go for a smaller town not on the tourist trail

key question is coast? mountains /hills? or what

With out know more about the sort of place you want I am not going to shoot suggestions at this stage but there are plenty of places to chose from.

I don't really get why you should keep moving on - it usually will take a few days to get accepted and start to get to know the locals and it is going to be hard to find places to rent for a week (as oppose to hotels or guest houses which would be easy)

Car buying is a hassle and time consuming (use the search function for details). You're always going to get someone who tells you to fly because there's noting to see, which really isn't true. April/May means flowering trees in the East. The Azaleas at the National Arboretum a re a nice consolation prize if you're too late for the cherry blossoms in DC. The train is an excellent way to see the Pacific Coast in California, although not as spectacular as driving, because you go inland before heading to Oakland.

Amtrak is fine because even with delays, the trains are scheduled to permit seeing the best scenery. There are connecting "motor coach" services to the Grand Canyon. I think you can do the same for Santa Fe. The line from Chicago to LA has beautiful landscapes and you might see gorgeous desert colors early on your last morning coming into LA. The trip through the Rockies is spectacular. You will meet and talk to people from the US and from abroad and you'll have a social experience you wouldn't have flying or driving and this may help with planning what you do and might lead you to modify your trip a bit along the way.

The major weather issue in April/May will be rain in the Eastern half of the country--not everyday, but often. I would worry less about cold--temps will be comparable to or warmer than UK, although you'll see snow in the mountains if you cross the Rockies (i.e. go via Denver).

What do you want to see/do? There are places along the train that are not top tier tourist destinations, but have worthwhile stuff--Cleveland has the rock hall of fame and an international standard art museum. Toledo, of all places, has a good art museum that also has an active glass works--people making art every weekend. You could work in Niagara Falls, which is a natural wonder but also a tourist trap--it will be early season and they probably won't be doing boat trips, so fewer people but also more of a "from a distance" experience. You're not going to be able to do, e.g., a classic national park-type trip, but you can see a lot of you let the train map guide you as opposed to just thinking about stereotypical US highlights.

The issue you have is time, not adventure options.

If you want hike in a jungle for 3 days, and sleep at the Ranger Stations, in a park consider one of the most Bio Diverse in the world, then you need to book a excursion to Corcovado, in the Osa Southern Zone. This requires a guide/permit/reservations. Its best to base in Pt Jimenez, where you would leave all gear but a change clothes. Allow 4-5 days for the this, and you need to have everything arranged now, before going to this remote park, 9 hour bus ride/car ride from San Jose, best to fly in/out with limited time..

22Km hike Day, 18KM hike day 2. This requires leaving PJ at 430 AM in order to be at park Entrance to sign in by 7AM...

The other option if this hike sounds too grueling, which it is, then base in Drake Bay and access the park and ranger stations, with a possible pre arranged overnight, via boats. Guide/permits are part of the package from any trip in DB.

But there is a lot of wildlife, nature and bio diversity in other key parks and areas, that are easier to access and less hassles-

Sarapiqui-La Selva- 25 KM of hiking paths, but you need to stay in the park and at the park lodge for access. Otherwise, you can only in the park as a guided nature tour from 8-12. This park and private research foundation is one of the top parks in the world for tropical studies, all guides and scientist researching there... 1-2 nights

Tortuguero Rainforest & Canals, this very complex eco system is teaming with nature and wildlife as well, acess via canoe, kayak, boat and hike paths. 2 nights

Cahuita- NP is great hiking, snorkeling, swimming, surfing. 1-2 nights

Manzanillo -Ganduca is a remote marine park with lagoons, reefs and trails via hike paths or horseback, can be very muddy, guide is best, trails not marked well. 1 night (bicycle or bus from beach villages)

Cano Negro is wetlands, everglades, and river systems as far as the eye can see, accessed via boats. great fishing too. 1 night

Rincon is excellent hiking, with waterfalls and mountain climates, breezes and landscapes. 1-2 nights.

Rafting the Rio Pacuare, though jungle, rainforest, waterfalls and Indigenous Indian lands. Top 10 River in the Americas to raft, a blast, gorgeous and one of the best activities in the region, and country.

These areas above will afford you the most wildlife, nature, bio diversity, and few tourist and great exposure to what CR is all about.

With just 8 days, I would consider Sarapiqui>Tortuguero>Cahuita>Beaches>Raft Rio Pacuare back to SJ as a day trip.

You need to be prepared for rains, at times very heavy, as its rainy season, May to Nov. June/July the entire country is wet, its the tropics and part of what keeps the rainforest and nature in full bloom, very active with animal life and fauna. I always go in rainy season....But Oct is the worst, and best avoided, Corcovado is even closed that month.

Get you hands on the National Geographic Explorer Costa Rica at the local bookstore or library, to see what the country has to offer and the above suggestions.

The Big 3, Monteverde, Arenal Volcano and Manual Antonio are best avoided, tourist, limited nature/wildlife in comparision, and more for package tourist or people following the masses.

The caribe beaches are also a good scene for solo backpackers...Pt Jimenez for nightlife, stay south of town...

Have Fun...

The other option

My 2 cents:
Try to visit Jiufen/Keelung on a weekday. Weekends are a madhouse at both. Bus from Zhongxiao Fuxing is the fastest way to Jiufen, and at night bus is the fastest way from Keelung to Taipei.
If you think you will be back in Taiwan some day then skip Taroko and focus on the west/south. Taroko will force you to spend much more of your trip in transit, unless you focus on the east/north instead- which I wouldn't suggest if you're mostly interested in cultural sites. That said Taroko is the most beautiful easily-accessed place in Taiwan and you should go if you may never be back. Flying from Kaohsiung to Hualien is the best way to fit it in.
If you do go to Hualien you can consider staying in Xincheng, right by the gorge's mouth and not far from the airport. That will save time and the sunrise is gorgeous. Not a lot of options for food though. Last time I went the hotel (minsu) owner drove us around the national park and into Hualien for dinner for free. A lot of people stay in Tianxiang deep in the gorge, which has better eating options.
If you don't visit Taroko you can try visiting the Taiping/Bihu/Dajian Shan area of Jiayi, in Meishan Township. Public transit is extremely poor in this area and you must drive or hire a driver (up to US$100/day). It's worth it thanks to the amazing views of tea farms, bamboo forests, and weather/pollution permitting views of the sea to the west and the central mountains to the east. If you are willing to drive scooters it is most easily reached from Douliu. You could fit it in a long day between leaving Lugang and arriving in Tainan. If you do go, both Douliu and Jiayi City have very good food.
This map shows the high point of the ridge. There's an easy-to-follow trail along the ridge going north and south of here, and the tea oil chicken restaurant nearby is excellent: https://goo.gl/maps/qT6Sfvb4GZdN46SH8
Photos: https://flic.kr/s/aHsmEfXAV1
Minimize time in Taichung as there is very little by way of sights and of Taiwan's 4 largest cities it's the most nondescript. Only reason to stay there is if you want a really thorough overview of urban life in Taiwan or are desperate for nightlife after Lugang.
Lugang may be worth two days if you take your time. I have never been able to see everything there in a day. Also visit on a weekday, as on weekends the old street is overcrowded with low-quality market stalls that block the old buildings.
Tainan is great though some tire of temples. If you won't then you can easily add a day there. The Sicao Green Tunnel and boat tour of the waterways north of Tainan are also worthwhile.

Re: Parque O'Higgins? What are you referring to?

If you are referring to the area around Villa O'Higgins at the end point of the Carretera Austral, I can recommend a fairly long 79.1 km multiday hike called Campos de Hielo Sur from the hamlet--not really a hamlet just a few houses and a Carabineros post of Candelario Mancilla. Mid march to the end of March would be the latest you could reliably attempt this trek as it is highly dependent on weather, tourist numbers. You can reach Candelario Mancilla from Villa O'Higgins via ferry and then start the hike from there. Or if you want to save some time by spending more you can take the tour of O'Higgins Glacier and then be asked to be dropped off at Mr Mancilla's place near El Cóndor. He offers the service of pack horses and horses for riding. The route is about 65 kms long forming a loop. You can find a comprehensive description of the route in the booklet series Rutas Patrimoniales de Chile #6

http://rutas.bienes.cl/

*You can download the booklet-sort of like a hiking triptik.

It is a stunningly beautiful area, very remote and mostly inaccessible once the ferries stop crossing. It receives very heavy snowfall and extreme low temperatures close or at the absolute maximum low temperatures for South America. So doing this hike out of season would not be easy. Mr Mancilla (I don't know if he still lives there) told me horror stories of how it took him about 7 days to round the corner of the Brazo Chico in extremely heavy snow with a backpack to Candelario Mancilla from his homestead. Despite being related to the Mancilla family that lives at Candelario Mancilla he prefers to stay away. With reason as one of the two brothers who rents/hires packhorses to the Argentine border post at the north end of Laguna del Desierto is a crook. He stole a particularly fine item of clothing from my pack in 2011 And I met a Danish cyclist who also was prey to this very same person. If Mr Mancilla who lives at El Cóndor is still there I highly recommend his services.

Another beautiful area is Perito Moreno National Park, not to be confused with the Perito Moreno glacier near El Calafate, nor the hamlet almost town now of Perito Moreno some 664 kms north of El Calafate on the ruta 40. Since Perito Francisco Pascacio Moreno was a noted conservationist, explorer and founder of the Argentine National Park system his name appears everywhere. This park is very remote, rarely visited and comprised of steppe segueing to a chain of multihued glacial lakes and heavy forest to the west of the lakes. It is grand country. There are a few estancias in the reserve part of the park where there is seasonable lodging and perhaps even horse rental/hire. The reserve part although considered part of the national park is a buffer zone wherein certain approved and authorized for profit activities are allowed like cattle and sheep grazing, etc. The Northern part of the park has amazing views over cerro San Lorenzo one of the most remote and difficult mountains to climb in Patagonia. It does not have much in terms of infrastructure, a visitor center a few self guided trails, campsites and warden stations. The unfortunate thing is that the trail network does not really visit the most impressive forested western part of the park. But one could easily spend a week doing the unconnected and separate trails and perhaps some exploring. This park has a very short season. I went in a low clearance vehicle in April and was stuck in a snow drift near the campsite which even though well constructed is very windy.

I can give you a little more info on prices.

1) You can get a microbus from KTM to Bessisahar direct. I am not sure about the cost as I took a bus from KTM to Pokhara, got off in Dumre and then took a local bus from there to Bessisahar. I paid 1,500 NPR for the KTM - Pokhara bus and 1,000 NPR for the local to Bessisahar though this was peak season (mid October).

2) I then took a Jeep from Bessisahar to Dharapani for 1,000 NPR which I negotiated down from 3,000 NPR since I had to ride in the open bed. It was a harrowing 5 hour ride. You can take a Jeep as far as Manang, but there’s no reason to when the trails actually are beautiful starting just below Dharapani and don’t go along the road. You are also taking major risks in acclimatization by skipping the lower altitude sections.

3) Jeeps the other way (Pisang back to Bessiahar) are going to be $$$$ as they are often reserved for tourists who fell sick with AMS and who are desperate to pay anything to get down the mountain. I would budget at least 3,000 - 5,000 NPR just to be safe, but depending on your negotiating skills it could be much cheaper. Also keep in mind that walking is cheaper, and much more pleasant than what that Jeep ride will be!

Best of luck on your trek!

There are almost no national parks in Cuba now where you can go without a guide, sometimes not even a short hike to a waterfall described in your book without paying 10 CUC and having a guide go with you. All walks that I know of in Parque Humboldt require a guide, and the one up El Yunque certainly does. That said, there's no need to go with a group. If you arrive solo and ask for a guide you'll almost certainly be provided with one, and in my experience, most of them are knowledgeable and add a great deal to any such hike. (An exception being the kid who rowed me around little Bahia Taco in Parque Humboldt, who wasn't a regular guide and was pretty inarticulate.)

The guide who took me up El Yunque was great. I, and probably you, would never have found my way without him, GPS or not, as the trail crosses a chest-deep river where, unless you know where the underwater stepping stones are, you'd have to swim. Then it runs through a coffee plantation where there's no visible trail or many so hard to know which one leads to the place you actually start the steep part of the ascent. That guide was extraordinarily patient, spotted many birds and other wildlife that I would have missed, and even used my camera to take some pictures that were better than the ones I probably could have taken. I was never rushed and my guide was never intrusive.

My favourite Cuba guide experience was two years ago when I took the trail from Santo Domingo to Pico Turquino. You are not even allowed to enter that park without a guide, even though the first 5 km are a very steep paved road. where only park-licensed 4x4s are permitted. I have visited the area a number of times, going back 15 years, and know several of the guides who have been there that long or longer. As it is forbidden to go beyond Santo Domingo alone, I asked if I could go alone with a particular guide. That was agreed to, and we took a 4x4 the 5 km to the trail head. There the guide received a call on his cell phone that a German group of 12 was on its way and he should wait for them. I asked if I could go on ahead, as I was apt to be slower than the Germans and figured they'd soon catch up. He said fine and off I went. About five hours later, in sight of the camp where one overnights on that climb, they finally caught up. The reason it had taken them so long was that a second group of Cuban medical personnel from Habana had arrived and my "private" guide was instructed to wait for them too. So although I'd made the climb alone, there were 25 of us at the camp that night. A few other times when I ended up trekking with a group I found that guides never minded if someone went on ahead or fell back so they were essentially alone. On the second day of that Pico Turquino hike I ran into problems and could not continue the final 2km to the summit, so told my guide I was going back, and did. I hiked all the way back to Santo Domingo (in pouring rain, I might add), completely alone. As they say, "Es Cuba."

The only trail robbery I ever heard occurred on the Piko Turquino trail three years ago. For whatever reason, the park's mules were not available to transport the gear of a large group from the UK so they hired a number of local muchachos. The boys got hungry on the way up and raided the tourists' packs for energy bars and the like. Of course all hell broke lose when the theft was discovered, and the guide who led the group up the mountain (far ahead of the packers who brought up the rear) came close to losing his job, even though he was one of the park's most senior guides. Again, "es Cuba." Your car, which must necessarily be left at the park office where you pay the entry fee to the park and are assigned a guide, should be perfectly safe if you leave it locked.

Anyway, my advice would be that you accept a guide with good grace, pay your 10 CUC, and make the trek the way you prefer, either with assistance from the guide assigned to you, or without. As I said earlier, all the hikes I have taken in Cuba have been enhanced by having a local person well versed in the area's flora, fauna, and history accompany me.

I finally got around to climbing the mountain. I started around the back though, at a trailhead called 土小屋, which is best accessed by car, though I did see what appeared to be a public bus heading up there. The climb is very easy from this trailhead: it took us less than an hour and a half from the start to the top (though we didn't attempt the true peak). This route is probably only accessible from April, though I don't know the exact details of road and trail closures.

lsmnair, have a great trip to Nepal! I'm sure you can handle this trek. You'll enjoy the ABC trek or whatever you decide to do. I've also looked at your itinerary for ABC, and it is very reasonable for dealing with altitude. Just have fun and trek at your own pace. Since you've chosen to go with a group, you generally have to travel with the pace of the group. However, if you are slower than most of the group and you need an extra hour during the day to meet the night's objective, it really doesn't matter. Someone from the trekking company will stay with you. Since you are young, reasonably fit, certainly not overweight, you may find yourself at the head of the group:)

Porters will be caring much of your gear so your pack will be light. It you are concerned about the trail steepness on your knees (either up or down), trekking poles can really help.

Look at this link for a basic intro to altitude and related illnesses. http://armchairmountaineer.com/altitude-sickness/
What's most important is your sleeping elevation gain once you are above 3000 m. (10,000 feet). Generally, your sleeping elevation should not increase over 300 to 500 m. per night. Your trek does this. You may experience some mild altitude related symptoms such as a headache or nausea, fatigue, aching, loss of coordination and decreased appetite. It's important to stay hydrated and eat, even if you don't feel like it. It's easy to get dehydrated because you are exercising vigorously, maybe sweating, and the dry mountain air will also dehydrate you. In the evening, catch up on your fluid intake. Your pee should be clear and copious (a lot). If it's bright yellow or darker (orange), you aren't drinking enough. Try to avoid too much liquid such that you wake up to pee multiple times during the night.

You may become hooked on Nepal like many of the regulars on this board. You may want to return to do another trek. The mountains are just incredible and Nepali's are very friendly. Have fun!