Traveling in Europe when under 18
 

Hello! My friend and I are planning a trip to Europe for this summer after we graduate from high school. We will be going to London, Paris, Nice, Venice, and Rome and will be in Europe for four weeks. (Yes we know this is a lot in a short amount of time!) My question is that will it be a problem that I will be under 18 when traveling? My friend will be 18 and I will only be 2 months from being 18 (although I know that doesn't really count for anything.) Will I get stuck not being able to go to clubs? Also even more importantly is that when we were viewing some hostel websites where we plan on staying it seemed like many said no guests under 18 so how strict is this and will I end up getting stuck and having to pay a lot more because I am not 18? Sorry for the long post and thanks for your help in advance!

Have you posted this question on www.lonelyplanet.com? The Thorn Tree forum is over there and there are a lot of young people. I don't know what the rules are now with 17 years olds.

I started traveling Europe, solo, at your age, but that was long ago, as I'm mid 50s now. Smiles. Since your friend will be 18 and you're together, then maybe it will be easier.

I remember when I was out on the roads, there were a lot of young people on Interrail (the European equivalent to Eurail) and a lot of them were definitely under 18 and they stayed in youth hostels. I used to meet them on trains and chat with them.

Have a great journey. Happy Travels!

I also was going to suggest the Thorn Tree forum. And wanted to add that IMHO, four weeks to cover your 5 places is not too rushed! Depending on how deep into summer you go, you might want to consider the trip in reverse from what you wrote: head south to north as the summer heat increases...

And one hostel fave to pass along: the hostel in Amboise, France in the Loire Valley is on an island in the middle of the river, and dare I say it, quite a nice place to stay regardless of being a hostel! :)

I think you need to check with each individual hostel about their age restrictions. I would try to find places that don't have one, rather than hope they don't enforce it. Now I'll sound like your mother but I'd be worried a lot more about this part (having a place to sleep) then about getting into clubs.

I also think 5 cities in 4 weeks is a nice pace, not too much at all.

I'd also say that you should take care about age restrictions first. It will take a lot out of the fun if you have to worry about that "as you go", so I'd use the web resources to have this base covered before you go.

The question of age restrictions at clubs is more a question of how solid your friendship with your buddy is. Imagine you meet a couple of hot dudes/babes in a cafe during the day and make plans to check out the clubs at night. Your friend has no problems since he/she is 18, but you might be the "underage kid" who does not make it thru the door. Not funny. Is there no way to postpone the trip by 2 months until you will be 18, too?

Finally, with 4 weeks of time I would not only stay at the most expensive destinations of each country. In summer, there are better places to go if you want to meet other young people than Nice or Venice.

As suze says above, I would not show up at a hostel with a published age restriction and simply hope they don't enforce it. However, you might consider contacting them in advance, explain your circumstances, including the fact that you are traveling with your friend who is 18, and ask them to confirm that you will be able to stay. I would do this via e-mail and if you get a positive response, print it out and bring it with you, because you never can tell how a particular desk manager might choose to interpret the rules on any given day.

I'm confident that you will find accommodations that work out for you and that you'll have a great time -- good luck!

There are plenty of hostels that welcome folks under 18 - get a copy of Let's Go Europe as this lists zillions - my son once traveled in Europe under 18 and had absolutely no problem - HI (Hostelling International) hostels welcome all ages as do many of the non-HI hostels - you can simply e-mail the ones in Let's Go Europe (at any bookstore or library) and ask.

As for clubs - the drinking age in most of Europe is 16 and though some clubs may have a higher age you will find plenty of places that do not.

Anyway for such a wide-ranging trip look into the Eurail Youthpasses, good for anyone under age 26 - you will find many Europeans your ages traveling around on trains as well as folks from all over the world. For loads of great info on planning a European rail trip and railpasses I always spotlight these fantastic IMO sites - www.budgeteuropetravel.com (download their superb IMO free European Planning & Rail Guide for lots of sample rail itineraries); www.seat61.com; and www.ricksteves.com. For such a trip trains are the way to go IMO and there are definitely no age restrictions on traveling on them. And you can hop overnight trains - zillions of them - to both save on overnight accommodation costs and relocate long distances whilst you sleep.

FWIW, I have gone to a club in Paris with a British girl who was 17 (3-4 of us with her were over 18) and she had no trouble getting in with us. That was many years ago (about 15), but I wouldn't think it would have gotten harder. But I don't really know.

I just asked my French son what the age limits were for the clubs he used to go to all the time when he was a teen and he said unless someone looked 13 they never checked and there were no posted ages or enforced ones. This may not be true everywhere but IME in countries where the legal drinking age is 16 - just about all of Europe except France and Britain and perhaps Scandinavia there is a lax checking of ages - indeed my son said he was buying beer at the local supermarket from age 14 on without any checks.

I agree with PalenQ's comments as I was once that age and out traveling Europe. My European friends were out on the roads traveling at around age 16, although many of them that I met while out traveling were 17. As I stated above, they were on Interrail and I was on Eurail. I was away, each summer, for 11 weeks straight traveling around solo and I'm female. There were tons of others doing the same. And Let's Go Europe is a very handy travel guide to use. I used it back in the early 70s and for many years. The guide is still going strong. Happy Travels!

About the London part of your trip, and getting into clubs, I just asked my 18yo son.

He says that being asked for ID is quite a random thing. Sometimes they are really hot about it, other times they let anyone and everyone in. If you look 'old for your age' then you are probably OK. If your friend gets asked for ID then you will too, so send your friend up to the door first! You'll be fine in pubs and bars as long as you are not actually buying alcohol yourself. If you do want to drink then you can as long as it is with a meal.

Good advice above from others.

Having had three kids who've traveled without parents many times in Europe starting at age 15 I can state that they never had any problems regarding entering pubs, clubs, drinking, hostels, B&Bs or even hotels (even those that supposedly restricted to 18 and over). They were (and are) responsible smart kids but enjoyed a good fun or two!

They paid their bills on time and obeyed any curfews (though these were few and far between). They were never ID'd for drinking.

I think you have set yourself a good pace - plenty of time to explore and get the feel of things. Being respectful and courteous will buy you much territory.

As others here have said, check out Lonely Planet. Also, my kids enjoyed the Rough Guides to give background information on public transport, hot spots for your age group, hostel recommendations, etc.

Agree to check out the guide books for the best hostels - so you have reservations at the good ones - some are great and some are awful. I believe that Hosteling International is a well-respected organization with hostels that are orderly. My daughter heard from friends of some that are chaotic, with drugs and women being harassed.

My daughter and her friends ended up staying in modest hotels - since one of the parents wouldn't pay if they stayed in hostels.

If going to clubs then you better have a big budget as clubs in Europe though they may not cost much or anything to get in are, according to my son and others every expensive if you want to drink anything and sometimes imbibing something is compulsory.

Clubbing = very expensive - ordinary pubs can even be expenssive compared to back home - do not expect any $1 bottles of PBR or many drink specials or happy hours, etc.

Many youth hostels now even have pubs on their premeses.

<i>Clubbing = very expensive</i>

PalenQ, that sure brought back memories! Way back when as a university student in Paris, I used to go to Les Bains Douches with my two girlfriends, even though we could barely afford the cover charge. Entrance included one chip each for a drink, and we would make our three chips last all night, buying one at a time and sharing sips until it was gone. We'd also plan our night so we'd be out dancing until the Metro started running again, since we couldn't afford taxis. (Needless to say, clubbing nights were not drinking nights - those were much more affordable with a few nice bottles of wine!)

ggreen - yes you rarely see such things like Happy Hours or $1 PBRs (Pabst Blue Ribbon to us old farts) on sale in any European club or even bar IME - alcohol can be very cheap in the supermarket but so so expensive in a cafe or way way expensive in a club!

ggreen: LOL! Most of the summers that I lived in Copenhagen, we also couldn't afford the expensive taxis. So, the clubs would be over at around 2AM, I think it was, and then we'd walk back to my place, a little over an hour walk, and then sit in my communal kitchen, at the kollegium, and eat and drink tea until the public transportation started running and the rest of the group could get home. Those were the GREAT days. Happy Travels!

Clubs will be too expensive if you're on a hostel budget LOL!

Some will allow girls in for free and typically early (10 or 11pm) but drinks will be very expensive.

It's likely you won't be carded. My son and his friend went to clubs and pubs in London and Paris about 3 years ago (both 17 at the time)and weren't carded.

If you stick to student places and wine or beer the prices aren't that bad. But mixed drinks are outrageously expensive all over europe.

oddly enough it seems in many European cafes that a soda pop can be much more expensive than even beer or wine is - at least per ounce in those teensy-eeny glasses orange juice or pop if oft served up in!

My daughter was 17 (also a few months shy of 18) when she traveled with 3 friends a few years ago. She only got turned away from one club in London who wanted to see her ID. They just went to another place. But she DID use her ID to get the free "under 18" rate at some sites and museums!

And your trip doesn't sound too rushed at all. My daughter did all the cities you did plus Barcelona & Amsterdam in 3 1/2 weeks and had they had a blast. Took a few overnight trains for the longer distances and 1 flight. You're going to have a fabulous time!

Things are getting stricter all over when it comes to showing ID.

After reading this post, I wish I were 17 again and back out trekking through Europe for the first time. LOL! You'll have a blast. Just be safe. Happy Travels!

Those were the GREAT days indeed Guenmai. Who would've thought we'd look back with such fondness on the funny bits like how to get home late at night with no money??

<i>a soda pop can be much more expensive than even beer or wine is</i>

Also, less expensive in a bar to buy just the alcohol and being charged extra for the soda or juice - which you add yourself to your taste from those teensy-eeny bottles and cans. It's such a completely opposite perspective to our give-away-the-soda ways of doing business! (One I wish we'd adopt more of here... sigh.)

...Did we scare away the OP?

Things are getting stricter all over when it comes to showing ID.>

Yes indeed as underage binge drinking is becoming a big worry now in places like France - indeed the drinking age has been raised to 18 from 16 due to binge drinking and resulting anti-social actions attributed to that.

I traveled all over Europe,from Portugal to Finland and from England to Yugoslavia, for 3 months when I was 17 years old. I only realized about 20 years later that a lot (if not all) of the solo travel was technically "illegal" (as an unaccompanied minor) even though I showed my passport and filled out hotel forms everywhere. Nobody batted an eye.

And I doubt that anything has changed.

kerouac - somethings have indeed changed - like the boats between Stockholm and Helsinki now require parental permission for anyone under age 21 to ride them - sounds like an impossible thing that but it is in print. European youths are unfortunately IME getting more drunk and doing drunken things than before and the resulting crackdown will continue.

France raising the drinking age to 18 is just one show of this I'm afraid.

When I sailed from New York to Cannes on the Italian Line's Michelangelo to move to France, my parents had to fill out a form for me, because I was "only" 20 years old.

France has not raised the drinking age to 18. It has raised the "unaccompanied" drinking age to 18, as well as enforcing the ban of selling supermarket alcohol to minors. This has not stopped any of them from drinking, of course.

Oh, and I should mention that we are only talking about hard liquor. Drinking age for beer and wine is set at age 13 for young people with their parents or guardians.

If the hostel says they have an 18 and over age limit, chances are they will enforce it. I would plan on hunting down hostels that don't have that age-limit. The hostels I have stayed in were 18+, but I'm sure there are some in every city that aren't.

If you have an option, wait 2 months and go when you are 18 so you don't have to worry about any of that.

kerouac - or other French folk - I wonder if stores like Carrefour have indeed cracked down on asking for ID for minors - it was not long ago my son was buying beer and hard liquor at his nearby Carrefour when under 16 (the then drinking age for beer and wine - it was 18 I believe for hard liquor) and no one ever ever asked for any ID

Here stores can suffer great penaltis and even have their beer/wine/liquor licenses suspended if they are lax in IDing folks under 21 (American legal drinking age)

I wonder if stores in France or elsewhere in Europe face the same yes severe sanctions stores here do. In fact we even have lots of undercover underage stooges cops send around to see who will sell, etc.

Thanks