hrmmm...
you will be traveling with a suitcase? I suggest an internalframe backpack. You can walk with all your crap on your back instead of carrying it.
If time isn't an issue, I'll assume that money is. Make what you have, last... if it is 1k to 10k... Go to the book store and spend as much time as you can reading travel guides and what not. (let's go, lonely planet, etc) Maximize your time. Exposure to other places and ways of life is the absolute best thing a young person can experience.
gud 4 u ;]