spingirl - another thing to consider is how easily and quickly you would be able to get home, or to a place with a good healthcare system (if you find your worries about the healthcare where you're going are not adequate) if you needed to? (Though again I don't know if you have travel insurance where you're from or how that would come into play.)
Also check whether the stoma nurses you will have will contact you by phone if needed.
To answer some of your specific questions:
It took me only a matter of days to get the hang of emptying and changing my bag (they probably won't let you leave hospital until you've shown the stoma nurses that you can).
After a few weeks I had figured out what works best for me regarding my individual preferences for managing my stoma, the things that are different for everyone and you just figure out as you go along: getting into a routine, how often you need to change and empty your bag, what type of bag you want, what you carry around with you when out in case you need to change while away from home, etc.
It took me a few weeks to understand how to order new bags and other items, though the company my stoma nurses use does seem to go out of its way to make it complicated. :yrolleyes:
It took me a few months to recover physically from my original stoma surgery, but I had complications.
Are you having an ileostomy? If so you will probably be advised to avoid some foods for the first six to eight weeks following the surgery.
As I mentioned above, I don't pass mucus or anything else via the rectum, and that was true even when it was still connected. However, I have had my stoma bag leak several times. At one point I was getting leaks quite frequently, and this turned out to be because of a specific problem, and when I told my stoma nurses, they knew what to do and switched me to a different type of bag and the leaks stopped. But with regards to your trip and the timing of it, it's worth noting that this problem did not occur soon after surgery, it developed later on. I also have the occasional leak for unknown reasons, maybe I didn't put the bag on properly or something like that. This doesn't happen to me often; maybe once every couple of months or so, but again, a leak is something you can have happen no matter how long you've had a stoma for (though they do tend to be more frequent in the first few weeks following surgery).
I believe there are special swimming costumes made for people with stomas. I've never investigated them myself but if you google them you should find them.
Drinking alcohol - I can't tell you my experiences with this as I don't drink; however, I know that having a stoma generally doesn't mean you can't drink. You'd need to check that any medications you may be taking are ok with alcohol. With an ileostomy, you'd need to be careful about dehydration. In general, of course it's probably wise not to have much alcohol, and avoid it completely in the weeks following surgery. If you do want to drink when on your trip, I would test your reaction to alcohol at home first, a very small amount only to see how your digestive system handles it then gradually increase. Then when away, limit alcohol to the amount you tried at home. But even if your digestive system does seem ok, still drink only in moderation.
I hope at least some of this is helpful to you, and I agree with the others on the three month time frame for adapting to a stoma.