Travel Advice? (tell me where I should go)

I’m moving to Austin to go back to school in January!

With that date so close I kind of wanted to take a short trip while I still have the chance.

I’ve been thinking about how cool it would be to visit Iceland and try to catch the Aurora Borealis!

Pros:

  • It’s frickin’ Iceland!
  • Should be an extremely memorable trip
  • I’ve always wanted to see the Aurora Borealis in person
  • PUFFINS!!!

Cons:

  • 8 hour flight - don’t speak Icelandic
  • more than twice or thrice as expensive
  • I would be traveling alone
  • Not guaranteed to see the Northern Lights.

I’ve also been thinking about how much cheaper and easier it would be to just skip up to Denver for a spell…

Pros:

  • I have friends both North and South of Denver
  • I kinda want to move there one day
  • The laws there are more ahem relaxed :four_leaf_clover: :green_heart: :star_struck:
  • Could definitely smoke some “Northern Lights” (this is technically a redundant point)
  • I would still have money left over…

Cons:

  • Not as exotic as Reykyavik
  • No chance of Aurora Borealis
  • No extra stamps on my passport.

Then there’s the angel on other shoulder that says “SAVE YOUR MONEY FOR AN EMERGENCY OR SCHOOL WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?!?!”

  • Denver, COUGH COUGH Colorado HACK HACK COUGH
  • Reykjavik, Iceland
  • Save your dough fool, college is 'spensive!

0 voters

Iceland has the bonus of Puffins!

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OP edited to reflect possibility of puffins.

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Alternate option. Less than 8 hour flight, still stamp in passport, still see Northern Lights… Canada. I’ve always heard Whitehorse, Yukon is a good place to go to see them. Save Iceland as the celebration for finishing school.

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Reykjavik is mainly being considered because they have a killer deal on flights. (69 bucks there, 129 back :open_mouth: )

I can get to Denver and back for 70-80

Black Hills.

Never been to Iceland - every single person I know who has ever been there says it’s the best vacation they’ve ever taken. Lots of wonderful outdoorsy things to do!

I have seen the northern lights (from north of Fairbanks). Awesome! But like you said - no guarantee. And even if the aurora is doing its thing, if it’s cloudy, overcast, rainy, whatever … you won’t see it. However, if you search, you can find aurora forecasts for some places.

Traveling alone … I have been all over the world alone. I always thought of it this way - sit home alone, or travel alone? Given those two choices, travel alone seems like a better choice.

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“Geomagnetic storms that ignite auroras may occur more often during the months around the equinoxes.” - wikipedia

No guarantees, but … the Autumnal Equinox occurs September 23 this year.

The trip would be happening in October.

Close enough! I received this email just yesterday …

Edit: I signed-up for the alerts when I visited Canada earlier this year.


AuroraWatch [email protected]

Tue, Sep 11, 3:39 AM (1 day ago)

to aurorawatch-yellow

AuroraWatch red alert issued at 2:10am MDT, valid until dawn 11 September.

For full information, please see http://www.aurorawatch.ca/alert

Regards,
AuroraWatch.ca

AuroraWatch is on twitter! Follow us @aurorawatch
Unsubscribe? http://www.aurorawatch.ca/unsubscribe

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I’ve been. It was certainly one of the two best vacations I’ve had. It’s become a lot more touristy-crowded since then:

If you go, remember flying really sucks now; I only drive to wherever it is I might be going nowadays. And, if you go, make sure to take a snowmobiling trip out onto one of the glaciers…one of the top experiences on offer! And give yourself enough time to take 2 or 3 shots at seeing Northern Lights…it’s iffy.

Big Bend (camping) is nice in October.

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I have friends vacationing in Iceland right now, Michael couldnt sleep on the plane
so he opened his window and saw a bright Orion in the sky and the Northern Lights

Don’t forget to take 2 or 3 shots of Hákarl in vodka!

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Traveling alone can be great fun. I’ve been all over South America, Southern Africa, and a good chunk of Europe, travelling on my own (for work) when I was your age. It was a fantastic experience and I recommend it to a lot of folks.

Most people are good folks, and if you don’t play “the ugly American” while you are out and about you will have a great time. Try to learn “Hello”, “Good bye”, “Thank you”, “How much does it cost”, “Where’s the toilet” and “Beer, please” in the local languages… That alone will put you miles ahead of most visitors. Don’t rely on Google Translate too much.

Edit to add: Buy the first round if you are drinking with a small group… and don’t be the last one to buy a round if you can’t be the first.

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I hope you have a current passport that is valid for at least the next 6 months. Otherwise, Iceland is out.

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I’ve never been to Iceland, but it is on my bucket list. I’ve traveled a lot of places in my life and I enjoy being accompanied most of the time, but I’ve also been some cool places alone. I just like going places I’ve never been before. @StanSimmons advice about not playing the ugly America is essential. Some of the best times I’ve ever had have been when some native person invited me home to have dinner with their family. In Italy I loved the family style dinners and because I was there for about three months I got to go to a lot of them.

I voted for the Iceland trip because you don’t won’t to look back and say, “Man I wish I’d have gone to Iceland instead of Denver.” It is a lot more exotic and a lot more amazing IMHO.

Maybe you’ll meet someone there to share the experience, too. Have a great trip.

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I’ve found the best way to win over locals, even when they know you’re American, is in their native language say “My [insert language] is not very good. Do you speak a little English?” I’ve found locals who turned away other tourists open up and indeed speak a little (or a lot) of English. If they don’t, often they know someone close by who does and will happily get them.

Iceland sounds dope. It’s on my list for sure. But so is Denver. Sounds like Iceland would be more memorable and you can visit Denver pretty much any ol’ time.

What’s a passport?
j/k I went to Bangkok last year around this time, I should be good.

My nigh-crippling social anxiety makes this kinda unlikely :neutral_face:
It’s something I’ve been working on, but I fear growing up in the era of “Stranger Danger” might have stymied my inclination to initiate conversations with people I don’t know.