DanielParks has indicated that this thread is about Europe
1. What do you think of the itinerary? I only have about 5 weeks so I'll have to forfeit some places-any advice as to which places those should be?
2. I'll be 18 when this trip takes place, I'm a beginner. How can I make getting from one stop to another simple, but adventurous?
3. Should I be staying in hostels, should I be camping (backpacking)? I'm on a small budget. (about $4000 MAX).
4. Where will the language barrier be most difficult to overcome?
5. What should I pack? (this depends on the third question).
1. 32 places in 35 days = all your time travelling between stops & not much time to see any. And - if you are going to be looking for accommodation at each stop, even less time at that stop.
Unless you want to be constantly on the move, chop it in half.
Those places aren't going anywhere & you can always go back,
2. tells you all about train travel..
3. Look into joining the International Youth Hostels Association. Try a few nights in a tent at home & see how it feels. See how much it all weighs. Message for some info. She's done lots of camping.
4. no idea.
5. Make a pile of the absolute minimum for a week & then pack half of it. Do laundry at every opportunity. See item 3.
Happy travels.
Steve
1. I agree, I would chop it in half- you are probably going to fall in love with many of the cities and would rather spend more time in a few than see a little bit of many. I've personally been to Lisbon, Berlin, Amsterdam, Paris, and Barcelona. Berlin is an incredible city (my favorite by far) as is Lisbon and Amsterdam, and can easily be done in two-three days. As for Barcelona and Paris, they are big cities, so you may want to spend a little bit more time in them.
2. Definitely take the train, you'll see much more of each country and it's cheap- you can also save money/time by sleeping on trains overnight (or a bus, I did it from Berlin to Copenhagen).
3.Hostels are cheap and easy- also look into airbnb- you'll meet interesting people and get to stay in their apartment!
4. I haven't been to Italy or Croatia, but a lot of people speak English now adays- it may even help to buy a language book just to have on hand.
5. You won't wear half of what you bring- one nice outfit, two or three pants/ shorts, three or four shirts, pajamas. You might even end up buying clothes on the road!
Have fun!
Monica
2. Definitely take the train, you'll see much more of each country and it's cheap- you can also save money/time by sleeping on trains overnight (or a bus, I did it from Berlin to Copenhagen).
3.Hostels are cheap and easy- also look into airbnb- you'll meet interesting people and get to stay in their apartment!
5. You won't wear half of what you bring- one nice outfit, two or three pants/ shorts, three or four shirts, pajamas. You might even end up buying clothes on the road!Have fun!
Monica
Just wanted to support the above- really helpful in my opinion. As for my advice:
3. There is a concept of 'bed surfing' - it's when you can stay the night in peoples houses in a spare room or something like that. Google it will definitely lower the cost of your trip. Airbnb has also hotels, apartments for rent and such, so be sure to check the right category
- * My most important advice is to use apps for traveling, there are lots and lots of very helpful apps that will make your trip much better and help with everything- apps for translation, for accommodations, with weather reports, with maps and tours with all the sites (those even have offline options) and more.
I wish you a great trip!!!
1. Chopping it in half is an option like the others said, otherwise skipping certain cities is a good option too. Advice for what places you should skip is personal but this is my opinion (I live in Europe so was able to visit most places you mentioned): In the north I would skip Toulouse, Lyon, Brussels, Frankfurt and Munich. Ok cities but not as special as the others so a bit boring on a trip like this (if you want to visit Belgium Bruges, Ghent or Antwerp would be better choices in my opinion, Germany also has many cool cities and towns but sticking to Berlin and maybe one smaller city isn't a bad choiche on a trip like this. About the same for France: many cool places but you will have a city overload if you visit less interesting cities like Toulouse and Lyon if you saw so much in Spain and Portugal). In Spain I would skip one of the southern cities, in my opinion Malaga and/or Tarifa (depends on if you want beach days over there). In Italy skip Milan (though you will probably have to spend a night there): nothing special compared to dozens of other Italian cities and towns (except if you want to spend a lot of money in expensive shops). What about Krka in Slovenia? A place/river you really want to visit or just something you will pass? Slovenia has the best caves of Europe by the way, I loved the Skocjan caves, and Ljubljana is ok. I think I would also skip Pula, the south of Croatia is better in my opinion.
In two days you can see the highlights of most of the places you visit, some even in one day (smaller oldtowns like Dubrovnik and Split). Check out if you want to visit nearby towns/trails/nature (for example Sintra near Lisbon, Potsdam near Berlin, smaller towns in Tuscany from Florence), so you know you will have to add a day to it. In many cities you coud spend more than two days of course, but Paris and Rome would be the ones I would choose to spend at least 3 days for just the city because of the many sights you don't want to miss.
2. Adventurous would be hitch hiking, but not recommended if you want to see so much. So by rail is the best and most fun/adventurous. Check out eurail or interrail passes for at least the first part of your trip (till Italy), I think it is cheaper than tickets. Just a few places won't be reachable by train, so then take the bus. If you really make it that far south in Italy you could take the ferry from Bari to Dubrovnik (or from Venice to some other place in Croatia). Getting to Plitvice (which is pretty cool, but expect a lot of tourists, I hadn't expected that so it spoiled the experience, though hiking through the less spectecular parts of the NP (not touristy at all) was cool) is almost only possible from Zagreb by public busses, so I think you will have to stay in Zagreb for at least one night or at the more expensive Plitvice hotels. Zagreb itself isn't regarded as one of the most beautiful cities of Eastern Europe, but I think you could like it because you won't visit one of its better cousins like Prague, Budapest etc. (most people who think Zagreb isn't much did already visit those eastern Europe gems).
3. Hostels and night trains would be my choiche too. Check out on sites like hostelworld which are the most fun for people travelling solo.
4. Most people speak English, but I think of the countries you visit it is the worst in Spain (by far), then Italy, France, Croatia, Germany.
5. Small pack with a few clothes if you want to travel light and don't mind to do laundry (= less time for other things) or big pack for about 3 weeks of clothing if you don't mind having to wear a big pack. Both good choiches on this journey I think because you can store a big pack in the trains as easy as a small one.
Good luck!
Daan
[ 11-Nov-2014, at 02:21 by Bekokstover010 ]
Thanks everyone for the info!
I absolutely agree with above posters, but as no money is a non-starter, first of all I would look closely on your budget.
Is this 4000 US dollars or what currency and are flights included? Assuming USD : If 5 weeks=35 days and assuming this ammount is on the ground, excluding flights going and leaving Europe, then this comes at about 115 USD/day or 92 euro/day which would not be bad if you haven't all this moving around. I would try to cost some of your transport and some of your must see/activities/attractions to get a clearer idea on the budget. Please note that on most people's mind there is not much point ticking places off a list and then not been able to afford any decent food, activity or sightseen there.
1. Definitely too many places, need to cut it down. What to cut depends on what you'd rather focus on. Are you more interested in history, nature, etc. Think about what you want out of the trip. 5 weeks isn't a lot of time, and you're covering a lot of ground, so bear in mind that takes time as well!
2. While I agree that train travel is the most comfortable and can be economical, I'd also suggest that busses are a good option. In Germany you have MeinFern bus which is extremely cheap and there are also bus passes available from major European bus lines such as ecolines, eurolines and bus about. Point-to-point tickets can be cheaper, especially when you reduce the number of travel days. That being said, as you're under 26, interrail passes can be quite good. Most busses have WiFi available and are quite comfortable as well. And overnight options are also available. You can also look at flying between regions as there are many budget flights within Europe, but then you really need to make sure you've packed light and can do carry-on only !
3. Camping vs hostels depends on a few things: where you're going, what gear you have, how willing you are to spend extra time setting up, etc. I love camping and my first trip through western europe didn't stay in hostels at all. But, campgrounds tend to be further out so you lose time and have extra weight in your pack. You can save money, but it's more noticeable when you're traveling with people. Hostels tend to be closer to the center and as you won't need to spend money on local transport, often end up being similar price point as a solo traveler. If you don't already have gear you'll also have to buy it, which should be considered in your budget price. I'd also second Airbnb, and couch surfing could be an option (if only to meet people), but depends on what you're looking for. There's a bit less flexibility there.
4. Depends on how familiar you are with other languages. Most places you will find people that speak English, but I would recommend trying to learn a couple words (even just hello. Thanks, etc) as much as you can. Most people will be more than happy to help you out with that along the way so don't worry about it ahead of time.
5. See above suggestions. You do not need much at all!
As a European a can give you some nice places to visit in Europe:
- Prague
- Amsterdam
- Florence
- Verona
- Paris
- Antwerpen
- Barcelona
- Berlin
- Munchen
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