Backpacking Through Europe

Mack4President!

Mack4President!

25+ Posts
My brother and I have decided to Backpack through Europe for 3 weeks or so after he graduates from Business School. We need information on what to do or not to do, any highlights to hit (which I'm sure are endless), where to fly into (thinking London), how much time (thinking 3 weeks), and fly out of (thinking Rome)? If anyone has any information, stories, do's and dont's, etc I would appreciate it.

Thanks.
 
Eh on London. You can travel to english speaking countries when you're old. Go someplace you won't ever go to again. You can do Italy/Greece when you are married. So do something like Poland and East. Plus the further east you get, the less touristy it will be.
 
I completely agree. You can do Western Europe at any time in your life. Those museums will always be there. Go some place that you couldn't imagine being when you have a family.
 
Sew a red Maple Leaf on the back of your backpack and pass yourselves off as Canadians. You'll find that you won't be overcharged, eyeballed as a "Dirty American" and be harassed as purveyors of the Bush doctrine.
 
No ****. The solution is not to be a Canadian. The solution is just to not be a loud, stupid, stereotypical American prick.

And to the original poster, 1) the Let's Go guides should tell you everything you need, they are geared to the post-grad travel crowd, and 2) try to get more than 3 weeks in if you can.
 
London's the cheapest to fly into, but then you've got to get onto the Continent, which makes it a wash. You'll either need to shell out for the Chunnel, take a long-*** ferry trip, fly out of Gatwick or Heathrow on an expensive-*** national airline, or traipse out into the boonies to get crammed onto RyanAir.

The next-cheapest cities are usually Paris, Amsterdam, and Frankfurt. You can get anywhere in Europe from FRA; the city is a rail, air, and ground transportation hub for Central Europe.

If you fly in there, you could do something like Munich, Venice, Rome, South France, Paris, and Amsterdam (or finishing in London).

Or Berlin, Krakow, Budapest, Prague, Vienna, Munich, and fly back out of FRA.

Or you could fly into Paris, and do a big circle through Brussels, Amsterdam, Berlin, Munich, some swiss City, Rome, South France, Barcelona, Madrid, and back to Paris.

Or you may want to eschew the grand tour, 12-city whirlwind tour of museums and tourist bars, and slow things down a bit and just explore a couple of cities. Find a cheap hotel that will give you a discount for a 10-day stay, and get a feel for day-to-day life -- eat, drink, shop, and live like the locals do. Depending on your language skills, you could do this in a city that's not overrun with American tourists.

Just a few ideas. Europe's a big place with lots to see and do. The important thing to do is just have fun.
 
This is not the conventional wisdom, but I suggest renting a car for travel instead of a train. If you only have 21 days in Europe, why would you want to spend any of it waiting for trains? Why would you want to restrict your destinations to those areas close to train stations? Yes. It's cheaper. Yes, you can get some sleep in the middle of the night while the train moves you. To me, these benefits pale in comparason to the flexibility and freedom a car will give you.

When I was in school, I spent 5 weeks in Europe. I had a car reservation, but not a single hotel reservation. There is no possible way I could have seen or done anywhere near as much as I did if we had been traveling by train. You can hit the small towns. You can see the out-of-the-way places. You can see the countryside and interact with more locals away from the big cities. You can misread maps and get lost and go on crazy unexpected adventures. You can drive on freeways with no speed limit. You can see places that you can't get to by train. You can make you own schedule and go where you want when you want.

TIP: When you pick up your car, ask if they have a foreign car. Hertz was ready to charge me a hefty drop off fee for picking up a car in Rome and dropping it off in Frankfurt five weeks later. When I got to the Rome airport, they gave me a car with Swiss plates. It was already a "foreign" car, so I didn't have to pay the drop off fee. We had to take a cab from the airport to central Rome, but the cab fare was only 10-20% of the drop fee.

I've compared notes with many European travelers and I can tell you without question that a car is worth the money.

Bernard
 
I've spent a month in Europe backpacking each of the past 2 summers. Don't just think trains...flights (think Soutwest Airlines) can be VERY cheap and efficient in Europe. Here are my highlights.

Athens and Greek Islands (10-12 Days) Great beaches/partying.

Spain/Portugal (2 weeks) I did Madrid, Sevilla, Lagos Portugal, Granada, Barcelona. -- I would suggest this trip in a heartbeat - great combo of places. Lagos may be the best of the bunch so don't miss it if you get close.

Germany/Amsterdam (10-12 days) - Easy to do a loop from munich to Berlin to Amsterdam. All 3 Awesome Cities.

In my opinion - anything in France or Italy should wait for another trip when you're older. Also, Switzerland is pretty cool but also very expensive so I would skip it this trip as well.

Feel free to shoot me a PM if you have any questions or need reccomendations.
 
A couple of points:

1) Europeans are very much into US politics. They really loved Clinton and really do not like Bush. Most of the time when I told them I was from Texas they right away associated with Bush. Having said that, they are all pretty friendly and I never really had to worry about them knowing I am American.

2) Renting a car sounds good on the surface, but where you gain in having flexibility you lose in worrying about planning your next trip, finding places to park, etc. If you are backpacking then using trains, planes , is the way to go.
 
Thanks for all of the feedback. I know that we are going to hit Amsterdam and Munich because we have friends in both cities. Other than that, it is up in the air. Maybe take a Europe circle with, Paris, Amsterdam, Munich, Prague, Venice, Rome, French Riviera, Barcelona, Madrid, Paris. Something like that give or take a few cities. We will be using trains (maybe plains?) instead of a car (too much hassle for a car).

Any other information is always appreciative.

Thanks.
 
My adivce is this:

1) Get the Eurail pass, it's worth it
2) If you go to London, stay at the international house
3) Buy a guidebook like LEt's Go ro Lonely Planet
4) Get an International Youth Hostel card. You MUST get it before you leave. Many places give discounts with it, others require it just to stay there.
5) Be flexible, you will probably meet other people doing the same thing and they'll give you good ideas on where to go.
6) End your trip on Ios in the Greek Isles.

I didn't make eastern Europe on my last trip but wish I had. Good lick, and have fun.

Ohh and don't be the obnoxious American, but be the proud Texan. You wouldn't believe how far being a Texan goes over there.
 
Trains in Europe are by far the most efficient way to go. You get to see more coutryside, you can sleep, drink beer, meet intersting people and not worry about buying gas which is 4 time more expensive in Europe or worrying about returning the car at the end.
 
We traveled Europe extensively during the three years we lived there (2002 - 2005). Cheap hotels are abundant, as are family owned zimmer-frei, or apartments within homes that are leased out. We found hostels a great way to travel, even with a young child. The hostel card is the key. You can also make reservations online for most major hostels.

The idea of a rental car is fine as long as you stay within germany, france, benelux. Most companies won't let you take their cars into italy, spain or eastern europe. You may have to rent separately.

Three weeks may seem long, but will fly by just seeing parts of france, germany and the benelux. If you do make it to the Czech Republic besides seeing Prague. Get out of the city and see Pilsen, and Karlovy Vary (latest Bond flick filmed there)
 
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