Solo backpacking for 5 weeks
May 25th, 2016, 08:56 PM
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Solo backpacking for 5 weeks
Hello! I am trying to plan a solo trip to Europe in 2017. I will only have about 5 weeks to spend, and I am trying to figure out how much I can do within that short period of time. I know, for certain, I would like to go to 3-5 countries(Spain, Italy, Ireland, UK, Germany, Switzerland, Amsterdam) and cannot decide which 3-5 countries I can/should cram in. I love the culture shock, and would like to stay in one country for at least a week. I also need to take into consideration travel time. I can only mention that Ireland, Amsterdam, and Germany are really tugging on my heart strings. ❤️ Does anyone have any advice or tips about traveling in mentioned countries, decent hostels, daily expenses, transportation to/from, must do/see, & best routes? Thanks in advance!
May 25th, 2016, 11:10 PM
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<i> Solo backpacking for 5 weeks
Posted by: hannarae89 on May 26, 16 at 12:56am</i>
Before you go "backpacking," why? See http://www.enjoy-europe.com/hte/chap06/packiing.htm.
Get a copy of Lonely Planet's "Europe on a Shoestring" and a Europe planning map from the AAA. Read and plot your logistics. Europe is a big place and five weeks fly by.
<i>menachem on May 26, 16 at 1:59am
Ireland seems to be hard for backpacking unless you go by car. I didn't know Amsterdam is a country.</i>
Kindly control your Dutch "humor." The young lady is seeking advice, not a punch in the gut. Actually, comparing it to the rest of the Netherlands, Amsterdam might be a separate country. I suggest getting out for a spell, especially to Haarlem.
Posted by: hannarae89 on May 26, 16 at 12:56am</i>
Before you go "backpacking," why? See http://www.enjoy-europe.com/hte/chap06/packiing.htm.
Get a copy of Lonely Planet's "Europe on a Shoestring" and a Europe planning map from the AAA. Read and plot your logistics. Europe is a big place and five weeks fly by.
<i>menachem on May 26, 16 at 1:59am
Ireland seems to be hard for backpacking unless you go by car. I didn't know Amsterdam is a country.</i>
Kindly control your Dutch "humor." The young lady is seeking advice, not a punch in the gut. Actually, comparing it to the rest of the Netherlands, Amsterdam might be a separate country. I suggest getting out for a spell, especially to Haarlem.
May 26th, 2016, 12:32 AM
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"Ireland seems to be hard for backpacking unless you go by car" The antipodean answer to that would begin with A.
Lots of folk Backpack around Ireland there are some excellent Hostels and the Tourist sights are easily accessible on public transport or by local tours from central bases.
If you have an idea what you want to see do and go as far as Ireland is concerned I have no problem helping you with the planning.
Lots of folk Backpack around Ireland there are some excellent Hostels and the Tourist sights are easily accessible on public transport or by local tours from central bases.
If you have an idea what you want to see do and go as far as Ireland is concerned I have no problem helping you with the planning.
May 26th, 2016, 12:34 AM
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Since I don't know much about you, I don't know what to advise, other than just to choose the three countries that are tugging at your heart. And Amsterdam is a city, in a country called the Netherlands.
Ireland has a good network of buses. You can get around without a car, but it's not easy to visit multiple places in one day. Smaller towns sometimes have one daily bus, arriving in the evening, and one leaving in the morning, so you might have to stay two nights to see much. I have a feeling the same may betrue in Germany.
If you want to add another country, France or Switzerland would be fairly easy.
Ireland has a good network of buses. You can get around without a car, but it's not easy to visit multiple places in one day. Smaller towns sometimes have one daily bus, arriving in the evening, and one leaving in the morning, so you might have to stay two nights to see much. I have a feeling the same may betrue in Germany.
If you want to add another country, France or Switzerland would be fairly easy.
May 26th, 2016, 05:47 AM
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Great sites for planning the rail portion - www.seat61.com; www.ricksteves.com and www.budgeteuropetravel.com - the latter's online European Rail & Planning Guide has a wealth of possible raiol itineraries everywhere.
May 26th, 2016, 12:01 PM
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I would like to go to 3-5 countries(Spain, Italy, Ireland, UK, Germany, Switzerland, Amsterdam) and cannot decide which 3-5 countries I can/should cram in.>
In 5 weeks you could easily do bits of Spain, Italy, Germany and Amsterdam, the city (culture shock galore there - check out the coffeeshops where cannabis is legally sold and consumed) and then fly to Ireland and fly home from there. How old are you - if under 26 check out the bargain Youth Eurailpasses.
In 5 weeks you could easily do bits of Spain, Italy, Germany and Amsterdam, the city (culture shock galore there - check out the coffeeshops where cannabis is legally sold and consumed) and then fly to Ireland and fly home from there. How old are you - if under 26 check out the bargain Youth Eurailpasses.
May 26th, 2016, 10:45 PM
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Be that as it may, one way of backpacking your way around Europe and getting the appropriate culture shock would perhaps be to go wwoofing. Not for the entire stretch of 5 weeks, but many places are happy with someone who can spare a week in summer. It'll add to your budget, because room and board will be free, you will meet the locals and you'll have a semblance of being "at home" in Europe.
http://www.wwoof.net/
http://www.wwoof.net/
May 29th, 2016, 07:16 PM
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Hi,
Your post brings back memories - http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...p-help-pls.cfm. I spent 37 days on a last minute solo dream Europe trip in 2014.
I only had my flight tickets, first 3 cities' connecting travel bus tickets and their accommodations before I could fly off, it was that last-minute. I flew into Frankfurt, took overnight bus to Amsterdam, spent 3 days, took overnight bus to Berlin and spent 3 days, took overnight bus to Vienna and spent 3 days, then train to Salzburg for 5 days including couple of day trips and making way by overnight train to Venice. Spent 3 full days in Venice and then made my way to Florence for 5 days, out of which 1 day was a day tour to few Tuscan towns. I managed to get a last minute solo vegetarian focused cooking classes and stay at a fabulous farmhouse villa with a lovely Italian family for a week where I also explored Umbria and Tuscan towns part-time. Then, I took a train to Rome, spent the night there, dumped majority of my luggage in my B&B where I'd stay later in the week and next day, made my way to Naples to join a friend who flew in last-minute from London to spend an extended weekend with me (so sweet), and we spent 3 days in Amalfi with stay in Ravello. Then I headed back to Rome, spent 6-ish days there, celebrating my bday there and flew back from Rome. Why I am telling you about my trip? Read below:
My advice based on experience:
1. Please spend at least 3 days in a small-ish city and at least 5 in a big one with too many attractions or containing your favorite experiences.
2. Consider eurolines overnight buses to save time and cost of hotel stay (if cost is a concern). I ended up traveling on couple of these overnight buses simply to save my time on the trip. I'm energetic and made the most of the following day in a new city despite overnighting it in a bus without fully reclining seats and despite falling ill during first two weeks.
3. Definitely buy open-jaw flight tickets.
4. Cut down London & Ireland. I find these to be a bit away from rest of the European cities as well as worthy of a separate trip. Having spent almost 4 weeks in London last November, I feel I barely scraped the tip of the iceberg.
3. Maybe it's my notion, but I have found Switzerland to be too expensive and some day, I'd like to hire a car and drive around the beautiful countryside. I found that misfit for a solo trip.
4. Pick and choose cities based on what's geographically making sense. Going by what you said, focus on Amsterdam, Germany, Italy. Land in Germany or Amsterdam. Germany is vast. You can easily spend 3 weeks there. After these, make way to Italy and fly out of Rome or Milan, depending on what you want to see in Italy. I have found airports like Frankfurt, CDG Paris, Rome, etc to be much cheaper to fly into with shorter flight durations than maybe smaller airports in Italy, the Amsterdam airport, etc.
5. You have a lot of time to plan your trip. I had none. I was planning on the go. But be open to last minute changes if interesting developments happen.
6. Daily expenses are so subjective depending on lifestyle, what comfort you can't give up on, dietary flexibility, how many paid-entry vs free activities you'd engage in, tolerance levels for hostels (I had none - so I stayed in fancy-ish places where I ended up getting hefty discount for last minute booking!!). Please elaborate and ask specific questions to get an idea.
7. Route - if you see my route on a map, plus my open jaw flights, I didn't backtrack at all (barring last minute Amalfi to Rome). Plus I managed to fit in my preferred cities in such a way that they were each an overnight bus ride away. Maybe this idea could help you.
8. Pacing it fast in the initial part of the trip and then taking it slower as well as saving favorite destinations for the second half helped manage fatigue that sometimes sets in as you keep traveling. Think about what works for you.
Your post brings back memories - http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...p-help-pls.cfm. I spent 37 days on a last minute solo dream Europe trip in 2014.
I only had my flight tickets, first 3 cities' connecting travel bus tickets and their accommodations before I could fly off, it was that last-minute. I flew into Frankfurt, took overnight bus to Amsterdam, spent 3 days, took overnight bus to Berlin and spent 3 days, took overnight bus to Vienna and spent 3 days, then train to Salzburg for 5 days including couple of day trips and making way by overnight train to Venice. Spent 3 full days in Venice and then made my way to Florence for 5 days, out of which 1 day was a day tour to few Tuscan towns. I managed to get a last minute solo vegetarian focused cooking classes and stay at a fabulous farmhouse villa with a lovely Italian family for a week where I also explored Umbria and Tuscan towns part-time. Then, I took a train to Rome, spent the night there, dumped majority of my luggage in my B&B where I'd stay later in the week and next day, made my way to Naples to join a friend who flew in last-minute from London to spend an extended weekend with me (so sweet), and we spent 3 days in Amalfi with stay in Ravello. Then I headed back to Rome, spent 6-ish days there, celebrating my bday there and flew back from Rome. Why I am telling you about my trip? Read below:
My advice based on experience:
1. Please spend at least 3 days in a small-ish city and at least 5 in a big one with too many attractions or containing your favorite experiences.
2. Consider eurolines overnight buses to save time and cost of hotel stay (if cost is a concern). I ended up traveling on couple of these overnight buses simply to save my time on the trip. I'm energetic and made the most of the following day in a new city despite overnighting it in a bus without fully reclining seats and despite falling ill during first two weeks.
3. Definitely buy open-jaw flight tickets.
4. Cut down London & Ireland. I find these to be a bit away from rest of the European cities as well as worthy of a separate trip. Having spent almost 4 weeks in London last November, I feel I barely scraped the tip of the iceberg.
3. Maybe it's my notion, but I have found Switzerland to be too expensive and some day, I'd like to hire a car and drive around the beautiful countryside. I found that misfit for a solo trip.
4. Pick and choose cities based on what's geographically making sense. Going by what you said, focus on Amsterdam, Germany, Italy. Land in Germany or Amsterdam. Germany is vast. You can easily spend 3 weeks there. After these, make way to Italy and fly out of Rome or Milan, depending on what you want to see in Italy. I have found airports like Frankfurt, CDG Paris, Rome, etc to be much cheaper to fly into with shorter flight durations than maybe smaller airports in Italy, the Amsterdam airport, etc.
5. You have a lot of time to plan your trip. I had none. I was planning on the go. But be open to last minute changes if interesting developments happen.
6. Daily expenses are so subjective depending on lifestyle, what comfort you can't give up on, dietary flexibility, how many paid-entry vs free activities you'd engage in, tolerance levels for hostels (I had none - so I stayed in fancy-ish places where I ended up getting hefty discount for last minute booking!!). Please elaborate and ask specific questions to get an idea.
7. Route - if you see my route on a map, plus my open jaw flights, I didn't backtrack at all (barring last minute Amalfi to Rome). Plus I managed to fit in my preferred cities in such a way that they were each an overnight bus ride away. Maybe this idea could help you.
8. Pacing it fast in the initial part of the trip and then taking it slower as well as saving favorite destinations for the second half helped manage fatigue that sometimes sets in as you keep traveling. Think about what works for you.
May 29th, 2016, 11:20 PM
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janisj, it's volunteering, not paid work.
wwoof itself points this out, for instance here.
http://www.wwoof.ie/visas#STATUS
maybe next time, first read up before you press the submit button. thanks.
wwoof itself points this out, for instance here.
http://www.wwoof.ie/visas#STATUS
maybe next time, first read up before you press the submit button. thanks.
May 30th, 2016, 12:08 AM
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May 30th, 2016, 04:48 AM
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>>janisj, it's volunteering, not paid work. <<
I <i>know</i> it is volunteering -- but still is considered work. You are in Europe so not an issue. And that little bit is about Ireland specifically. But for Americans, woofing in Schengen specifically is considered work. Now -- it may not come up in the Immigration screening/interview . . . but if it does one may be SOL.
>>maybe next time, first read up before you press the submit button. thanks.<<
Sorry -- but I knew what I posted.
From another part of the wwoofing website:"<blue><i>Each country has different visa requirements, so you need to check with the relevant WWOOF organisation. In general it is up to the volunteer to research and arrange any visas required for their WWOOFing stay. WWOOF organisations do not normally arrange placements on the farms - this is something you do directly with the hosts. This means that neither WWOOF staff or WWOOF hosts can usually help you with getting visas.</blue></i>"
I <i>know</i> it is volunteering -- but still is considered work. You are in Europe so not an issue. And that little bit is about Ireland specifically. But for Americans, woofing in Schengen specifically is considered work. Now -- it may not come up in the Immigration screening/interview . . . but if it does one may be SOL.
>>maybe next time, first read up before you press the submit button. thanks.<<
Sorry -- but I knew what I posted.
From another part of the wwoofing website:"<blue><i>Each country has different visa requirements, so you need to check with the relevant WWOOF organisation. In general it is up to the volunteer to research and arrange any visas required for their WWOOFing stay. WWOOF organisations do not normally arrange placements on the farms - this is something you do directly with the hosts. This means that neither WWOOF staff or WWOOF hosts can usually help you with getting visas.</blue></i>"
May 30th, 2016, 12:12 PM
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In any case the OP gives no indication of wanting to volunteer but says in the OP wants to cram in as much as possible traveling - the VISA snafu further presents a challenge should she/he go that route.
