Peyton

I am planning a backpacking trip to Europe next summer. I am going with three friends and we all have a lot of questions. Where to find hostels (cheep lodging), the best way to get around (eurail, europass, or point to point tickets), where to go. We are all college students and travelling on a budget. Does anyone have any advice? It would be much appreciated. <BR>Thanks, <BR>Peyton

Rex

Peyton, <BR> <BR>This is not intended to brush you off or run you off - - but some of us who are "regulars" here came here from www.lonelyplanet.com (ThornTree) because there are a lot more questions like yours there, and a lot fewer here. There are lots of tips and good ideas here about getting the best bang for the buck while traveling in Europe. But maybe not so much on the culture of going for the absolute cheapest places to stay, ways to get around, etc. <BR> <BR>Like I said, I hope you'll feel welcome here and get good answers. But do yourself a favor and look on www.lonelyplanet.com also! <BR> <BR>Best wishes, <BR> <BR>Rex <BR> <BR>

scigirl

<BR>Get Lonley Planet or Lets Go Books and start reading. What you can and want to see will depend on how much time you have, what you are interested in, and budget. There is also tons of good information online. Both books will list hostels and cheap hotels and give you a lot of good general advice on backpacking through Europe. <BR> <BR>The choice between a railpass or point-to-point tickets will depend on your plans. If you want to cover a large area and move around a lot a pass might be best. Again, you need to firm up your plans a bit to make a choice. <BR> <BR>Good luck! <BR> <BR>PS: This forum is great for specific questions. As you plan your trip you might come back with specific questions to get good advice.

ikebukero

Another good site you should check out is www.eurotrip.com. They have forums <BR>specifically on hostelling, transport etc. <BR> <BR>Other than that, read through this site to get ideas of where to go, what to see, check out some of the national train sites (eg www.bahn.de, www.sbb.ch).

Tahiti Bob

Also www.budgettravel.com has a lot of useful links once you know a bit in which countries you want to go.

Ben Haines

Fodors <BR> <BR>Central Europe is half to a third of the price of west Europe: Poland, Czech Republic (but Prague costs more), Slovakia, Hungary, Romaia (but you need a visa) and Bulgaria. In these countries pointb point domestic (not nternational) rail tickets are strikingly cheap. <BR> <BR>There are some good web sites:- <BR> <BR>http://www.backpackeurope.com/ <BR>http://go.to/bakpak <BR>Needs a few minutes toload a shockwave flash plug-in: http://www.BackpackingEurope.com/ <BR>Short notes by backpackers: http://www.eurotrip.com/ <BR>http://www.hostelseurope.com <BR>For women: http://www.sfu.ca/~rlreiner/ <BR> <BR>After looking at these, please write if you have specific questions. <BR> <BR>Ben Haines <BR> <BR>