backpacking

[acidlnx]

My wife and I are going to get some like minded friends together and are planning on backpacking across Europe. Does anyone here have any tips related to hiking everywhere? We'll probably take three months total. (Probably take a train wherever cheap/convenient.) How easy is it to find a place to pitch a tent? (As in, open woods, no cost.) Problems finding a place to make a campfire? Anything related to doing it for only the cost of raw food. :)

[madamtrashheap]

Welcome acidlnx!

I hope you're planning on taking your trip in the warmer months! There are some great places for hiking (or "rambling" in England) all across Europe, especially in Italy (organised walks for days from Tuscany to Lazio), Switzerland, Austria, Germany (north and south)...which countries did you want to cover when you say "across Europe"?

I did a quick search for general Europe hiking information (I only know single country info) and came up with:
www.traildatabase.org/countries/indexmap.html
goeurope.about.com/cs/tours/a/hiking_trails.htm
www.webwalking.com/
See if they help in your route planning.

Do a search on this site for "hiking" as there are a lot of posts that discuss it in different countries. Also, camping is easy enough in many places as there are designated campsites (not always close to major cities, but accessible by bus/train). As for camping in the open, it's not super common as much anymore, but is still possible, just use your common sense and be prepared to set up at dusk and leave early morning. Plus you won't be able to safely leave your things set up and unattended. As for building a fire, you'd have to check the regulations for national parks, but I'm thinking it's probably not a good idea to build a campfire on someone's property. If you're camping on land that seems to be part of a property/farm then see if you can ask permission of the owners, just to be on the safe side. Perhaps be prepared to sometimes do a farm stay (Agriturismo in Italy), Pensione or Hostel if it's not possible. I think you can get Free Camping Guides at the tourist offices of each city, but that's only once you're there. Maybe have a look at individual websites to see if they list information.

Sounds like a great adventure to take - let us know how the planning goes as there are always questions from others about hiking.