Europe 1st Time ?'s
Feb 3rd, 2004, 04:02 PM
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Europe 1st Time ?'s
Life goal to backpack through Europe! Never been! 2004 is MY year! I have been reading up on guides, trains & passes, but what to do -purcashe passes before or after there?
Where Fly into/start? London? I have no idea about wire tranfers or hostel reservations or how much money I should go over there with for 3 months.
If I run low on money, is it easy for American to find temp work in Europe?
An open ended RT ticket would be nice, if I want to come home ealier or later?
Need Fodor peps help!
Lost in DC!
Where Fly into/start? London? I have no idea about wire tranfers or hostel reservations or how much money I should go over there with for 3 months.
If I run low on money, is it easy for American to find temp work in Europe?
An open ended RT ticket would be nice, if I want to come home ealier or later?
Need Fodor peps help!
Lost in DC!
Feb 3rd, 2004, 04:11 PM
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Congratulations. It's always great to fulfill a life-long dream! We've done a lot of camping in France but never backpacked. If you are interested in tenting at all, purchase the book "Camping and Caravanning in France" and you will have a list of most French campgrounds with their prices and amenities. There are probably comparable books for other countries.
You may want to check the Lonely Planet web site because there are a lot more people on that site who are into hiking and backpacking. Just a suggestion.
Have a great time!
You may want to check the Lonely Planet web site because there are a lot more people on that site who are into hiking and backpacking. Just a suggestion.
Have a great time!
Feb 3rd, 2004, 04:20 PM
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No ssuch thing (with a few minor exceptions) as purchasing rail "passes" after you arrive in Europe.
And increasingly, no reason to purchase a "rail pass" at all, unless you are going to Europe because you want to ride on trains a lot.
Search "RailEurope" and read the spectrum of opinions and options here.
And I agree that visiting lonelyplanet.com (ThornTree) will go far to complement the kinds of info you can get here (which tends to cater less to the rail'n'backpack mindset).
Best wishes,
Rex
And increasingly, no reason to purchase a "rail pass" at all, unless you are going to Europe because you want to ride on trains a lot.
Search "RailEurope" and read the spectrum of opinions and options here.
And I agree that visiting lonelyplanet.com (ThornTree) will go far to complement the kinds of info you can get here (which tends to cater less to the rail'n'backpack mindset).
Best wishes,
Rex
Feb 3rd, 2004, 04:39 PM
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It's not exactly easy to get legal temporary jobs in much of Europe; most countries are pretty fussy about employment of non-residents, especially countries with high unemployment. Definitely check out the situation on a country-by-country basis before you leave if you think you will have to get a job at some point.
Feb 4th, 2004, 08:32 AM
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NatGeo
I'm in DC also and maybe close by (Farragut Sq). I have been monitoring cheap hops across the water. Right now, the cheapest route from DC to Europe is actually Air France to Athens ($284 RT). I suggest you check the Air France site daily (different cities are offered every day). Under the promotions tab: Look at both "search our promotions" and "best fares from departure city" .
These fares don't show up on places like orbitz and the like. For a 3 month trip it doesn't really matter where you start, just pick the cheapest route. I would not buy passes in advance. Once there, you can get around cheaply on different European budget airlines (many fares are 1.99 Euro - if you are willing to fly at midnight, for example). As for cash, that's a tough one. The easiest way is to bring an ATM card and leave a stack of deposit slips to allow someone to put something in your checking account if you run low. Good luck with THAT
I'm in DC also and maybe close by (Farragut Sq). I have been monitoring cheap hops across the water. Right now, the cheapest route from DC to Europe is actually Air France to Athens ($284 RT). I suggest you check the Air France site daily (different cities are offered every day). Under the promotions tab: Look at both "search our promotions" and "best fares from departure city" .
These fares don't show up on places like orbitz and the like. For a 3 month trip it doesn't really matter where you start, just pick the cheapest route. I would not buy passes in advance. Once there, you can get around cheaply on different European budget airlines (many fares are 1.99 Euro - if you are willing to fly at midnight, for example). As for cash, that's a tough one. The easiest way is to bring an ATM card and leave a stack of deposit slips to allow someone to put something in your checking account if you run low. Good luck with THAT
Feb 5th, 2004, 02:42 PM
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Wow- thanks everyone for all the advice. This is wonderful to get fist hand advice! I am new to this.
RT to Athens 284 GOSH! Wish I could leave tomorrow thats awesome!
Don't think I will be camping much..mostly youth hostels.
Bardo you are close, we should grab a cup a joe sometime.
Rex - will check out lonely planet site - i have see lots of emails mentioning this Tree?
So I really should not purchase a 1 or 2 month rail ticket?
I guess that is best, b/c then I can just buy the segments as I go, but the Rail tickets have discounts and some have free ferry service to the Greek Isles.
RT to Athens 284 GOSH! Wish I could leave tomorrow thats awesome!
Don't think I will be camping much..mostly youth hostels.
Bardo you are close, we should grab a cup a joe sometime.
Rex - will check out lonely planet site - i have see lots of emails mentioning this Tree?
So I really should not purchase a 1 or 2 month rail ticket?
I guess that is best, b/c then I can just buy the segments as I go, but the Rail tickets have discounts and some have free ferry service to the Greek Isles.
Feb 5th, 2004, 04:59 PM
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<<So I really should not purchase a 1 or 2 month rail ticket?>>
Really. You really should not.
First off, if you don't have at least $6000 saved up for this, you should whtte down to 6 or 8 weeks, in my opinion. Do you have gainful employment to turn the month shaved off into money?
And, then as a corollary, unless you have no limits on money - - it makes no sense to spend $664 (1 month) or $938 (2 months) on travel withIN Europe.
I have done a lot of traveling in Europe, and I think that spending more than $100 a week, for intra-Europe travel is just logging miles to be logging miles. I know I have never spent even that much.
Really. You really should not.
First off, if you don't have at least $6000 saved up for this, you should whtte down to 6 or 8 weeks, in my opinion. Do you have gainful employment to turn the month shaved off into money?
And, then as a corollary, unless you have no limits on money - - it makes no sense to spend $664 (1 month) or $938 (2 months) on travel withIN Europe.
I have done a lot of traveling in Europe, and I think that spending more than $100 a week, for intra-Europe travel is just logging miles to be logging miles. I know I have never spent even that much.
Feb 5th, 2004, 05:47 PM
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If you are looking for a side job in Europe, find some American expats who own businesses there. You might be able to bus tables, do errands, work at a laundromat, etc. They might even pay you to do some computer work & other secretarial jobs, but something low key is the way to get some extra $. They will have to pay you under the table, because there is no way you are going to get a work permit anywhere for a short period of time. So, try to get enough money to cover expenses before you leave. Have a great trip!
