Im planning on backpacking in Europe next summer for 2 weeks. I was wondering about the general cost of doing it (minus the flight) and about any particular places I should visit. Also, did anybody have any bad experiences with a hostel?
couchsurfing.org Use it. I used it when I was in Israel and a lot of my friends had good experiences in Europe. It's a great way to meet locals and get free tours. (along with free room/board and occasional meals) It'll save you a lot of money and you'll meet some great people. I still regularly talk to some of the people I met abroad.
You will have a blast, if you only have 2 weeks try to keep it condensed to just a couple of countries, so you have time to get to hang with people and stay a bit longer at one place if you like it. Ideally, you would like to be there a month or at least 3 weeks....2 weeks goes by very fast when you consider travel etc. Have fun. DD
Backpacking for 2 weeks? That's like being a vegan for 2 weeks. I plan on backpacking in Europe for 3 months next year. You're going on vacation bum style. how old are you? You could get a student Eurorail pass if you're under 26.
wouldnt say its big so much as it is specific. Unfortunately with europe in general when talking vacation you have to be specific. THere are enough churches and landmarks to make you eyes bleed. So you have to be specific and choose things. You will always be able to say 'Man I didn't get to see xyz' but that's the beauty and a reason to keep coming back. I have been on many of these backpacking europe deals and I think 14 days is okay. Its about 2 days more than the shortest I would say so you will be moving. But thats the thing are you planning on moving around a lot? With 14 days I would either go to a few countries like spain,france italy or do a whirlwhind see it all. I really like Paris although its fashionable to hate on france. 14 days is fine , a month is better, more than 6 weeks and you start to feel like a hobo. That's why I'm not completely sold on the couch thing. Besides couching it will be tough anyway if you are only talking 2 weeks. seems more trouble than worth but that's just me. Remember if this couch is in BFE you will drop dough and time in getting to this 'free' place. Off the beaten path can be like off the beaten planet if you don't watch out. time is not your friend on a 14 day trip so you need to be moving. If you are going to hit mainland europe and be doing backpacks you may want to skip england. I have had several women tell me London is NY 2.0 so London as great as it is.. is skippable. Save london for later... But what if you really want to see Buckingham palace? Well then Im not sure but you need to decide and to me england doesnt make the cut more because of time constraints , eurorail not usable( brit rail expensive), more expensive in general in london vs. say italy or spain. So skipping england means a tad more in airfare to generallay Paris, Amsterdam or Frankfurt but worth the time savings. No one wants a boring trip and here is what I have done and an idea: DAY 1 Amsterdam arrival. Stay at bobs youth hostel if you dorm it pretty cheap. I stayed here http://www.greenhouse-effect.nl/hotel.html a couple of times pretty nice room for 75 euros for 2 people. Then have themed rooms pretty trippy neat experience right in heart of amsterdam DAY 2 Amsterdam night train to Munich ( you sleep on train) DAY 3 Munich I have stayed in town near train station in hostels for 20-60 euros, or you can go to the tent http://www.the-tent.com/ The tent is actually pretty funny and super cheap 7 euros a night! DAY 4 Munich night train to Venice (sleep on train again) Day 5 Venice you can stay in town there are a few hostels but always expensive in venice.Plan to drop at least 80-100 in town. This might be the night you splurge. I have stayed on lido island as well which is pretty cool because then you take the water taxi back to venice and usually a tad less than venice but right near. http://wanderingitaly.com/graphics/venice-lido-map.png Day 6 Venice to Cinque Terre (this is interchangeable with Florence or even Rome but I suggest Cinque Terre since its amazing and isn't getting you too far off the path.Cinque terre in the towns themselves will be pricey but maybe worth the splurging. You will spend in the towns low end (60 euros a night) I even stayed in Spezia (near to Cinque Terre) and it was 40 euros) Day 7 Cinque Terre to Interlaken. Many stay at Balmers but I prefer the funny farm: http://www.funny-farm.ch/ Good times for sure.Lots of fun and plenty of american tail floating around. This is your midpoint in the trip and there is no place like interlaken switzerland. simply amazing. Day 8 Interlaken Day 9 Interlaken to Paris. Paris is quick hit the eiffel tower, arc de triomphe notre dame in afternoon then jump a night train to San Sebastian. if you must stay the night in paris plan to drop dough again so probably min 50 euros. There are hostels littered throughout and not sure of pricing. Day 10 Paris en route to San Sebastian ( recommend the night in SS, old town SS as low as 30 euros a night) Day 11 San Sebastian to Pamplona Day 12 Pamplona Running of the bulls (chupinazo aka absolute apesh**t is JUL7 but you can come anywhere between JUL 7 and JUL 14. You dont need a place to sleep just a hotel to store your stuff in San Sebastian. You can get to Pamplona even in taxi from San Sebastian for pretty cheap but the train is fine enough. If you find a cheaper local person in San Sebastian many of them will rent a room for a few nights for dirt cheap. You take your passport and wallet and leave Day 13 Pamplona to Amsterdam Day 14 Amsterdam to Htown if you do this trip you will have the best damn time you have ever had in your life probably ever. So plan on about 40 euro a night avg with a few nights on the train. They charge for the place on the train and you do need reservations or will be sleeping in a chair. So there is some planning and you will have to wait in line a few times to get your places. Ive had issue getting place down to Pamplona in the heart of the busy time leading up to San Fermines. In that case you will ride standing in the TGV for a few hours down to Hendaye and it will suck. You may have to do this if you cant find a reserved spot (TGV makes you reserve a spot) and mope in the hallways. The payoff is one of the most spirited parties in San Fermin. Place youll miss on this trip: london, greece, berlin (yawn), portugal, madrid, barcelona, norway,sweden (yawn)... Perhaps add a few days on the back end and grab flight down to Athens then over to Santorini,mykonos,ios,naxos,zakynthos. otherwise getting to greece is cumbersome. If you are going to go to greece by land then getting down to brindisi from rome or venice is a chore in itself ,and do not recommend it. You might make it to ancona if you have the patience. But if you do a few days at the pink palace http://www.thepinkpalace.com/might make up for it in parties. again the pink palace is a trek and will eat days. Worth seeing ? yes maybe but not worth going to see. Save the fjords and pink palace for another trip. Maybe you are WW2 buff then go to Normandy and wear a beret. Trust me the itinerary I lay out is 100% guaranteed awesome.
not sure if serious, but south america is an absolute blast!! you have to be careful just like any other place in the world and use your head. been to argentina, chile, peru and going to brazil in oct and never have i felt unsafe. of course if you go the favelas outside rio or the unsafe places in columbia then all bets are off. but the same can be said for walking around 5th ward or gulfgate area in houston at night.
Last year I went from Bacharach, Germany > Milan > Florence > Cinque Terre > Barcelona > Madrid > London > Amsterdam in like 17 days. Stayed in hostels for all of it. If you're concerned about whether they're good or not, just sign up for Hostelling International and you can get some good rates on HI hostels if one is near your travels. The ones we stayed at were all mostly decent to really good. There was one where we dealt with rude service, but it didn't hamper our living. Plus you'll be out for the most part anyway. If you're near the Italian coast, I highly recommend a hike at Cinque Terre. It's gorgeous and an amazing experience. I went from Vernazza to Monterosse. Normally, it'd take I think 2 hrs on the easy trail but my friends and I decided to go the extended advanced high trail, so after 5-6 hrs of being scared of falling off and dying with no one for miles around, I did appreciate it once I was on more solid footing.
