Always dreamed of backpacking through Europe, but have a budget?
No problems at all, the dream trip is easier than it might seem.
For Americans, the first part is getting over to Europe, and then, finding places to stay, where to travel to and scanning transportation options.
Below is a brief checklist of things that need to be thought out:
What time of years is the trip planned for?
What time of day is the flight over to Europe scheduled to depart?
Are there any stop-overs or is the flight non-stop to a certain destination?
What country will you be landing in?
What airline are you taking?
Once in Europe, will traveling be done by plane or rail?
What will be packed?
Where will the R & R be taking place-hotel or hostel?
There are many more issues to deal with, but these are the most common ones.
To start the tutorial, it is easiest to start from the bottom up:
If deciding on going to hostels, (which is prefered by most, if not all of the people in the 18-30 age group) one must research each hostel they are thinking of staying at and see if membership to a certain group is required.
Membership with a hosteling organization, such as Hotel World and Hosteling International are the best-known and with membership comes the freedom to review and book hostels all-across Europe.
Remember, unless couch-crashing, finding shelter is the most important thing to do.
After figuring out where to stay upon traveling to different countries, the next thing is taking care of the travel plans while in Europe.
Rail passes, such as the Europass, which can only be bought by people living outside of Europe, gives the freedom to ride the rail for either a set amount of times or unlimitedly through the duration of the trip. With the rail pass comes more options, one can buy a country specific pass or an all-Europe pass, check out the website for more information.
However, budget airlines, like Ryanair and Easyjet could be a more logical option. Again, this all is dependant on certain countries, sales, the desperation to fill up seats...don't just assume rail make sense, research might show otherwise.
As for where to land upon touching down in Europe from America?
Ask this question:
Is the purpose of the trip to see as much as Europe as possible or center the trip anoud one country?
If touring Italy is the most important, why land in France?
Packing is another issue entirely and should be done carefully without over packing.
Heed these words: pack light, backpacking can be a cheap, fun and easy way to travel, but a bulky bag and/or an over packed backpack can be strenuous on the back. Also, if the bag or backpack is over-filled, it might not be allowed as carry on, due to airplane weight restrictions, and while in a rush or running late, it is better to have a backpack that can be carried on rather than needing to be checked.
The only things necessary for the trip over to Europe are clothes and a travel-sized toothpaste tube and toothbrush. Everything else can be bought while in Europe, and if with a group, be shared.
As for the flight over to Europe:
The best options for finding affordable flights over to Europe are either scanning different websites or going to a travel agency.
The most preferred way is the website route.
Using airlines' personal websites or websites such as Expedia, Priceline, SeatGuru, Skyscanner. Kayak and Orbitz, one can find an airline and/or hotel, along with their prices as a package and seperately.
Scanning these sites and prices, will find the cheapest prices and answer these questions: time of year, time of day. Knowing the answers to these questions will determain the best time to book.
Finally, the plane has landed in Europe, in the prefered country and city-this is where the fun begins and the memories are made.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
