I am planning a 6-8 month trip next year to Europe; call it a bucket list trip. I was wondering whether any forum exists that would get people who are also interested in such a trip together. Any help or guidance is appreciated. Thanks.

First of all you need to know about the Schengen area and it's rules if you are travelling on a non Schengen passport

Yes start with a basic guidebook - after researching Schengen tourist visa stays - going by train or car or plane or bike or? Trains are great especially if going mainly to large cities as most are want to do for their bucket lists but trains and buses also go to more rural places. Don't need a car but could be nice- anyway some good train resources for planning a rail trip- www.bahn.de/en - German Rail site with schedules for all of Europe - www.seat61.com; BETS-European Rail Experts and www.ricksteves.com.

And what is your budget for such a trip - how old are you - hostels or hotels or camping (great with cars - camps everywhere even in large cities.)

As much as I appreciate those who have responded to my original message, what I am really interested in finding out is whether such a group exists, or a forum, that caters to those who are interested in extended European vacations. My general plans are for a 6 month stay and covering travel to a number of countries, but the specifics can only be worked out through interaction with interested parties. So if anyone is interested or knows of such a forum/group please contact me. Many thanks.

I forgot to respond directly to those who were king enough to respond to my original submission, but as a clarification, I am quite familiar with European travel as I have done that on a number of occasions as well as having lived there for a number of years. I am retired and looking for others in my age group who can afford the time for such a long stay.

Never heard of such a site but there must be one -good luck. Finding folks with similar interests and destinations could be tricky.

The Lonely Planet's Travel Forum, called Thorntree, has a board specifically on extended travel. But there are as many "gap year" travelers as retired travelers. Nonetheless, you may find some useful information there.

I have done extended travel in Europe and Asia. Have never felt a need for a specific forum for that. What exactly do you hope to get from one?

From the wording of the OP's posts, I think he is looking for a traveling companion . . .

>>that would get people who are also interested in such a trip together<<

>>but the specifics can only be worked out through interaction with interested parties<<

>>looking for others in my age group who can afford the time for such a long stay<<

I think it would be very difficult to find someone willing to hook up with a stranger for such an extended trip

Any possibilities of getting friends or relatives to go with you?

I suppose you may get lucky, but most people I know who are retired and have enough money to travel plan their own trips and don't want to share them with a load of other people. I know I don't. You couldn't pay me enough money or offer me enough freebies to join a group such as you're contemplating. WHY would I want to?

I think you have as good of a chance of finding like-minded individuals here on Fodor's as any other travel forum I am aware of (Frommers, Lonely Planet's Thorn Tree, Rick Steves, etc.).

I think your post needs to be worded more clearly though. I'm really not sure exactly what you are hoping to find.

You have nominated about eight countries that yo would like to visit, and some six to eight months duration. The Shengen visa thing is of course a limitation, you can spend max 90 days (not three months, and that’s important) in any 180 day period in the Schengen zone. When you enter Schengen, two timers start running, a 90 and 180 day timer. When the 90 day timer times out, you have to be out of Schengen. When the 180 day timer times out, you can re-enter. That’s the crude explanation, others are better informed.

The chances of finding travelling companions that will wish to share your itinerary for such a long period are slim indeed. However if instead of thinking about six months, you were to think of it as six trips each of a month’s duration you might have more success.

As others have commented, the Lonely Planet Thorntree forum might be worth a look, although I think that forum is pitched at a younger demographic, more budget and back packing.

Six months on the road is a very long time; our last trip was ten nights in Venice followed by 37 nights in the UK. By the time we reached London, the last six nights of the trip, we were pretty well worn out, and certainly we did not do London justice. We’ll just have to go back there.

You can get lucky of course, you can meet up with people through serendipity, and that’s happened for me this trip. I saw a trip report on Tripadvisor from a fellow Venetian nut case, and I could see from what she wrote that we had roughly similar interests and a similar way of travelling, and that our times in Venice would overlap – I’m at the almost end of a 17 night stay here. So a few messages to and fro, and we have shared a boat trip on the lagoon, a concert and multiple spritzes.

The risk of course in assembling a small group, if you can make that happen, is that you become the tour group leader, and that’s no small task. Herding cats pales into insignificance by comparison.

>>You have nominated about eight countries that . . . <<

When I first saw the thread a few days ago, it was tagged for about 25 countries. It looks like someone has truncated the list to fit better in the window - or maybe the OP asked for the edit???

If you truly want others like yourself to travel together where y'all would go would be a mutual decision.

Have you tried social media - even dating sites if not caring about gender? Maybe putting flyers up at senior citizen centers or in senior chat rooms?

<I think you have as good of a chance of finding like-minded individuals here on Fodor's as any other travel forum I am aware of (Frommers, Lonely Planet's Thorn Tree, Rick Steves, etc.)> Agree next to nil! Would you want to commit to traveling with a complete stranger? That's why best to form a group from your area so you could get together before and plan your sojourn together. For example if you are experienced in European travel try to organize something like a travel class thru Community Adult Ed programs, etc.

Please come back and let us know if you find something!

I think you're going about this wrong.

The only way I think you *might* be able to organize your own is to approach a company like Rick Steves and ask them to create a tailored group around your interests. You probably would need to have a minimum number of participants to commit. Then they would sell the remaining spots through their usual marketing methods.

Other ideas:

if you attended college, see if your University offers a trip for alums. They are the only tours I've been really tempted by.

Consider Elderhostel, now called Road Scholar. My grandma went on several of these and loved them. No idea what they are like now, you will need to check reviews.

https://www.roadscholar.org

hi I agree with St. Cirq, I can't imagine anyone wanting to do this. However, what about finding some longer river cruises, on smaller ships, where you can get to know people on a ship over a period of time,some less than 100 people. I find people very friendly and accomodating on this sort of travel. Or find a good travel agent and see what they suggest. Many of these river cruises cover many countries, with organized optiional tours of places of interest along the way.

OP is a veteran European traveler who wants to forego a group perhaps and plot own trip but that being a quixotic quest - finding others compatible, etc yes some kind of tour may be the best way - besides perhaps organizing own group.

>>yes some kind of tour may be the best way - besides perhaps organizing own group.<<

How would he find a tour or group to travel for 6+ months through 25+ countries??