I have have always been infatuated with Europe. Everything about it the culture, the people, the sights everything. The biggest dream I have is to go backpacking through Europe. I was just wondering how dangerous it really is to backpack. I plan to go in the next year or 2 so ill be 19-20..plus I'm a girl. Also, how expensive would it be to travel around staying at hostels for a few months?
Please let me know! THanks
It is safe as long as you keep your wits about you. The same basic rules of caution apply.
But thanks to strict gun control laws there are a lot less guns and violence in the street. You are far more likely to have your pockets picked or get beaten up for your money than to get robbed with a gun and shot by a nervous trigger-happy junkie.
Also, how expensive would it be to travel around staying at hostels for a few months?
Very. You can reasonably expect to pay 80-120 USD for every day that you spend travelling in Europe. So for 3 months (90 days) plus the approx. 1000 USD for the flight ticket you are looking at around 10,000 USD.
There are ways to do it cheaper, but this is a good starting point. If I was you I would start saving every cent right now. If you are in college look at studying abroad for a semester, if you are in highschool announce that you dream of going to Europe and that instead a big party or big gifts for graduation you want money. Many people who are in a similar situation like you manage to get the flight tickets and a Eurail pass as gifts from parents and relatives.
It's safe, just be paranoid.
Hostel is 10-20 Eur/night, Eurail pass should cover most of your transit, and in most places it's possible to eat cheap on the street and grocery stores. Budget at least EUR50/day.
Here's a little stat for you. 99.9% of women who travel alone travel without a problem...
Plan well, take advice where you can and don't do anything, like taking silly risks, that you wouldn't do at home. Oh yeah, and if you don't speak a European language start now by learning some phrases of the languages you think you'll need.
You don't even have to memorise them, just be familiar with them for now and then when you finally hear them in person somewhere in Europe it won't be such a new thing.
But most of all, do it and enjoy the whole planning part - it's half the journey.
Have fun.
Thanks everyone for the advice and info! I do start college this year and am starting to save up. It's good to hear I should be alright going alone, so long as I remain cautious. Which thankfully I am by nature. I am currently even thinking about attending a university in England after community college?
And yes, thank goodness for gun control!
Thanks again for the information
I have been in London, Vienna, Switzerland, Budapest, Germany and Amsterdam alone and I am a girl too.
My suggestion is to travel only one location each time or try to stay a little bit longer (such as a week) before going to your next stop. As it will give you some time to get used to the local system and culture that you will know what you should do and what you shouldn't do.
Agreed with all of the above.
Relatively safe but be paranoid (:
I've met many single, petite girls who were backpacking/ travelling around Europe for 2-3 months alone and they recounted that it was pretty safe/ harmless.
Just be very alert and know when to walk away calmy or run (haha!) from (potentially)messy situations.
Check your maps well in advance when you want to get to a destination.
Avoid dark dodgy areas and walk where there are tonnes of tourists.
Having said that, always take great care that your belongings are well-zipped up and check from time to time especially in crowded touristy areas in the summer.
hostelworld.com
hihostels.com
are hostel websites that you can choose your accommodations. Depending on your lifestyle, especially the choice of food/ lodging, you can pretty much survive 4000 euros for the 3 months.
Yes, it would be good to know which part of Europe you had in mind. It's a big place, larger than the USA in fact and some parts are among the most expensive in the world (London, Paris, Rome, Oslo - as four examples in the West) and other regions are amongst the cheapest (Bulgaria, Ukraine, Belarus and Macedonia - as four more from the East). Budgets vary vastly, depending on what's your flavour.
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