My 19 year old daughter leaves in 1 week for a 2 month 6 or 7 country backpacking experience. Needless to say I am quite concerned about everything. Her friend and her will be staying in hostels and are living on a real shoestring budget. They will visit Ireland, Scotland, England, France, Netherlands, Germany and Italy. Enough time? How much should they plan for spending money. Help ease my concerns. Thanks

I can understand your concerns as I put my mom and dad through the same worry starting at 15 when I took off for Europe solo. At the age of 26 I still cause them to turn a few more shades of grey each time I take off. The countries that she is visiting during her 2 months are some of the most beautiful and I am sure she will have a wonderful time. The time will pass so quickly for her as she has a lot of ground to cover in two months-but I am sure it can be done in this amount of time. Tell her to look into cheap flights to save time. I flew from England to Belfast for 20$ (canadian) and then from Belfast to Glasgow for the same amount. Check out ryanair, bmibaby, and easyjet--there are quite a few others so do a search on google. I have stayed in hostels in Scotland, Northern Ireland, the Netherlands and France- the ones I stayed at were well kept and very safe--especially in Northern Ireland and Scotland. Since she is touring off peak tourist season--places to stay may be a bit cheaper for her. If there are two of them going together it is sometimes cheaper to stay at B&Bs. If she buys food from a market/grocery store then she can cut costs that way. She can get by on about 30-40$ a day--however, I didn't factor in sight seeing costs etc. Some good sites to help her with hostels and other info are
http://www.hostels-ireland.com/
http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/
http://www.flybudget.com/index2.html
http://www.hostel-scotland.co.uk/
http://www.bugeurope.com/
feel free to email if you have any other questions
[email protected]
She will have a wonderful time--computer access is available in many places so she can keep in touch that way. also tell her to look into an international phone card when she arrives in Europe--and she can call home often. : ) hang in there--she will be fine!!

Some other good sites:
http://www.guideforeurope.com
http://www.eurotrip.com

I think that your daughter should count on the hostel costing 15 pounds per night (could be cheaper, but also could be more expensive). If they get cheap food from the grocery store and avoid restaurants, they can probably get along with about 5 pounds per day for food. Then they have to worry about local transport and transport between all of those locations. Then there are sightseeing fees, money for bars and clubs (if desired), and money for emergencies.

I'd also suggest your daughter set up a sample itinerary (even if she does likely change it later). Then she can determine the most practical transport options between each place. In some cases it might be cheaper to fly rather than take the train.

I would underscore the value of a skeleton outline itnerary, even if she wants to "wing it".

In France and Italy, in particular, there would be much merit in some focus, as 6 or 7 weeks could easily be filled in either country.

Where flying into and back home from? Same city? If so - - and if it is in England - - then it might be wise to take in England and/or Scotland first, then fly from England to Italy for rockbottom prices (see www.ryanair.com for example) and meander back from there. Cheaper and a "better" use of time (IMO) than ground transportation from one end of Europe to the other and back again.

Best wishes,

Rex Bickers
Floyds Knobs, Indiana
(father of three daughters in the same age group)

worriedmomma-

Also tell your daughter that there are internet cafes all thru Europe if she wants to email you in an emergency or just touch base to let you know where she's been and where she is off to next...

Also tell her to get a phone card if she wants to call home...

Hi momma,

Don't worry. You brought her up well.

hi Momma,

You are going to worry, so don't angst over that part. it's part of being mama.

The best advice I could give your daughter would be not to take cash. to have an atm card or a atm/visa and only get the cash she needs for a couple of days at at time.

if she does this, she needs to give you a couple of deposit slips to that account and as a parent I would set aside some emergency money, just in case. if there is an emergency, you can have money in her account in a day and will say you wiring fees.

if she still has a week, tell her to pay for a rush copy of her atm card so that she will have two just in case one gets stripped or caught in machine.

I also agree with the other poster that said she needs to set up a basic itenary and schedule and set up times that she checks in with you. this will help aleviate some of your worry. and wait and purchase a phone card over there.

if you have internet access the fastest and cheapest way is thru internet cafes and libraries. even hottels and hotels nowadays have internet access.

finally, the last best advice I can give her is to watch her spending on little souveniers. they add up. my first trip to the uk was 16 day excursion around the coastline of england,wales, and scotland.

I came home with 250 pds(in money not weight) worth of bookmarks, paperweights, and spoons. I kid you not..when I added it up. a couple would be fine, that much was idiotic.

I am much smarter now and just buy a few of the true souveniers. Instead I now usually buy myself one big thing for the house such as a small painting or a nice teapot (I collect) to remember my trip by. I don't try to get something from each town, unless it is the free stuff handed out.

finally, purchase a inexpensive travel insurance that will pay for emergencies out of the country. the net offers many and I am sure there are some recommendations here somewhere at fodors.

at for a reasonable amount of money per day...to cover basics she will need about $30 a day max. the UK is very expensive right now because the pd vs dollars is not good. that amount allows for about $15 for hostel and $15 for food. this will not include admissions or nights out. if they are really trying for a shoestring they would be limiting this anyway. there is so much free stuff out there that they will have plenty to do and can just budget for the big things.

hope this helps...worry away that will not stop, but you can aleviate some of it by being prepared.

I too am the mother of a 19 year old daughter (who is backpacking in the San Quans as I write this), so I understand your worries. But I recall when I was not much older than them, I travelled around the world (for 3 years). However, I did this trip with my ex-husband and the world was safer then. However, it is still very safe where they're going (much safer than the US, unfortunately). So, try to be excited and happy for them. They're at the age when they will be able to travel cheaply and I'm sure they'll have a great time and have wonderful stories to share with you upon their return.

She will have a blast...and yes, I think she can do all those countries if she chooses, although I doubt she will. Agendas have a way of changing when you are on the run.

Internet cafes will be her best friend...as Sarah says, she is traveling slightly off peak as far as backpacking goes, so she should be fine with lodging. But if she can, it's nice to email places a day or two ahead of time if she's she sure she will make the destinations.

40 euro a day is a great budget...still tight but very doable. By the middle of her trip, I'm sure she will be a very savvy traveler and will have all kinds of tips to save money.

Just tell her to avoid hostel workers...most are harmless, but there are a couple of wolves out there!! ;o)

Thanks sarah77, willtravel, Rex, Andy, Erinb, artlover and crazymina. I appreciate you all taking the time to respond. Ira thanks, I hope you are right. I must admit...I do feel a little jealous of her upcoming adventure. Haven't travelled in years and when I did was in Great Britian twice....never made Europe.(as yet)

Extract a promise from her that she will e-mail you at regular intervals - for instance, every four days for the first 2 weeks and once a week after that. Make sure she understands that while she is old enough to be independent, you will be worrying every day and that's life.
Another piece of advice is to make sure she has a (rain) jacket, something she'll wear nearly every day, with a zip-close inside pocket.(She can sew one in if necessary). At the very least, she should have a spare ATM card in the pocket. Young backpackers are attractive targets for pickpockets & hustlers, and she should take appropriate precautions.

Worriedmomma

Hey, I'm envious too.

There is the possibility that your daughter might need assistance in some emergency, this is true for any traveler of whatsoever age or situation. If you are worried that your daughter might confuse prudent measures with dependency, you could suggest that she use some trusted third party as her emergency contact, rather than you.

Whoever this emergency contact turns out to be, they should

** as jenviolin suggests, be emailed/phoned periodically and informed of her whereabouts, if she has no fixed itinerary.
** have photocopies of her passport, airline ticket or e-ticket, ATM cards/credit cards, and any traveller?s cheques. This could greatly simply replacement and/or cancellation of these items, if the need arises.
** have photocopies of her travel medical insurance plan (n.b. this plan is to protect you as much as her, since my guess is you would be underwriting any unforeseen medical bills)

You're doing fine. When I took off for Europe in1981, my mom actually proposed coming with me.....

I can understand your worries, my son has been all over the world practically since he's been 20; the hostels are a network of young travellers, the kids help each other out and give tips and info on the area they are in.
My son has slept on rooftops in Morroco for a dollar, I'm glad I did not know about it when it was happening....

He is now 26 and teaching english in south korea for a year and plans to visit nepal and tibet before returning home....

I agree with requesting news every 4 days; it helps to hear from them from time to time.
your daughter is visiting countries that have a reputation for being secure for young travellers, she will grow a lot from the experience.
Still, as a mother I can understand your concerns.... Once she is gone, try to keep yourself very busy.....

Hi worriedmomma,
I was (actually I still am) a worried Mama! My son started traveling the week after he got out of college, we sent him to England/Scotland for 3 weeks. Then he traveled with a band, seeing most countries in Europe.
He branched out after that, going to Nepal, Thailand and now working in Japan.

He stayed in hostels and traveled by train, he was alone, most of the time and made friends wherever he went. They even ended up visiting us here in the US when they traveled!
One of his favorite stays was when he took the train from London to Edinburgh, then to a small island where the hostel is looking over the water and a ruin of an abbey. He and a girl he met from Boston, hitch hiked all over the island, they were treated well by everyone!
He found that most people are kind to backpackers and young travelers ~
I agree that there should not be a set time limit, things change daily and she should be able to be flexible.
She will meet some great people and come home richer and happier for it!

When I was 19, a friend and I flew on one-way tickets to London with no other plans than to buy bicycles and see where our less than $1,000 each would take us. It was a life-changing experience, one that I've thought was undoable for my kids given the changed world in which we now live. Please thank your daughter for giving me some encouragement.

Back when I was a student, an international student card was useful for museum discounts. I do not know if they are still available.

You have all been so understanding and helpfull. Many of your suggestions will be implimented and should provide me with enough reassurance so that I don't go crazy with fears and worry. She leaves Toronto next Monday heading to London and in 2 months plus a day she returns from Rome. What a wonderful excursion!!!!