geshemj

I have been planning to go to Europe for a while, but have been having trouble deciding where to go. I am planning to travel in May or June 2004 and want to see at least 3 countries in a month. I may be traveling alone and do not know any languages other than English. Any suggestions on which countries I should visit and how to travel between them.

geshemj

I forgot to mention that I am 21 years old.

bigtyke

check into Youth Hostels for inexpensive places for a single person to stay.

The countries you should visit depend on your interests. If I had just one set of choices, I would do England (do it first so you get a taste of a foreign country without having a language handicap), France, and Italy

Russ

In general, northern Europe is a little easier for first-timers with limited foreign language skills - more people speak English, and the cultural differences aren't quite so overwhelming.

Great Britain is an obvious possibility.

On mainland Europe, you might look into the Netherlands (English is VERY prominent in life there), Germany, Belgium, and perhaps France (fewer English speakers there, but France provides good cultural contrast with the Netherlands and Germany.) In your month-long trip, you wouldn't have to travel terribly far to see a few things in each - this will keep your travel costs down. Trains are much more convenient and frequent than buses. Don't get a railpass without first checking into the price of regular point-to-point tickets between the towns you plan to visit - ricksteves.com has a good cost analysis section for rail travelers.

The Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany have lots of official HI youth hostels, good places to stay cheaply and to meet other travelers. France's hostels are fewer and farther between.

suze

Traveling between countries - by train either w/rail pass or on individual tickets (depends on where you go & how often you travel, whether a rail pass is a money-saver or not) or possibly budget airlines if you have a long distance sometimes they are similar price to a train ticket and obviously quicker.

For planning your lodging, depends if you want to go the youth hostel/student route, or rooms in inexpensive hotels, B&B's, or pensiones.

I don't see going solo or with English only a problem especially in Western Europe (if you can learn a few polite basics and carry a phrase book is good). Rule of thumb, Western Europe is more expensive to travel than Eastern. But as mentioned by Russ above, Western possibly a bit easier to navigate for a 1st trip.

I like cities myself (Amsterdam, Paris, Venice, Geneva) but they are usually more expensive than staying in smaller towns or the countryside.

What are your interests - art/museums, architecture, rural life, history, people, food? Without knowing anything about how you'd like to spend you time, it's hard to be more specific about where to go.

amp322

It really depends on your interests & what you want to get out of your trip. As for the language barrier, any major city will be OK as far as finding people (especially your age) who speak English. Eastern Europe is definitely way cheaper, and, to me, more interesting. If you stay in hostels, though, you'll be able to afford most cities. Keep your eyes open for ads at the hostels & internet cafes for affordable restuarants. Carry your student ID, or whatever kind of ID youy need to get discounts for admission to museums, attractions, etc. If I were you (1st time Eurotraveller) I'd probably check out London, Amsterdam, Paris, and Prague, unless you really have some different/special interests that call for visiting certain cities. It's always really special to check out the countries of your ancestors, too. Try to do that, if possible. Have a blast! (PS - look for discount airlines. Virgin Express has flights between many places for as little as 39 Euros! Saves time, rather than taking the train).

ira

Hi

I always recommend Paris.

For your trip I suggest London and vicinity, Paris and vicinity and then either the Netherlands and Belgium or the Netherlands and Denmark for your last week.

You might find that flying round trip to London and then purchasing flights on intraEuropean airlines the cheapest way to get between cities.

See ryanair.com, for instance.

I don't expect that yiu will need a railpass, but you can check your itinerary at www.railsaver.com.

Randy

I would also recommed Paris. If you are going for a month, spend a week or so in Paris. There is a lot you can do Paris and you can also take some day or half day trips to other places of interest. Some side trips could be; Versailles, Normandie, Mont St. Michelle, Charters, Angers, Chateau's in the Loire Valley, etc.

The metro and bus in Paris will also keep your transportation costs to a minium.

Last year a friend of mine was in europe and he felt the Youth Hostels were as expensive as a two star hotel and not the conveniences. Some inexpensive hotels in Paris are: Hôtel Jean Bart (near Luxembourg Gardens), Lux Hôtel (near Bastille), and the Sunny Hôtel (near Place d'Italie). I stayed at the Jean Bart last year and paid 55 euro a night and that included the breakfast. The rooms are small but clean and with a full bath.

There are also some very inexpensive chain hotels in France; Formula One and Fast Hotel. They are about $25 a night, but they are not usually in a convenient location. In the smaller towns you can usually find hotels at a much lower rate than Paris. I stayed at one in Angers two years ago for $25 a night.

I would think you could do something similar in London and Rome. It all depends on your interest. I have been to France five times, have seen much of the country and if you plan to go to France and would like some more detailed information, please do not hesitate to contact me at [email protected]

Don't worry about the languages. Just get some phrase books and learn a few important words, like, bonjour, merci, etc.

Bon Voyage!

BrimhamRocks

Not sure when the universities let out for the summer, but you might check into staying in university dorms instead of hostels. My family and I stayed in a university dorm in London about 3 summers ago. Just a basic room, but that's all we needed.

Have a great time, wherever you go!

happytourist

My daughter did this by herself for five weeks with a backpack, a railpass, and a Rick Steves guidebook. She started in Morocco (she had been serving in Africa in the Peace Corps), went to Gibraltar, Spain, France, Germany, Austria, Budapest, and Prague. When she got tired of a town, she went to the train station and looked for an interesting town to show up on the schedule and got on the train. She found budget hotels were actually better deals than hostels. She was using her money from her two years in the Peace Corps, so she was traveling very cheaply, but had a wonderful time.