Go to Thailand or Bali. The weather in December is best.

You could go to Sri Lanka (flights included) for that amount.

SRI LANKA would be my choice! great beaches, mountains, varied culture, all within a relatively small area, good for travellig alone (that's how I have done most of my travels there) check my KANDY page for a great B&B, SPICA HOLIDAY HOME and a few other tips; also a few on Colombo page, but there is much much more to the country than I have written.

You might consider contacting Claus, VT Member "cachaseiro" "WELCOME TO THE HOME OF THE BIKING VIKING" - cachaseiro's Profile He's from Denmark and travels solo on a bicycle all over the world. He works off a budget and seems to go the neatest places and makes friends everywhere he goes. He could give you loads of information about places that would be good to visit in December. I'd suggest a beach town in Mexico would be not too expensive.

What about activities? I've been looking at trekamerica, contiki which arranges trips, where you are "guaranteed" meeting other travelers who also want to "hook up" with other travelers.

It is no secret here that I am a big fan of Southeast Asia, and December is a great time to visit there and your 3K budget will take you quite a way there if you are careful. You can pick between Thailand, Vietnam, Lao, Cambodia, Malaysia and Burma / Myanmar and the Philippines. I have been to them all escept Vietnam and thoroughyl enjoyed every one of them. Do whatever combination you like although obviously a further flight will be involved in getting to the Philippines. How long you travel for really depends on how much time you have and how careful you are with your budget. I don't know if you are working or not or what your personal circumstances are but €3K out there will comfortably keep you over a couple of months or more. I know you are at the other end of the country but if you ever get to Copenhagen I would suggest you go here. http://www.cafegloben.dk/ It is a cafe / bar run by travellers, many of whom I met in the Philippines recently including Claus (VT member cachaseiro) and there are some serious travellers involved in it. I have never been myself but the concept has been explained to me and seems like a good place to get general travel info from Danes who have been there and done that. Hope this assists, fergy.

Good suggestions already. Just bear in mind that if you decide to go to the Southern Hemisphere - where it's high summer in December - you run the risk of coinciding with the long school holidays. Obviously that's peak season, so accommodationa and flights are at a premium, and prices increase in line with demand. In Oz and New Zealand, they tend to break up a week or so before Christmas and then have most of January as holiday. In Southern Africa (where you're likely to get better value for money), the school holidays run from the second week in December. You've got plenty of time to do your research, so I would suggest that you ponder a little on the alternatives raised and once you've narrowed them down to a short list, feel free to revert to this forum with more targeted questions. Regards Cathy

brazil! beautiful women, great food, great weather, parties, culture, etc. rio or buzios in particular.

>I've been looking at trekamerica, contiki which arranges trips, where you are "guaranteed" meeting other travelers who also want to "hook up" with other travelers. Can't speak for Trekamerica but Contiki has been around for awhile and has done very well. I get the feeling that you are a 'people person' and so linking up with others is really important to you? We can meet all sorts of folks on our adventures if we put our minds to it but I do understand where you're coming from. :O) Not sure of your age or your travel history? If the social piece is super important to you by all means take a look at Contiki or another of the escorted plans for young, backpack-type sorts. My personal issue with some of their tours is that they move around too much: there's something to be said for finding a base, staying put, and getting to know the culture and the people. But everyone's style is different so you have to find your own; there's no right or wrong there. And we all have to get our feet wet somewhere: that can sometimes be more comfortable when not totally alone. But whatever you do, choose it for the things you LOVE to do and you'll be happy. Do be aware that traveling to some warm climates around the Christmas season can be expensive? And consider your personal style again when choosing a place: if you're a flipflop/cargo shorts/cheap beer sort of guy, you might not like the upscale nightlife in Miami Beach?

I would advise you to go to Thailand or Philippines for good weather , good beaches and you would meet some cute girls, but be careful you don't lose all your money!! Thailand would be better for the cuisine and ancient sights. Plenty of beach parties in the Thai Islands and certain islands in Phil too. Philippines would be better as there are less tourists, and as Planxty suggested VN, Cambodia and Laos are also great too!

Well.. I have no problem being on my own, but I think that one of the cool things about solo travel is meeting other travelers. I am pretty down to earth and not always that prone to opening a conversation to people I don't know, which is why I've been looking into contiki or other agencies, which kind "takes the first step". Maybe Miami is to upscale for me. I'm pretty laid back and would like a to visit place where it's possible to chill and have some great experiences with other like-minded people. The main reason I've been thinking of Miami is the weather and the fact that it is pretty close to Denmark - meaning less travel time (concerning my limited total travel time) and that the weather should be pretty good (app 23-25 degrees celcius and sunny).

I understand - meeting people and starting the conversation isn't easy for everyone. What does 'like minded' mean to you?

"Like minded" (don't know if that's the proper english term) to me is - people who like to see the cultural/historic sights, but doesn't want to spend an entire day looking at some church. - people who like to visit some nature sights (national parks or whatever) - but again, not overdoes it - people who like to take a day where you don't do anything besides enjoying the sun and the pool/beach, drinking a beer and just relaxing in the city - people who like to have a good time and party, but not drink their minds out every night. I'm not particularly into museums or architechture, besides looking and taking the obligatory picture - if you know what I mean :)

> I've been looking at trekamerica, contiki which arranges trips, where you are "guaranteed" meeting other travelers who also want to "hook up" with other travelers. Another avenue for travelling solo and not be alone is Club Med! ;-) You'll certainly meet cute girls! ;-) One in the Caribbean would be perfect in Dec, I think! :-) Otherwise, Bali but check the weather in Dec, ya?

Have you considered San Diego? There is so much to do there and 10 days there would be about right. I did Australia a couple of years ago in December and it was wonderful. We kept looking at each other and wondering if it was real.

I was in California last year actually - including 6 days in San Diego. Awesome city :) I just want to experience something new this time.

You are right that3000 would be tight for Australia.

you could stretch your dollar by doing couchsurfing or look on craigslist for a room to rent for a week. san francisco is a great city, but not particularly warm. coming from denmark, it should be fine for you. there's tons of culture, night life, beach time, etc. you could do the day thing at the park, picnic, sight see, rent a bike, and at night, enjoy a show at a club or chill with the locals. if you decide on s.f., check out my pages. i lived there for years and have a lot of insider stuff to see and do that most tourists never knew about (only because they hadn't lived there). cheers!

> €3.000 (airplane tickets to/from Denmark not included). I plan on travel on 10-20 days depending on the destination. You mean €3.000 of spending money at your destination?! Go have a ball in the Southern Hemisphere, then, since it's summer there: Cape Town/Western Cape, AU, NZ etc! ;-) Or do Asia if you want something totally different? ;-)

Yeah 3k for hotel, food etc.

Wow, that's quite a budget!

I don't think it's easy using much less for instance 20 days in Australia/NZ... but if it can be done cheaper that's just perfect :)

Well, if it can be done cheaper (and most of the options suggested barring Oz/NZ should come in considerably below that cost), then you can always put the remainder aside for your next trip ;)

@deho That's AUD3.5K ~ NZD4.5K ~MYR11.5K! You can certainly have a ball here (and be very comfortable even in UA and NZ) for 20 days! Imho! ;-)