Greetings fellow travelers! My name is Orlando and I live in the San Francisco bay area. I've recently caught the travel bug. This past year I spent a couple of month backpacking in South America. One of the best experiences of my life! Had the chance to hike Machu Picchu, party every night till 6am during carnival in Salvador and Rio, spent 2 weeks exploring Buenos Aires, and saw the beautiful waterfalls of Iguazu Falls. Since I've returned from my trip all I can think about is how to save up and backpack all over again. I'm on a tight budget so my next adventure will have to involve a lot of hosteling and couchsurfing. So I'm asking my fellow world travelers, where should my next backpacking adventure be? I've always wanted to go to Europe, but I heard it's really expensive. Some have suggested New Zealand and Australia. Asia also appeals to me. Any suggestions?

I suppose it depends on how big your budget is likely to be and what kind of travelling you want to do. Your money will go further in SE Asia than in Oz/NZ, but obviously it will be a completely different experience.

If you have a college degree, you can go teach English in South Korea, Japan, or Taiwan, save a heap of money, and go have another adventure.

Depending on how much of the US you have or haven't seen, exploring the states could be a fun option. I'm from the US and did a fair amount of international travel when I was 18-20. The past six months or so, I've been traveling around within the country and having a really fabulous time. I know it's an anticlimatic suggestion, but there really is a lot to see, do, and learn in the states.

I loved my experiences in East Africa. your money can go a long way. Also, if you're willing to volunteer, You can live pretty easily. they usually offer food and lodging, for a flat fee that would go toward helping the school or orphanage or wherever it is you are volunteering.

If you're interested in Australia and NZ, check out getting a Working Holiday Visa. I did a WHV in NZ, and applied online (no fee! Well, not last year anyway) it was super super easy, and found work that could sustain my vagabond backpacker life and help me save up towards traveling elsewhere also. The economy here sucks anyway, so go travel and get a job picking fruit or something, save money to travel more, and then go from there.