With so many places to go and see in the world how can anyone choose the perfect summer 2018 destination? We at Cramming Before 30 want to help you figure that out. We have narrowed it down to three places that we recommend seeing in 2018. We used a few points to help us narrow it down.

1. Must be international – while you are still in your 20’s use the freedom to travel out of the country.
2. Within a budget – We know some of you are students still and may not have the money to travel so we wanted to find places that were reasonably priced.
3. Somewhere Warm – It’s summertime, enjoy the sun and put on your newest bathing suit.
4. Somewhere with adventure – Although everyone likes to just chill by the pool, soak up the sun, and hit on some hotties we figured you can do that when you’re older. Use this time to do something crazy.

 

Thailand

First on the list is Thailand. Thailand has been growing a lot in popularity in recent years due to its tropical climate, bustling city life, religious monuments, and of course the price. Essentially if you can shell out for a plane ticket (roughly $1200 from Denver CO) then the rest of your trip wont break the bank. If you have ever seen the movie “A Map for Saturday” then you understand what I’m talking about. The documentary follows Brook Silva-Braga as he embarks on a year long back packing journey. While in Thailand, Brook wanted to show just how cheap it was. For one full day, including food, a room, and one activity, he was able to spend roughly $10. Granted we aren’t telling you to just recreate his living circumstances but we are saying that a full day budget in Thailand can start at just $10/ day. CB30 is planning on going to Thailand this summer where we have budgeted only $100/ day but this is because we opted out of the hostel and instead chose a hotel.

With our budget set, we have a mini “bucket list” for Thailand already set filled with adventure. We plan on starting in Bangkok then making it to Phuket after a couple days.

 

Mini “Bucket List”

 

Bangkok

• Attend an authentic (Non tourist) Muay Thai Boxing Match at Rajadamnern Boxing Stadium
• Visit numerous palaces and shrines (i.e The Grand Palace, Wat Pho, and Wat Arun) to get our zen on
• Patpong Night Market
• Khao San Road (Known as the backpacker mecca of the world)
• Eat as much street food as possible (Might even eat a scorpion)
• Visit the Tiger temple and feed some tigers
• Go hiking (on the back of an elephant) to check out Erawan Falls and hopefully see some jaguars

 

Phuket

• Bungy jump in the jungle
• Scuba diving the Phi Phi Islands
• Visit an elephant sanctuary where we can bathe and play with elephants
• Play with monkeys
• Take a fishing Charter
• Take Thai cooking classes

Above are just some of the activities we plan on doing under our $100/ budget

Costa Rica

 

Costa Rica is a great place for CB30er’s to travel to this summer. Even if you plan on going just to be by the beach and mingle with the locals, you will have a great time. Costa Rica was ranked the happiest place in the world to live in 2016 (http://happyplanetindex.org/) and they still remain by the top. With that on the resume, you know the locals are going to be nice and willing to show you a good time. This opens up a whole world of opportunities especially for those traveling on a budget. Reach out to one of the locals and see if they will be willing to show you around the vast jungles/forests and volcanoes. I know that my personal bucket list trek would be to go to Tenorio Volcano National Park where you can view the Rio Celeste. The Rio Celeste is known for being one of the countries most captivating sights where the sulfur and carbonate from the volcanoes has cause the water to transform into an unnatural shade of blue. The trip makes you feel as if you are chasing a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, as you start near the bottom of the river and as you follow it up you see more and more vibrant colors of blue emerge within the water as you approach the source of the natural phenomenon. If the hike doesn’t get your blood flowing but you still want to explore the natural beauty of the country, I recommend a private ATV tour such as the Del Rey offered by Adventure Tours Costa Rica, where you travel from within the mountains along the beaches to a gorgeous 35ft waterfall known as the Cascada del Zorro. This is a great opportunity for a dip as well as some mesmerizing photos. Beyond the gorgeous scenery Costa Rica offers it offers the thrill of interacting with wildlife at one of the many wildlife preserves. The most common animals you will see at these sanctuaries will be sloths, monkeys and an assortment of colorful birds. We recommend Jaguar Rescue Center where they let you play and interact with baby monkeys. Lastly as we at CB30 like to give our readers a glimpse of all their opportunities to CB30 at a country we want to let you know about your opportunity to do a Ayahuasca retreat in Costa Rica. Disclaimer: Ayahuasca is illegal in the US. We at CB30 do not recommend nor support the use of illegal drugs, we simply are informing our readers of an opportunity to partake in an Ayahuasca retreat in Costa Rica. For those that don’t know. Ayahuasca is a brewed religious drink from the Amazon that has been a large part of Costa Rican, and many South American cultures for centuries. If you would like to learn more please visit https://www.soul-herbs.com/iowaska/ where they will discuss the 3 reasons you should try it based on Emotional Healing, Spiritual Advancement, and Finding Purpose.

 

With flights being around $400 we believe that Costa Rica is at a great price point for getting out of the US and beginning your traveling journey. With so much to offer this summer we believe that you cant go wrong by visiting this gorgeous place.

 

Greece

 

Greece is a special location that I want to talk about because we have two completely different methods of experiencing Greece. Ill start off by talking about the traditional type trip which is more about experiencing the country as a whole. Experiencing the culture, the food, and the scenery but later I’ll introduce you to an up and coming way that most my friends have chosen to experience Greece. The type of way that will make you feel like you were in college again.

Traditionally, I would recommend trying to visit Greece in late May to mid June if you are on a budget otherwise you can expand that to beginning of August but in full honesty after mid June the crowds start to pile in. With this in mind I would ideally start my trip in Athens to get the most out of the history such as seeing the Pantheon (Iconic 5^th BC Athenian temple ruins). Another great spot to check out would be to embark on a day trip to visit Delphi. This will give you a chance to take some fantastic photos but to also connect with Greek mythology.

From Athens, I would make my way to either Mykonos or Santorini depending on your budget and what you plan to do. Mykonos is about 4 hours closer than traveling to Santorini (9hrs) therefore it would be cheaper to only travel half the distance. The other part is that Santorini is more romantic and is better suited for someone traveling with their partner or trying to woo a local lady. The beaches in Mykonos are better as well. Where you will get the classic white sand beaches. Since I am single I would probably choose Mykonos since there is also more nightlife.

This brings me into the non-traditional way of viewing Greece. I plan on taking this route summer of 2019 and will hopefully run into some of you there. The path I’m talking about is THE YACHT WEEK. Yacht week is a way to party it up. Basically the company sets up a couple weeks during the summer and you choose which week works best for you. Once you figure out the week you rent a yacht with some of your mates and meet up with 20 other yachts doing the same thing. You sail from destination to destination (Changes every year) with all the other yachts having massive parties at some of the local clubs or going on day hikes. This is a great way to meet friends from all over the world while enjoying an action packed week. Prices vary based on how baller you want to be. This comes down to how fancy of a yacht you want and if you want a chef and maid to cook and clean for you while sailing.

Conclusion

 

Wherever the summer might take you, I hope that each of you choose to take life by the horns and make the best with whatever you do. Some of you may go camping an hour away from where you live but if you go camping with the right mindset and the right group of friends that camping trip may be the best thing you have ever done in your life. Now lets go out and start Cramming Before 30.