rachel

I am feeling terribly overwhelmed right now planning my first extensive trip to Europe. I am a college graduate with approximately 21 days in late May and $3000 to spend in Europe. Those are the only restrictions placed on my trip so far- very vague and overwhelming. I would like to see as much of Europe as I can with out burning out. How should I budget my time and money? I will be flying out of New York and I would love to see it ALL! Which countries to visit? Where to stay? How to travel? HELP!

Mel Roberts

Hi Rachel, Eurolines (our version of your Greyhound bus service) offer a 30-day travel pass for £159. It gives you unlimited travel between 30 different cities across the continent. I have no idea how much the Eurail pass is but I'm guessing it's probably more expensive than this. For more info have a look at http://www.nationalexpress.co.uk and select Eurolines Services from the menu on the left-hand side. Good luck!

Monica

Hello Rachel, <BR> <BR>Since you want to go to Europe this coming May, you may not have enough time to come up with a well thought out plan, but that depends on you. I would recommend a tour group. Check this out with a couple of different travel agents. I don't go to Europe with tour groups, but a friend of mine did just after graduating from college and she didn't have the time to plan on her own. Plus since it was her first trip she didn't want to be alone. She had a blast. She went with a group in the 18-30 year old range. She went for 30 days, but I'm sure there are other tours throughout Europe for 3 weeks. Pack lightly! And enjoy!!!

Donna

Unless you enjoy blitzing through places, I would caution you against attempting to "see it all" in 21 days. Three weeks would not do even one country justice. You may want to head to your local bookstore and peruse some tour guides for "Europe", such as Rick Steves, Let's Go, and other budget oriented manuals. You need a plan, and you should get started forthwith. Is your budget before or after airline tickets? Either way, you may want to research hostels international on the web. The Let's Go Guides are published by students in Cambridge, MA (home of Harvard University). Their information is the accumulation of years of experience by students such as yourself. I think they also arrange tours. You may want to check them out on the web.

dan

I think you can do a lot on $3000. Just rely heavily on Rick Steves, Lonely Planet, and Let's Go to find cheap accomodations. Hostels are obviously the cheapest, but if you want something more, you can easily find hotels in places such as Interlaken or Paris for $30-40 a night. Get some type of rail pass. <BR> <BR>I would suggest not trying to go everywhere too, but if you want to see a lot, consider picking a region to see - eg., Western, Northern, Southern, Central, or Eastern Europe. Then decide what are the best things to see there - pick representative things - for example, don't pick all cities, but give yourself some time in the country or the mountains also. <BR> <BR>An example: Central Europe: Berlin, the Romantic Road, and Munich in Germany; the Bernese Oberland in Switzerland; Prague; Vienna and Salzburg in Austria - that is a lot, but it can be done in three weeks I think, whereas trying to see a broad area of Europe spanning from London to Athens is very very difficult and tiring. <BR> <BR>What countries to see depends of course on your interests, but if I had to make a list of four to visit first I would suggest: France, Italy, Britain, and Germany (if I extended this to six I would add the Czech Republic (Prague) and Switzerland).

Caryn

Rachel, I was particularly thinking about Mel Roberts' advice about Eurolines. I am an experienced budget and youth traveler with the backpack, Eurail pass, youth hostels and everything. The one thing I have found that really brings the price of the trip up is that Eurail pass. They sound very attractive because of the "unlimited, get on & off the train when/wherever you want" but this is a little deceiving. There are many, many hidden supplement and reservation costs. While you think the unlimited feature will keep you off the ticket lines, because of these reservation/sup- <BR>plements, you often have to get on them anyway. Also, the pass itself is very expensive. Check www.raileurope.com. Briefly, 21 day unlimited is $499, 10/days out of 2 months is $458 & 15/days/2 months is $599 (These flexipasses are probably the better choice). As you can see, MEGA BUCKS! I looked at the Euroline website and the 30 day bus pass is about $262. As you can see, MUCH cheaper. While this is not the "traditional" route for backpackers to go, you may want to consider this option. You will be a lot happier with more $ to spend on lodging (some of the hostels are %*#@holes), food, entry fees, etc. $300 makes a HUGE difference. Email me if you want more info about any of this or other backpacker/youth budget travel tips.

Caryn

Correction: The off-peak 30 day Euroline pass is $262. The PEAK pass is $328. Still much cheaper.