Hi all,

I'm 25M, looking into seeing Europe. Like I've read many others describe, a European trip is something I'd have a hard time getting one of my friends to partake with me. So, out of necessity, considering the solo route, but also acknowledging that that also has its advantages.

Since I have never traveled abroad before, I'm strongly considering going on one of the youth-oriented tours (Contiki, Trafalgar, etc.), however, at the same time, I'm not really into the "party hard every night" thing (some is ok), and worry that I'd be out of place. I also worry that I'd be rushed from place to place and not get the time to really soak everything in. Yet, the task of trying to organize everything myself seems taunting for this newbie, and I'm kinda skittish about the idea of staying in hostels.

Ideally, I'd like to get a sweeping tour of Western Europe, but especially stops in London, Paris, and Rome, for a length of about two weeks or so. Considering that, and my situation, I would greatly appreciate any general advice or specific tour recommendations. Thanks very much in advance!

If you simply do what you describe, it will not be hard at all to plan.

London, Paris, and Rome, 2 weeks each place for a 6 week trip. Fly into London and out of Rome to avoid backtracking ('open jaw' ticket such as this are often no more expensive or only slightly so). Train or fly a budget airline between the cities.

If you can afford it, book 1-star type local hotels, look into pensione or convent stays (Italy) to avoid youth hostels.

I know other people do much more extensive planning ahead of time, but for me a passport, plane ticket, lodging reservations, and sufficient cash, with maybe a guidebook in hand... are all you really need.

I'm a 40yo male and I just got back from my first ever European trip and did it completely solo. London and Paris. Didn't take a tour and I did just fine.

I was worried about doing it by myself, as I didn't have anyone to back me up if problems came up. But in the end it was probably the best trip I've ever taken, because I did what I wanted to do, not what a tour would have allowed me to do.

The point you made about feeling rushed from place to place is exactly why I'm glad I didn't do a tour. I saw so many tours on my trip and it just didn't look fun. "Hey, here's Notre Dame, you have 30 minutes." You can't do Notre Dame in 30 minutes. Not if you want to really experience it. And forget about finding the little out of the way places that make your trip special. Berthillion ice cream, you'd never get on a tour and if you are in Paris you absolutely MUST have it. And Paris was great because I walked EVERYWHERE!

I say, do some research and then do it on your own. My only advice based on my own trip is simply that I wish I'd taken more time in Paris and less in London. 6 days London was 2 too many and 3-ish days in Paris was about 100 too few. I did more time in London because I didn't know that much French and I was worried about the language. Don't be.

Go!

Excellent points and advice. Especially not to worry about language skills, or your lack thereof. That seems to scare so many new travelers,but in fact has never been an issue for me, in many trips.

I would say to go on your own....plan your hotel and airfare on your own. I am not a fan of tours, and I think part of the reward of travel is learning how to do it and learning what you are capable of doing.

I used travelocity for many of my airfare searches, and then hotels.com and the great people on the fodors board for recs on hotels. Also, trip advisor is good for hotel recs as well.

Thanks so much to everyone for their input. Yes, the more I think about it, the more I'd probably prefer to go on my own -- I just have to get over the fears, like some of you mentioned.

As far as the language thing goes -- you all seem to imply that you had little trouble. Is that because you already had a working knowledge of it, or that many people actually speak English, too?

Many, but certainly not all, people will speak English. You'll get by fine and that's part of the fun. My advice is to find day excursions for those times when you feel the need to connect with others. Most places have excellent walking tours. London Walks are a great example of these. Be prepared; solo travel may change your life!

I can say, without a book, about a dozen words of French.

Every time I opened my mouth in Paris, I was pegged as an American and they started speaking English.

I said bonjour every time and I guess I didn't say it well enough to pass for someone who spoke French. So they quickly started speaking English. As odd as this might sound as a complaint, I wish they would have forced me to at least try to converse in French. Next trip I'll do better.

As all the advice I got here claimed, if you can say a few words of French and make an attempt, they're very friendly and helpful.

This was my first major solo trip, but I've taken several smaller trips solo the last couple years. Catbert is correct, it will change your life.

<<Is that because you already had a working knowledge of it, or that many people actually speak English, too?>>

gman731, actually neither one in my experience.

in reality you don't need to speak very often to travel successfully. you will normally find at least one person who speaks English at a train station or hotel front desk, for example.

other situations, i have things planned out in advance so i'm not trying to ask strangers directions, rather use my own map to figure it out. once looking for a grocery store that i could not find in Venice, i ended up following a local lady who was wheeling a grocery basket (sure enough she walked right into to a kind of hard to spot market!).

i have studied over the years and know basic pleasantries, numbers, some food words ("a glass of white wine please&quot in Spanish and French, which makes things... well more pleasant, but would not imo be necessary to get around.

mostly, lacking language skills, my approach is to stay calm and watch what other people do. the post office, bakery, or grocery store will work pretty much like they do at home. pause, step back and observe, then follow along. are people queing up, packing their own groceries, taking a number, whatever. then i do that.


hope that provides some reassurance. i've gone to Europe 5 times now, mostly spent solo (sometimes i visit a friend and one trip had a companion for part of the time). kindly, Suze

gman, I am a bit unclear re the lengh of your trip and the kind of trip you'd like to do. Is it 2 weeks total? Do you want a quick over view of the major European sites? If you have only 2 weeks and want to get a quick view of "everything" I will be a dissenting voice and suggest you get on a bus tour. If you want to do it your self, I'd suggest staying in a max of 4 places (much better 2 or 3) with day trips. If you don't have a car, suggest London, Paris with a couple of day trips...or choose 2 other cities that are interesting. You can get cheap fares (easy jet and Ryan Air) to much more distant cities). Decide kind of trip you want and go for it! Remember, when you change a city you can loose up to a day with trip to airport, finding your hotel, setlling in so keep this in mind when planning.

Good luck on your trip dude. I might be going next month (nov) to amsterdam on my first solo. I guess this will be one of those "finding myself" type trips.I went to germany with a couple buddies for the world cup and it was pretty cool.Sometimes hard to get directions but overall good trip except for the heartbreaking loss to Ghana....sorry had a flashback anyways yeah good luck!