help with holidays?

[alice.x]

i need a holiday. the last time i went on a proper holiday (more than driving somewhere else in the UK) was when i was 15 (about 6 and a half years ago). i've been out of the UK a handful of times, and i think it's about time i did some real travelling. problem is, i want to go EVERYWHERE, and so i don't know where to start - except it needs to be relatively cheap and pretty safe (i want to go alone and i'd have to convince my parents that i will. not. die). 

so, any ideas for a travel noob like me? i prefer museums and culture to lounging around by the pool (although a day of that would be wonderful ;D ). sun is a yes please but not a requirement. i don't want to fuss about with too much paperwork simply because i am lazy i'd probably be looking to go around march/april 2014, for a week? maybe 10 days (depends what i can manage to arrange with work).

i'm thinking almost definitely europe, because i assume flights will be cheaper. i'm more worried about hotels - where to go, how much to pay, etc.

 

 

any help at all would be much appreciated!!

[Mad Hatter]

I know that feeling! Luckily there's tonnes of cheap flights from the UK, so one method that I use(d) is to pick my dates first and then pick the cheapest flight that triggered the I'd love to go there/why not feeling. The most expensive places are the big capitals like Paris and Rome but they have loads of museums of course. You could go the eastern European route (Budapest, Krakow etc), which is a lot cheaper, very interesting, but can be slightly less "user friendly". March/April can still be fairly cold in a lot of places so the plus side is that flights and accommodation tends to be cheaper but maybe you're more restricted to warmer countries, maybe Spain or Portugal (Lisbon is very cute though possibly still cold, Barcelona is a fun city)... I mention cities as that's where the cultural places are located but of course there's lovely villages to visit as well all around the Mediterranean. As you say there's so many places to see so if you give me a list of a few places you're interested in then I might be able to give better advice. I'm far from having ticked off all Europe but I've been to a decent number of places.

 

 I'd say most places in Europe are safe as long as you take care of yourself (i.e. don't get drunk alone and go out alone at 3am). Bonus in Europe is that there's no paper work required.

[Mad Hatter]

Oh and how much you pay for hotels really depends on where you go and how much you want to spend! But if you go on a site like trip advisor there are loads of reviews for most hotels so you can get an idea of what you get for your money. Since you're traveling solo a cheap and cheerful option might be staying at a hostel where you'll meet other travelers that you can team up with and you can be in an all-girls room if your parents feel that's safer. For that you'll have to read the reviews carefully though as some hostels are party hostels for 16-year olds to get pissed, some are really dingy and some are actually really nice. 

[Brometheus]

As far as safety goes, you might look at http://www.legalnomads.com/

 

She's spent several years travelling by herself, and hasn't appeared to have issues.

[Epsilonx2]

Your parents may not be too keen on it, but I've had absolutely wonderful experiences through couchsurfing.org as both a host and a surfer. Even if you don't choose to stay on someone's couch, there will doubtless be people willing to give you detailed advice about visiting any city you care to see.

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