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backpacking in europe
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 2005-12-06 11:22 AM |
Pro  4481    Reston |  Subject: backpacking in europeTrying to plan a trip for late next spring or early summer with 3 friends. Looking for anything at this point.... anyone done it? advice? suggestions? companies to use? where not to go? how much its gonna cost me? etc? |
| 2005-12-06 11:31 AM in reply to: #300085 |
Elite 3223 Hendersonville | Subject: RE: backpacking in europe When were you planning on telling me? I need to make arrangements so I can join you. You were planning on taking me, right? And the jeans? You can't go anywhere without your executioner. |
| 2005-12-06 11:37 AM in reply to: #300085 |
Veteran 305 Wichita Falls | Subject: RE: backpacking in europe come to belgium and i'll buy you some DUVEL! |
| 2005-12-06 11:40 AM in reply to: #300085 |
| Elite 2458 Livingston, MT | Subject: RE: backpacking in europe ooooh, good move! I'm jealous  I've had several friends do this and they are all better off for the experience. |
| 2005-12-06 11:41 AM in reply to: #300085 |
Expert 760 Mt. Morris, IL | Subject: RE: backpacking in europe Make sure you hit Munich the beer capital of the world! |
| 2005-12-06 11:41 AM in reply to: #300085 |
Queen BTich 12411 , | Subject: RE: backpacking in europe So. Jealous. |
| 2005-12-06 11:52 AM in reply to: #300085 |
Regular 65 Lubbock, TX | Subject: RE: backpacking in europe My wife and I backpacked Italy last year, and absolutely loved the freedom. We stayed in Rome for three days, then went to Florence, then to Veranzza, then to Siena, and finally back to Rome for a day. We were able to stay flexible and when we liked a place we just stayed longer. The Italian culture is one of the friendliest in Europe especially if you try to fit in with the culture and language. It also helped for us that we knew some Spanish also so that if we couldn'y figure it out in Italian then we could in Spanish. The absolute best part was how we moved so effortlessly around the country on public transportation. Good luck and I do recommend keeping a journal for when you are over there, because you will be surprised on what you forgot about your journeys. |
| 2005-12-06 3:31 PM in reply to: #300085 |
| Veteran 407 Dallas, Texas | Subject: RE: backpacking in europe Backpacking Europe is SWEET! Get a EurRail pass--that covers most train trips (some trains in the former Soviet Bloc require extra--small--payments). Hostels suck but are generally cheap, clean, safe, and convenient. Sometimes a group of 3-47 can get a private room at a hostel, but they usually save those for groups of girls. Make sure and hit: Italy--Rome & Florence for sure. Venice is okay, but does not live up to the hype. France--Paris & Nice. The old part of Nice is a lot of fun. The beaches are rock, but have topless girls. Czech Republic--Prague is wicked fun and pretty cheap. Another bonus is the Czechs tend to like Americans. Do NOT take the cabs--stick with the subway. Greece may be out of the way, but if not, Athens is a blast. HOT, HOT, HOT women and a pretty cheap country. Germany--Geat beer, clean, expensive and snobish people. Austria--Great beer, clean, expensive and awesome people. Good cultural stuff, too. Running late--more to come later... Bill |
| 2005-12-06 3:42 PM in reply to: #300085 |
| Pro 4040 | Subject: RE: backpacking in europe Screw Europe, hit Southeast Asia! But if you must go.... Okay, I'm being harsh, if you've never been, go, but what you do is dependent on what you like to do. In Holland and the Greek islands, it's more a question of who. You'll get so much culture (if you want it) that you'll start criticizing modern architecture. If you're looking for something other than history or culture, I'd think aobut going elsewhere. |
| 2005-12-06 3:56 PM in reply to: #300085 |
Champion 8766 Evergreen, Colorado | Subject: RE: backpacking in europe I backpacked Europe for SOLO for 5 weeks about 4.5 years ago. Biggest suggestions: 1. Pack light Those are the basics...I have a whole list of other insights I learned while traipsing all over the continent I can share via PM if you want. As for cost...I want to say my credit card bill was well over $2000 after five weeks...however, I had no friends to share rooms with, I ate real food at real restaurants rather than be a cheap *** and eat PB&J, and I also actually went up the Eiffel Tower (you laugh, but I hung out with some folks one day who stood at the Eiffel Tower, said "Yup, that's the Eiffel Tower" then were too cheap to spend the $20 it would take to actually go up the thing. Just one example of people I saw being total cheapskates and IMHO not fully experiencing their trip |
| 2005-12-06 3:59 PM in reply to: #300085 |
Pro 4189 Pittsburgh, my heart is in Glasgow | Subject: RE: backpacking in europe I'll let you know in about 23 days. |
| 2005-12-06 4:00 PM in reply to: #300085 |
Champion 8766 Evergreen, Colorado | Subject: RE: backpacking in europe OH, almost forgot...my personal favorites: Normandy...you CANNOT miss the American Cemetary and beaches...it's a MUST |
| 2005-12-06 4:32 PM in reply to: #300085 |
Extreme Veteran 328 Texas | Subject: RE: backpacking in europe I second the Rick Steve's books, totally a must. I spent 2 weeks in France and Belgum (with a few days in London) working soley from the Rick Steve's books. If you are looking for an organized trip Rick Steves also has those. I've never been on an organized trip but they sound good. Cost all depends on how much you want to spend. We had a couple of nice dinners and a lot of cafe to go meals and we took advantage of the breakfast offered at the lodging location. Our most expensive lodging was in England and Paris. Our cheapest was probably the backpackers room in Bruges. That room was basically an attic with beds a private shower and shared toliet. Not fancy but we were there for the room we were there for the sights. One hint, make sure you find out if any conventions are going on in towns you plan on visiting so you aren't walking around trying to find a place to stay to find out that a huge physician conference going on and most of the rooms are taken (hence the backpackers room). I recomend Belgum, The Netherlands and if you want some where quiet The Lake District in Wales. Pack light (3-4 days of non-cotton clothes); bring an extra pair of shoes (sandles would work); don't bother doing laundry in your room it's easier to find a local laundry which is a great way to chat with the locals; bring a journal and if you don't speak the language plan on playing fear factor when you eat (I still have no idea what I was served in a romantic restaurant in Paris...eww). Make sure you get along great with the people you are going with! It's one thing to spend time together and another thing to spends weeks together! |
| 2005-12-06 6:53 PM in reply to: #300085 |
Pro 4578 Vancouver, BC | Subject: RE: backpacking in europe I have never backpacked in Europe, but I have quite a bit in Asia. Jen’s tips are very good. I found that it was best to carry two ATM cards as some banks didn’t accept one of my cards and some banks didn’t accept the other. This was mostly a problem in Thailand and I don’t know if it would be a problem in Europe. Also every country in Asia is a bit different, as I am sure is every country in Europe. I have a cool backpack that I can zip apart for a day pack or attach to the main backpack to carry both together. Also the backpack can be worn on your back or rolled like a suitcase. Be flexible with your itinerary. Try not to book too much ahead of time. You’ll meet other travels and they’ll probably suggest things to do. It would be a shame to miss a huge festival that you didn’t know about because you made plans to leave the city on that day. Get a good guidebook. I used the Lonely Planet guidebooks. Treat it like a bible, i.e. it has good information, but you have to ignore some of the gospel to get by in real life. Be open to new experiences and eating new foods. Have fun. Jen |
| 2005-12-06 6:56 PM in reply to: #300559 |
Pro 4578 Vancouver, BC | Subject: RE: backpacking in europe Just to clarify, the ATM cards were for different banks. Also VISA gave me a good exchange rate. |
| 2005-12-06 8:53 PM in reply to: #300085 |
Regular 62 Rochester, MN | Subject: RE: backpacking in europe My friend and I backpacked around Italy for 2 weeks last spring break for about $1200 each. We had a $100 Eurail pass that gave us 10 days of unlimited travel. While we originally planned to go from city to city, we got some great deals on hotels and ended up picked a base and making day trips. The Cinque Terra trail is definitely an awesome hike worth seeing. We stayed in Sorrento and day tripped to Pompeii, Heracleum, and Paestum...VERY nice ruins. If you like ruins and temples, Paestum is definitely something to see. It's off in the middle of nowhere and was completely deserted. They're the most complete greek temples in Italy, sitting in a field of flowers, surrounded by the rock outlines of a pretty good sized city. If you go in the off season, you can get pretty sweet deals at most of the hotels, we got close to 50% off everywhere we stayed. |
| 2005-12-07 4:31 PM in reply to: #300085 |
Veteran 265 Westminster, Colorado | Subject: RE: backpacking in europe Eastern Europe Cheap prices and HOT women |
| 2005-12-07 6:08 PM in reply to: #300085 |
Master 4101 Denver | Subject: RE: backpacking in europe I've only backpacked a little bit in Europe but I spent close to a year in NZ and Australia -I am a Lonely Planetite and guide books are great if you don't know much about a place, but some of the best hostels I've been to either weren't in the book or weren't rated very highly. Alot of the time everyone has the same guidebooks and everyone tries to go to the 1st hostel listed. if its a busy time of year sometimes its worth it to call ahead to next place you are going and reserve a room. -Goes without saying, but watch your stuff. Not everyone in the hostel is as virtuous as you are. Good advice about the ATM cards. Last couple of trips I didn't bring anything else. Plus you don;t have to worry about exchanging money. -You can save money cooking for yourself at the hostels. One of my favorite things is going to the grocery store in strange countries to see whats on the shelf. I would usually make my own breakfast & dinner and eat lunch out. -Keep a journal. Mine just says what I did each day, but I still like to go back and read thru it and read about the bouncer with the huge afro or doing wine snorkels -stuff I barely remembered at the time and definatly wouldn't now. -You aren't going to see it all. Don't try. -Once you have gelato you will have to have it after every meal. Budget accordingly. -You will meet people from everywhere. Get them to teach you something in their language. For example, "Neuken in de keuken". I learned how to say "cheers" in something like 10 languages. My friend can say "talk dirty to me daddy" in 6. |
| 2005-12-08 8:23 PM in reply to: #300085 |
Pro 4481 Reston | Subject: RE: backpacking in europe hey all thanks for your input. Lots of good stuff so far. Anyone with experience flying overseas... are there certain days that tend to be cheaper than others for flying internationally. Also, are there certain airports/countries that I should avoid flying into/out of because they are notoriously difficult and/or more expensive than other countries. Since we'll be doing a lot of travelling once we get there, we figure on flying in and out of wherever we can get the best deal, and then going from there. Suggestions? |
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