European Backpacking Vacation

[volcanicweather]

Any reason other than they are poor? Or is there something about that that I'm missing? I really wanted to see the Parthenon but I'm beginning to understand that I'm probably trying to do way too much in such a small amount of time so I want to make the right cuts. 5 weeks started out seeming like so much but now I wish I had all summer to take off .

The Greek government is so fucked up I wouldn't be surprised if another Egypt-esque uprise happens there to overthrow it. It's also can get pretty damn hot in the summer and like Istanbul, lots of tourists there due to it's geographic location.

A couple questions which should help with planning...

1) Are you going by yourself or with others?

2) Is this more of a "I'm a broke ass college student who needs to sleep on the train" journey or more of a "I want to see and understand European culture" journey?

[Dakana]

The Greek government is so fucked up I wouldn't be surprised if another Egypt-esque uprise happens there to overthrow it. It's also can get pretty damn hot in the summer and like Istanbul, lots of tourists there due to it's geographic location.

A couple questions which should help with planning...

1) Are you going by yourself or with others?

2) Is this more of a "I'm a broke ass college student who needs to sleep on the train" journey or more of a "I want to see and understand European culture" journey?

I'm going by myself. I'm 25 and just graduated college a few years ago. I want it to be very much the college backpacking/hosteling experience. I just happen to make enough money that the standard broke ass college student statement doesn’t apply at all. My friends have been saying I’m going on a "flashpacking" trip

[BardonGaruda]

I assume since you have your rail pass you've already been to http://www.interrailnet.com/interrail-passes if not check it out.

In terms of what to cut for so many places in such a short time I'd say cut the following:

Copenhahen - Nice city, but would be better as part of a trip to see the rest of northern Europe
Athens - a lot of unrest in the country recently. Also instead of seeing the Parthanon you can check out the Elgin Marbles while you're in London.
Madrid - Given a choice between Madrid and Barcelona, Barca wins hands down. But if you can see both great.
Istanbul - Long trip there and long trip to where ever you go after will eat up days you can't afford
Romania - Nice idea to go to Dracula's castle but you'll have a much better time in Prague
Zurich - Unless you're stopping off there otw from Berlin to Venice, there are better places to see on your list. Also consider stopping off in Austria if it's not out of the way for you.

Other advice:

If you're planning to stay in hostels then be aware that France don't really do hostels. They have them but the facilities compared to places like Amsterdam really suck. Can get a cheap hotel in Paris pretty easily and underground & Rail system make it very easy to get around the city.

If you're going to the Louvre get there early there's so much to see there. Spent a full day there and got to see about 50% of the place. If art isn't your thing though you could go in queue to see the Mona Lisa and leave in about an hour.

Sticking to countries that are in the Euro will make things much easier for you. London and Prague you'll have to get pounds and koruna but those are both must see cities. Most of the places I suggested to drop are outside the Euro.

If you had more time I'd suggest seeing Dublin. But unless you made it 1st stop on your trip you've have to go there from London and travel West when all your other stops are East of London.

[volcanicweather]

I'm going by myself. I'm 25 and just graduated college a few years ago. I want it to be very much the college backpacking/hosteling experience. I just happen to make enough money that the standard broke ass college student statement doesn’t apply at all. My friends have been saying I’m going on a "flashpacking" trip

With this in mind and considering Bardon's good advice I would focus on a segment of Europe instead of trying to tackle the whole continent, especially by rail. Bouncing from city to city constantly will wear on you and you'll miss out on actually getting a good feel for the culture of a location, which for me at least is critical in enjoying a city. Plus you'll meet people at the hostels and it's fun to go out with them on consecutive nights with all the "where are you from / what do you do / blah blah" questions out of the way and just have a good time.

You could probably spend 3-5 days in the following and have an awesome time... I'll try putting them in order from a travel perspective...

London
Paris
Zurich
Rome
Munich
Prague
Berlin
Amsterdam

[BardonGaruda]

Just a few other tips:

- Join the hostel association so you can get discounts on the nightly rates in most hostels you'll uses while in Europe.

- If you can book your flights so you're inbound flight is in the first city you'll visit (assume London) and your flight home is from the final city you'll visit (possibly Rome). Having to travel back to London just to catch a flight would really suck, also you've got peace of mind that you'll just have to go from w/e city you've been staying in on your last few days out to the airport and you don't have to worry about cancelled trains or w/e causing you to miss you flight home.

- When you book your hostel check what their policy is on cancellations. If you're the kind of person that likes to have it all booked before you go this will save you a lot of money and hassle. You might find that after a few days in one city you've seen everything you want and you want to move on but you've got the hostel there booked for 2 more nights. Many of the hostels will transfer your booking to the next hostel you're going to stay in if they're both part of the hostel association.

If you're a fly by the seat of your pants kind of person then you can be more flexible. Although I would recommend booking your first night in each hostel, even if you only book it just before you leave the previous city. Otherwise you might find yourself having to sleep in the train station the odd night.

- Try to plan your trip so that you're not having to double back on yourself too much as you'll end up losing time travelling in between cities. If you plan to see both Rome and either Madrid or Barcelona you'll have to double back at some point.

Taking the cities recommended by volcanicweather I'd visit them in the following order:

London
Paris
Amsterdam
Berlin. Prague, Munich (Do these in w/e order means you have to make the least train changes)
Zurich
Rome

That way you're generally progressing West to East and the North to South.

- If you're a stoner and you're going to Amsterdam you might want to stay there a little longer than some of the other cities, if you're not a few days to see the sites, gawk at the redlight district etc. would suffice.

- For transport around the cities not covered by your rail pass, check into any travel passes that cover unground, buses, trams etc. in each city that are going to save you money.

- Check the exchange rates before you go. The Euro had been pretty strong against the dollar recently but now it's swung back the other way. Depending on how much money you're bringing with you it could make a difference of a few hundred Euro in your pocket. Depending on your bank they will have a certain level of currency in stock and anything above that you'll have to order it which can take up to 10 business days.

If it's a good rate on a particular day and the amount you want is above the stock level the bank has. To avoid the risk of the rate moving against you, get the max in that branch and then go to another one and get the rest there. The comission for 2 transactions would probably be a lot less than you'd lose if the rate went against you.

If you plan to mainly use credit card, make sure your bank don't charge some crazy fees for use in certain countries, also always have some local currency on you. If anyone has told you that they will accept Euros or Dollars in London it's complete BS most places will refuse to accept anything but an English bank note, a lot of places in London will even refuse bank notes from Scotland and N. Ireland.

- If you decide you absolutely have to go to Athen, stay the hell away from Citibank ATMs or premises, they always seem to get firebombed when there's unrest in Greece.

OK I've typed way too much but I hope you do read it. I'll post anything else I think of tomorrow.

[Darlantan]

^Nice advice.

[solanis]

I've been thinking of cutting out Istanbul/Athens out of my itinerary since they are so far out of the way. Has anyone been there recently to say what they are like right now?

I was just in Istanbul a few weeks ago, what do you want to know specifically?