Most people think they have to completely plan out where they are going and where they will be staying, but that's not true when you are taking a trip like this. In fact, one of the greatest joys of backpacking across the continent is the unknown. To arrive at a train station and decided only then where you will be going next. Some things that are important are when you will be traveling and for how long.
When should you go? The average person does their traveling during the summer, and with good reason; everything is open and the weather is usually perfect. However, because the summer offers such nice travel weather, it can be tough to get into a hostel, the tourist sites have long lines, and the prices are at their highest.
If you choose to travel in the winter, you'll have an easier time getting around and in everywhere but there'll be less places open. Many hostels are seasonal and so are museums. Operating under shorter hours from September through May give less felxibality and some smaller ones may close altogether. This is partially made up for by the discount rates offered across the board.
If you want to check out the schedules of some of the places that you'd like to visit pick up an edition of a budget travel book. You will need one of these books anyway. The three largest sellers are:
Let's Go
Lonely Planet
Rough Guide These books will be helpful with the tourist attractions of every major and most minor cities, as well as accommodation information and food and market recommendations.
How long do you want to stay? You should also have a rough idea of how long you'll be traveling. Some people go for two weeks, some for two years; most people fall somewhere in between. Obviously, packing and planning will be greatly affected by how long you must live off your back, but if you're a first-timer, we recommend 3-4 weeks - this'll give you enough time to get around and see lotsa cool stuff, but you won't get too homesick - or poor.
What is this going to cost you?
This is very difficult to estimate, but you should calculate all of your travel/hostel costs in advance, and still give yourself at least $30 per day. The best thing is to use credit cards whenever possible. This helps prevent loosing money or the possibility of it getting stolen. The main point is to be prepared to spend about $4500, most of that will go to paying for airfare and train passes.
What to do to get your Passport!
A passport is nessicary in order to leave the country, so plan ahead.
It's really easy:
You need to gather some proof of your citizenship, such as a birth certificate. The you will need to have two passport photos taken. They mush have a white backgroung and be the correct size. Most photo studios or film processors will be able to take passport photos. Then take the photos to your local post office or state/federal courthouse, they will charge a fee to process of $65. The passport will be good for 10 years (unless you're not 18 yet; then it's only good for 5). For more info, check out the U.S. State Department's Passport Services web page.
http://travel.state.gov/passport_services.html Where to go to find help with booking your trip!
Most travel agencies are expensive and lack the experience needed when planning a backpacking trip to Europe. Two travel agencies that cater to students are STA Travel and Council Travel. They are full of useful information and can be extremely helpful. You can either go to there web sites or call them.
STA Travel (1-800-777-0112) Council Travel (1-800-2-council) A helpful tool for students! The first thing that you should do when you get ahold of the travel agencies is buy a International Student Identity Card (ISIC). The cost is $20, but the discount it provides is worth much more. ISIC gives you tons of discounts and offers plenty of services. The only requirement is that you must be a student, but they do offer a nother card for youths under the age of 26 for $15. The youth card has less benefits then the student card. Some of the cards services are:
Travel discounts
General student discounts anywhere they are offered throughout Europe
An email address
Voicemail
Phone card service
International Student Identity Card How do I know which city I will fly out of if I don't know where I'll end up? This is where the student travel agencies really come in handy. You can buy flexible return tickets that are at a much lower rates than regular travel agencies could offer. This allows you to change you flight date if you needed too. This could be done for as little as $25, requireing you to give proper advanced warning. Not only can you change your flight date, but you can change the city in which you fly out of. The cheapest places to fly in and out of are London, Zurich, Frankfurt, and Amsterdam. Lowestfare.com 1travel Cheap Tickets Price line You can even find airline tickets on Ebay. Where to stay? When you plan on backpacking in Europe you should understand hostels. They are ver similar to the YMCA, they provide you with a place to sleep and a bathroom to use. Each hostel is different depending on where you are. Sometimes you will ahve to share a room with other people and more then likely you will have to share the bathroom. Usually the indiviuals staying in hostels are just like you, backpackers.
Another important card is the Youth Hostel International Card (YHIC). This will cost you $25 and allow you to stay in any hostel in any city. Some people who only plan on visiting big cities can avoid the card, but realize that most small cities require the YHIC, but don't fret if you find yourself in a small city without this card you can often buy one there, or even pay a small fee to stay. If you do this more then six times you will have a membership, but at a more expensive price one. You can also consider purchasing a $16 Hostels of Europe card, good at over 250 independent hostels.
http://www.hostelseurope.com www.hostels.com How to get around? At this point, you might be thinking, "You've given me tons of useful information, but how do I 'backpack,' exactly?"
Here's the answer:
you don't. You're not really going to walk from Rome to Paris; instead, you're going to take advantage of Europe's train system. To do this, you need to get a Eurail pass or a Europass. These passes are by far the easiest way to get around; getting a pass is so helpful, that you should buy one right here in the U.S. at your student travel agency.
What's the difference between the two passes? Both offer unlimited train travel on given days; the real difference between the two is in the countries covered:
Eurail Pass
This pass covers 17 different countries: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Republic of Ireland, Spain, Switzerland, and Sweden. It can be bought for travel on consecutive days or scattered days. The price depends on your length of travel. To qualify as a youth, you must be under 25.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Adult ~~~~ Youth
~~~~~~~~~~~~15 Days ~ $554 ~~~~ $338
~~~~~~~~~~~~21 Days ~ $718 ~~~~ $499
~~~~~~~~~~~~1 Month ~ $890 ~~~~ $623
~~~~~~~~~~~~2 Months ~ $1260 ~~ $882
~~~~~~~~~~~~3 Months ~ $1558 ~~ $1089
~~~~10 Days in 2 Months ~ $654 ~~~ $458
~~~~15 Days in 2 Months ~ $862 ~~~ $599
Europass This pass is much cheaper the the Eurail Pass, but it covers less area: Germany, Switzerland, France, Italy, and Spain. You can also add up to two other countries: Austria/Hungary, Belgium, Luxenbourg, Netherlands, Greece, and Portugal. This will cost an additional $45 or $60 (youth/adult) for one country, or $78 or $100 to add two.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Adult ~~~~ Youth
~~~~~5 Days in 2 Months ~ $348 ~~~ $233
~~~~~6 Days in 2 Months ~ $368 ~~~ $253
~~~~~8 Days in 2 Months ~ $448 ~~~ $313
~~~~10 Days in 2 Months ~ $528 ~~~ $363
~~~~15 Days in 2 Months ~ $728 ~~~ $513 Some important things you should know about Europasses and Eurail passes:
* You must begin using your pass within six months of purchase.
* You must mark each date of travel in the space provided on your pass before getting aboard the train. This is usually not a problem, but some conductors, or at least those looking for bribes, may give you a hard time. This is rare but the penalties could be the cost of the train trip, a $100 fine, and the even the confiscation of your Eurail or Europass.
* They travel day actually begins the the night before at 8 p.m. This is a great perk that should be take advantage of; travel train by night as often as possible, espicially since you'll want to be seeing cities during the day, plus it saves you one night's accommodations. Of course, if you've got enough cash, you can still save the day for sightseeing and buy a bed in a sleeper or couchette on a train, usually for about $20.
* Both of these passes offer group discounts, even for groups of 2.
|
