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I travel mostly in countries where there is no problem finding a $15-20 hotel, so no point paying nearly that much for a dorm bed. Most Ive been in are in former Soviet republics, where I found then in the range from excellent to good enough. In Chisinau, Tbilisi and Bishkek, I bonded with my hostel like a home away from home. In Darwin, apparently not exactly on the backpacker circuit, I was the only guest so they just upgraded me to a private room, in what appeared to be the only hostel in Northern Territory.
Lots of hostels have private rooms for couples these days, sometimes private rooms with private bathrooms as well. For whatever reason the hostel private rooms often cost same (or more) than rooms in nearby guest houses that are bigger/nicer, so we rarely use them.
We can recommend Road Scholar. We like to learn as much as we can about the places we go since we will probably not visit them again, especially for international destinations, where the time and aggravation of getting there makes it necessary to maximize the experience. We realized the value of the learning/travel experience when we were discussing with friends a destination we had all visited. We went with Road Scholar and they went on their own. We knew so much more about the place than they did, and we had far richer experiences. Many individual travelers do the research beforehand, but many more just go somewhere and check it off the list and plan another trip.
What we also do is try to spend a few days before or after each trip visiting a favorite place on our own, like stopping off in New England on the way home from the Azores, or staying in a few days in Dublin after visiting Budapest and Prague. It breaks up the travel time.
We have a travel budget comparable to yours. We take three major trips a year, and then fill in with shorter road trips. We also like Mexico.
What we also do is try to spend a few days before or after each trip visiting a favorite place on our own, like stopping off in New England on the way home from the Azores, or staying in a few days in Dublin after visiting Budapest and Prague. It breaks up the travel time.
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Trying to add the extra stop to your air ticket can significantly increase the cost.
An option is to buy the cheapest possible ticket across the ocean, then a separate flight with the stopver as long as you want. Or branch out into two separate trips from your gateway. I once flew supercheap to Bangkok, with two separate onward tickets -- one to Colombo and one to Darwin. The total added up to be less than any direct fare I could find just to anywhere in Australia. With Sri Lanka thrown in free, plus time for a a rail trip to Cambodia.
I did the same with a RTW for slightly over $1,000, by piecing together three one-way tickets to Manila (with a side trip to Brunei), Dubai (with a side trip to Addis Ababa) and back home.
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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I piece my international trips, (Often very cheap 'promotional' legs to fill planes). Find the most reasonable departure point and compare RT from my usual port.
then use SWA within in USA (generally), as schedule changes, companion traveler, and bags are free.
Being SWA A list preferred gets you free standby / changes within the day on same routing (handy for Intl snafus. ).
(Please excuse if I repeat something... I didn't read all 7 previous pages, just #1.)
I'm similar to you in age & dissimilar in that I've traveled a fair bit & spend much less than $23K on it. I think you could be happy on spending less as well judging from your modest habits, although at this point in life I have evolved from a young hostel/BnB/1 Star hotel type vagabond to a 3 Star/nice AirBnB & a very occasional 4Star resorter.
First off there is a reason for all those articles about: Paris/London/Rome/New York/Hong Kong/Tokyo... they are all worth a visit! I would recommend spring/fall for them for less crowds & cheaper prices, I always travel off season. For a single guy I would recommend places that would allow potential easy socializing:Spain's Mediterranean, Ireland (pubs), Thailand (esp. Chiang Mai, possibly Pattaya), Bali (Ubud area) Or find a tour with a focus on something you like somewhere.
"In the past I've always spent my money on cars." Look into going to Havana: cars, beaches, good food. 2 places I really like that most Americans aren't aware of is Portugal & the Dalmatian Coast of Croatia.
I piece my international trips, (Often very cheap 'promotional' legs to fill planes). Find the most reasonable departure point and compare RT from my usual port.
then use SWA within in USA (generally), as schedule changes, companion traveler, and bags are free.
Being SWA A list preferred gets you free standby / changes within the day on same routing (handy for Intl snafus. ).
Today I learned that stealth rabbits are my spirit animal. I am the same. My international trips consist of an envelope of one way ticket print outs.
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