Hi guys I'm planning on backpacking in Europe when I'm 18. I have a couple of buddies who might come along with me too. Anyway, does anyone have any advice or tips from experience? I plan on staying in hostels, eating cheap, you know, what backpackers do best. I also really wanna check out the nightlife there. Any advice on that? I've been to Germany, and enjoyed it very much. I live in Hawaii and can't stand it here. Pretty much, if you have anything to say pertaining to this subject, I'd be happy to hear what you have to say! Anyway, I guess this is a shout out to anyone who wants to go around the same time. I am against strict timelines and plans, so hit me up if you wanna cruise it together
The best advice I got before taking such a trip was to bring twice as much money as I thought I'd need and half as much stuff.
Hey, Good on you for venturing over to lands much colder! When my brother went backpacking he ditched half of his belongings on the way! The smaller the backpack the better and he worshiped those special lightweight towel things. There are loads of advice sites on the best way to travel light if you google them. In respect of saving a bit of dollar (or Euros!) he randomly found a site which offered instant discounts on attractions in some of the major cities - Paris, Amsterdam, London...it depends where you end up going or what kind of things you want to see but anyway discountbritain.net (other countries in corner) has some good stuff on it - especially discounts on the total bill at London restaurants! I hope you have a good trip - the photos my bro took are fantastic so take a good camera too! (but don't get it nicked!) Enjoy! Kat x
I live in Wales and travelled round west europe last summer for a month and a half. chose the worst time to go as the money exchange from pounds to euros was shit, but i think its way better now. east europe is MUCH cheaper than west europe, and in most cases it is also better (i think) like, more genuine. is you get me? eh. check out couchsurfing if you want to do it really cheap-www.couchsurfing.org its all pretty self explanatory on that site. i travelled by interrail when i went, and being from europe meant i got a pretty good deal- 400 euros for 1 month of train travel. but we did some hitch hiking which was fine too. i want to go again this summer, if i have enough money, but it looks like i might be travelling solo this summer, so i don't know what will happen haha. good luck and enjoyyyyyyyyy! lulu x
I'm backpacking Europe in 2010 too, and I'm super excited. Look into anything that can get you discounts, and make sure you talk to locals so you can see the REAL Europe, not just the guidebook. Spring they say is the best time to go, less tourists (I guess we'd technically be tourists...but yeah).
