The destinations where young people should travel now
Can the Himalayas still be climbed? How long before fabled sites such as the Taj Mahal or the Pyramids are too expensive? Here’s where young people should travel now.
here was a time when young Australian school-leavers keen to spread their wings overseas (or OS, in the jargon of past decades) would hit the roads most travelled, often following the example of parents who’d headed off on gap years, most typically to Britain and Europe.
In my case it was India, which Mum and Dad found puzzling but they were hands-off about most things and knew I liked reading Rudyard Kipling and so they let me go, as long as I promised not to get robbed or murdered.
There were no mobile phones or internet in that era so they didn’t worry when I failed to get into contact.
They seemed surprised when I returned unscathed, but those were less anxious times. They didn’t fully understand how the trip had been life altering. It had forever changed my view of the world and my understanding of the privilege of Western society and my own unimportance in the universal scheme of things.
Myriad discoveries were as much about my own frailties and failings as they were the richness of a vibrant culture, kindness beyond measure, tolerance and acceptance. I didn’t necessarily return a wiser or better person but the traveller I became, and continue to be, is all because of India.
Fast forward to the present and there are complex decisions for young travellers to make.
The world is a fast-changing and often scary place. It’s not so much a smorgasbord for young travellers to savour slowly but a case of chasing opportunities that are in peril of getting away.
Can the Himalayas still be climbed? How long before fabled sites such as, say, the Taj Mahal or the Pyramids of Giza are accessible only to those who can afford huge entry fees and private guides?
But volunteering continues to be a big motivator for school-leavers and organisers such as International Volunteer HQ and Projects Abroad promote places that challenge and open minds to “different ways of thinking and living”.
Developing countries predominate, but destinations such as South Africa, Portugal and lesser-known Greek islands also make the list. Such an approach provides safety in numbers, too, but the nomadic and free-spirited urges remain strong.
PLACES TO GO NOW
South and Central America
Animal populations and forests are shrinking in Brazil’s Amazon region, but visits to national reserves and environmental projects enable young travellers to understand the situation and hopefully inspire them to spread the word.
Also on the continent’s go-now nature list are the cloud forests in the mountains of Monteverde, Costa Rica, and diving the barrier reef of Belize, the world’s second-largest reef system (after our Great Barrier Reef) and site of thriving marine-based conservation projects.
And while Africa steals the oxygen for safari travel, South America is also a heartland for wildlife watching and spotter’s list ticks. Think: pumas and whales in Patagonia; cougars and jaguars in Brazil, Chile and Argentina; and the prospect of sloths hanging about in tropical rainforests. Across the Andes on horseback or beach-riding in the Dominican Republic?
There’s plenty for pony club graduates to discover on those wide pampas grasslands, too.
Antarctica
Go … before it goes.
To visit the great white continent is the adventure of a lifetime for all ages. The vast majority are affluent older travellers aboard ships with all manner of equipment and luxurious offerings, from submersibles to spa tubs, suites with private balconies to Michelin-standard cuisine.
Most ships depart from the tip of South America and airfares from Australia are savagely expensive. But (and it’s a big BUT) there are grave fears about the impact and sustainability of the region so there’s enormous impetus to cruise sooner rather than later.
Ice-strengthened research vessels, such as the 116-passenger Plancius (described by the operator as “basic but tough and cosy”), or the 56-passenger Polar Pioneer, are more affordable options and the latter’s valid claim to “luxury” is to be able to nose into landing sites that are inaccessible for the large liners.
Masai Mara, Kenya
Africa is a must-visit for all of us to understand the importance of preserving wildlife and an experience that gives a real sense of the eternal cycle of life and the urgent need to protect against poaching and habitat loss.
As well as animals and birdlife, many landscapes in Africa are critically endangered due to mining, land clearances and weather patterns.
Aside from Kenya, both the Serengeti in Tanzania and the Okavango Delta in Botswana are prime safari destinations.
But there are more operators in Kenya and also South Africa attuned to younger, less affluent travellers and those willing to rough it in basic but comfortable tented camps or shared lodges, eschewing expeditions aboard canopied LandCruisers for more basic trucks or guided walking safaris.
Veteran tour operator Contiki takes a “social” approach with its packages aimed at the 18-35s market and also offers the likes of Morocco, Namibia and Zimbabwe.
Venice
The Italians call this fabled city La Serenissima but there’s nothing serene about the northern tourism hub.
While it fills our minds with romantic images of opera, masked balls and singing gondoliers, its water-bound location is precarious and visitor numbers are already limited. Bigger cruise ships are banned from the Grand Canal, but it could be too little, too late.
Elsewhere in Italy, the mayor of Portofino has announced fines in two locations where tourists hold up traffic and pedestrians while taking selfies and blocking, say, alleyways, or hanging about in big groups.
So the message is to go now while it’s still viable or make the switch from Venice to Trieste, a two-hour train ride away; and consider skipping the heaving Amalfi Coast during summer in favour of the Monte Argentario peninsula in Grosseto province, stretching to the Tyrrhenian Sea.
The European cruise basin
The port cities of southern Italy and France, the Dalmatian coastline, Malta and the Greek Isles are incredibly overcrowded in the northern summer cruise season.
Young travellers should be very aware of the seasonal patterns and most-visited ports and look further. Still viable is Croatia’s Dalmatian coast, where affordable boat tours and live-aboard yachts are popular and the feel is more local.
The Port of Split, although beset with Brits from June through to August, is the site of the extraordinary Roman ruins at Salona, birthplace of the emperor Diocletian. Further north along the Adriatic coast, the main Korzo promenade at Rijeka boasts fine Austro-Hungarian buildings and its produce market is the equal of any in Europe’s more storied cities.
The UNESCO trail
World Heritage-listed sites and monuments need to be protected from mass tourism, but some destinations do crowd control better than others, while several are just tough going for older or less fit travellers.
While legs are young and nimble, Machu Picchu in Peru and Angkor Wat in Cambodia need to be firmly ticked. These examples are for early risers, hikers and walkers, and rate highly on the bucket list for gap year travellers.
And let’s not forget Australia’s unique status as the only country where two World Heritage sites meet – the ancient Daintree and the Great Barrier Reef. One for backpackers and vagabonds of all ages.
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