I am a young male (22) that really wants to see many of the sites Europe has to offer. My main interests are England, France, Germany and Switzerland. I have the money to travel, and I'm planning on at least a 2 week trip. The only problem I seem to face, is I don't have any friends who can afford to go. Now, I'm definitely not afraid to travel by myself, I've seen most of the United States already, but I want to make sure I enjoy my time while I'm in Europe. Does anyone have any advice on how to best travel by oneself while over there? Any decent tour groups to travel with?? I really want to do this while I'm young.. <BR> <BR>Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks! -Bill

Bill, great for you! My advise to you would be not take a tour. They are great but the adventure is doing it on your own. Go to a travel agency or AAA & get some travel brochures for the areas you are interested in. Pick out the sites you really want to see. Group them by area. Then sit down with a travel agent to help you get to them & a place to stay. The rail system is really good over there & you could possibly do it your self. Example: check the internet for a flight to London, see the sights & take the chunnel train to Paris. Then take the train to Geneva & the Glacier Expres is Wonderful! Zermatt, St. Moritz, Lake Como, on down to Venice, up to Innisbruk, Berlin, Paris, London & home. I've done this trip & Urail can help you with it all. As far as being alone, just take a map & look lost & ask the 1st good looking gal for help, you know...

Hostelling is the key, even if you can afford B&Bs. you'll meet people from all over the world and make instant friends. You'll find travel companions because almost everyone else there is travelling alone too. <BR>

Buy a good guidebook or two, or go to the library and start doing some research. Don't rely on a travel agent to do this for you; they are rarely expert on hotels for example, and hotels <BR>recommended by agents, airlines, etc <BR>are too often not in the best locations nor at the best prices. <BR>When you've done some reading, you can narrow down an itinerary--for a two week trip, perhaps choose 4 or 5 cities or other locations, and then you can do some day trips from those places if you like. People on this forum would be happy to make recommendations on your schedule, transportation, hotels, sightseeing, etc, once you can narrow down your primary interests and your travel budget. <BR>Here are just some general travel websites to get you started, not forgetting this Fodor's website <BR>www.igougo.com <BR>http//www.infoseek.co. <BR>http://goeurope.about.com/travel/ <BR>http//www.yahoo.co. <BR>http://city.net.destinations <BR>http://goeurope.miningco.com/travel/ <BR>europe/ <BR>http://europe.cnn.com/TRAVEL/CITY. <BR>GUIDES <BR>www.eurodata.com/articles/ <BR>article-index.htm <BR>www.1france.com air and hotel packages for France, destination guides, gifts, food <BR>www.fortunecity.com/oasis/ <BR>www.frommers.com <BR>www.travelocity.com <BR>www.travelscape.com <BR>www.oanda.com/cgi-bin/travel currency converter <BR>http://www.airwise.com/index.html info on major airports around the world <BR>www.ricksteves.com <BR>www.roughguides.com <BR>www.subwaynavigator.com/bin/cities/ <BR>english descriptions and maps for subway systems of cities <BR>Then of course there are all the websites for the individual countries and cities...

I agree with Wendy. Someone your age will probably have a much better time staying in hostels than in hotels. I spent 6 weeks doing that when I was 21 and loved it! I met lots of really cool people, several of which traveled with us for awhile. It was a great experience!

Have you checked out CouncilTravel? You might be able to extend your 2 weeks considerably by working in a volunteer "adventure" or even by finding a short-term job. My 23-yr old daughter just got back from 3 months in Costa Rica where she volunteered 3 days a week at a school. She was with a friend, but they met and rented an apartment with a couple of local young people, and had a wonderful time "on a shoestring." They only used CT for air tickets, but noticed they have some really interesting options open all over Europe for young, adventurous types.

An alternative to hostels is a b&b - some are quite large, and there are lots of travelers at the breakfast table. Even a small hotel will have a variety of guests with whom to interact. <BR>Be sure to plan a good itinerary; you want to experience as much as possible, and without a companion prodding you "come ON, let's GO", it's easy to waste time or skip stuff. Don't. <BR>Pack as light and compact as possible; you have no one with you to watch your stuff while you go to the men's room, so you're going to have to lug it around wherever you go. <BR>Keep a written account of your travels; you won't have anyone to remind you of your adventures, so be sure you can remind yourself. It's a good place to write down addresses of people you meet. Make some 'calling cards' (business cards) for yourself on your computer, so you can give them to whoever asks for your address. Include your email address, too. <BR>Throughout Europe there are 'family style' restaurants; ask at your hotel/b&b. or other travelers, for suggestions. Good way to beat the 'lonelies', and enjoy an evening out. <BR>Travel second-class on trains; lots more people to talk to. <BR> <BR>

I don't really think it's a good idea to see four major countries in two weeks; you don't have to see everything on this short trip because you'll be too old for this kind of thing soon or will never go again. Doing everything on your own is an option (get some good guidebooks and research thoroughly), but you might make mistakes and not enjoy yourself and waste a lot of time and money (eg, I know young people who buy Eurailpasses just because they've heard of them and think they are "supposed" to, whereas it would have been cheaper not to, and then they are surprised when they can't get a refund for unused days). Hostels might be good for you, but be realistic and research them to see if they suit you--they are not always very nice, even young people don't always like them (my 20-yr old niece just was in Eur. and could not sleep in some of them and was somewhat surprised by their squalor, noise, and inconvenience to city center, she was a neophyte at this thing, though); however, they are definitely an option and you will meet other young people there and some are better than others. I know I have always liked quiet and privacy and get grossed out easily by certain things, so even when I was very young and poor (ie, college age and thereafter) I would not have wanted to stay in hostels; I think that may be what you are looking for, more budget hotels which can be very reasonable split between a roommate. If you want to take a tour, I'd suggest you look into two groups: Rick Steves (www.ricksteves.com) and O Solo Mio (www.osolomio.com). Rick Steves is somewhat less traditional than other tour groups and does mandatory roommate assignment (ie, you can't book a single room even if you want to) and stays in budget hotels, so his tours tend to get younger people (although they are expensive). O Solo Mio has good age groups for single travelers, thus you could book a tour for mid30s and younger, their prices are very reasonable, and their itineraries also seem a little better than "older" more traditional tours. They do have one 2-wk Eur. tour that covers the places you want to see. Cosmos is one tour group company that has younger age groups but from what I've heard, it doesn't sound as good as these others and is a lot more crowded. Finally, I'd suggest you also consider a Busabout pass (www.busabout.com). For one fee (not bad, maybe $250-300), you get unlimited travel for two weeks on their bus system which goes around Western Europe, staying in major cities. Advantages in comparison to just buying a rail pass and winging everything on your own are that you are more likely to have all young people like you on the bus so you can meet companions, and they help you with making hostel reservations, etc, and will call ahead for you to book rooms in the next stop. Disadvantages are that bus travel takes longer than rail travel.

Try Footloosetravel.com for a small group tour(16 people?) for 2 weeks that doesn't charge a single suppliment.

Definitely check out Rick Steves' books for solo travel and his tours (although I think they're rather expensive). My 30 year old son, traveling solo, used Rick Steves books around Europe and stayed in many hostels and met lots of people to go out with. He was on a budget but had a great time. Still corresponds with some he met. Rick's books are entertaining and give a good overview and are honest. I have found his suggestions very reliable. You can add other books/internet sites to supplement for more indepth info albeit drier.

If you travel on trains, you will meet SO MANY people. Everyone sees you travelling alone, assumes you want company (whether you do or not), and strikes up a conversation. It's great! I met lots of people on trains and boats (or standing in lines for tickets). <BR> <BR>Also, while you may read a lot in this forum about not advertising that you're an American, you would not believe how certain T-shirts or baseball caps will prompt people to come up and start talking to you, so for solo travellers looking for company it's not always a bad idea. At one point while sitting on a park bench reading a book by myself in Germany, I was wearing a T-shirt from the Spoleto Festival in Charleston SC, and several people came up to ask me about it or tell me they'd been there too (national park T-shirts seemed to have the same effect). I'm not advocating being the ugly American, just pointing out that sometimes what you wear can be a conversation starter.