I'm graduating in a month and it's always been my dream to travel. I'm thinking now (soon) is the perfect time to do so, before i go into university/college or into a steady job. I've always wanted to travel through Europe. Backpacking maybe. I would love to just freely travel across europe and write, explore, and just have the time of my life before having to settle down, go to school, have a career, etc. I'm just wondering how one would go about this? I want to have a decent plan and know what i'm doing before just jumping into such a thing. How long does one usually backpack across Europe for? I was thinking i wanted to go for about a month, not to long yet not to short that i'll have to be rushed. How much would this cost? I plan on saving the most money possible, this could be done by taking transportation such as trains for longer distances and just simply hitchhiking when needed. But what about shelter? I could find some very cheap motels i'm sure, but that would add up to a lot if i have to sleep in one every single night. Where do most backpackers spend the night? I wouldn't mind packing along a sleeping bag and simply just camping outside some nights. Other expenses would be food, i'm sure eating at restaurants for all my meals would get very expensive. What about boarders? Would i easily be able to get across to all the countries i'm wanting to travel to simply by walking across the boarder with my passport? I know when we go from Canada to the US they ask "Where are you going? How long will you be staying?" is it like that in Europe? Do i simply tell them i'm "backpacking across through Europe" and they will let me through? My last question is, is it okay to do this alone? I'm most likely going to be traveling alone, mostly because none of my friends are into this stuff, plus i think i would have more freedom doing this alone and would be able to meet a lot more new people. My girlfriend might be coming with me, but she'll be going into university right away so that most likely wont happen. I'm not completely sure the route i want to take or which countries or places i want to visit yet, this plan is still in the very early stages, i just want to make sure its possible (mostly financial wise) first before i get to crazy with the details. Do any of you know any good sites that help with planning these kind of things out?
Found some pretty useful sites already: Transportation: http://www.eurail.com/home Places to stay: http://www.hostelworld.com/ Getting more and more excited for this, going to pick out some places i want to go to get and get a little route together.
You should check out couch surfing. It's gonna help you save lots of money and you will stay with locals. It's a lot better than staying at a hotel or a hostel. I'm European, so I only need an ID card to travel within Europe. I think they loosely check it. They might randomly check people's stuff. I'm not really sure.
Once you are inside the EU you can cross borders freely. As an American, you will get 90 days to stay in Schengen (EU) countries, so then you can cruise between all of those countries with minimal (if any) questions asked. Europe is expensive. Eurorail and couch surfing are good for keeping costs down but if you really want bang for your buck, south east Asia is where it's at. You could probably travel for 3-4 months or longer in SE Asia for the same price as one month of travel in Europe. Traveling alone is the best kind of travel. Ultimate freedom. Once I didn't decide where to go next until I actually bought the ticket. I was literally at the counter to get a boat/bus ticket, and made my decision there and then. Can't do that if you're traveling with others.
Once you are inside EU you can pass borders freely. Most times they don't even ask questions/check id. Going alone might be more dangerous, but you will have absolute freedom to do whatever you want. I think you should pick up a route and then think how much it will cost. It really depends what you want to do.
first get your mind set on what part of Europe you like most.best of luck on your travels. true it depends on what want..amsterdam is a good starter. best not to goo alone first time
I've decided i'm going to have to wait until next summer, i'm working full time now saving up as much as i can, starting university in a few months... next summer my girlfriend and i will be out of school and have more than enough saved up, we'll be going then! I can't wait.
For next summer: 1. Go for eurail, I did interrail (same but for europeans) years ago, you can travel by train through whole europe. Hitchhiking is hard nowadays.. 2. A month is not enough, you at least need 3 or 4 months I guess 3. Prices, depends on the countries. Eastern Europe is pretty cheap, western is what you'd expect from western countries, Northern is expensive, South depends on the country. 4. There are a lot of campsides, camping in the wild is forbiden everywhere except for Norway. Hostels are most of the time not much cheaper than hotels. 5. Once you're in europe you can pass most boarders easily. 6. No problem going alone
