Backpacking Europe
 

Hey all!

My best friend and I, who will both be 19, are traveling to Europe for about 6 weeks. We are landing in Croatia and flying out of London. We have a total of 40 days I believe.

Initially, we thought to do some Croatia, then take a quick flight to Rome and work our way up and around Europe. However, in planning our trip, it seems as though we are hitting just the major cities and not exactly getting the cultural experience we want.

We are not fans of art or religion but love music, going out, sight seeing, architecture, and new experiences in general.

We'd love any advice on where we should go or just a general direction of our trip! Basically, in your eyes, what should we miss and what do we have to hit on our trip. Obviously, this won't be our last trip to Europe.

Well if traveling that long and if under 26 check out the Eurail Youthpasses - in most countries can just hop any train anytime (except Italy, France and Spain where you must get a mandated seat reservation before boarding the fastest trains but not regional ones) - great info to plan a rail trip- www.ricksteves.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com (check their online European Planning & Rail Guide for lots of rail itineraries; www.seat61.com.

Take overnight trains to save daytime travel time and the cost of a hotel - bring whatever food or drink aboard and have a good time.

Thanks for the reply! We actually already bought out that gives us 12 days over course of 2 months. We have done quite a bitch of research. I'm more so looking for advice on what countries we should visit and what countries we should skip for a later trip!

For example, we initially were going to do Paris for 3 or 4 days but I now realize that it might make sense to do another trip to France all together which gives us more time for the rest of the trip.

If you "love music, going out, sight seeing, architecture, and new experiences in general" you will want to spend a fair amount of time in major cities. Cities are where you will find these opportunities, not in villages or the countryside. Your original plan of flying from Croatia to Rome (or Paris) makes sense, but there are lots of itineraries that would make sense. Research the major cities that interest you and choose several. In general, staying in a place longer will give you a better sense of the place and the culture than hopping from place to place. And you will never run out of new things to see or do in any of these cities. I'd suggest that places like Rome, Paris and London all deserve at least 5 full days (meaning you would stay there six nights).

Only you can decide which countries to visit on this trip. My favorites may not be yours. It does help if you think about it as "this trip" or another trip so you don't feel like you have to "see it all" which isn't possible anyway.

Happy Planning!

Thanks Kathie for the reply! I think your comment makes a lot of sense. It's more so because my brother said that we should spend less time in a place like Paris and see more of another country that kinda hit me. I think that seeing Vienna wouldn't tell me what Austria is like just like seeing DC wouldn't tell me what America is like. I think it would make sense to go to Graz and Salzburg and Innsbruck to really get a sense of what Austria is like.

I couldn't imagine why your brother told you to spend less time in Paris. Music, going out, sight seeing, architecture, and new experiences are all overflowing in Paris. It's not a must if you don't want it, but I don't see your brother gave a reason..?

You could learn a lot about the everyday culture of the places you visit, whichever they are, by meeting up with locals. Couchsurfing.org can help you find a free place to stay, but even more people on there are willing to meet up for a coffee, a meal, an evening. They can take you to the local hangouts, not the tourist places, and you'll see some of "regular life."

I'd think in terms of heading north and then west, say in general toward Berlin, visiting points on the way, and then west to Amsterdam before heading to London (could tuck in a visit to Paris between Amsterdam and London, too), or heading west and then north, traveling northern Italy, southern France, a bit of Spain, then heading up to Paris and on to London.

Why don't you get a feel of what USA are in DC ?
Going into remote villages will not tell what locals really are.
If I were to believe true Americans are by staying in a small town in Midwest I think I would give it a pass.

Woinparis is right.. if I go to a small town in Alabama am I really learning much that I could apply to all the people in the States?

My daughter and her friends did 2 months last year in Europe. It was hard getting all to agree on where to go.. and having things fit their budgets.. ie.. one girl really wanted to go to Cophenhague.. but its out of the way of rest of trip, so she ended up leaving the two girls and going there herself after about week 4 .. and the two others continued on( this was planned not spur of moment ) .. the two girls both wanted to do Switzerland .. but the poor bang for the buck meant they had to cut it out.

I did 3 months in Europe at 23 years old. .and my absolute faovorite weeks were when we did some Greek islands.. we flew there from Paris but would be easiest for you to fly there out of Rome.. take flight to Mykonos or Santorini.. ( whichever works best ) and then take ferries to other islands.. you will never regret Greece..islands like Santorini can be pricey, my daughter and friends didn't stay up on the caldera..but found a great place to rent a block from the beach in Kamari? ..
Naxos and Paros are cheap..and less touristy.. awesome hotels ( as in clean and well located) for 40-50 euros a night. .try finding that on Mykonos or Santorini.. they are worth seeing. .but only for a day or two then get to the other islands.

you need to sit down with friend and each pick 2-3 must see places each, ( so ending up with 5-6 place). then see how they map out to plan a route.

Remember travel eats time out too.. so don't over plan.

Two nights in one place is only one full day of sightseeing, that can be a bit rushed for some places.

Paris is always wonderful.. and I think its good to mix smaller cities in with the large classic ones (Rome, Paris, Barcelona, London etc)

Have fun.. its a lot of work ( and fun) planning a trip like this.. my dd had a blast..

Well personally I would not cut Paris :-)

My suggestion is to print out a large map and pin it on the wall. Use map pins and mark your start and end point. So you use the lay-of-the-land and where places are in relation to each other.

And plan from there. The idea of each of you picking 2-3 "must haves" is a good one.

When you're doing such broad planning at the beginning, a few hard copy guidebooks from the library may be more helpful than the internet.

Get a copy of Let's Go Europe - by far IMO the best resource book for a trip like yours at your ages - written by folks your age - amazon.com.

And The Thorn Tree, Lonely Planet's online forum similar to this one, but with a bit different demographics.

And The Thorn Tree, Lonely Planet's online forum similar to this one, but with a bit different demographics.>

younger - a lot younger!

Not necessarily PalenQ. There are older people there too, but more likely *budget* travelers of all ages. Fodor's skews more middle of the road.

OK younger at heart!