Planning to backpack Europe - need advice

[greeneyeddreamer]

Hi guys,

I have always dreamed of traveling and now that I entered my last semester of university, I have started thinking more and more about my dreams of backpacking across Europe.
Because I am a student paying for school myself, I really cant afford to go anytime soon so I am hoping to plan a trip for Spring/Summer 2009.
I know its a long way away but i figured better to plan early than late right?
I really want some advice from travellers here.

The places I WISH to go are:

England - London
France - Paris and Nice (both are a must!)
Spain
Italy (at least Rome)
Switzerland
Greece
I'd also love to also go to Amsterdam and Munich but it seems out of the way with the rest of my plan.

So with that being said, Id like to go for a month or maybe even longer.

Can someone give me advice on what I can do early to plan well? how much should I ideally save? any advice at all?

thanks!

[me]

never been to Paris, was so thoroughly unimpressed with Southern France, i avoided the whole Mediterranean region for a dozen years+ (as i've said before, i think the French took a cue from the Vikings. just as Iceland has little ice and Greenland has little green, the people of Nice aren't particularly nice!)

for Spain, i'd suggest Madrid, Seville and, especially, Barcelona. from Seville, it's a bus ride over to Lagos, Portugal, for a few days. Algarve is a great area!

although Rome is the most important city in the history of Western civ, Italy offers more than just Rome! Tuscany has many beautiful places, such as Siena & Florence.

Switzerland is especially expensive. if on a budget, i'd suggest cutting it in favor of the equally beautiful Alps in Italy & Austria.

never been to Greece, but it's much more out of the way than Amsterdam and Munich! getting there takes more time & expense than either of these two lovely cities.

[Eagle]

greeneyeddreamer, Welcome to the Boards! It's great that you're getting an early start on your planning, and I'm sure the group here will be able to help with your trip.

First of all, a few comments on costs. The usual "benchmark" for expenses in Europe is to allow about US$100 per day to cover lodgings, food and incidental expenses (this doesn't include air fares or rail passes). It's possible to get by with perhaps US$75 per day if one is very frugal, but unfortunately those travelling from North America (which includes me) have no control over the UK Pound or Euro exchange rates. The UK (especially London) is definitely a more expensive place to visit due to the UK Pound, however it's a great place to visit so should be included if possible.

Given the fact that you plan to travel for a month, I believe you're going to have to narrow your list of places down a bit (especialy Greece). It would help if you could arrange a bit more travel time. It should be possible to fit Amsterdam and/or Munich, but this will depend on the list cities you eventually decide on. As usual, I'd recommend open-jaw flights (fly to one city, fly home from a different city) for best efficiency, even though they might cost a bit more. Which cities in Switzerland and Spain do you want to visit? Regarding Switzerland, the small village of Gimmelwald is a favorite here - check the website www.gimmelwald. ch. Another favourite area is the Cinque Terre in Italy (west of Pisa) - have a look at www.cinqueterre.it/en/index.asp.

Before you get too far in your planning, you might want to read the Guidebook Europe Through The Back Door, as it covers a lot of details for things like Itinerary planning, Money, language issues, rail skills, etc. It's an essential pre-read for anyone travelling for the first time!

At this point, don't worry too much about which Rail Pass to buy. That can easily be determined once you've finalized the places you'll be visiting, and the order of travel.

Hope this helps. Cheers!

[pointofnoreturn]

Greece is better visited if you have an extra 10 days

[herrbert]

greeneyeddreamer said:

I'd also love to also go to Amsterdam and Munich but it seems out of the way with the rest of my plan.

as far as Munich is concerned you are right, but Amsterdam can be fitted in very nicely with a cheap flight from London (try VLMAirlines), and then it's a 4 hour railconnection to Paris (Thalys).

If you do a fast trip in Spain, then go Madrid *daytrips Toledo and/or Segovia) and Barcelona, if you have time to go to Andalusia, you shoulc visit Sevilla, but also Granada. Of course there are numerous other towns and cities in Spain that are worth a visit. (Cordoba, Cadiz, Caceres, Salamanca, San Sebastian, Santiago, Avila, Cuenca etc ). The best time for Spain is May/June, after that it get really hot.

[francefiend]

Advice:

1. Keep dreaming! - I mean that in a positive way, as in keep thinking about all the wonderful places you can go.

2. List and examine your interests. Are you a history buff? Do you Do two hours in a museum make you yawn or jump for joy? Keen on big cities, tiny towns, or a mixture of both?

3. Ponder your transportation options. Research rail passes, reservations, individual tickets, airline fares.

4. Dedicate a folder/file/piece of scrap paper on the floor to your travel plans. Use it to compile research. For me, MS Office OneNote and Google Bookmarks did the trick. I used the former for checklists and the latter for important websites. Buy an expandable file, found at any office supplies store. (They look like this.)

Good luck!

[greeneyeddreamer]

Oh my gosh, thanks for the advice everyone!

Just to answer a few questions... Ive noticed Greece was out the way but Im an art student and have learned so much about the Roman and Greek civilizations which is why I really didnt want to miss Greece.

As per the timeline, a month is probably the shortest amount of time I would go for, It all depends on how much I will save. I would also love to go around the May/June time of the year cause I imagine the weather in July/August is incredibly hot.

The math I have done so far is this:
I (actually did) estimate $100 per day and I want to go for a minimum of a month so 100x30 = $3000
Plus $1500 for flights, and $800 for Euro rail pass.
= $5300
is this realistic?

So thats the minimum I want to save and since I have a year, it gives me time to buy all my supplies ahead of time.

I know Greece isnt suggested but what is the best route to Greece from Italy?

[pointofnoreturn]

I think the budget is realistic.... Most time I was fairly under budget due to my notorious planning ways so out of $3000 (not including flights and trains), I only spent about $1800 in one month. It's doable as long as you stay on track.

The fastest way to get to Greece from Italy is by air. There's also a ferry but it's about 24 hours and pretty much a time-waster.

There's flights from Rome and Milan that go to Athens, through Aegean Airlines and easyjet.

[herrbert]

greeneyeddreamer said:

As per the timeline, a month is probably the shortest amount of time I would go for, It all depends on how much I will save. I would also love to go around the May/June time of the year cause I imagine the weather in July/August is incredibly hot.

I know Greece isnt suggested but what is the best route to Greece from Italy?

Don't let us bring you on different thoughts, if you want to Greece, then go. It's your trip. The only thing is, that most of us, would recommend to stay longer in Greece, and also suggest to visit one of two of the Isles. (Santorini is favourite, I think), but if you want to see some Historical places, also keep an eye on Crete (ruins of Knossos), and places like Sparta and Delphi in the Inland.

The weather in Southern-Europe can be hot in July-August, and even the Northern part you can run into an occasional heatwave, but most of the time it is OK. I would only avoid the inland of Spain, as there won't be a cool breeze from the sea. I think May?June is the best time to travel, because you are not in the middle of peak-season, and also, all the locals are still at home, which makes a city feel much more alive, then when it is only populated by tourists.

[herrbert]

greeneyeddreamer said:

Just to answer a few questions... Ive noticed Greece was out the way but Im an art student and have learned so much about the Roman and Greek civilizations which is why I really didnt want to miss Greece.

In your case I would really recommend to see if you can fit in a visit to the Alhambra in Granada, Spain, and the Real Alcazar in Sevilla. I think you will find it most interesting places, because of the Muslim building styles and influences, in the architecture and decorations.

Also another nice place to visit is the Pergamon Museum in Berlin. (although Germany is not on your list). It has a collection of Greek and Middle East art, and rebuilt of buildings. Most of the collection comes from the ancient Greek place of Pergamon (or Pergamum / hence the name). Maybe it's not possible to fit it into this trip, but it might be good for a next one.

[greeneyeddreamer]

herrbert said:

The weather in Southern-Europe can be hot in July-August, and even the Northern part you can run into an occasional heatwave, but most of the time it is OK. I would only avoid the inland of Spain, as there won't be a cool breeze from the sea. I think May?June is the best time to travel, because you are not in the middle of peak-season, and also, all the locals are still at home, which makes a city feel much more alive, then when it is only populated by tourists.

Im planning for May/June but it could possibly end up July/August, who knows.
I spent 7 years living in the southern tip of Israel so I know what the weather can be like and hot it gets. I say, bring on the heat!! haha
Though May is ideal... can you go swimming in may though?

[herrbert]

greeneyeddreamer said:

... can you go swimming in may though?

If you want to go swimming in the sea, it might be too early in the year. The seas need to warm up. In southern Europe you might be lucky.

[greeneyeddreamer]

Yea I might considering going in July/August 2009 probably just for the hotter weather, like I had mentioned I lived in Israel for 7 years and I know what Hot feels like!
Because Im planning so far in advance, I guess I have a lot of ton to make reservations at hostels.

[WillTravel]

There are lots of advantages to summer travel, but it does mean your airfare will be more costly, most likely.

[me]

eagle said:

First of all, a few comments on costs. The usual "benchmark" for expenses in Europe is to allow about US$100 per day to cover lodgings, food and incidental expenses (this doesn't include air fares or rail passes). It's possible to get by with perhaps US$75 per day if one is very frugal, but unfortunately those travelling from North America (which includes me) have no control over the UK Pound or Euro exchange rates.

as Eagle wrote, exchange rate fluctuations can wreak havoc on budget planning. as far as the US$ has fallen from it's overvalued perch, i don't know that budgeting in US$ makes much sense - especially for non-Americans.

those US$100/day guidelines were more valid the whole world thought in Dollars. today, since much of Europe has the €, it doesn't make much sense. i'd suggest you think in € for your trip. but, with fluctuations, that can mean changes in how much to budget. <in the long run, GBP & CHF will vary less against € than against US$. i know, i know, Keynes said "in the long run we are all dead.">

- d