Backpacking across Europe

Hello there I am new to budget travel, as a matter of fact I am pretty much
new to travelling abroad in general!

I am currently at a stage in my life where I am sick of my daily routine and
I feel as though I have missed out on a lot of my teen/student type of
typical fun. I still, fortunately, have less commitments on my back compared
to what a regular adult of my age would have (marriage/mortgage etc). I am
planning on packing up my daily routine and seeing as many countries as I
can.

Since I am new to budget travel I would like to set off in familiar
surroundings and therefore decided to see as many countries within the
confines of Europe for now (I myself currently reside in the UK). I have a
budget of £3000 for now, and would like to see as many countries and places
as well as staying out there for as long as I can. If necessary working in
some of those countries to boost my income and hence stay there for longer.
Unfortunately I have no travel partner as all my friends have been
there/done it/seen it in their uni years and now firmly settled down.

I would like advise as to how many countries I can expect to see within this
budget and what sort of time frame I can expect out of it. Also I would like
advise on best form of transportation around europe (I hear that rail travel
is popular). As it is budget travel I guess I would be staying in cheapest
accomodation, or hostels? - Is there any age limit in any of the hostels - I
myself am considerably older than some college/uni students now (28 yo) and
would like to save myself from embarrasment if necessary!

Also if someone can advise on a popular route to go travelling across Europe
(I would probably be starting from London), and on advisable equipment to
carry on my tour. I would like a route that would involve hiking or some
cycling, learning history and main attractions within europe rather than
nightlife/promiscuity etc....Ok maybe I wouldn't mind some of it!

My future plans are to stay out in India/Nepal (especially) and Asia, but
for now, I would like to conquer my own continent - Europe.

Advise on the above matters would be appreciated. I am planning on packing
up my job by the next month.

Regards

MT

You might also consider posting this in rec.travel.europe


Jan

mt schrieb:
Hello there I am new to budget travel, as a matter of fact I am pretty much
new to travelling abroad in general!

I am currently at a stage in my life where I am sick of my daily routine and
I feel as though I have missed out on a lot of my teen/student type of
typical fun. I still, fortunately, have less commitments on my back compared
to what a regular adult of my age would have (marriage/mortgage etc). I am
planning on packing up my daily routine and seeing as many countries as I
can.

Since I am new to budget travel I would like to set off in familiar
surroundings and therefore decided to see as many countries within the
confines of Europe for now (I myself currently reside in the UK). I have a
budget of £3000 for now, and would like to see as many countries and places
as well as staying out there for as long as I can. If necessary working in
some of those countries to boost my income and hence stay there for longer.
Unfortunately I have no travel partner as all my friends have been
there/done it/seen it in their uni years and now firmly settled down.

I would like advise as to how many countries I can expect to see within this
budget and what sort of time frame I can expect out of it. Also I would like
advise on best form of transportation around europe (I hear that rail travel
is popular). As it is budget travel I guess I would be staying in cheapest
accomodation, or hostels? - Is there any age limit in any of the hostels - I
myself am considerably older than some college/uni students now (28 yo) and
would like to save myself from embarrasment if necessary!

At least here in Germany there are plenty of older folk who use the
youth hostels. I have travelled using them both with my son (he was
15ish then-)and on my own and never had any problem with this. I am
57yo and was by no means the oldest person at some of the hostels.


Also if someone can advise on a popular route to go travelling across Europe
(I would probably be starting from London), and on advisable equipment to
carry on my tour. I would like a route that would involve hiking or some
cycling, learning history and main attractions within europe rather than
nightlife/promiscuity etc....Ok maybe I wouldn't mind some of it!

My future plans are to stay out in India/Nepal (especially) and Asia, but
for now, I would like to conquer my own continent - Europe.

Advise on the above matters would be appreciated. I am planning on packing
up my job by the next month.

By all means if you head towards Berlin here - send us an email before
arriving in Berlin and we can let you have the phone number to check on
availability .. we run a B&B room here and might have a space free if
you like.

What equipment you carry depends a maily on the means of transport you
intend to use. If you buy a van/camper and use that it would carry a
whole load of stuff - if you are on the Eurrail then of course it`s a
matter of what fits into your backpack. Advisable to have one hand free
when travelling by rail/bus. If you don`t keep to that rule - the
tendency is - when it gets stressfull/distracting - to leave one bag
behind because of having had to get a hand free in a hurry etc.

Travelling in mainland Europe will mean there tends to be well-equipped
camping sites with all the mod-cons - so you might like to carry a
lightweight tent and a set of nesting pots/pans/folding cutlery etc to
give yourself the freedom to do some camping. Try to include an air-bed
and foot-pump. Sleeping on the ground can be real uncomfortable.

If you are careful about it - perhaps you could find a decent travelling
companion over the net before leaving. The other option is to keep your
eyes out on the trip and if somebody nice is heading your way - then
couple up with them. As a 28yo you will most likely have enough life
experiance to know when folks are ok and when perhaps not.

ron b.

(If anybody objects to the above as some sort of missuse of the usenet
for advertising - I would like to point out that we run a real small
operation and tend to view our guests as -visitors to the family- in a
way - but let me know if you really object and we can talk about it.)

ron b.