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As a person your same age and retired just do it. My wife and I have been to all 50 states and most of the Canadian provinces, Italy and England over the last 39 years. The USA is beautiful get in the car and explore our wonderful states you will be amazed how diverse our country is. Check TripAdvisor, AAA or any other travel resources and just do it you are not getting any younger.....lol.
Regarding $$ do you plan to take it with you when you die and or get sick and can not travel? Go and do it now before you can not....have fun!
Certainly I want to see what is out there and experience things, but I am open simply because I don't know enough about traveling to really know what I want.
So any suggestions are welcome.
If you are not sure where to go I suggest signing up for the Tauck travel mailing list. They mail out these beautiful magazine like brochures with some excellent travel ideas.
To be fair there is lots a hotel or guesthouse can offer you for a bit more, not a hundred bucks but there is usually a distinct difference between a guesthouse that costs $20 and one that costs $40. The $40 might have more space in your room with a desk, hot water, better shared lounging areas, etc.
To be fair, I did point out that those additional amenities are not the "cost of travel", but the cost of pampering yourself while traveling, which are at the discretion of the OP/traveler.
Sounds fun. Envious! Can pick up some friends off Craigslist around home to see if you find a platonic or more that works for you...
Meetup.com groups are great way to meet people. May even have some regional travel groups. Would be best bet for travel buddies. Can also use these groups for socializing in different locations for budget stuff to do or outdoors buddies.
Airbnb.com is great saver. Other two helpful savers are Living Social and Groupon gift certificates for places where you are going to travel. Saves the most for two people...But lots of attractions, tours and restaurants have really nicely discounted deals with these two sites.
Is also some website that list free room/board trade jobs in all continents. Has lots of hotels and vineyards needing workers who know English. You just have to get yourself to these. Have lots of reviews from previous workers...Get to visit some place for 3 months+ and really get to see the culture. Will have lots of time off even though you will be expected to work...
Can do charity work vacations as write off...BUT...IRS will not let you write off charity trips if you do another vacation after wards. Sorry!
I'm a pretty introverted guy, and I never had any problem finding travel companions while on the road solo. My first long trip was seven months in Europe and North Africa, and there were stretches of a few days alone, but also times when I teamed up with another traveler going the same direction for a couple days and even a week or two. There are a lot of solo travelers, and they'll be glad to meet you, too.
Age doesn't really matter, you will meet people of all ages, and road companions don't have intergenerational hangups. Most travelers want to broaden their minds, and will welcome your experiences and viewpoints.
To be fair, I did point out that those additional amenities are not the "cost of travel", but the cost of pampering yourself while traveling, which are at the discretion of the OP/traveler.
To be fair, calling relatively basic amenities "pampering" is quite a stretch and even getting a room is at the discretion of the traveler since could just sleep at the train station. Someone who says they haven't done much traveling will probably have a lot easier time adjusting if they have a room that offers a bit more than being able to turn off the lights and go to sleep, and they don't have to spend a lot to get it.
Generally speaking I'd say you're on the right track. Sounds like you want basic, but comfortable trips. All I would say is costs can vary a great deal depending on what kind of international trip you seek so it's hard to box them all together. You could easily do some that will be under budget, while others could blow your entire budget for the year. So stay flexible, do research, and dont be afraid to go for whatever excites you!
One thing to add into your budget for any trip that involves leaving the country: travel insurances to cover medical expenses and maybe evacuation costs. It is very unlikely that your US based policy covers it. I wouldn't go with less than $250,000. It's not that expensive if you don't cover the miscellaneous crap like list luggage, trip delays, cancellation for any reason, accidental death etc. And if you can afford to travel like this you obviously can afford to self insure for that little stuff.
There are policies that you can buy that cover you for 12 months for multiple trips.
Location: Formerly Pleasanton Ca, now in Marietta Ga
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Hey everyone thanks for all the input. I know I want to see Costa Rica, maybe Argentina, definitely France and most of Western Europe, Australia and of course I want to explore all the us.
I do love to road trip.
Are there any groups that do us road trips? I once saw a large group of mustangs doing rte 66 while driving through kingman Arizona. I think they were all from Australia.
To be fair there is lots a hotel or guesthouse can offer you for a bit more, not a hundred bucks but there is usually a distinct difference between a guesthouse that costs $20 and one that costs $40. The $40 might have more space in your room with a desk, hot water, better shared lounging areas, etc.
And a distinct difference between a $40 guesthouse and a $200 hotel. Let's not act as if cheap travel and upscale travel are the same.
The nice thing about travel is some can choose to spend $40 per night and $20 for dinner while others choose to spend $300 per night and $150 on dinner.
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