2 month backpacking though europe
 

Hey my name is Caitlyn. this is my first time ever planning a trip so I could use a lot of help. I know a few things so far were planning on traveling March 15,2016 and want to fly into Ireland for Saint Patrick's day. its going to be me and a friend we figured 10,000-12,000 will be enough for 65 days. Does that seem logical? The places we were thinking 1)Dublin, Ireland,2).London3)Barcelona, Spain.4) Paris, France.5) Amsterdam.6)Berlin.7)Venice.8)Florence.9) Naples.10)Rome.11)Athens.12)Santorini.13)Lisbon.14 )Hvar island, Croatia. These are not in order of travel yet! Does this seem doable with that budget and time? Any advice would help!! We are ok with couch surfing, hostels, and busses. There are some places I'll be spending more money in to visit the culture more.

10,000-12,000 what? Euros? pounds Sterling? US dollars? Australian dollars? Indian Rupees?

No, that does not seem do-able in that time frame with that budget (even figuring you are talking sterling). You are moving around a lot which costs more in money and in time. Expect to lose one full day each time you move from one place to another.

Pause and consider what are the most important things you want to do/see/experience? With the time you have, you could have week-long stays in 9 places, which would be a much better plan. Even then, you might well have difficulty doing it on that budget.

that is a LOT of territory -- 2 months may sound like a long time but it isn't all that long to cover 10 countries/13+ cities, and all that travel will be very expensive

10,000 to 12,000 what? US$, €, CAD$, AUS$ or ???? And is that for each of you or all together for both of you? And . . . does that amount need to cover your flights?

If you mean US$ and you are only talking $5000-$6000 per person . . . that is a VERY low budget for 2 months. Your airfares alone will be over $1000 each. And transport w/i Europe be even more for that long a trip. Yes, buses are cheap -- but won't work for a lot of your itinerary -- to cover that much territory you'll need to take some flights and some trains.

Why not cut way back the number of places and maybe only go for 4 or 5 or 6 weeks then your budget will still be low but a lot more doable.

we were posting at the same time :)

Kind of think about it like this.
If you were touring North America for two months and wanted to visit Montreal and Niagara Falls; NYC; Washington DC; Miami and Key West, Florida; the Bahamas; New Orleans, LA; Austin, Texas; Las Vegas, Nevada; Los Angeles, CA; Seattle, Washington; and Hawaii, how much would that cost and what would be the logistics of doing it, considering that you would already be in the US, so not TA airfare. Of course, it is not the same because Europe does have great train systems, but some of the places you want to go are easier and just as cheap by plane. This is just to give you an idea of the magnitude of your plan, and how much work you have to do.

Good thing is you have lots of time to plan.
Get a good map and check out different means of transportation.
Get several guide books that are geared toward travel for young, independent travelers: Lonely Planet, Europe through the Back Door, etc.
Get guide books with good sightseeing for each country: Fodors, Fromers, etc.
One other thing. Some big cities tend to be more expensive that some country areas. Plus, you will get much more feeling for the culture of countries by visiting some smaller towns or country areas than by seeing mostly international cities. While the cities do have their own architecture, foods, etc. they also have more in common that more rural areas.
Couch surfing for two months may not be such a great plan. Check costs of hostels.
Look at man in seat 51 for train info and post questions about train travel. There are couple of experts here.

12,000 for 65 days is 185 USD, GBP, Euro, etc. For 2 people with all that moving around? I think not. That's 92 whatever per day per person. Hostels will be about E25 per day per person (more or less). Food will be about the same.

You have sightseeing and, most importantly, all that transportation to get from place to place.

Santorini will be off season and probably not much fun so skip that location. Also remove Athens since it's a good journey from other places.

Barcelona is quite expensive and since you're not going to any other place in Spain or anywhere near Barcelona I would remove it from the list.

Geographically concentrate your trip and focus on less expensive countries such as Czech Republic (Prague seems to be lots of fun for young people) and Poland.

Lisbon is quite inexpensive but it's no where near any other place you're going. You'll spend a lot of time and money getting there. Perhaps make time for more of Portugal rather than just seeing Lisbon.

Visit more than large cities. Lodging and restaurant meals will be less expensive.

You may be OK with buses but they may not have routes that easily get you from place to place. For your itinerary you'll mostly need planes and trains.

Sorry its in U.s dollars...I've been dying to see Spain and visit there it was suggested by a friend for my trip. I can get rid of Greece, Portugal, and Croatia. That narrows it down to 10, 4 cities are in Italy. What would be a good budget for us to do this? I'm having a hard time narrowing down cities... what are must sees? And if anyone could give me any good route ideas if we are starting in Ireland and wanting to end in London.

Any advice would help!! We are ok with couch surfing, hostels, and busses.>

Buses run infrequent routes - take the train for sure if going to big cities like that - there is not even always a bus alternative - are you under 26 - if so then you can buy bargain Youth Railpasses - if not even a regular Eurailpass if going to all those places would be a great deal - much more comfy than buses

there are overnight trains going everywhere - save on the cost of lodging and travel time. Trains also go up to nearly 200 mph so are much faster than buses. For a good fix on Europe's train system and planning such a trip I always spotlight these superb IMO sites: www.budgeteuropetravel.com - download their free online European Planning & Rail Guide for lots of rail itineraries, rail maps, travel times, etc; www.seat61.com; www.ricksteves.com.

Now we know you're working with $12,000 USD which makes your budget much worse. You have 8,800 Euros for 65 days giving you 135 Euros per day for 2 people.

Go to hostelworld.com and get some hostel prices in the cities you want to visit. That will give you an idea of prices for lodging.

Take a look at a map of Europe. With the 10 cities you now have it would be more sensible to fly into Dublin and home from Rome (or something similar). You need to be logical with the geography. You also need to look at airfares to see how you can structure your itinerary with the best fares for arrival and departure cities. Flying into Dublin and home from London means you're spending time and money backtracking. What is the reason you want to depart from London?

Have you looked at the links given above for trains? Take a look at fares and add them up. This will give you some idea of what transportation will cost. In most places it's cheaper to buy tickets 60 to 90 days ahead.

You'll spend most of your money on food, lodging, and transportation. You'll also have transportation within cities (bus/tram/metro) and sightseeing.

You won't want to forgo the European experience of sitting in cafes sipping wine or coffee or splurging on pastries or chocolate or an ice cream. You don't want to give up all those delightful things that make the trip even more enjoyable. It's better to have a shorter trip than to go hungry or not afford the sightseeing admission to things you want to see.

Barcelona is only 1 part of Spain so when you have Barcelona on your itinerary it's not Spain; it's only 1 city in Spain and it's Catalan. Perhaps spend time seeing other places in Spain so you're not going all the way to Barcelona for a few days. Spain is a very diverse country and you'll find huge differences among Seville, Madrid, and Barcelona (and other cities).

Get copies of Let's Go guide books from your library. These are wonderful guides for budget travelers. Read the introductory sections that are very important for traveling.

If I were going in March and April I would focus the trip on the southern portion (Spain or Italy) where it is more likely to be a bit warmer. The northern cities will be cold and rainy during that time.

Cut the trip back to 6 weeks and try to save a bit more money so you can get hotel rooms once in a while.

Seriously consider if you really want to go to Ireland in March just for St Patrick's day. In Dublin, there is now a parade and music, but it is not the kind of drinking and silly stuff it has come to be in the US. March is not great weather wise either.

Why do you wish to end in London? Once you work out a couple of possible itineraries, then decide entry and departure cities.

Consider the weather at that time of year and perhaps start in Spain and work your way North, leaving England and Ireland for the end.

10K/person is not enough for 2 months, but since you cut off the last portion of your itinerary, you could manage 10K for 5-6 weeks. This is with budget 12 bed hostel accommodations, but try to get in a few private bedroom/bathrooms within the hostel because at some point you will really want the privacy and avoid dealing with shared showers as a break!

I think your itinerary is fine but you will be quite tight on time and have a lot of travel time since those cities are fairly spaced out. When picking your places, how did you go about deciding what to choose? The reason I ask is that a lot of people like visiting major cities like Barcelona, Berlin, London, so Spain check, Germany check, UK check with 0 incentive to see anything else. I would leave Italy for a separate trip because there's lots lots lots more than just Venice, Florence, Naples and Rome. Since you're going to Barcelona, you may consider visiting the French Riviera after Paris before going on to Barcelona (or the other way around). Or maybe look at other places in Spain instead. If you're set on those chosen destinations then it's probably a good idea to fly from Berlin to Venice and Naples to Barcelona.

>>10K/person is not enough for 2 months, but since you cut off the last portion of your itinerary, you could manage 10K for 5-6 weeks<<

I <i>think</i> the $10,000 is for <u>both</u> of them - but we may still need clarification on that.

>>I would leave Italy for a separate trip because there's lots lots lots more than just Venice, Florence, Naples and Rome.<<

But the same can be said for a lot of countries -- My goodness there is a TON more than London in the UK, and Dublin is about my <i>least</i> favorite part of Ireland, etc.

They won't be able to spend enough time in ANY country IMO.

I also read the post as 10K to 12K for both of them.

The 10-12,000 is for the both of us. We narrowed it down to 5 the nederlands, Italy, Germany, France, And the U.k and were wondering if going there in July and coming back in august would be better? I just dont know if ill get another chance like this so Italy has to stay on my list. Does this sound like a better itinerary or do I need to do less?

Does the $10-12,000 also have to cover airfare to/from Europe? If it does, you may have to cut back your time to have any kind of enjoyable trip. Specials do come up, but it is hard to take advantage of last minute offers if you have a job.

July and August will be miserably hot in much of Italy and much of Spain. Earlier or later would be better for those two countries.

Are you very old or does something else make you think this will be your only chance to ever travel? Since you are getting the money together and planning a trip now, unless you are ill (I hope that is not the case), there is no reason to think you could never do it again.

Apartments or rooms with airbnb might work for some lodging.

April/May or May/June would be better starting from Italy and ending in the UK. Your itinerary is doable if you're able to increase (double) your budget. You can start planning by looking at airfare + transport costs, then look at accommodation and attraction fees for your highest priority cities and then determine if you can add on the rest. If you go for the cheapest beds/no private showers for all, you might have accommodation come up to $12-1500. You can get some early discounts on transportation. Whatever you do, don't try to deliberately cut down on money for food and entrance fees, etc. If you really want to experience the places you're visiting, those are two of the ways to do it.

I'm really confused. You've exchanged 10 cities for 5 entire countries in the same time and budget (actually 8+ countries if you divide the UK). What towns/cities will you visit in these countries? The same ones you originally planned or have you added more destinations?

July and August is the worst time to go to most of Europe. It will be hot and humid (the UK might be fine) and the prices will be much more as it's peak season. There will be lines to get into major sights.

I understand your thinking that you might not get back to Europe for 2 months but you don't know that. You'll probably have lots of opportunities to travel to Europe, perhaps not for 2 months together but for shorter times.

The best thing to do is to start reading about some of these destinations and make a list of sights you want to see. Then decide how much time in each location. You can't book airfare 2 years ahead so you have plenty of time to plan. You make your trip fit your budget.

We narrowed it down to 5 the nederlands, Italy, Germany, France, And the U.k and were wondering if going there in July and coming back in august would be better?>

No July and August everywhere are the most mobbed in tourist magnets - like two just above posts say - weather too can be too hot in say Florence - average hi in July-Aug I believe over 90 degrees.

You'll find much cheaper accommodations early on - many more will not be full as they may be in later summer.

Just a much much better times - May and June are primo weather wise up north (though could be cool and funky above the Alps always) - Sept and Oct would be great - start in north and work south.

If May, June start in Italy and work north!

Since you sound young I would suggestion you post your itinerary and questions in the Lonely Planet Forum to get help from travelers who have done similar trips to what you are proposing.

My first trip to Europe (decades ago) was a three month backpacking trip all over the continent. We traveled on Eurorail passes, using overnight trains on many occasions to avoid paying for a night of lodging. We ate most of our meals picnic style from local stores. Today it costs more for the plane ticket to Europe than my entire trip cost. I have been back to Europe several times over the years and marvel each time at how much more things cost. On my first trip many sights and museums were free,while today they are a major chunk of change. While prices have gone up and my desire for comfort along with it, I know from my kids that you can still travel there on a budget much less than I am willing to do at this point in my life.

While this may be your first trip to Europe I doubt it will be your last. Find what places and sights interest you most and see those. You may have to pare down the scope of your trip to accommodate your budget, but you will still have the trip of a lifetime.

Have fun.

Planning the trip is half the fun. How lucky you are to have this much time and a friend to travel with.

Don't discount couchsurfing as an economical way to extend your trip. My son traveled from London through Scandinavia to Berlin to Amsterdam to Paris to Florence on about $2000 for three months, couchsurfing all the way. He may have stayed places that are a more, shall we say, bohemian than you might care for, but that was his taste - there are plenty of other options. Hosts may throw in a meal or two as well, or take you to an inexpensive neighborhood restaurant for a typical meal. The other advantage of traveling this way is getting to meet someone local who may show you around for free and give you a taste of what life is like for the people who live there. There's a website for this: couchsurfing.org. I suggest you check it out.