Backpacking in Europe - suggestions?

Any input? I just got my plan ticket! I will be backpacking around
Europe with a friend next summer. I haven't traveled much. It will be
the first time I stay in hostels and I will have to be tight on the
money situation. What should I bring to save money? We are headed to
England, Ireland, France, Germany and possibly Poland. Anything I should
definitely see or do?
JT

In rec.travel.europe Jason T. wrote:
Any input? I just got my plan ticket! I will be backpacking around
Europe with a friend next summer. I haven't traveled much. It will be
the first time I stay in hostels and I will have to be tight on the
money situation. What should I bring to save money? We are headed to
England, Ireland, France, Germany and possibly Poland. Anything I should
definitely see or do?

I haven't hostelled much in England, Ireland or France, but I have in Germany,
and have these suggestions.

In Berlin, the official Hostelling International hostel is relatively expensive,
at 21 Euro per night. It's really centrally located, relatively institutional
and comparatively quiet. Non-HI hostels like Circus have a good rep for
young people travelling, but the official hostel Berlin-International is good.

In Dresden, the Mondpalast is great. Bar and internet cafe downstairs, and
dorms upstairs. I stayed there twice this fall. Dresden is definitely worth
seeing, especially if you are into art and culture. Only about 13 Euro a bed
but they don't include breakfast.

In Wittenberg, if you are interested in Luther, the hostel is in a castle, but
quite a way from the train station, and it's hard to figure out the busses (and
I speak German). It's by the famous church with the "Door".

On the Rhine River I heartily recommend the HOstelling International Hostel in
Bacharach am Rhein, which is located in a castle. Some have called it the
best youth hostel in the world and it is great. The walk is long and uphill to
it, but not a huge problem, and you will be rewarded with wonderful views of
the Rhine.

--
Julie
**********
Check out the blog of my 9 week Germany adventure at www.blurty.com/users/jholm
Check out my Travel Pages (non-commercial) at
http://www.dragonsholm.org/travel.htm

On Tue, 20 Dec 2005 19:58:46 GMT, Jason T.
wrote:

Any input? I just got my plan ticket! I will be backpacking around
Europe with a friend next summer. I haven't traveled much. It will be
the first time I stay in hostels and I will have to be tight on the
money situation. What should I bring to save money? We are headed to
England, Ireland, France, Germany and possibly Poland. Anything I should
definitely see or do?

No, that oughta be enough for a week!
--
---
DFM - http://www.deepfriedmars.com
---
--

Jason T. writes:

Any input? I just got my plan ticket! I will be backpacking around
Europe with a friend next summer. I haven't traveled much. It will be
the first time I stay in hostels and I will have to be tight on the
money situation. What should I bring to save money? We are headed to
England, Ireland, France, Germany and possibly Poland. Anything I should
definitely see or do?

Zeroth, how long for?

Then first, what you need is a guidebook. Lonely Planet's Europe on a
Shoestring or Let's Go's Europe are reasonable choices given your
situation. They'll brief you on basics and accommodation and stuff.
Beyond that, you could say if you're into culture, art, castles and
opera or discos, hot chicks and beaches, or what.

Don't try to pack too much in, and especially don't end up with a
schedule that has you spending more time on the road than hanging
out. There are many cheap flights within Europe and the train system
is good and fairly cheap (except in the UK), but you want to see a lot
of things that aren't airports or trainstations.

Beyond that, some specifics: Stonehenge is the most overrated
attraction in England - skip it unless you're a prehistoric
obsessive. London is Europe's world city - its peers are New York and
Hong Kong rather than other British (or even European) cities, but
it's very expensive.

Germany is übercool for bier and sossages and Berlin is the most
happening city in Europe and has fabulous museums too, and is also
astonishingly cheap for western europe. Munich is OK, but it isn't
Berlin.

I've never been to Paris but it's on most top threes with London and
Rome. (I would go to Italy rather than Ireland any day of the week
and twice on Sundays, but I am after all not you.) If you do go for
sex and drugs and rock'n'roll, Amsterdam is worth considering (I'd
just as soon go to Ireland, myself).

Des

Worth considering Scotland as well. Magnificent scenery especially if
you get decent weather.

There are lots of Youth Hostels and Independent Hostels to choose from.

Tthe Islands and the far North-West being the best areas to visit.

Lindsay
www.caledoniahilltreks.com

"Any input? I just got my plan ticket! I will be backpacking around
Europe with a friend next summer. I haven't traveled much. It will be
the first time I stay in hostels and I will have to be tight on the
money situation. What should I bring to save money?"

-Central and Eastern Europe are much cheaper than Western Europe, and
if you are really on a budget you might want to spend more of your time
in those areas.

-Since you will be two people, inexpensive double rooms can be just as
cheap as hostels in most cities. Hostels can be fun, and you meet a
lot of people, but they can also be noisy with people always coming and
going at all hours of the night and morning.

-Before you buy a railpass, consider if it really makes sense given the
places that you want to go. If you want to focus mostly on major
cities, there are loads of cheap flights connecting almost all major
cities in Western Europe and many parts of Central and Eastern Europe -
look at ryanair, easyjet, air berlin, skyeurope, basiq air, and they
are often cheaper and much faster than the train (the drawback on short
trips is that the cheap flight airports are often far outside of the
cities and you can use a lot of time and money going to and from those
airports).

-In general, carry as little as possible. You may have to carry your
bags or backpacks up long flights of stairs in train stations or hotels
with no elevator.

"We are headed to England, Ireland, France, Germany and possibly
Poland. Anything I should definitely see or do?"

-Don't try to see too much in too short a time. Being on the train
every other day will just tire you out and you'll get much less out of
your trip than if you really take the time to explore and experience
places.

-90% of backpackers in England see London and then leave for the
Continent, but consider spending more time there - Edinburgh, York,
Liverpool, and Oxford are all well worth a visit.

Jason T. wrote in
:

snip

First off realize that you will never have enough money to do everything
you want. If you accept that than you should have a great time. How long
are you going for? London is totally expensive and I would avoid staying in
the city if you can. Dublin is expensive too. Even the hostels. My last
trip I bought a few things that helped, a lonely planet Europe, a long-
distance calling card (I use a company called Onesuite.com) it comes in
handy in case you need to call home and you don't want to spend the cash
that you have on hand, an open mind when it comes to food. I like street
vendors myself but you might have a sensitive stomach. And, a working
credit card just in case. Try not to use it cause you will be wanting to
use it but only use it in case of emergencies.

That is my advice. Good for you. I have 9 to 5 job now so my chances of
seeing the world by backpack are slim to none for a few years.

Sean

Poor backpackers will usually buy their food and stuff at Aldi, Lidl, Leader
price, Franprix, Penny Market, Asda, according to the country.
If you go to Paris, there are a few hotels for backpackers but I haven't
tried them myself.
Keep in mind that life is more expensive in Ireland and the UK than on the
continent and Poland would be the cheapest country.
Now you have to be more specific, people could write whole books to answer
you.

"Jason T." a écrit dans le message de news:
...
Any input? I just got my plan ticket! I will be backpacking around
Europe with a friend next summer. I haven't traveled much. It will be
the first time I stay in hostels and I will have to be tight on the
money situation. What should I bring to save money? We are headed to
England, Ireland, France, Germany and possibly Poland. Anything I should
definitely see or do?
JT

In article , Jason T.
wrote:

Any input? I just got my plan ticket! I will be backpacking around
Europe with a friend next summer. I haven't traveled much. It will be
the first time I stay in hostels and I will have to be tight on the
money situation. What should I bring to save money? We are headed to
England, Ireland, France, Germany and possibly Poland. Anything I should
definitely see or do?
JT

I highly recommend Rick Steves' Europe Through the Back Door, and one
called First Time Europe from Rough Guides. Except for Poland, I
recommend Lonely Planet's Western Europe to get an overview of the
things to see, at least. In short, get some guidebooks.

--
Dan Stephenson
Photos and movies from US Parks and all over Europe:
http://homepage.mac.com/stepheda

On Tue, 20 Dec 2005 13:32:44 -0800, Iceman wrote*:

"Any input? I just got my plan ticket! I will be backpacking around Europe
with a friend next summer. I haven't traveled much. It will be the first
time I stay in hostels and I will have to be tight on the money situation.
What should I bring to save money?"

-Central and Eastern Europe are much cheaper than Western Europe, and if
you are really on a budget you might want to spend more of your time in
those areas.

-Since you will be two people, inexpensive double rooms can be just as
cheap as hostels in most cities. Hostels can be fun, and you meet a lot
of people, but they can also be noisy with people always coming and going
at all hours of the night and morning.

-Before you buy a railpass, consider if it really makes sense given the
places that you want to go. If you want to focus mostly on major cities,
there are loads of cheap flights connecting almost all major cities in
Western Europe and many parts of Central and Eastern Europe - look at
ryanair, easyjet, air berlin, skyeurope, basiq air, and they are often
cheaper and much faster than the train (the drawback on short trips is
that the cheap flight airports are often far outside of the cities and you
can use a lot of time and money going to and from those airports).

-In general, carry as little as possible. You may have to carry your bags
or backpacks up long flights of stairs in train stations or hotels with no
elevator.

"We are headed to England, Ireland, France, Germany and possibly Poland.
Anything I should definitely see or do?"

-Don't try to see too much in too short a time. Being on the train every
other day will just tire you out and you'll get much less out of your trip
than if you really take the time to explore and experience places.

-90% of backpackers in England see London and then leave for the
Continent, but consider spending more time there - Edinburgh, York,
Liverpool, and Oxford are all well worth a visit.
York is worth a 2 or 3 days visit.
http://www.york-tourism.co.uk/
Northern Wales is also interesting if you like landscapes and old castles
Carnafon, Harlech...
http://www.visitwales.co.uk/

--
Sans liberter de critiquer, il n'est point d'eloge flatteur