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Backpacking Europe

xanis

xanis

Lifer
I'm sure there are a few threads on this already but I had a few questions that I was hoping someone who's backpacked Europe could answer. FWIW, this trip isn't going to happen for a little while but I want to start planning now.

1) How much should I expect to spend for the whole trip? I know that this depends on a lot of things such as travel costs, food expenses, lodging, etc., but could anyone give me some rough figures, or even what they paid on their trip?

2) How do you know where to go? I'm talking about how you get to various attractions and to your hostel. Would there be Travel Information places in transportation hubs that have maps? Would a handheld GPS be useful?

3) How important is knowing the local language? I know a very little amount of Spanish and that's about it. Would I be okay with just winging it?

4) What would be the easiest and most cost-effective way to get around Europe once I'm there? I know that there are trains, planes, and buses that all run within the continent, but which would I be best off with?

5) When would be the best time to go? Ideally I'd like to to in the summertime, but the price for airline tickets is a hell of a lot higher than during other times of the year, and I don't know that I'd be too opposed with going at another time.

6) Is there anything else I should consider or be aware of? I looked at a bunch of different websites but are there any in particular that you'd recommend?

--

EDIT: After mulling it over a bit I've come up with a plan to make this happen. Let me know if there are any glaring flaws. 😛

- Work my ass off this upcoming summer and the summer after. save all the money I possibly can.
- Head to Europe somewhere around October. Maybe in time to get to Oktoberfest in Germany.
- Stay for a few months or until my money runs out, whichever comes first.
 
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A friend of mine I think spent $4000 in one month of being in Europe. You can get by with FAR less than that, I'm sure. Knowing where to go is all really up to you. Go see the stuff you want to see. Use the internet to avoid slums or crime-ridden areas of Europe. Be careful in Russia. Puffff, a member here, took a trip over there and these "cops" in Russia tried stealing his money.

Anyways...

Knowing local language isn't necessary. Most of the countries there will speak English. Especially in eastern Europe, like Germany, Sweden, France, Spain, and Portugal. Most cost effective way to get around Europe is to take the train. You can buy a one month pass that will take you all over Europe (Eurorail) for I think about $800 USD.

Best time to go would probably be Fall or Spring, IMO. You won't have to deal with the crowds of summer tourists and will maybe even enjoy yourself some nice weather.

Get traveler's insurance and make sure you travel within your budget.
 
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Yeah he had a great thread a while back, but I can't find it. I'd love to hear responses as well, I'm planning on heading for a nice long trip within a couple years.
 
om3gawave said:
A friend of mine I think spent $4000 in one month of being in Europe. You can get by with FAR less than that, I'm sure. Knowing where to go is all really up to you. Go see the stuff you want to see. Use the internet to avoid slums or crime-ridden areas of Europe. Be careful in Russia. Puffff, a member here, took a trip over there and these "cops" in Russia tried stealing his money.

Anyways...

Knowing local language isn't necessary. Most of the countries there will speak English. Especially in eastern Europe, like Germany, Sweden, France, Spain, and Portugal. Most cost effective way to get around Europe is to take the train. You can buy a one month pass that will take you all over Europe (Eurorail) for I think about $800.

Best time to go would probably be Fall or Spring, IMO. You won't have to deal with the crowds of summer tourists and will maybe even enjoy yourself some nice weather.

Get traveler's insurance and make sure you travel within your budget.
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Thanks for the info. I've heard a lot of good things about train travel within Europe but I just wanted to check and make sure that it was as good as I've heard. As it stands now, I have two choices: A shorter and sooner trip, or one that's a little further down the road that would last a little longer. At this point I'm thinking that it might be worth the wait to take the longer (and possibly more valuable) trip down the road a bit.
 
scott916 said:
Yeah he had a great thread a while back, but I can't find it. I'd love to hear responses as well, I'm planning on heading for a nice long trip within a couple years.
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You're on the same page as me then. 🙂 I want to take this trip possibly after college graduation. I figure taking a few months to travel before jumping into the working world for the rest of my life might be a good idea, and awesome experience.
 
Xanis said:
Thanks for the info. I've heard a lot of good things about train travel within Europe but I just wanted to check and make sure that it was as good as I've heard. As it stands now, I have two choices: A shorter and sooner trip, or one that's a little further down the road that would last a little longer. At this point I'm thinking that it might be worth the wait to take the longer (and possibly more valuable) trip down the road a bit.
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I would highly reccommend a longer trip further down the road. Once you get there, you probably won't want to leave for a while. If you only go for a short time, you'll regret it 🙂
 
europe is small, but not so small. you need to plan where you want to go first.

every country runs a different system. for UK, it is best for you to book your train ticket as advanced as possible or you will be charged an arm or a leg for the ticket. for Italy, you can buy the ticket when you decide to take the train and the price is very reasonable.

i lived in london for a year. I also spent 7 weeks each in spain and italy for backpacking. travel cost varies, i met a guy that would travel by the thumb and would sleep in the cemetery (best place to sleep on the street) at night.
 
In '95 (dating myself here) I spent 7.5 months in Europe backpacking. I travelled mostly via hitch-hiking and via discount rail passes I managed to find. I worked in a couple of places for short stints, and carried a tent with me for those days where I wasn't somewhere large. Granted, I rarely went to big cities, and spent a lot of time in smaller, not-so-touristy places.

I can't give you a budget, it all depends on how you're going to travel. On the language front, you'll be fine, just don't get irate if people don't want to speak it (though most will).

If you get the chance, go to Luxembourg ... my favorite place on the continent.
 
DaWhim said:
europe is small, but not so small. you need to plan where you want to go first.

every country runs a different system. for UK, it is best for you to book your train ticket as advanced as possible or you will be charged an arm or a leg for the ticket. for Italy, you can buy the ticket when you decide to take the train and the price is very reasonable.

i lived in london for a year. I also spent 7 weeks each in spain and italy for backpacking. travel cost varies, i met a guy that would travel by the thumb and would sleep in the cemetery (best place to sleep on the street) at night.
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I've been to Spain so I don't feel a need to go back. I also have little interest in France, so I guess that eliminates Western Europe.

I'd like to make it to Italy at some point during the trip as my cousin lives there and he told me that I should visit him and that I could crash for however long I wanted. I'd also have access to an Italian citizen and car while there.

As for other countries, I'd like to make it to the following if possible:

UK/Ireland
The Netherlands
Germany
Denmark
Czech Republic
Switzerland

I'd also be very open to seeing other places, cost permitting. Any other suggestions?
 
Xanis said:
I've been to Spain so I don't feel a need to go back. I also have little interest in France, so I guess that eliminates Western Europe.

I'd like to make it to Italy at some point during the trip as my cousin lives there and he told me that I should visit him and that I could crash for however long I wanted. I'd also have access to an Italian citizen and car while there.

As for other countries, I'd like to make it to the following if possible:

UK/Ireland
The Netherlands
Germany
Denmark
Czech Republic
Switzerland

I'd also be very open to seeing other places, cost permitting. Any other suggestions?
Click to expand...

how long are you going? you can't do much if you are just going for 2 weeks. if that's really all can you spare, you can easily spend 2 weeks just in italy without going to another country.

btw, out of those countries you named, only czech is consider eastern european.
 
If you find yourself wanting to stay a little longer, get yourself a holiday visa for a country and get a job. That way you can sort of set up a short-term "home base" and then travel until you think it is time to go home.

Good thing about holiday visas is that they usually don't take too long to get approved. In Australia, they get approved usually in about 48 hours.

UK would be a decent place to do this, or Germany. For the UK, check here, on their immigration website.
 
DaWhim said:
how long are you going? you can't do much if you are just going for 2 weeks. if that's really all can you spare, you can easily spend 2 weeks just in italy without going to another country.

btw, out of those countries you named, only czech is consider eastern european.
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I'm not going for just two weeks. My plan is to go after college graduation in the fall (probably in October) and stay for several months... or until my money runs out.
 
Odd, in class today our teacher gave us this as an option, the others were

U of M Dearborn
Ohio State
$14 an hour job

Psychology. Backpacking Europe or one of those three. Caught my eye, *leaves*.
 
om3gawave said:
If you find yourself wanting to stay a little longer, get yourself a holiday visa for a country and get a job. That way you can sort of set up a short-term "home base" and then travel until you think it is time to go home.

Good thing about holiday visas is that they usually don't take too long to get approved. In Australia, they get approved usually in about 48 hours.

UK would be a decent place to do this, or Germany. For the UK, check here, on their immigration website.
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Thanks for the good info. I'm thinking there are two options for me here: Pick a country and set up home base (for a longer stay) or just keep wandering (for a comparatively shorter stay).
 
Xanis said:
Hm... never even thought about Luxembourg. I might have to check it out. Any particular reason(s) why you like it so much?
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I actually walked across the Grand Duchy (it isn't actually a country), and it is physically beautiful, uncrowded, with LOADS of history, especially if you're interested in WWII history. I worked in a hostel in Wiltz for almost 2 months, and spent a week in the capital city, Luxembourg, which is pretty cool as well.

Not sure exactly why it was so great for me ... it just wasn't as busy as some other places I guess, people were friendly, and it just 'fit my eye' so to speak.
 
Patt said:
I actually walked across the Grand Duchy (it isn't actually a country), and it is physically beautiful, uncrowded, with LOADS of history, especially if you're interested in WWII history. I worked in a hostel in Wiltz for almost 2 months, and spent a week in the capital city, Luxembourg, which is pretty cool as well.

Not sure exactly why it was so great for me ... it just wasn't as busy as some other places I guess, people were friendly, and it just 'fit my eye' so to speak.
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Interesting. I might have to add that to my tentative itinerary.
 
I've heard this is not reccomended anymore, Europe is not as safe for backpacking as it used to be. Might be OK in rural areas I guess, but urban areas it's probably a 1 way ticket to get gang raped by burly men.
 
mizzou said:
I've heard this is not reccomended anymore, Europe is not as safe for backpacking as it used to be. Might be OK in rural areas I guess, but urban areas it's probably a 1 way ticket to get gang raped by burly men.
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I'll make sure I invest in a rape whistle before I go then. 🙂
 
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