£4000 to spend travelling!
Discussion
Right following on from the "Third Way Thread" : http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
I'm *considering* quiting my job and doing some travelling, I wanna see and exprecince more of the world before I get too old and tied down I currently rent a house (one month rolling contract) and only have a few commitments to attend to, I'm throughly sick to death of my everyday routine and am turning into mr Boring!
Right then: I have around £4000 what would any of you guys do? There seems to be too many options to choose from!
I could do an organised tour from an operator (some mates recomend GAP ADventures) for a few months
I could try a working holiday/trip?
I could just pick a country and start from there and play it by ear!!
I could book a set number of flights to places, eg three weeks in china, three weeks in Thailand, etc
ATM it would just be me on my own, it would be great to stay with some like-minded people, Ive stayed in hostels throughout Europe so used to it.
Anybody got any ideas? Suggestiosn? What would you guys do or have done?
Cheers! All suggestions welcome
I'm *considering* quiting my job and doing some travelling, I wanna see and exprecince more of the world before I get too old and tied down I currently rent a house (one month rolling contract) and only have a few commitments to attend to, I'm throughly sick to death of my everyday routine and am turning into mr Boring!
Right then: I have around £4000 what would any of you guys do? There seems to be too many options to choose from!
I could do an organised tour from an operator (some mates recomend GAP ADventures) for a few months
I could try a working holiday/trip?
I could just pick a country and start from there and play it by ear!!
I could book a set number of flights to places, eg three weeks in china, three weeks in Thailand, etc
ATM it would just be me on my own, it would be great to stay with some like-minded people, Ive stayed in hostels throughout Europe so used to it.
Anybody got any ideas? Suggestiosn? What would you guys do or have done?
Cheers! All suggestions welcome
4k would just about get me to London. Seriously though, good luck, I wish I had the guts to do that but I run my own business and like my surroundings and comforts with the hols abroad etc etc, I just don’t think my life is boring enough to do that. I would be thinking….…what when the money runs out!
You could try the South of France I did it for 3 weeks by sleeping on the beach and washing myself and my clothes in the med, I was 23 then though, in the mid 80’s, I plan to retire there.
Have fun and be safe my friend.
You could try the South of France I did it for 3 weeks by sleeping on the beach and washing myself and my clothes in the med, I was 23 then though, in the mid 80’s, I plan to retire there.
Have fun and be safe my friend.
£4k isn't a great deal but would get you a few months in the far east -thailand, cambodia, laos etc.
a better idea might be to get an aussie working visa, or apply for something like the jet programme:
http://www.jetprogramme.org/
a better idea might be to get an aussie working visa, or apply for something like the jet programme:
http://www.jetprogramme.org/
Given that I've been spending an average of £2-2.5k on an annual 3wk holiday for the past few weeks I'd say it will run out pretty quick. Don't forget kit, jabs (£250 if you're being careful) and backpacker insurance and you can knock a a good few hundred off that. SE asia is cheap once you get there - travelling round would be the cheapest way to go, and your money should get you a few months. If it were me I'd be doing that and probably adding on an overland trip through the length of africa - cheap way to over a lot of ground / time. A six monther - Cairo to Cape Town can be done on your sort of budget inc flight, but you do have to assess if you can cope with being bounced around in a trip and camping every night for 6mths!
£4k isn't a fortune if you are only travelling, but as a guide I got through £1700 on a 3 month trip from Beijing to Singapore including Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and Malaysia. I stayed in hostels, used local transport where possible but had plenty of beers, good meals and flights in there too.
It depends where you want to visit or if you plan to come back within a set time really. You can get a one way flight to Bangkok for about £300 or a round the world with say Thailand, Australia, NZ and maybe LA for about £1100. Flights can usually be date changed for about £70 and you'll have a year to come home (if you want to!)
I can have a look at some flight options through work (STA Travel) if you want to give you some more accurate price ideas.
I'd personally recommend using the £4k to fly to Asia and do some travelling. I didn't bother with tours personally though if you've never been to the region choose somewhere to begin and a GAP trip would be a great way to find your feet. They use local transport, local accommodation and try to get well off the beaten track. It is a good way to start and by UK standards fairly cheap although you can do it much cheaper if you are prepared to go it alone. 16 days in Thailand with GAP for example works out at about £500-600 for example.
If you want to keep going then go for an Australia or NZ work visa as £4k will last a while in Asia but not forever. You can easily find decently paid jobs that'll allow you to save and maybe travel round Oz or head back to Asia where the cash will last much longer.
I'm seriously considering doing a similar thing so would be interested to follow this one and give any advice I can.
It depends where you want to visit or if you plan to come back within a set time really. You can get a one way flight to Bangkok for about £300 or a round the world with say Thailand, Australia, NZ and maybe LA for about £1100. Flights can usually be date changed for about £70 and you'll have a year to come home (if you want to!)
I can have a look at some flight options through work (STA Travel) if you want to give you some more accurate price ideas.
I'd personally recommend using the £4k to fly to Asia and do some travelling. I didn't bother with tours personally though if you've never been to the region choose somewhere to begin and a GAP trip would be a great way to find your feet. They use local transport, local accommodation and try to get well off the beaten track. It is a good way to start and by UK standards fairly cheap although you can do it much cheaper if you are prepared to go it alone. 16 days in Thailand with GAP for example works out at about £500-600 for example.
If you want to keep going then go for an Australia or NZ work visa as £4k will last a while in Asia but not forever. You can easily find decently paid jobs that'll allow you to save and maybe travel round Oz or head back to Asia where the cash will last much longer.
I'm seriously considering doing a similar thing so would be interested to follow this one and give any advice I can.
Edited by v15ben on Tuesday 6th October 20:10
4k will go along way in India! A fantastic place to visit, extreemly cheap and full of adventure at every turn, forget the Thialand/ Aussi type places, too many uni back packers looking for a party, get some culture and vist isolated places that take days to visit, it is always worth it!
Although you may be sick of temples by the end of it!
Although you may be sick of temples by the end of it!
v15ben said:
£4k isn't a fortune if you are only travelling, but as a guide I got through £1700 on a 3 month trip from Beijing to Singapore including Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and Malaysia. I stayed in hostels, used local transport where possible but had plenty of beers, good meals and flights in there too.
It depends where you want to visit or if you plan to come back within a set time really. You can get a one way flight to Bangkok for about £300 or a round the world with say Thailand, Australia, NZ and maybe LA for about £1100. Flights can usually be date changed for about £70 and you'll have a year to come home (if you want to!)
I can have a look at some flight options through work (STA Travel) if you want to give you some more accurate price ideas.
I'd personally recommend using the £4k to fly to Asia and do some travelling. I didn't bother with tours personally though if you've never been to the region choose somewhere to begin and a GAP trip would be a great way to find your feet. They use local transport, local accommodation and try to get well off the beaten track. It is a good way to start and by UK standards fairly cheap although you can do it much cheaper if you are prepared to go it alone. 16 days in Thailand with GAP for example works out at about £500-600 for example.
If you want to keep going then go for an Australia or NZ work visa as £4k will last a while in Asia but not forever. You can easily find decently paid jobs that'll allow you to save and maybe travel round Oz or head back to Asia where the cash will last much longer.
I'm seriously considering doing a similar thing so would be interested to follow this one and give any advice I can.
Good advice.It depends where you want to visit or if you plan to come back within a set time really. You can get a one way flight to Bangkok for about £300 or a round the world with say Thailand, Australia, NZ and maybe LA for about £1100. Flights can usually be date changed for about £70 and you'll have a year to come home (if you want to!)
I can have a look at some flight options through work (STA Travel) if you want to give you some more accurate price ideas.
I'd personally recommend using the £4k to fly to Asia and do some travelling. I didn't bother with tours personally though if you've never been to the region choose somewhere to begin and a GAP trip would be a great way to find your feet. They use local transport, local accommodation and try to get well off the beaten track. It is a good way to start and by UK standards fairly cheap although you can do it much cheaper if you are prepared to go it alone. 16 days in Thailand with GAP for example works out at about £500-600 for example.
If you want to keep going then go for an Australia or NZ work visa as £4k will last a while in Asia but not forever. You can easily find decently paid jobs that'll allow you to save and maybe travel round Oz or head back to Asia where the cash will last much longer.
I'm seriously considering doing a similar thing so would be interested to follow this one and give any advice I can.
Edited by v15ben on Tuesday 6th October 20:10
SE Asia is no longer as cheap as it used to be, but it's a great place, safe-enough for someone on their own (whereas backpacking through S. America or parts of Africa probably wouldn't be), and there's a LOT of variety.
You MIGHT even be able to get some work doing TEFL (IIRC you need to do a course beforehand), which could pay your way to staying longer. Or just do the usual backpacker thing of asking in bars if they need any extra staff...
The TEFL idea might not be a bad shout. You can do courses online that have around 100-120 hours total learning time. I'm currently doing one with I-to-I and am about a third of the way through doing it 3 evenings a week or so after work for the past month. There are plenty of people looking for this kind of work, but if you are only looking to supplement travelling then there are plenty of opportunities to earn a little extra cash.
shirt said:
Ben, re: the TEFL course, how does it differ [other than time of course!] from the 2 day course? I'm hoping to do one soon but if I'd rather take the easy option if the bit of paper carries the same kudos.
Basically to cut a long story short most decent jobs require some written learning and some practical teaching experience ideally with some students (usually only a few hours.) The 20 hour course is I-to-I's way to give a general overview plus 6 hours practice teaching though it is with other TEFLers rather than real students.The full course goes into detail on planning lessons, grammar, how to teach different skills and a multitude of specialist modules like 'Business English' and 'English for Young Learners.' Normally you'd only do 2 of the specialist modules but I asked to do the whole lot as I got a stonking discount from work! The full online course is very interesting, but depending on what jobs you want to be doing, it isn't vital.
I'm doing the 20 hour weekend course at the end of the month so will report back
Avoid Aus and NZ and your money will go a long way.
Get a couple of you. Put a few bucks into buying a S African classic car. Drive it to the UK. I've done a considerable amount of the reverse and it's one hell of a trip. Flog the car when you come back. Perana V8 Capri with the boot filled up with 1100 A series crankshafts (v desirable in the UK)
See if you can make a trip pay for itself. The taking a car to Africa and flogging it for a huge amount of money is a beauty. £1 becomes about £8 in my experience.
Get a couple of you. Put a few bucks into buying a S African classic car. Drive it to the UK. I've done a considerable amount of the reverse and it's one hell of a trip.
Flog the car when you come back. Perana V8 Capri with the boot filled up with 1100 A series crankshafts (v desirable in the UK) See if you can make a trip pay for itself. The taking a car to Africa and flogging it for a huge amount of money is a beauty. £1 becomes about £8 in my experience.
shirt said:
how much is the full course, how long is it and whats the deal with the discount? i-2-i run courses from a couple of management colleges owned by the company i work for so any negotiating tips would be handy.
The course is billed as 100-120 hours of learning. I am doing it after work and on days off and aiming to complete the full works in 3 months. I haven't been too studious recently though so I am sure it could be done quicker. RE: discounts it entirely depends. I work for a travel agent and we sell hundreds of their course and trips every year so they just give us the 40 hour online course free then offer a discount if we choose to do the rest. The full price for 120 hours is c. £500 and I paid about a 1/3 of that.
They always have discounts though, always some % off or special deal so I'd recommend giving them a call (based in Morley!) and having a chat as they'll usually do a good deal. Also not at all plugging my employer but STA Travel does often get offered their trips at prices cheaper than you can get directly from them to help drive sales so always worth seeing what they offer and seeing if STA can beat it
Edited by v15ben on Thursday 8th October 19:52
Most expensive thing ofcourse is flights if you want to do a round the world trip rather than just exploring one continent. Try http://www.thegreatescapade.com/planMyTrip.php not a bad site to get you to a few different continents and allowes you to make your own way from one destination to the other. Spend £1500 of your budget on flights leaves you with £2500 for accomodation, food etc... your going to be staying in the cheapest of cheap youth hostels if you want to be away for any period of time.
Try being cheeky and using the forums on here asking for a floor / sofa to crash on in various countries?. Maybe try and get some bar work in different cities on route? Plenty of small bars might pay you cash in hand for the odd hour at a weekend.
Try being cheeky and using the forums on here asking for a floor / sofa to crash on in various countries?. Maybe try and get some bar work in different cities on route? Plenty of small bars might pay you cash in hand for the odd hour at a weekend.
Another good idea for accommodation could be couch surfing. A friend of mine does this a lot hosting various people at his place in Nottingham and so far he has been on floors/sofas and in spare rooms around Europe with plans to go further afield next year! A very sociable way to travel too.
I once met a girl who had hosted a bloke from Hong Kong on her couch in London. He returned the favour with the keys to his Hong Kong appartment as he was called away on business for the week a few days before she landed! Not a bad place to crash in exchange for a bottle of good Scotch and a meal!
I once met a girl who had hosted a bloke from Hong Kong on her couch in London. He returned the favour with the keys to his Hong Kong appartment as he was called away on business for the week a few days before she landed! Not a bad place to crash in exchange for a bottle of good Scotch and a meal!
BoRED S2upid said:
Try http://www.thegreatescapade.com/planMyTrip.php not a bad site to get you to a few different continents
The Great Escapade is a good ticket for RTWs and also check out Qantas round the worlds as they are often a bit cheaper than the Great Esc equivalent. Plenty of travel agents can put something together from scratch using their best negotiated individual flights too. Personally I'd get a quote from one and play them off against each other using written quotes as it could save you a decent wedge!
Cheers for all the advice, some really great replies! I don't even know where to start!
In regards to money, what's been said pretty much sums up what I thought and India & far east look the best bang for buck. I could use more,maybe up to six grand,need to have a think about that.
I'd prefer to ruff it, as long as its safe and has running water I'm not too fussed, Ive stayed in different hostels in and arund europe so know what to look out for.
Cheers for all your insights V15Ben, some great pointers that I have been looking into.
A good friend of mine did teaching in Korea for a year, he really enjoyed it and went over there not knowing a single word off Korean and taught young kids 1-1 in the private education system. Money and social life were great, he came back with a fair amount of cash as the parents were desperate for private lessons for their kids.
The driving to South Africa sounds brilliant, I know my way around an engine and it sounds like a challenge.
That Couch Surfing sounds great! Gives you faith in human nature, I have been scanning through the site looks great. It would be ace to go somewhere and have an locals insight, books and the net can only give you pointers, plus it would save cash.
I'd be quite keen to backpack across the U.S or Canada as I have always enjoyed time in the States and want to see the different places and variety of culture (the Steven Fry series was brilliant), I just need to have a look at costs and budgeting , if anyone has any pointers in this respect that would be great. Greyhounds and hostels would be fine, as said before, I'm not fussy!
Many thanks again for all the posts and advice so far!
In regards to money, what's been said pretty much sums up what I thought and India & far east look the best bang for buck. I could use more,maybe up to six grand,need to have a think about that.
I'd prefer to ruff it, as long as its safe and has running water I'm not too fussed, Ive stayed in different hostels in and arund europe so know what to look out for.
Cheers for all your insights V15Ben, some great pointers that I have been looking into.
A good friend of mine did teaching in Korea for a year, he really enjoyed it and went over there not knowing a single word off Korean and taught young kids 1-1 in the private education system. Money and social life were great, he came back with a fair amount of cash as the parents were desperate for private lessons for their kids.
The driving to South Africa sounds brilliant, I know my way around an engine and it sounds like a challenge.
That Couch Surfing sounds great! Gives you faith in human nature, I have been scanning through the site looks great. It would be ace to go somewhere and have an locals insight, books and the net can only give you pointers, plus it would save cash.
I'd be quite keen to backpack across the U.S or Canada as I have always enjoyed time in the States and want to see the different places and variety of culture (the Steven Fry series was brilliant), I just need to have a look at costs and budgeting , if anyone has any pointers in this respect that would be great. Greyhounds and hostels would be fine, as said before, I'm not fussy!
Many thanks again for all the posts and advice so far!
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