Backpacking in Europe for the first time ........?

Question

Any suggestions or helpful hints to save money, but get the most out of our trip? .....Me and my husband want to do this. When's the best time to go (as far as price) and where to stay and means of transportation once we're there. I'm not sure where to visit yet, any suggestions for that as well would also be greatly appreciated. Also when your backpacking what kind of stuff should you bring.....how to pack light. Thank you!

Traveling from the US

Answer 1

For Europe there is the rule that the more east you travel the lower the prices get, generally that is.
Scandinavia is still the most expensive, but the UK is near and the bigger towns in the west are following closely.
The bigger towns in the formers Communist countries are getting more expensive too.

For your ideal trip, select a few countries that attract you most. Like where your family roots are or those you always wanted to go to.
If they are far apart, check with one of the 'cheap flight' websites for a plane to get from one to the other. Otherwise, busses are the cheapest, trains the most convenient way to travel.
If you plan to do a lot of traveling check the Eurail website:
http://www.raileurope.com/us/rail/passes/eurail_index.htm
Otherwise google for 'train info' and the name of the country to get the English version of the train planner.

Do not come in July or August, as those months all schools here, and many companies, close for holidays.
If you come late October to early May you will find that in the north the most places run winter schedule. In the towns there is still enough to do, but the smaller villages have no tourists, and also no hostels at times.
In the mountains there is the winter-sport season, (Christmas till March) which makes early booking a must and prices will be high.
The south, (Portugal, Spain, Italy, Greece and the coastal areas in the Balkan countries,) the season is also longer, sometimes year round, but outside the school holidays the prices will stay normal.

Buy a good guidebook before you start booking, the money spend on it will be payed back with the first saving in getting a cheaper hotel.
I like the Lonely Planet series, they give prices and also what you can expect for it, as well as touristy info, and rail and bus info too.
But remember to allow 25% extra in your budget, as prices go up and the cheapest rooms are always taken when you ask for them.

Packing light is not hard. It is being afraid that you forget something that makes you bring too much. (All of us do.)
Bring 1 or 2 pairs of long trousers, (jeans or alike,) 1 or 2 sweaters, if you come in summer shorts or a skirt otherwise an other pair of trousers, and enough T-shirts for one week, socks and underwear for 2 weeks. T-shirts are prime souvenirs, if you run out, buy a few local ones.
You will need to wash, and you will find that you can often use a machine in a hostel, specially in the smaller towns. Otherwise in the bigger towns there are laundries, and you can do underwear and T-shirts in the sink.
Bring not more than you can lift over your head, on stretched arms, (as if you place it in an overhead luggage rack.) If you bring more you will regret it, you will carry it around more often than you would expect. And remember, we have shops all over Europe.

If you are going to use the cheapest hostels bring a sleeping bag, otherwise a set of sheets or sheet-bag.
And investigate the prices of bed and breakfasts and guest houses, as sometimes they are cheaper than 2 in a hostel.

Self catering is the cheapest option, warm lunches (in department stores and the local cheap eateries,) and sandies for dinner will be cheaper than sandies for lunch and dinner in restaurants.

Answer 2

Not sure what to tell you. No campfires. There are no laundromats except maybe in the big cities. But, in big cities your backpacks make you vulnerable to pickpockets. Very vulnerable. You don't say how rough you want to rough it. Europe has walking paths all over. One can hike from one end of Germany to the other end. Likewise, British Isles, France. I'd definitely stay in Western Europe for your first excursion. Germany gets cold by the 2nd week in September, but that would be when the tourist season prices start to wind down. Many museums and stuff close by the 2nd week of October. Most museums won't allow photography. Any Catholic church is open during the daytime and is worth peeking inside. Lots of skin-rash plants that you don't know about in the woods, besides poison ivy. So, hmmm, I guess the border area between France and Germany along the Rhine if you want to get this done before the Fall. Stay over in the Rhine valley if this is your first excursion. Try this trip as a learning experience. Wine harvest will be going on. Lots of little wine cafes. I'd research. Find the hosteltries, how to read a railroad schedule. The hike and/or bike around the Lake of Konstance is another area. Take in Switzerland, Austria and Germany. Damp will be your biggest problem. If you rent a camper, parking will be the hard part.

If it were me, I'd want the camper van and good reference material. Do your homework. Have fun!

Answer 3

Tips on saving money largely depend on where you plan on going. What I would recommend is not buying the Eurorail Pass. I travelled by train through Italy, Spain and France for around 8 weeks and I probably spent about half of what I would have for a pass by buying tickets individually. The exception to this advice would be train travel in England, Germany and northern Europe where the trains are very expensive. For lodging, do some research on hostels. Many of the nicer ones offer private rooms for couples, and you can cook meals there to save a little bit of money. If you go the hostel route keep an eye out for hotel deals though - in a couple cities I found rooms about as cheap as hostel rates that allowed me privacy for a couple of nights.

To pack get together everything you'd like to bring and then basically cut it in half. You will be lugging this around on your back for a long time, and before long it really does feel like your carrying around a dead body. After about two weeks you'll find yourself wearing the same thing everyday anyways, so don't worry about your style options. I would pack: 1 pair sturdy jeans/pants, 1 pair shorts, 1 bathing suit, 2 short sleeve tee-shirts, one long sleeve T, one sweater/fleece, 1 pair waterproof walking/hiking shoes, & 1 lightweight rainjacket. Also, a day bag/backpack where you can fit your personal items, camera, and rain jacket is nice. Remember that you will be picking up gifts and souvenirs during your trip, so you'll need room for those as you travel. Best of luck!

Answer 4

www.eurolines.co.uk (this is the english site) eurolines is a bus service which travels through most western european countries, if you book in advance tickets are great value, and if you afford travelling on weekends or nights you can get two seats to yourself! As for where to go...i can't even begin to tell where to go...Paris is a place you must go, if only to say you've been there (if nothing else will be a nice romantic break) if you can explore the smaller towns of countries thats where the real culture is! and go easy on yourself...start off in a country with a high level of english-speaking to cushion the landing. I recommened the book "The Rough Guide to Europe"(by the travel writers "rough guide" its a really helpful and humourous book (not at all dry like most guidebooks) and gives advice on everything from visas to transports to the eternal question of how to pack lightly!!-- was the best thing i bought in preparation for my trip

Answer 5

The former Oostblok (Eastblock) countries are still cheaper as f.e. The Netherlands, Germany, France, Austria and certainly Switzerland which probably is the most expensive of all. You could travel by train (Euro(t)rail) to go from country to country. There arent to much long distance buses really but there are kind of tourist/camping buses going from one country to another (mainly france, spain, portugal) in the touristseason. (seats only, no accomodation on the place of arrival) and for staying there are youth hostals and there is some cheap accomodations but you'll have to look for it.

Answer 6

Plan well in advance. There are several European budget carriers which offer very cheap fares. These are cheaper than trains or buses but there are no refunds and hence, proper planning is vital. Check these out on http://www.whichbudget.com

The next is cheap accommodation. You can check the website of Hostelling International for hostels at destinations you wish to visit.

Food in Europe can also be expensive but there are several convenience stores which serve packaged meals for cheap rates. They will warm the meal for no extra charge.