Backpacking Europe
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- gung_hoek0
would be really useful to prioratize a couple of personal interests first. if you´d be into a particular brand of music, say electronica or r`n´r or jazz, you could target the appropriate festivals (loads of them throughout europe, not like in the US) to establish a basic route and time frame. from there you could look what´s going on in the cities on the way of that road.
so are there particular interests (history, cont. art, surfing, etc.) or must-see locations (colosseum, pantheon, knossos, kitkat club,etc.) perhaps?
- epete220
make sure you plan your trip early. preferably 7 months in advance. And never deviate from the course. Always stick to the plan, don't get lured by sexy hookers and pot.
- epete220
how much would that cost for say 3 weeks in one bedroom hotels?
- Rushmore0
So far I've committed my first week to Paris and my second two weeks to Nice, while I'm there I would also like to visit Cassis. After Nice I am traveling down to Spain to meet some family for a couple weeks and after that I'm at the will of the open road. I have promised to visit Prague and see the statue of David in Florence. I would also like to see Bruge and be around to participate in the running of the bulls... I will definitely do more in Italy and I'd like to see whats left of Sparta in Laconia. That's all I have at the moment, I don't want to overplan...
- Running of the Bulls... be prepared to sleep in the woods or in a park. At least try to find accomodation now...pixlpushr
- JG_LB0
pack your bag then cut the contents down by half. you'll thank me later
- Any bag suggestions? Should I go the North Face modern, hiking style or just hit up the local Army/Navy surplus?Rushmore
- Good advice. Go modern as you will spend a lot of time walking to the hostel at the edge of town.DeviceUnseen
- i took this eagle creek pack with me across mexico, europe, uae, australia, fiji. it's a great bag http://www.eaglecree…JG_LB
- The modern bags are probably great but they totally destroy the mental image I have.Rushmore
- +1 JG_LB.
And get a bag with wheels, you don't want to carry a bag around for 4 months...pixlpushr
- DeviceUnseen0
The places I always have the most fun are: Berlin, Barcelona, Oslo, Copenhagen.
- gung_hoek0
if you´re under 27 you can get an interrail pass, buys you 6 weeks of all you can ride train access for a big chunk of europe. cheap way to travel, you´d also meet a lot of other backpackers that way. but not very convenient of course.
- imadesigner0
Romania is great! You can see some photos here: http://www.tomrobinsonphotograph…
- Rushmore0
That sounds great, what do you mean but not very convenient though? As in, I won't get to see much or hard to get to or hard to acquire?
- gung_hoek0
well, with interrail you´ll see very, very much of the countries. many train stations for example. in fact it´s the next best thing to hiking, in terms of experiencing the different countries. not the best thing to get fast from a to b though, you´ll always wait for the next connection, get stranded from time to time, no access to the high speed trains. interrail is more for the adventurous drifter, esp. for meeting other people if you´re into that.
- marky_brown0
Yea Barcelona is meant to be a ripper.
- gung_hoek0
I just looked it up, apparently interrail is for europeans only. yankees have to get this: http://www.eurail.com/1_global_p…
- gung_hoek0
also, you absolutely need either a neck pouch or a fanny pack.
- Rushmore0
Is traveling mainly on foot and camping out a viable option?
- Rushmore0
MegE, I was thinking about hiking the Camino de Santiago during the month of June, ending in Pamplona in early July for the running of the bulls, which I do not want to miss. Sound like a plan?
mg33, Thanks for the best wishes. Shall I send you postcards detailing my adventures?
- a +700km walking plan.
http://www.caminomap…Corvo2 - Yes but people do it.Rushmore
- a +700km walking plan.
- gung_hoek0
If by foot you mean walking the cities + covering larger distances by train or bus yes. public transport and the occasional hitchhiking will basically get you everywhere.
sleeping outdoors is more difficult. there´s definately places you can camp freely, like on the mediterranian coast, but in most places you´ll get in trouble with the authorities sooner or later. however, there are camping sites in most areas where you pay something in the range of 10 to 20 eurobucks per night to put your tent. most sites are somewhat out of the cities though (takes time to get there).
for safety reasons alone free camping would not be the best idea. I´d go for hostels or the couchsurfing thing. and then there´s the designated hiking trails if you´re doing the nature thing, free camping is allright there.
- piperboytoy0
if you have an apt then you can swap apts with people in Europe. I did it for a month last summer and was a great experience.
- Corvo20
If you plan to walk-around, hiking, camping out for an extended period of time you should consider an international travel insurance - medical assistance/evac, theft/lost luggage, repatriation expenses are usually covered.
- rafalski0
It's easy to get to hate Barcelona if you go there in the middle of tourist season, it's so packed. Don't let this fool you, it's the most fantastic city.