Where should I travel before I become a slave?

Hey monkeys, 

I will be starting in IB FT this summer and I have about three weeks of freedom at the end of June where I will have no responsibilities and would love to travel / live somewhere cool. I went to college in the US and would like to venture abroad. With all things considered, where would you go if you were in my shoes? Of course some places are tricky with Covid but may improve by June. Any experiences or opinions you have are welcome - thanks!

 

MaxEbic

Argentina. I don't even know why, I just want to go there.

Argentina is fun. I’ve been to Buenos Aires and Mar del Plata. Great wines and great steaks. My favorite cut of steak there is Bife del Chorizo. 

I met this chick in the club in Buenos Aires and we went to Uraguay together to Punta del Este for New Years. It’s a fun area.

I like the Argentinian culture in general. I was able to change my Spanish accent to local dialect (mainly ‘ll’ as in pollo is a j sound instead of ‘y’). I love the sound of the Argentinian accent - it’s clear their descendants came from Italy. Also if someone invites you to watch soccer with them or have maté, take up their offer - it’s great. 

"If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them." - Bruce Lee
 

If I recall correctly, they use vos instead of tú there right?

Yeah, but tú is still understood. If you say ‘pollo’ with a y sound at a restaurant they won’t understand you. 

https://www.thoughtco.com/how-is-vos-used-in-argentina-3079378

"If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them." - Bruce Lee
 
Most Helpful

How did you learn to be fluent in Spanish? Did you know it since high school or did you learn it gradually by going to these countries? Any tips?

I was bad at Spanish in high school and didn't get very far in the classes and had no AP Spanish or anything like that. I started college at the 101 level in Spanish and signed up for a B.S in Business at the time. Then, I thought since I was already taking a few Spanish classes, maybe I should just sign up for a Spanish minor, which was just a few more classes. Then, when I was a Sophomore, I realized the minor wouldn't really lead to near fluency. I was interested in acquiring a higher level of Spanish and thought about studying abroad. 

So second semester Sophomore year, I signed up for this UVA program in Valencia:

https://valencia.virginia.edu/programs/language-and-culture

I was set to take 15 credit hours in the spring and then 6 credit hours in the summer. I went out a lot and learned a ton of Spanish in the bars at Canovas in Valencia trying to pick up chicks and stuff. Also, I went with two Spainards on a surf trip to France for a week and my Spanish was better than their English, so I had a deep immersion this week. Overall living in Spain for 6 months increased my Spanish to near fluency. After coming back, all my Spanish classes were easy in college and I got all As for Junior and Senior year. I ended up getting a B.S. in Business Administration and a B.A. in Spanish with a Minor in East Asian Studies (I studied abroad again the next year in China to study Mandarin). 

Then on winter break Senior year I traveled to South America to sharpen my Spanish over 3 weeks. I thought I would have some bilingual interviews in the Spring, but ended up accepting a position that didn't really use my Spanish skills at all in management consulting. I'd definitely recommend the UVA program in Valencia - it was really one of the best experiences I've had in life. Lots of good times. I formed a great network with a lot of UVA people as well. 

"If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them." - Bruce Lee
 

Or a croque monsieur ham and cheese sandwich. Love that shit. Really liked a place near NYU called La Maison du Croque Monsieur and their Swiss gruyère ham sandwich but they are permanently closed now :( 

 

Being financially independent means penny pinching during your best years.  Fuck that.  

 

I would recommend Spain, Italy, and Greece.

Spain: Alicante, Valencia, Barcelona 

Italy: Cinque Terre, Pisa, Rome, Florence Venice 

Greece: When I went there I went 4 wheeling around Corfu, then to Corinth and Athens, but there are a lot of cool islands you can go to here. I stayed at an adventure hostel in Corfu:

https://thepinkpalace.com

I also rode my mountain bike from Valencia to Alicante in Spain. That whole coast is nice there and there is another town called Calpe that is a good hike with a view.

Good times - cheers 

"If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them." - Bruce Lee
 

Travel Summary:

North America

1. USA

2. Mexico

3. Canada

4. Jamaica

5. Bahamas

6. Panama (lived here for 3 years)

South America

7. Argentina

8. Uruguay

9. Brazil 

Africa

10. Egypt

11. South Africa

Europe

12. Spain (lived here for 6 months) 

13. Italy

14. Greece

15. England

16. Ireland

17. Norway

18. Sweden

19. Germany

20. France

Asia / Australia 

21. China (lived here for 3.5 months)

22. Indonesia 

23. Australia (I'm half Australian)

"If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them." - Bruce Lee
 

Italy is an awesome time.

Yeah Italy is fun. I can’t express enough how good authentic Italian food is over there. Literally a collection of some of the best meals I’ve had in my life. And the Gelato.... so much Gelato mmmm.... and all the coffee shops - so many good shots of espresso and cappuccinos. 

"If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them." - Bruce Lee
 

Isaiah_53_5 💎🙌💎🙌💎

Italy is an awesome time.

Yeah Italy is fun. I can't express enough how good authentic Italian food is over there. Literally a collection of some of the best meals I've had in my life. And the Gelato.... so much Gelato mmmm.... and all the coffee shops - so many good shots of espresso and cappuccinos. 

I hear you bro. Despite the dangerous amounts of espresso/prosecco/red wine, I can remember every meal.  I only did Rome + Florence + Venice, I really want to make it to the south next time. 

 

Also, if you’re in Europe and want to surf, Hossegor France is one of the best surf breaks I’ve ever been to. I visited there for a week and it was just perfect waves and conditions. Highly recommended.

https://www.surfer.com/features/worlds-best-waves-hossegor/

"If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them." - Bruce Lee
 

I think Greece will be open to vaccinated Americans (islands and mountains are much better than Athens), so is Iceland, Croatia, hopefully rest of EU by then. Europe is lovely. 


Latin America is open, Mexico, Costa Rica, Colombia are great.


never been to Middle East, but Dubai, Turkey, Egypt, Israel are open to Americans rn

Asia will continue to be closed but Taiwan, Japan, mainland China are awesome places to visit.

within the US, Hawaii, Puerto Rico are great, highly recommend visiting the southwest and Arizona and New Mexico if you have not been before. 

 

Either one really. In the US or Europe, it’s generally very safe and your biggest concern is just figuring out transportation. In Latin America you do need to be conscious and aware of safety but just use common sense (don’t be out in some areas after night, avoid the hood, don’t get in unlicensed taxis, dress like a local and not an obvious American tourist, buy a travel wallet that goes in your pants for cash and passport with second wallet with less cash externally - good advice for European pickpockets too) and you should be good going solo as well. If you have a buddy who speaks good Spanish that would be a big plus as well. Or you could get a local guide which is not expensive in cheaper countries. For a less experienced traveler, I would recommend Europe just because it’s safer and public transportation is good but would obviously need to make sure the countries you want to visit are open to Americans by then. 

 

Lloyd BIankfein

dress like a local and not an obvious American tourist

Definitely good advice. I threw a white polo shirt in the bottom of my bag and let it accumulate dirt before going to Egypt. I grew out my beard a bit and looked like a dirty Egyptian when I got to the country. I would say Africa is a bit more sketchy than Europe. South Africa is very dangerous inland at night.  

In general, countries in western Europe are very safe and the taxis are pretty honest. In Egypt, the taxi guy might rip you off. 

As far as credit cards, its best to keep one on you and have a backup in your luggage. I got my bag stolen on the beach in Rio that had my credit and debit card and a camera in it. Sucks, but I had a backup card at the hotel. Try not to keep your passport on you if you don't need it. Keep that locked up as well. If you go to hostels, always lock your valuables in the locker. 

"If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them." - Bruce Lee
 

I've done both. You can always take a two week vacation and spend half with a friend and then carry on alone for the second half. This is what I usually ended up doing in college since not many friends are willing to shell out for a two week vacation, and I didn't want to take a long flight and only stay a week. 

 

If I had to choose one country in Latin America, it would be Costa Rica - relatively safe, incredible nature and biodiversity, great people. Maybe a few days in the beach, visit the mountains, rainforest, a day or two in San Jose as well. Or maybe Puerto Rico. 
 

Europe would probably be Greece just because I know for certain it will be open to Americans. Maybe a day or two in Athens, see the Parthenon and national museum and temple of Poseidon by ocean, and go to mountains (beautiful little town by Mt Parnassus called Arachova that I’d recommend), Meteora, and spend a few days on islands - Corfu, Santorini, Hydra, or do research on what islands appeal to you there. Transportation is a bit of an issue in Greece because public transport isn’t that great and it’s very mountainous and highways aren’t great so do some research on that as well. 

 

If you haven't traveled much, I would recommend doing like a London-Paris trip or something like that. Also, the biggest mistake you can make is trying to see too many places at once. Spend at least a few days in major cities. I'm not saying you have to spend two weeks in each city and "live like a local" (which is dumb), but don't waste too much time on your vacation traveling between cities etc. Paris and London are probably 5 day cities. This means that in 5 days you can see many of the major tourist destinations and get a little sense of the city layout. Rome, Amsterdam, Venice, and other great cities fall into this category. A city like Antwerp is more of a two-three day city. Bruges is a one or two day visit. 

 

I don't understand why everyone is mentioning Europe or Asia. For Americans (given that OP said he went to college in the US and said college not university), Europe is closed for the most part. There's some chance that it will open up to vaccinated Americans, but everything is going really slowly. Same thing with Argentina.

I went to Colombia a couple weeks ago. I would highly recommend. My Spanish is terrible but I knew enough to ask for directions and order food so it worked out. Enough people were in hostels that it was fun. I did Bogota, Medellin, Cartagena, and a few small cities. People talk about how dangerous it is, and I agree, but it's definitely exaggerated. Don't take your phone out in public, if you're out at night be in a group, and only go to touristy/upscale/safe areas and you'll be fine. I went solo and met people at hostels and had a great time. I also went to Panama but would not recommend as much. Other places that are open are Brazil (but each province has heavy restrictions), Mexico, Turkey, and a few other places. Again, maybe by June things will change, but in terms of what's a guarantee, these places are open.

 

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