Backpacking
 

My best friend and I are graduating from college next spring, and we are planning to backpack around Europe for the summer. We're trying to figure out where to go, how to get there, and where to sleep. If anyone has any suggestions about what cities we should visit, and respectable cheap places to stay in those cities (aka- good youth hostels), please let me know. We have both been to Europe before, and while we do want to visit big cities- London, Berlin, Zurich, etc, we also want to hit some small towns and less-touristy spots. Any advice would be much appreciated.<BR><BR>Thanks!<BR>~Rachel

Try looking up inter-rail, the european rail pass. have you done any research yourself?<BR><BR>I would recommend - London, Dublin, Paris, Madrid, Roma, Prague etc. It just depends how long you have and what your budget is.<BR>Your other option would be cheap on way fares around europe - try easyjet, buzz, go, ryanair, virgin express etc.

I did the same thing 16 years ago with a Eurail train pass. We had a Thomas Cook timetable for the trains and planned as we went. We had a book like Let's Go Europe or such and either found hotels in that, or booked them through the tourist offices on arrival. We took overnight trains when possible to save time and money.<BR><BR>Where in Europe have you already been?

Thanks for the advice. I have already been to Paris, the French Alps, Provence, Geneve, Zurich, Lucerne, Zermott, Bern, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Hamburg, Berlin, Nurmeburg, Gottingen, and London. So I have already hit a bunch of the big cities, and I want to get more into Eastern Europe and definitely Italy, Greece, Spain, Ireland, and Austria. I'm sure I will be revisiting some of these cities, as my friend has never been to London, but we will probably skip Paris since we've both been there a couple of times. I definitely want to go to Prague and Budapest. I'm also wondering how much time to spend in different places. When I was in Prvence was with a group and we spent three days in Avignon, and half a day in Aix-en-Provence, when we really could have balanced it better. Also, any tips on what to do first or last (accounting for weather and avoiding the largest number of tourists) would be a great help. <BR><BR>Thanks!!<BR>~Rachel

Another great place for you to ask is at www.eurotrip.com. It is geared more toward backpacking in Europe. The people who frequent the site are more into travelling and sleeping cheaply. Have a great trip!<BR>

Inter-Rail is NOT available to tourists. You must show 6 months of continued residence in Europe to be able to get one. <BR><BR>You can get a Eurail pass, but don't think that it will automatically be value for money. Chalk up a rough plan and try to compare costs from SNCF and DB and then see if a Eurail pass would really be worth it. I'd recommend seeing a lot of things within a small area rather than rushing around from London to Berlin to Zurich etc.

Have just returned from 4 weeks backpacking in Europe. I mostly travelled with Busabout (www.busabout.com) which I found to be an excellent way to get around. My favourite places were Amsterdam, Prague and Munich. In Prague, I stayed at Hostel u Melounu which was quite central and comfortable.<BR><BR>I would recommend you get hold of a copy of Lonely Planet's Europe on a Shoestring (apologies to Fodors). Great advice for budget travel.