International travel is great. A lot of people already commented on it. I’d like to add that there are a lot of places, especially in California, that you could visit in the mean time, in case you haven’t been there already. It is something you could do while saving up for the big international trip. Pick a destination and do a weekend trip. Use it as opportunity to learn how to research and plan your trip itinerary, see how you feel about solo traveling, and gain some experience to prepare yourself for the big trip.

• First off, regardless of your destination, as a solo female traveler, always be street smart, and always be aware of your surroundings. Never put yourself in a dubious or dangerous situation.

• If you own a car and like driving, see if there are interesting places within 2-5 hour range that you could go. However, given the cost of gas, and not having anyone to split the expense with, driving may or may not be the most cost effective mode of transportation when traveling alone.

• If you live in a California city that has Amtrak station, there are many interesting cities you could visit via Amtrak. You could go as far south as San Diego (from which you could go visit Tijuana, Mexico if you’d like) and north to the Bay Area, and all the way up to Oregon and Washington. There are many stops in Southern and Central California including Los Angeles, Santa Barbara & San Luis Obispo, Monterey, and Santa Cruz that you could make a day trip or a weekend trip out of. (Monterey is my favorite place in the world) Some portion of the track that the Pacific Surfliner line runs on also gives you access beautiful ocean scenery that you don’t get to see from the HWY. think that the experience counts as a discount/extra value you get from the fare. You might also be more refreshed when you arrive at the destination. Several of the stops would drop you off right on the downtown / tourist areas. If you could plan it as a day trip that begins early in the morning and return home a little later in the evening, then you save on lodging, which kinda sucks for solo travelers, coz it could have been a lot cheaper if you could split it with someone.

Anywho, always look into different ways to get deals on the ticket. See if there is a pass available (and double check that it is indeed a better deal) or if there is a way to ride for cheap. For example, in LA and vicinity area, you could ride on Amtrak train with a cheaper Metrolink ticket (regional commuter train) through their code-share agreement, as long as you travel on the route that the metrolink train services.

Lastly, if you are young enough to spend the night on the train on the cheap seat, and not be too tired to explore the city the next day, you could see if there is any overnight route that you could hop on in the evening and wake up in another city the next morning. Maybe spend the next night there. Then do the same on the way back. I don’t know if this is always an option, train schedule-wise, but if you could find such schedule, it will save you time and cost for lodging, as well as potentially allowing you to explore places further away from your home base. You could also apply this concept to your international trip to places with good and abundant rail system like Europe.

• Choose destinations that offer free or low cost activities once you get there, from outdoor activities such as beaches, parks, or hiking trails, to urban festivities or cultural sites such as local shops, flea/farmers market, or missions/churches/city hall that feature interesting architecture. Not everything you do have to be free, but having the ability to mix these types of activities with other things that require admission could help keep the cost under control.

• For places that require admission, always check in advance if you could get the ticket at lower price with coupon or discount code.

• Public museums, parks, botanical gardens, that usually charge admission fee sometimes have free admission days. Plan your trip to coincide with the free admission day when possible. Sometimes it’s every Friday, or maybe it’s every second Tuesday of the month. Or sometimes it’s a special week out of the year. For example, there is one week out of the year, usually in April where the Italian government waive all admission fees to all of state owned museums, which include many major should not miss museums of Italy. Once upon a time, many many years ago, I took a month long trip through Europe. And I planned it so that the Italy portion of the trip coincided with the culture week. Saved me a lot of money right there.

• Checking out local food, breweries, or wineries is a great way to experience the places you visit. But the cost for eating out every meal could add up quickly. Try packing a sandwich, snacks, and a drink from home for lunch, treat it like a fancy picnic with a view, and save your dining out budget for dinner. Even better if you can time your itinerary and find a place that offers happy hour deals.

• Getting to know about history, culture, food, their natural flora/fauna, etc etc, whichever is applicable, while planning the trip and before you arrive at the destination will make your trip so much more enjoyable and rewarding.

That’s all I could think of for now. Hope you enjoy your trip, whatever it may take you.