Safe and cheap countries for solo female backpacker
I am wondering where would be a safe, affordable route to backpack solo for a 21 year old Irish female for 4-5 months. I am wanting to leave in May somewhere and currently unsure where the best place for me would be to try out.
I was interested in South America but don't know much about it. How do you find local housing to stay at, jobs to work for free stay, etc. Interested in hearing if there are other places people would recommend that would be cheaper or what kind of money I should have saved up for if I decided to go through with going to South America. I am a little worried about doing it on my own, so I am very interested in hearing others views on places that are safe to go.
Not sure about visas, or other information I should think about before pursuing somewhere. Open and would love to hear others experiences. It is my first time travelling alone but I need to do it for myself. I need get away and find myself.
I am interested in hiking, maybe volunteering with children, I love horses, and animals and am interested in seeing other countries different culture.s I love sandy beaches, and would love to see the beautiful things we don't have here in Canada.
Any help would be great. Really interested in hearing from others. Would also love a travel partner.
Budget/cheap places/how much money I need/ etc. Thanks 🙂
Safety is not a major problem.You need to take the usual precautions, that you would anywhere in places you don't know (esp large cities).It is mostly just good preparation, behaviour and a little luck....apart from maybe Venezuela (which most travellers are avoiding at the moment).
On the 'cost' issue.As we said on the other thread, depends on a lot of things.Some parts of SA are as cheap as anywhere in the world, some aren't.
'Cheap' destinations apart from Bolivia etc could include some parts of Central America (eg Guatemala,Nicaragua)...some parts of Eastern Europe...many parts of Asia, esp South and SE Asia.
Of course you also need to include getting there and back..that may cost you more from Canada.
I found Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador (except for the Galapagos) and Colombia to be the cheapest countries in South America. Visiting all those would make a sensible 4-5 month trip.
Transport in those countries is mainly by bus, and is generally cheap. There are different classes of bus - the more comfortable ones are more expensive obviously, but you will soon work out the level of comfort you are happy with.
Once you've decided on the countries you are going to visit, run internet searches to find out the visa requirements for each. Most S American countries would give you a visa on arrival though.
If you stay in hostels you will meet other travellers so don't stress about going on your own. Also consider doing short tours such as 3-4 day treks. There are some very good-value ones around, and it's a good way to meet fellow travellers with the same interests.
If you are open to ideas, you could try Asia, because of its diverse culture, food, and its amazing hospitality of its local people. There are so many beautiful beaches, ravishing beauty of nature and diverse wildlife, the oldest rainforests in the world. You could visit Thauland/Malaysia where you could find all of these.. I'm sure it would be a wonderful experience for you to see and experience the diverse culture of many ethnic groups all at one place, and it is affordably cheap to travel through South East Asia, safe and definitely It wont disappoint. A perfect getaway to find yourself.
Or if your budget is big Japan and Korea are very safe.