Hello...where to next?

[Hungrytravelers1]

Greetings fellow travelers! My name is Orlando and I live in the San Francisco bay area. I've recently caught the travel bug. This past year I spent a couple of month backpacking in South America. One of the best experiences of my life! Had the chance to hike Machu Picchu, party every night till 6am during carnival in Salvador and Rio, spent 2 weeks exploring Buenos Aires, and saw the beautiful waterfalls of Iguazu Falls. Since I've returned from my trip all I can think about is how to save up and backpack all over again. I'm on a tight budget so my next adventure will have to involve a lot of hosteling and couchsurfing. So I'm asking my fellow world travelers, where should my next backpacking adventure be? I've always wanted to go to Europe, but I heard it's really expensive. Some have suggested New Zealand and Australia. Asia also appeals to me. Any suggestions?

[vpvacations]

Hi Orlando,

Welcome to the forum.

[soliteyah]

Hi Orlando,

Welcome to the boards. Your South America trip is the kind of thing I'm just DYING to do! Sounds awesome. I did the backpacking around Europe thing a few years back, and yes, it's definitely more expensive than, say, Asia would be, but you can still do it pretty cheaply if you do the couch surfing thing, get many of your meals from grocery stores, etc.

Australia/New Zealand is on my dream list, sigh.

Honestly, I don't think you can go wrong with any of your choices.

[jessie jane]

If your looking for a cheap place to travel, try looking at different destinations in Southeast Asia. I suggest you go to Thailand. It's far cheaper compared to Europe. The sites there are also a must see. You can even search online for travel discounts as well. Good Luck!