Backpacking Through Europe
Tips for Backpacking through Europe
These are not officially endorsed by the University, the department, or the program. Students have offered this advice based on their personal experience.
(in no particular order by a previous AE student)
- Book Chunnel Tickets early!! You can get them fairly cheap. The Chunnel is the train that goes under The English Channel connecting London with Paris or Brussels.
- If you are visiting multiple countries the Eurail Pass is an excellent idea. Check out the Youth specials and things as well. You can get specialized passes for specific countries you are visiting. (They must be countries connected to one another.)
- If you are traveling mostly in Spain or Italy you shouldn't need a Eurail Pass. Train travel there is really cheap.
- With a Eurail pass you must still make seat reservations for all your trains typically. And we made them the day before we traveled each time. Reservations cost 3-6 Euro.
- You don’t really need to become a member of Hostel International, it doesn’t help that much. It is like the AAA of Hostels and cost about $20.
- ATMs are your best friend. It is the best way to get/exchange money. Most “money exchange” places charge a 10-12% commission! I have PNC and they charged me $3 per transaction, so I would take out several hundred Euro at a time.
- Best Hostel Booking web sites:
www.hostelworld.com
www.hostels.com - A google search will give you a good list too. But look around before you book anything. We picked hostels close to train stations typically, as long as it wasn’t far from the attractions we wanted to see. Those big backpacks get really heavy if you have to walk too far.
- For booking hostels, we did our first night in Europe a week before we left. Other than that we booked them the day before we left one city to head to the next. We were traveling at the end of the popular travel season (Sept) so hostels weren’t too crowded. If traveling May-mid July I would book hostels farther in advance. ALWAYS keep your confirmation number! And when making reservations online, if you don’t give your credit card information for a deposit, then you probably don’t have a bed reserved.
- WEAR A MONEY BELT….they are annoying as all heck, but a worthy investment. My mom made me take one, and its really the only way to ensure that all your valuables are safe. Especially when staying in Hostels.
- Don’t take American Express credit cards, most places don’t accept it. Don’t take travelers checks, unless as an emergency reserve. Businesses never really take them (even if already converted to Euros), but you can exchange it at a money changer and you will lose some money. Use a debit card.
- When booking a hostel and you have an option to be in an all female dorm room or an mixed dorm room, go for the all girls. Not only are you more comfortable changing in the room, but girls are less likely to SNORE!
- Always have your passport with you. We only needed it when on trains, but you are in big trouble if you lose it. Many hostels require your passport for check-in. I guess it is how they keep track of what people are in what country.
- Read as much as you can about what things you want to see in each city. I used the Let’s Go Western Europe and it was amazing! It is the ultimate guide for a backpacker and VERY reliable. The descriptions of Hostels, Restaurants, and Attractions were dead on. Plus they suggest a lot of good deals = saving you money.
- When getting tickets for metros/undergrounds and you know you will be traveling quite a bit that day get a Day Pass or a Multiple ride pass-saves quite a bit.
- Subways are WAY more reliable than buses.
- If you are traveling on a budget grocery stores will be your best friend. We stopped at everyone we found (stumbled upon) to stock up on food. It is SO much cheaper than restaurants. We would make sandwiches with a piece of fruit, chips and water for lunch. And we do something similar for dinner. Many hostels have stocked kitchens for you to use, and we would make easy meals like Tacos or spaghetti.
- A POCKET KNIFE IS A MUST. But leave it at the hostel if you are going to major attractions that may have security checks.
- We only ate out when it was something cultural for the country we were in. We ate tapas and sangria in Spain, Beer and Pretzels in Germany, Veal and Dumplings in Prague, etc..
- We were on a 40 Euro a day budget. We would typically spend 20 Euro on a hostel each night, and then plan what attractions/metro tickets/food we wanted with the other 20 Euro.
- Look for deals. The Louvre in Paris is free the first Sunday of each month. The Vatican Museums in Rome are free the last Sunday of each month. And the Picasso museum in Barcelona is closed on Mondays. So you have to keep these things in mind as well.
- Its cheaper if you are traveling with 3 or 4 people because you can split a hotel with a private room for the same cost as a hostel. A bit safer, and some may offer air conditioning in the summer.
- Always get hostels/hotels with breakfast included! Great start to the day. Note: European breakfasts are nothing like Americans’. Typically toast, cheese, meat, granola with yogurt/warm milk.
- Water is never free.
- Refills are not free either.
- Most people in major cities speak English, but it is difficult to find when you travel off the beaten path. Be polite and make an effort to speak in the native language. Your efforts will be appreciated.
- City Bus tours are nice if you want everything planned for you, but a bit expensive. We preferred to navigate each city on our own and experienced things we wouldn’t have otherwise.
- If you carry a backpack, put a combination lock on it.
- Hostels are quite trustworthy when you leave your backpack there. But don’t leave valuables unattended.
- When booking a plane ticket, look for multiple connections for cheaper flights. Also look for over seas airlines like Icelandic Air. Everyone I know flew some random airline and got a better deal than me. I flew British Air.
- If you can get an electronic ticket, do it. Then you don’t have to worry about losing a paper ticket in Europe.
- Walmart sells travel size toilette paper (for camping I think), also great for backpacking when public restrooms never have toilette paper.
- Baby wipes work on everything.
- Walmart also has a really great all in one voltage converter. It’s fairly compact, and doesn’t have a million pieces like some others. All of Europe uses the same two-rounded prongs. Britain is different.
- My straightening iron worked in Europe with the voltage converter, but my curling iron did not.
- Bug spray in the summer. You usually don’t have A/C, so you sleep with windows open. The worst thing is to wake up covered in bug bites.
- You can take a nap anywhere really. It is exhausting traveling every other day and sight seeing all day long. We took many naps all over the place, on park benches, in the grass, etc… Naps are amazing.
- Boys always suggest overnight trains so you don’t have to pay for a hostel. We did one and I was not a fan:
- We preferred to stay in reclining seats, rather than the cramped sleeping cabin.
- The train stopped every 30 mins all night, and when a train stops, you know it.
- Random people were getting on and off all night, so it is hard to keep an eye on your stuff.
- You don’t get a shower on a train.
- And unless you were checking into a hostel you wouldn’t have a place to store your luggage. (Although lockers and things are more common in Europe than in Britain.)
- Note: Spain and Italy celebrate a Siesta everyday from 12-3pm usually. And during that time all shops and museums typically close. It’s a long lunch break of sorts. They have 4 rush hours a day because of it.
- I lived in Rome for the Summer and traveled around Italy both on my own and with my school group to Venice, Florence, Tuscany area, Pompeii, Paestum, Verona, etc.
I backpacked for 17 days with a friend beginning and ending in London. We made a quick-paced loop around Europe: London, England -> Paris, France -> Barcelona, Spain > Geneva, Switzerland -> Munich, Germany -> Vienna, Austria -> Prague, Czech Republic (NOT INCLUDED ON EURAIL PASS, BUT EXCELLENT EXCHANGE RATE <aka> Very Cheap) -> Berlin, Germany -> Amsterdam, The Netherlands -> Brussels, Belgium -> London, England.
My favorite cities were Barcelona, Prague, Amsterdam, and Dublin. Of course, I only stayed a day or two in each place.
Good Luck, Have fun, and enjoy! You will have the time of your life!