Backpacking in Europe Advice

[neumaticclub]

I have been thinking of taking a backpacking trip to Europe. I have dual citizenship(Canada and UK). One of the main questions I have is about finding work in Europe to finance my day to day expenses. is it difficult to find work, with only being in one place for a month or so? Plus, I only speak English.

So, my plan was to fly into Heathrow, spend some time in England with a friend, then move onto the rest of Europe. Still planning it out. I was thinking of going at the end of March for approximately 1-4 months, possibly more.

Budget wise, I have about $3000 CDN saved (I know that is not alot of money, but I plan on working to finance my trip, so finding work is my main concern)
-Airfare is pretty much covered (Airline Reward Points)
-Already have a British(European) passport, so I dont think I need a work visa.

Accommodation
-I have family and friends in England, but not the rest of Europe
-Other than that I have been reading a lot about hostels

Just wondering if my plans are realistic and if anyone has any advice, especially with finding temporary work, safety, accommodation, places to go, places to avoid.

Any advice you can share or websites you can direct me to would be greatly appreciated.

-Steve

[madamtrashheap]

neumaticclub/Steve, welcome to GFE.

You're a fortunate man having an EU passport as you'll be able to work without hinderance across many countries, and thus suppliment your travels as well as get a little more involved in the local life. Just a few tips/notes:

Enter the UK on your UK passport, this will save questions about where you're staying, if you're working, how long you're staying, etc. That said, make sure you have the address of your friend where you're staying, just in case.

If you do decide to work in the UK, you might want to look into pub work. It doesn't, generally, pay super well, but many pubs offer accommodation close by as part of your employment. Plus you can often find casual/temporary work for a few weeks in pubs. As you don't speak another language, you may find it harder to work in other countries in Europe as you travel. That said, it won't be impossible, especially in hostels, etc as again you can find a position which offers accommodation and work for a short period of time.

As a general rule, a budget of Euro60 a day is average but still on the low side, so as you've noted you'll have to work to finance your travels. This completely depends on what money you will spend sightseeing, eating/drinking, accom, etc, but if you use that as a budget for the travelling parts (when you're not staying with friends/family) then that will assist.

Hostels are a good way for you to meet people along the way, and cheap accommodation can be found if you plan ahead a little and don't mind staying in large dorms (more beds = less money as a general rule). You can also look for hostels which offer on-site kitchens and cook your own meals which will help with your budget.

Transport wise, until you know where else you plan to visit, it's difficult to suggest methods of travel between each place. Bus travel, whilst slower, is often the cheapest option, especially in the UK. If you decide to purchase a rail pass at some stage, this will have to be done on your Canadian passport (which you'll need to show at borders on trains along with your pass in many cases). Sometimes, you may find that flights are the best options between some points, and in Italy, it's often the case that point-to-point tickets are a better option than rail passes.

Read through some of the other Posts on these Boards in the Pre-Planning, Country & City Advice and Currency sections and you'll get more of an idea of places of interests and other things to consider for your trip. Once you've worked out a few places to visit and how long you might stay in the UK, your trip will start to take more shape.