Is 18 too young for a month alone in Europe?
Jun 7th, 2010, 07:10 PM
#41
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zeppole - your retort to Christina was out of line - totally for a person who always strives to give the very most practical advice to others and always without an attitude quite unlike i find you to have. An apology is in order IMO to one of Fodor's IMO most sincerely hekpful posters.
Jun 7th, 2010, 09:02 PM
#43
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Is 18 too young to travel Europe alone for 3 1/2 weeks? For some, definitely not. For others, 50 is still too young. 
Nobody here can make that call for you. You have to be brutally honest with yourself. If you're not comfortable with the idea of traveling on your own for that long, there's nothing wrong with that. Remember that each person has different comfort levels.
Can you be happy and comfortable mostly on your own for that long? Could you join a tour group such as Contiki or EF for part of your trip so you're not entirely on your own? Would having a cell phone to call home be enough to keep connected?
Do you enjoy traveling alone for short times? If you hate it for a day or two, I would be surprised if you enjoyed it for 3 1/2 weeks. I'm happy traveling alone, but many people really hate it. Can you eat alone at a restaurant? Travel on a train, stay in a hotel or hostel alone?
What is your previous travel experience? If you've never traveled, or only traveled within the US with your parents, traveling alone in Europe for 3 1/2 weeks might be a bit overwhelming. At 18, I had already traveled internationally three times with a student ambassador group and was way more comfortable with travel than many adults are in their 40's or older. I think experience is much more of a factor than age.
Is it 3 1/2 weeks or nothing? Would you be more comfortable with going for only 2 weeks instead?
If you're going alone instead of with 3 friends, are your parents still comfortable giving you that kind of trip? If they're funding it, you have to take their opinions into account. Having a cell phone and somewhat scheduled times to call home (or email home) will help with their comfort level. My parents are a lot more comfortable with my travel addiction as I make a point to call home more or less on a regular basis. As long as they keep hearing from me, they know I'm safe and having a fantastic time.
Don't worry about the language thing. Many people in Europe speak English well enough for basic communication, if not fluently. Beyond that, you'd be amazed at what you can get communicated with a handful of words, charades and a smile.
Personally, I would go. However, I already had international travel experience at 18 and I've always been very independent and comfortable on my own (eating, getting around, staying in hotels, etc). Everyone started out with no experience, it just depends on how you want to get that first trip experience. Many adults I know would not be comfortable traveling alone in Europe for any time period. It all comes back to your own comfort levels.
Whether you choose to go or not, give your parents a hug and say thank you for the very generous offer!
Nobody here can make that call for you. You have to be brutally honest with yourself. If you're not comfortable with the idea of traveling on your own for that long, there's nothing wrong with that. Remember that each person has different comfort levels.
Can you be happy and comfortable mostly on your own for that long? Could you join a tour group such as Contiki or EF for part of your trip so you're not entirely on your own? Would having a cell phone to call home be enough to keep connected?
Do you enjoy traveling alone for short times? If you hate it for a day or two, I would be surprised if you enjoyed it for 3 1/2 weeks. I'm happy traveling alone, but many people really hate it. Can you eat alone at a restaurant? Travel on a train, stay in a hotel or hostel alone?
What is your previous travel experience? If you've never traveled, or only traveled within the US with your parents, traveling alone in Europe for 3 1/2 weeks might be a bit overwhelming.
At 18, I had already traveled internationally three times with a student ambassador group and was way more comfortable with travel than many adults are in their 40's or older. I think experience is much more of a factor than age. Is it 3 1/2 weeks or nothing? Would you be more comfortable with going for only 2 weeks instead?
If you're going alone instead of with 3 friends, are your parents still comfortable giving you that kind of trip? If they're funding it, you have to take their opinions into account. Having a cell phone and somewhat scheduled times to call home (or email home) will help with their comfort level. My parents are a lot more comfortable with my travel addiction as I make a point to call home more or less on a regular basis. As long as they keep hearing from me, they know I'm safe and having a fantastic time.
Don't worry about the language thing. Many people in Europe speak English well enough for basic communication, if not fluently. Beyond that, you'd be amazed at what you can get communicated with a handful of words, charades and a smile.
Personally, I would go. However, I already had international travel experience at 18 and I've always been very independent and comfortable on my own (eating, getting around, staying in hotels, etc). Everyone started out with no experience, it just depends on how you want to get that first trip experience. Many adults I know would not be comfortable traveling alone in Europe for any time period. It all comes back to your own comfort levels.
Whether you choose to go or not, give your parents a hug and say thank you for the very generous offer!
Jun 7th, 2010, 09:41 PM
#44
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Contiki has a reputation of being the tour to go on if you want to hang out for drunken parties in Europe and speed through various great cities. For most young people, I doubt it's a better option than going on their own.
For the change fee, students often can get more flexible terms on their tickets than other people. At any rate, you often have the choice to buy a ticket that costs the change fee (in the range of $200) plus the difference in fare (often thousands of dollars), or to buy a ticket that just costs the change fee if you change your plans. Although I don't typically recommend travel agents, TravelCuts and STATravel and StudentUniverse can straighten out this point for you. It has to do with the fare booking class.
I think you have to figure out what you want out of your trip. To take a stereotypical example, going to Europe and getting wasted in Amsterdam for weeks on end is probably not useful. On the other hand, with your trip, you have the option to meet lots of interesting people, see lots of interesting places, and learn to get along on your own.
For the change fee, students often can get more flexible terms on their tickets than other people. At any rate, you often have the choice to buy a ticket that costs the change fee (in the range of $200) plus the difference in fare (often thousands of dollars), or to buy a ticket that just costs the change fee if you change your plans. Although I don't typically recommend travel agents, TravelCuts and STATravel and StudentUniverse can straighten out this point for you. It has to do with the fare booking class.
I think you have to figure out what you want out of your trip. To take a stereotypical example, going to Europe and getting wasted in Amsterdam for weeks on end is probably not useful. On the other hand, with your trip, you have the option to meet lots of interesting people, see lots of interesting places, and learn to get along on your own.
Jun 8th, 2010, 05:53 AM
#45
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The opportunity of a lifetime perhaps and someone else is paying for it - go for it and it will be a learning and maturing experience that will help you in college and later life. Based on personal experience.
Jun 8th, 2010, 06:33 AM
#46
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How can we answer that question for you? If you aren't jumping on the chance to go, then probably not.
Do you make friends easily?
Are you able to take care of yourself?
Maybe you'd be more comfortable staying in the states. Maybe the money would be better spent on something else.
If you can't make this decision on your own, it might be best to shelve it for a while.
Do you make friends easily?
Are you able to take care of yourself?
Maybe you'd be more comfortable staying in the states. Maybe the money would be better spent on something else.
If you can't make this decision on your own, it might be best to shelve it for a while.
