:52:06 AM

My friend who just finished up his phd just biked across the country. I dropped him off in Eden, NC and he rode to Bear Valley CA. Took a little over a month but he took a pretty direct route and did club cycling back in the day. If you're not as hardcore I imagine it would take longer.

7/23/2011 11:59:02 AM

I think it was already said in this thread, but check out WOOF (worldwide opportunities on organic farms) there are farms in nearly every country where you can work. You are given room and board free in exchange for work. I think that would be ideal for you.

7/23/2011 1:09:10 PM

Quote :

"free in exchange for work"

7/24/2011 7:28:52 PM