At the moment I’m living just outside of Madrid (I’m loving it), for the next two months in a bid to learn Spanish and enjoy all that their culture has to offer. Afterwards, I’m planning to make my way home, the long way. I’ll be finished in Spain by late August and want to make my way to New Zealand by mid October, or round about. There’s a few countries on my to visit list, but I simply can’t visit them all – all of the countries mentioned below I have not visited, so REALLY appeal to me. I was wondering which you think are essential before I depart European shores for a long time.
Just as a side note – during the time between Madrid and New Zealand, I will be spending around a week in the Czech Republic with my former host family, enjoying the tail end of summer there and picking up my suitcase – so travel will be a bit more difficult from this point on. I plan to fly to New Zealand from Istanbul, Turkey. So bare in mind I have to get from Spain to the Czech Republic and onto Turkey, the places I go in between are what I’m interested in figuring out.
Here are the main contesters:
Portugal – First photo by Rstml, second and third photo by Michael Swiet 
Morocco – Photos by Stephen Walford
Italy – Photos by Bulbol2010 
Croatia – Photos by Lena_Ni 
Slovenia – Photos by Tridlad
Greece – First photo by Alissa Ferris second by P and R and third by Peace Correspondent
These beautiful pictures have confused me more. I think I’d be happy to spend around two weeks in Turkey, so that really leaves 3-4 weeks for all the other places. Money IS AN ISSUE, so I want to keep costs as low as possible, I’m literally down to my last cents. As flights will become more pricey, I’m looking at locking in dates soon rather than playing things by ear.
Where do you think I should spend my time and WHY? Bonus points if the places are more affordable. Part of me is tempted to make my way by land from Prague to Istanbul, but I think that might be too expensive. As I’m living in Madrid I could easily delegate weekend trips to Portugal, Morocco and Italy, just for a taste, but I don’t want to sell the places short.
Any advice will be greatly appreciated.
I have only been to two places on this list, Italy and Portugal. The other ones are on my list.
I love Italy but do not think it is a great place to visit on a budget. Especially in the summer when it is packed with tourist.
Portugal is a great country and very affordable. I spent a lot less than I expected. They also have some of the best hostels that I have ever stayed in.
Wow, awesome! thanks for taking the time to comment on this. I think I might give Italy a miss, or just do a sneaky weekend trip there, if I can find some decent flights. I don’t want to wind up “hating” it because I can’t afford to enjoy it properly.
Great to hear Portugal has some good hostels, they can make all the difference to a trip.
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if you get the chance to go id really recommend going to greece! The people there are just the friendliest ive ever met. Its just such a beautiful country.. Theres so many amazing places to see there.. Plus its not that far away from greece! And even though its not on your list id also recommmend considering going to scandinavia! Stockholm is one of the most beautiful cities ive ever been to. And its so different to all the other countries you want to go to. On the other hand i think both countries are not very cheap.. Croatia is lovely aswell, i loved the sea there – so perfectly blue! Probably croatia is a better choice if you dont want to spend a lot of money 🙂
oh i meant to say greece is not too far away from turkey 😀
I’d definitely recommend Morocco…It’s cheap once you’re there and it will totally blow your mind. It depends on what kind of experience you’re looking for but it’s definitely the most ‘exotic’ and adventurous on that list. I’d suggest you spend more time in Fez and Essouira rather than focus on Marrakesh (It’s very touristy) but it all depends on your budget etc 🙂 What a wonderful conundrum to face! Hope you figure it all out in good time and I look forward to following your adventures! x