Backpacking Europe.

[Polytrickster]

Has anyone here backpacked Europe or simply travelled around Europe (or the like) by yourself or with friends? I'm very interested in asking you some questions!

[sebastian]

:D :D

i'm doing that as we speak


pm me if you want :D

sebastian

[IonSant]

:D well I am taking the bad ass willie nelson tour
in france only $300 bucks for a month and a bunch
of D N B, ask me questions on in my return...
:beer I backpacked in mexico if that helps:metal


:devil IonsanT:daeth

[Polytrickster]

How did/are you paying for it? Credit Cards, savings, mommy and daddy, etc.?

How much did you spend? How long were you gone?

I'm going in april and I was wondering how other people did it? I hear about backpackers all the time but I'm freaking poor! How are they paying for any of it?

[Danielle V]

I just got about a month and a half ago>

A large chunk of my expenses was taken care of by a travel grant I received through my university as a "study abroad" trip.
The rest: credit/debit card. (I DO NOT recommend travelers checks as they must be converted into Euros, many places do not take them, the inconvience factor is ridiculous)

I suggest buying an all access youth railpass before you leave (you can get them online).

whatever major city you go to (aside from London> which gets a little tricky) has cute hostels for roughly 10 euros a night where youll find other young americans like yourself to explore the town with.

Because I am disgustingly addicted to shopping I ended up spending over 3,500 in one month while in Europe. But there were many guys I met on the trip who opted not to take Europe home with them in their pocket and spent a little over a grand within the same time frame. This does not include transportation.

Rome is gorgeous, but they WILL try to rob you one way or another. (their ice cream makes up for it) Barcelona is an absolute must see. Nice is overrated. It kinda depends what youre into. I spent most of my days in art museums, major architectural sites, and shopping districts> OH! and the beach.
If youre into "superstar" djs I suggest LONDON or maybe Paris as most the other places youll just hear the generic club anthems spun by a local guy. But it doesnt matter, the clubs are packed, the drinks arent cheap, and everyone has an amazing time.

It may be a little costly and set you back a couple grand, but the experience makes up for it ten fold.

-d

[Marco]

I'm going to London September 2nd for 2 weeks. It's all coming from savings. No doubt it's expensive. Just my ticket was close to 800 dollars. I'm not sure how much this whole thing is gonna cost me, but i'm guessing about 3k (after hotel, food, entertainment etc.)

[Polytrickster]

I going to England, Ireland, Scottland, Belgium, Switzerland, a week in Italy from top to bottom, Spain (Barcelona and Madrid), France and back to England then home. The details aren't planed out yet but it'll be fun.

I'm into cultures so everything is gonna be awesome! Especially ancient Roman culture. I'd love to go to Greece but it'll have to be next time.

I wanna know if anyone knows of anyone who did this too. I've heard of people just going and not knowing what they are gonna do. Then they end up picking olives and tomatoes in Italy to make some money to move on to the next place. That would be AWESOME! Fund your trip by working the old world jobs.

[RaRefact]

I backpacked in 97/98 w/ my best friend. I was gone for 2 1/2 months and really had no set agenda besides flying into London and flying out of Amsterdam.

It was not a luxury trip...bought food at the grocery store and cooked at the hostel half the time but was able to get in the experience of cultural food.

If you aren't stuck on the places you want to go then if I were you I would make room for the Czech Republic, Prague especially. I also recommend checking out Brugge btw the ferry from England to Belgium is cheap and can act as a place to sleep for one night. Buy a Lonely Planet or Let's go, a rail pass and talk to travellers and you are set really.

Originally posted by Polytrickster
I going to England, Ireland, Scottland, Belgium, Switzerland, a week in Italy from top to bottom, Spain (Barcelona and Madrid), France and back to England then home. The details aren't planed out yet but it'll be fun.

I'm into cultures so everything is gonna be awesome! Especially ancient Roman culture. I'd love to go to Greece but it'll have to be next time.

I wanna know if anyone knows of anyone who did this too. I've heard of people just going and not knowing what they are gonna do. Then they end up picking olives and tomatoes in Italy to make some money to move on to the next place. That would be AWESOME! Fund your trip by working the old world jobs.

[kana]

I backpacked Europe last summer, I was there for a little over a month, so PM me if you have any questions, or need any tips.

kana

p.s Spain is mad crazy

[dTa]

i did a "mini" packback trip through europe for about 2 1/2 weeks back in '98. believe it or not, i had the most fun in the little country of Denmark. not alot of famous stuff to see, but alot of cool little stuff and the people there were amazing. very cultural.

[KYFA]

I just got back from europe, I went to england, switzerland ,and france.Almost hit spain and italy , got to the bottom of france and had to start back tracking..... it was poorly planned and i didnt have enough loot . but next summer i know exactly what im going to do and im going to hit the countrys that I missed this year.. It actually doesnt take all that much money if you spend it wisely..Take notes from what people tell you..its worth it trust me.. Next summer is going to be the bomb dizzle , but this summer was off the hook too, no major complaints, except my lack of preperation. the clubs are cool , the chicks are way more lax....but be on your toes, fools like to jack fools out there..its not all peaches n cream...Euro money is the ticket, the euro-rail is recomended, hostles are good too.. or cheap ass hotels, have fun dude!:up :up :up :up