Where to go

With so many options and 'must sees' on the world map, you may need some ideas of where to go and how to plan your travelling experience. For want of a better name 'the good, bad and the ugly'. This is a run down of some of the highlights and lowlights of the world (in no particular order). It's very subjective so please don't pay too much attention, but it gives a good idea of some places you might not have heard of, but should consider in an itinerary and also some places you might like to avoid. This page is not about name dropping; there are many sights that have been omitted simply because it's believed they are over-hyped and not worthy of the list - click here to go straight to the list, or read on for some thoughts on planning a route...
Planning a route: For a long trip (word on shorter trips later), don't get too much into planning at home - just pick, depending on how much time you have, a few places and regions you want to see. What you often don't realise is that after several months on the road you can lack the passion for 14 plus hour bus trips or the money for internal flights to get to every 'attraction'. Equally many regions aren't as connectable on a budget as a world map might make them look. It's true that the happiest travellers are the most flexible. Hell, if you have the time, why not even try to travel without an ultimate return ticket - or at least make sure dates can be changed with ease. You will soon realise where the tourist trail is (the easiest and most convenient way to see all the sights) and follow it, making modifications where you want. Most itineraries are just that - dots on a map of places people would like to see or things they'd like to do, then joined up by the cheapest most convenient transport options. Maybe your desired route comes from places/regions you'd always wanted to see, are interested in or simply sound romantic/adventurous to you. You'll do a bit of research with guidebooks, the internet and hopeful the list below and add a few more to your list and equally realise which routes are feasible and which are not so, then finally do a bit of tweaking for current events and weather patterns.
'Why?' is a excellent question to ask yourself when planning - What is the purpose of this trip? It's not that your trip really needs a purpose: it just can give you some focus. Why do you want to travel? Are all your friends doing it? Are GAP years in vogue? Have you always wanted to see x, y or z? Do you feel it is your only chance before you start working/have children? Do you want to see as much of the world as you can? Do you want to have a good time and party? Do you want to volunteer somewhere? Do something unique and maybe really exciting and adventurous? Get on/off the beaten track? It can be as simple as wanting to be experienced or to chill out.
Give it some thought - think what might blow your hair back. In addition, look at the list of places categorised under various headings that follow, even getting to a few of these will leave a lasting impression. Please don't feel led into going somewhere just because your mates said it was great or it sounds really 'exotic' or 'cool'. Such places are often the most predictable and touristy or conversely, the most hard work/money for limited reward (Timbuktu being a great example).
And of course it is always good to get a bit of everything, even the bad and ugly mixed in with the good! Few trips are plain sailing anyway.
If starting with little idea or a blank sheet of paper, good advice is to use travel brochures to get an idea of what countries look like (pictures), time scales and the easiest routes between interesting sights; useful information is also often included (weather, embassies, dangers, etc) STA travel and other student travel agencies produce free booklets that are great for flicking through. The problem is simply that there is just so much to see.
Limited to a shorter few week trip? For the record if you are reading this and have weeks not months to travel in, this shouldn't deter you. Sure you need to plan a little more - pick one or two destinations and remember a few internal or regional flights and a little bit more money, lets you cover a lot in a short time-frame. It's not uncommon to see and do more in a few weeks that some long-term 'backpackers' achieve in a month!
However if you are lucky enough to have the time, then pick a couple of regions, say SE Asia or Central America (good starters, loads of options), India/northern Pakistan (as good as it gets and quite a test) and Australia or Europe (Western countries are less exotic, but not less interesting; don't discount them - just budget well!) and plan to spend a few months in each, of course being flexible to stay longer or move on faster. Plain and simple, caprice is a great thing to have.
It's only natural that many travellers will want to see as much as possible in whatever time they have and plan a meticulous, rigorous schedule to do so. But in such a manner you will get unstuck as totally effective planning is never possible and certainly not when sitting at home. Have a rough idea about where you want to go, what you want to see and how much time you have. From there adlib a little, taking days and their circumstances (festivals, unrest, visas delays, food poisoning, bus fatigue, hearing about somewhere new, etc) as they come - quality not quantity.
That said you can still travel fast and see a lot if you want. One breed of traveller will get pretty bored sitting in the same place for days on end and want to keep moving and see more and more. Most common is to rush around sights and then all of a sudden, when finding the right place, take a good rest and enjoy what's there.
The other breed of traveller you will come across - maybe you are one of them - tend to spend weeks in any sort of resort with good prices and facilities. These traveller's hang-outs are all over the globe and a great place to relax for a while, but not months! The main reason, and one that perhaps many of their residents might not admit to, is that travelling is hard work. No one likes sitting on buses, but that's how you get places and independent budget travelling on the whole is not about or conducive to relaxing. If you want to get the most out of your trip and make it the best value for money, to a certain extent you do have to be determined to push on. Travel as hard or fast as you like, just don't set any standards in your planning stage at home - things change.
Do yourself a favour and make sure you go to both somewhere fun and easy like South East Asia, Central America, Turkey, South Africa or Oz and somewhere less in vogue and more of an experience like the Middle East, Pakistan or East/West Africa. Anything is possible; the world is actually very open and despite what the mass-media might lead you to believe, on the whole (apart from notorious hotspots) safe for sensible independent travellers. Don't be put off venturing away from the normal run of the 'Oz to Europe' or 'Latin America' rat-runs. Even as a first timer or on your own, you will have no problem, be amazed at what you have almost to yourself and most likely have a fantastic experience when heading somewhere that isn't the latest 'hot' backpacker destination.
Lonely Planet's: Read this First and Rough Guide's: First Time series are excellent planning tools with clear overview maps, routes and highlights marked. Also recommended, if you can find it, is Trailblazer's: Asia Overland and South East Asia Overland.
See a list of all useful planning guidebooks here (if you are going to purchase any, doing so through this site is appreciated). Guidebooks by themselves with all their practical information, are not so good in the original planning stage. The Let's Go series are among the best guidebooks in the planning stage.
Also recommend by many is a computerised atlas on such as MS Atlas or even Google Earth - useful tools for checking out distances, pictures of interesting landscapes/places, political borders, topography and running word searches on place names unknown to you.
How many countries are there?
The following lists are not rank order specific:
Drawing together several well travelled minds, numerous options and experiences in many, many countries... Not sure what/where something is - click on the link for the Wikipedia article.

» Some Trip Ideas (or a little focus)
Rivers: (spend some time in all these areas for a great trip) Nile, Ganges, Indus, Zambezi, Yangtze Kiang, Mekong and Danube.
Easy Street: (great times, not so much to worry about) Thailand, Philippines, Turkey, Train/Hostel through Europe or Japan, New Zealand, Nepal, Guatemala, South Africa and Greece.
Culture: (and some damn nice people) Syria, Iran, India, Ghana, Bolivia, Mali and North Vietnam/Laos and Philippines.
Religion: (some 'centres' of the world) Rome, Israel, Punjab/Varanasi in India and Buddhist sights in Nepal, India and Tibet.
Overlanding: (famous and great open jaw trips) Istanbul - Cairo, México City - Panama City, Istanbul - Kathmandu, Cairo/Nairobi - Cape Town, Casablanca/Dakar - Accra, Bangkok - Bali, Santiago - Bogotá/Quito, London - Hong Kong (via trans Mongolian railway) and London - Athens/Istanbul.
Compact circuits and great intro countries: (great for short trips) Guatemala, Costa Rica, Ecuador, The Gambia/Senegal, Jordan/Israel, Thailand/Cambodia, New Zealand, Uganda and Sri Lanka or Goa.
Life's a Beach: (great destinations, lots of sand) Mozambique, Thailand, Philippines, Australia, South Africa, Turkey/Greece, Kerala/Goa (India), Honduras/Belize, Zanzibar/Lamu (Tanzania/Kenya) and of course Brazil.
The highlife: (tough going, heavy breathing but spectacular scenery) Kyrgyzstan/Tajikistan, Chile/Bolivia, Nepal/Tibet, Kashmir (India/Pakistan) and Ladakh (India).

» Some rightly popular and recommended independent travel countries
Okay you won't have the place to yourself, but...
India, Nepal & Sri Lanka
New Zealand
Turkey
South Africa
Thailand, Laos, Cambodia & Philippines
Guatemala & México
Brazil, Bolivia & Peru
Honorary mentions: USA (don't knock it until you've tried it), Western Europe (Italy/Spain) and Japan.
Feel free to contribute - add a recommendation to any list. Just a quick e-mail and your reasons is all that is needed. Also point out if you think anywhere is incorrect or over-rated.
If you need any more inspiration or more in-depth info on any place mentioned here, a planning guide or guidebook is the next best step. For a full recommended list click here.

» Recommended lesser travelled countries
However, they can seem well travelled...
Syria or anywhere in the Middle East
Leave the SE Asian mainland crowds behind and check out the amazing Philippines
Ethiopia, Uganda & forgotten Kenya including Lamu Island
Ghana & off-the-beaten track Brazil or forgotten India/Pakistan/Bangladesh
Slovakia/Romania/Bulgaria/Macedonia
Mozambique (parts away from South Africa) & Zimbabwe (parts)
Honorary mentions: Lesotho and Israel/Jordan with the present troubles. In South America try French Guyana. If you really want less travelled countries head to West Africa or Central Asia, but they are not particularly pleasant to backpack in. The advice is: don't worry about it - even in the most visited countries you can always find gems if you have the time.

» Best lesser travelled countries and areas, for the more adventurous
Not really that dangerous, but a bad rap with the west or infant tourism keeps many travellers away...
Myanmar & Indonesia- areas off the tourist trail
Ukraine and other vast 'out of vogue' areas of Eastern Europe
Iran
The Caucasus and North Eastern Turkey
Mountainous Kyrgyzstan/Tajikistan & Northern Pakistan
Colombia (this can be dangerous, make sure you know where you are going)
Honorary mentions: Libya, most of the Middle East, The Xinjiang mountains (China)

» Ancient wonders of the world
Egyptian Pyramids and Temples
Great Wall of China
Cusco, the sacred valley and Machu Picchu, Peru
Central America: Tikal, Guatemala & Teotihuacán, México
South East Asia: Angkor Wat, Cambodia & Bagan (Pagan), Myanmar
Roman & Greek: Leptis Magna, Libya & Ba'albeck, Lebanon, not to mention Italy & Greece
Rapa Nui (aka Easter Island), Chile
The Middle East: Petra, Jordan & Jerusalem
Honorary mentions: Chichen Itza and many others (México), and Palmyra (Syria), Remembered: Arg e Bam (Iran)

» Wondrous buildings of the world
Taj Mahal, India
Aya Sofia and Selimiye Mosque (Edirne), Turkey
Mosques of Esfahan and Yazd, Iran. Notably the Masjed-e Shāh
Registan, Samarkand, Uzbekistan
Most of the old city of Jerusalem
Colosseum and old city of Rome, Italy
Petra, Jordan
Honorary mentions: Vatican City, The Forbidden City (China), Palace of Versailles (France), Hampi (India), Grand Palace in Bangkok, Temples of Japan (Nara and Kyoto) and Sagrada Familia (Barcelona). Plus, not really buildings, but extremely impressive - the Eiffel Tower, The Banaue Rice Terraces (Philippines) Baha'i Gardens (Israel), Venice (Italy) and Mount Rushmore (USA).

» Natural wonders of the world
So many, here's just a few outstanding examples...
Almost any major mountain range or altiplano in the world. For accessibility the Himalayas in Nepal and, more so the Alps. For extra wow and isolation the Karakoram, the Pamir highway or Kyrgyzstan 'the Switzerland of Central Asia'.
America's amazing national parks inc. Yosemite, Alaska and South West national parks (the Grand Canyon & Bryce Canyon NP the most notable)
Great Barrier Reef or any big coral reef - Red sea is fantastic so are the waters off Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines
New Zealand's fiordland, or similar examples in Norway or Chile
Patagonia and the Torres del Paine National Park, Chile
Bolivian salt flats (Salar de Uyuni) and Altiplano
Expensive, but amazing: Antarctica, Galapagos Islands, Pamir highway and Ngorongoro crater (or any East African safari)
Honorary mentions: Iguaçu Falls on Brazilian/Argentinean border, Namibia's Namib-Naukluft National Park plus Skeleton Coast & the Egyptian White Desert, Ha Long bay, The karst formations near Guilin, Lake Baikal, plus Uluru (Ayres Rock) and Fraser Island (Australia)

» Some great regions (for striking beauty and/or culture)
Some compact areas that have a lot to offer, many with few tourists...
Karakoram area (Pakistan), Karakol (Kyrgyzstan) and Ladakh (India) - breathtaking mountains, slim crowds
Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta of Colombia's Coast - amazing mountains meeting perfect beaches and islands if a little dangerous
North-East Turkey - a hiker's delight
Guatemala - try Todos Santos Cuchumatán on Nov 1st or Antigua during Semana Santa
Jordan/Syria/Lebanon/Israel - don't be put off, amazing
North Laos/Vietnam - difficult and bumpy transport, unique and beautiful region
Central Sulawesi and Eastern Indonesia - a whole world to explore
Southern Africa - best with your own transport: Deserts to Vic falls to Great White shark dives
Honorary mentions: Chilean lake district and Patagonia (very south) and Yunnan province (Xishuangbanna is over-rated, but mountains around Dali are not) in China

» Great places
Some cities or hang-outs that make you feel amazed and happy to be alive...
Antigua, Guatemala (Easter week aka Semana Santa, amazing)
The great cities of Europe (London, Paris, Krakow, St. Petersburg, Berlin and Venice/Rome)
Jaisalmer and loads of other hangouts in India and Nepal: Simila, Varkala, Goa and Pokhara
Jerusalem, rather a lot in a small area or New York, a modern wonder of the world
Butterfly Valley, near Fethiye, Turkey also Cappadocia in Turkey
Cusco in Peru or San Agustín and Zona Cafetera, in Colombia
Yangshuo, China & Zanzibar, Tanzania
Australian big cities especially Sydney and Melbourne
Honorary mentions: Esfahan (Iran), Urumqi (Heavenly Lake, China), Karimabad (Pakistan), Luang Prabang (Laos) and San Francisco

» Terrific places to have a great time
Okay it doesn't come for free. You'll certainly spend more time and money than you wished, but if you are looking for some fun try...
Greek Islands
Thailand (especially the islands)
Turkey
Brazil
South Africa
México

» Top tourist traps, but deservedly so
Agra (home of India's Taj Mahal)
Florence, Venice and Rome
New York, Washington DC, London, Paris, Amsterdam and Sydney
Nepal & Thailand's islands and beaches
Antigua, Guatemala (and the rest)
Cairo/Luxor, Egypt
Dogon Country, Mali
Vic Falls, Zimbabwe/Zambia
Northern Tanzania/Zanzibar Island
Honorary mentions: Krakow (historic Polish city), Edinburgh, Romania's Transylvania with its rolling hills, mountains and medieval towns and castles, Bali and the Gili Islands, Kyoto and Gyeongju

» Maddest places

» Fantastic places to unwind
Varanasi (and pretty much all of Northern India)
Tokyo & Osaka
Lagos, Nigeria or Dhaka, Bangladesh
Ho Chi Minh City, aka. Saigon
Cotonou, BeninHonorary mentions: Marrakech, México City and Cairo

On a boat - Mekong, Niger or Yangtze­Kiang slow boat and Nile Feluccas (probably best to avoid public vessels if you want to chill)
On the beach - Varkala, Goa (India), Bay Islands (Honduras) or Ko Tao et al. (Small (touristy) Thai island)
By a lake - Lake Malawi (Nakata or Monkey bay), Lake Atitlán or El Estor (Guatemala) or Lake Titicaca (Bolivia/Peru).
Others - Huge inlet, quiet town - Kotor, Montenegro; or peaceful, mystical China - Yangshuo or quiet fly-in only island - Lamu, Kenya


» Nicest people
There are all sorts of people in all sorts of places, but the following countries are well known for the kindness and hospitality of their population.
Iran
Pakistan (Northern areas)
Ghana
India/Nepal (in the right places/circumstances)
Syria & Turkey
Honorary mentions: Cuba and Sudan

» Great train journeys
(a few, often long train journeys in some remarkable places)
Dakar (Senegal) to Bamako (Mali): an out-of-this world 30-36 hours - very hard work, may leave you mentally scarred!
Trans Siberian/Mongolian: Moscow to (generally) Beijing, passing through some of the worlds most remote places for days on end
Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) to (almost) Lusaka (Zambia): pass through pristine African bush for two days and a night - better value than the raved about Nairobi to Mombassa line. Get off at Mbeya to travel Malawi.
From Calama (Chile) to Uyuni (Bolivia): a cold at times high-altitude lunar type experience.
Honorary mentions: Any train journey in India or China, Japan's Shinkansen (bullet) trains which with a rail pass are quite affordable, without ridiculously expensive..

and the ugly?
» Spoiled by tourism
» Keep an eye on your things
» Worst forms of transport
(not everywhere, but in general)
(beware of thieves)
(or the biggest thrill!)
Spanish Mediterranean Islands
Cancún and Yucatan Peninsula
Greek Islands
Turkish Aegean coast
Bali (Kuta) & Fiji's tourist hubs

Nairobi (Nai-robberi)
Delhi/Agra/Varanasi
Johannesburg/Cape Town
Costa Rica
Prague

Filipino island ferry
Indian or Pakistani Himalayan/Karakoram jeep
Dushanbe to Khorog (45min) flight
Kenyan matatus
West African Bush taxis
Honorary mentions: Kathmandu, Everest Trail and base camp, Bora Bora and Thai Islands
Honorary mentions: Bogotá, Lagos, Cusco, Lahore hotel rooms
Honorary mentions: Lao Mekong fast boat, Bangkok Tuk-Tuk, and night buses in Colombia

» Budget travellers beware
(aside from Western Europe and North America)
Japan, Korea & Hong Kong
Bhutan or Libya and others where 'technically' you need to be on an expensive tour to gain entry
Israel, Moscow & St. Petersburg
Botswana
Amazing, but shockingly expensive islands: Galapagos Islands, Iceland, much or the Caribbean & French Polynesia
East African activities (Gorilla viewing, Kilimanjaro climb or any safari)
Honorary mentions: Mexican and Brazilian long distance travel, West African nations using the CFA, Brunei, Australia (yes really), Timbuktu - or getting to any famed remote Sahara town, the Caribbean and not taking out medical insurance!

» Current bargains
(things do change rapidly as currencies strengthen/weaken and/or inflation catches up with weak economies)
Indonesia
Iran
Ghana
Zimbabwe
As always: India/Pakistan/Nepal/Sri Lanka/Bangladesh
Honorary mentions: as the dollar continues to weakens, countries with dollar fixed currencies are getting much cheaper, i.e. Ecuador, Panama (plus most of Central America) and of course the US of A


» Ongoing trouble hotspots
Things do change rapidly, this is updated regularly with information from various advisory sources. Do check for yourself before you travel, some areas will be best avoided.
(parts of): Afghanistan, Northern Sri Lanka, Kashmir, Algeria, Angola, Burundi, Central African Republic, Colombia, Cote d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, Iraq, Republic of Congo, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Tajikistan, Yemen.

» Current holidays & events
(goings on in June, July, August and September 2008)
Expect excellent sights and scenes, but also closed banks, packed transport and perhaps that Mary and Joseph feeling if you don't book ahead. Holidays are as follows (note if date falls on a weekend, following working day may well also be a holiday):
National holidays:
Burundi, Rwanda & Canada (1 July), Belarus (3 July), USA, US Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Tonga & American Samoa (4 July), Algeria & Venezuela (5 July), Comoros & Malawi (6 July), Solomon Islands (7 July), Mongolia (11 July), Sao Tome and Principe & Kiribati (12 July), Mayotte, Iraq, Reunion, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Saint Martin, Russia, France & Corsica (14 July), Iceland (17 July), Colombia (20 July), Belgium (21 July), Egypt & Fiji (23 July), Liberia, Maldives & Cuba (26 July), Vanuatu (30 July).
Benin & Switzerland (1 Aug), Niger (3 Aug), Burkina Faso & Cook Islands (4 Aug), Jamaica, Bolivia & Ecuador (6 Aug), Cote d'Ivoire (7 Aug), Singapore (9 Aug), Central African Republic & Republic of Congo (13 Aug), Pakistan (14 Aug), India, South Korea, Tonga & Liechtenstein (15 Aug), Gabon (16, 17 & 18 Aug), Indonesia (17 Aug), Afghanistan (19 Aug), Ukraine (24 Aug), Uruguay (25 Aug), Moldova (27 Aug), Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia & Trinidad and Tobago (31 Aug)
Cape Verde & Uzbekistan (1 Sep), Vietnam & Bolivia (2 Sep), Qatar (3 Sep), Bonaire (6 Sep), Brazil (7 Sep), Andorra & Macedonia (8 Sep), Tajikistan & San Marino (9 Sep), Gibraltar (10 Sep), Spain (11 Sep), Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Saint Kitts and Nevis & Belize (15 Sep), Mexico & Papua New Guinea (16 Sep), Chile (18 Sep), Armenia & Malta (21 Sep), Mali (22 Sep) Guinea Bissau & Saudi Arabia (24 Sep) Botswana (30 Sep)
Religious holidays & celebrations
Jul 23 Birthday of Emperor Hailie Selassi I - Rastafaria.
Aug 16: Raksha Bandhan - Hindu, Aug 18: Lailat al Bara'ah - Islam, Aug 24: Krishna Janmashtami - Hindu.
Sep 2: Ramadan begins - Islam, Sep 3: Ganesa Chaturthi - Hindu, Sep 28: Laylat al Kadar - Islam, Sep 30-Oct 1: Rosh Hashanah - Jewish, Sep 30-Oct 8: Navaratri - Hindu.

Note, some of these are signification, others not. Some are localised, others wide-spread. If in doubt do a little research... Interested in a map of world religions?


Obviously we have not been to all these places (but pretty much most, bar one or three) and do not claim to have been; perhaps you might like to send your two cents worth in (many mentions come from reader's comments). Remember this is more a fun list than a serious one.