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backpacking Europe for a year... - Travel Message Board Forums powered by IndependentTraveler.com
Hey everyone,
i just heard about this site tonight and thought ide give it a try.
Everything looks really up to date and people seem very active.
My girlfriend and I are going to spent the year in europe next year, actaully leave this summer at the end of june and then plan on returning, if we do, 14months (or so) later in august.
We plan on really roughing it, doing this trip as cheep as possible and really experiencing the true cultures of everywhere we go.
We will not be totally free from the chains of time and only bound by the all mighty dollar, which were both well awair is a very big constraint!
But we have found ways of doing this trip hopefully as cheep as possible (ACAP).
Of course the eurail pass, well buy a new one every three months when ours expires...does anyone know any way around this????...of the area we are in and expect to vist in the alloted time period.
Hostel passes, still need to do more research on the concept behind the hostel pass, can anyone help me out with that?
Aside from that, some more ACAP plans we have made is to camp as much as we can when its nice enough out.
I talked to a friend who just got back from spending the year and he said that camp sites are much cheeper.
(were briging a tent).
We will be eating mostly food from markets rather then restaurants and preparing it on small stoves we will be bringing.
Another ACAP thing that we are doing, but very much has nothing to do with lowering the cost and everything to do with wanting to, is somthing called WOOFing.
For thoes who dont know what this is, its working on organic farms.
In exchange for labour on the farm, the host (a local farm and family) provide you with room and board.
Were very much excited to get out and work on these farms and help with the production of organic goods.
Much of our trip will just be winging it, going where we feel we want to go next.
Our tentative plan though is to start in doublin and see the island, maybe WOOF there, then move south and east with the weather (to make camping possible).
We want to go as far south as Morocco (anyone have info on that?) and then east to Turkey.
From there we actaully want to take a train (plane?) to india and travel there for a while (info?).
From there we can either continue east to asia or head back to europe and finish in Israel (go to Hebrew U when we finish our trip).
Phew... other then that though, its all kinda in the air.
If anyone has any, any, tips on saving money, doing it cheep, experiencing the real culture (rather then all turist stuff), please let me know.
It was fun writing all this (for the second time actaully, the first one got erased!), its really made be excited about my trip...six months!
thank you to all thoes who can help out a fellow traveller
till next time...
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Hi Soif!
Reading about your plans certainly sound exciting so I can see why you were excited about writing your plans out here on our website.
I'm sorry the first post didn't take are you on dial-up?
I used to lose a lot of work while using dial-up;
I'd click and everything I'd just written would be gone.
Oh well, anyway, we got your info and plans and quite a few things came to mind.
In fact, you are one of the few people who has ever used the term WOOF (work on organic farms) which I only learned about by reading the magazine called "Transitions Abroad" and if you have not ever read this magazine, I recommend you seek it out (it is sold at large bookstores in the magazine section) or visit their website, http://www.transitionsabroad.com .
This magazine is written for people who have similar ideas on traveling the world as you do.
I was a subscriber for years and learned so much from this magazine;
I too was able to travel the world but not the way you are planning too, though I'd like to have had the opportunity to go on an odyssey like yours!
I made my way around the world but only weeks at a time, over several years but I loved it all.
I actually even received two job offers in Italy and since I have dual EU/USA citizenship, I could have easily moved to and worked in Italy legally.
9/11 and War changed all those options for me.
But back to your trip.
As I said, start pouring through info in Transitions Abroad.
Next, check out http://www.servas.org where you will find maybe the BEST method of ACAP travel you'll ever encounter and you won't need a tent.
SERVAS is an organization that brings together hosts and travelers (through careful screening and membership requirements) in an effort to further peace and understanding among people around the world.
My friends in New Zealand are a SERVAS family but that's not how I met them.
They host visitors and have visited (and will soon be visiting) fellow SERVAS hosts.
What's so great about SERVAS?
Once you join, you can essentially visit any SERVAS Host, making arrangements in advance but not necessarily far in advance, with a Host in whatever area you plan to visit and stay FOR FREE at your Host.
In general, unless agreed upon otherwise between Host and Visitor, you stay for 2-3 nights with your Host.
A friend of a friend actually went through Europe for an entire summer staying only with SERVAS hosts and so the trip was low, low budget and he made dozens of new, probably lifetime friends.
Most of my trips have resulted in some amazing, enduring friendships - it's the best souvenir one could hope for.
OK, next - about the Eurail Passes;
I thought they had passes for longer than 3 months but if they don't, then what you'll need to do is re-order them (probably do-able online from an internet cafe abroad) but have the passes delivered to North America - Canada or US, and have someone you trust mail them to you overseas;
Only thing is, you'll have to stay in one place long enough for the new passes to reach you.
If you need an overseas address, just look for an American Express office (most major cities have them) and see if you can't receive mail there;
It always WAS possible but I don't know if something has changed with that on account of anti-terrorism tactics or what.
If you can't receive mail at the AMEX office, then ask your North American contact to express mail the passes to you at whatever address you are at, be it a hostel, hotel or SERVAS host, and you should be good to go again on the rails.
Don't forget to bring the friend that does the mailing for you a nice souvenir or leave some money behind in advance of your departure with someone you trust to help you out with these sort of logistical things, i.e.
Leave money for postage and incidentals that you might need assistance with while being overseas for an extended period of time
If you and your girl are under 25 and Britain still has the program, (this is where Transitions Abroad will come in handy!!!) called BUNAC, both of you can obtain permission to live/work in Britain for a limited time - I forget how many months or whatever but from Britain, you can do a lot of good weekend traveling and exploring so it may be yet another way to get around on the cheap and make a few bucks at an easy job for the time being while immersing yourself in the environment.
Contiki, an established tour company known for its youthful travel appeal (but I have middle aged friends who've used them too!) offers very reasonable tours, and they do offer a camping tour which is probably the most affordable but I think they also have a hostel thing too;
They cover a lot of territory in like 30 days and from there, after seeing a lot of places for not a lot of money, folks move onto other directions based either on interests peaked while on their Contiki tour, places they already planned to visit or places they never dreamed they'd visit.
You might meet travellers on the tour with you (why I'm suggesting this as a sort of "launch pad" of sorts) who extend invites to visit them in their home country as people from ALL OVER THE WORLD seem to go on Contiki tours.
So you see, there are lots of ways to score free or inexpensive lodgings while traveling!
Overall, based on what you've described, I definitely think you should consider joining SERVAS, start getting your hands on Transitions Abroad magazine and into their website, keep coming back here to our various destination specific travel boards, though you started in a great place here on our European Travel Board, as there are many other members with great ideas and experience to share with you, and I am here, along with other IndependentTraveler.com staff members, eager to help you in any way we can to help you plan your trip - what will hopefully become the trip of your dreams and only the start of a lifetime of wonderful travel experiences!
Keep coming back for more specific tips, ideas and suggestions!
We're here for you - let us come along on your journey, starting now!!
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What great advice you've received so far!
Just a couple of adds:
For cheap coach travel go to Eurolines
http://www.nationalexpress.com/eurol...here_we_go.cfm
For your future Eurailpass renewals and how to get them from Europe, climb all over the site of www.raileurope.com (it's a holding company selling all European train-related items in North America, mainly owned by the French SNCF and Swiss SBB/CFF state train systems) and read the FAQ and other pages, then call them with your specific question if you didn't see it answered on the site:
1-888-382-RAIL (1-888-382-7245) in the USA, 1-800-361-RAIL (7245) in Canada
You can send mail to yourself or have it sent to you care of a post office where they will hold the item until you show up with ID to claim it.
In larger cities that can be tricky if you don't know the postal code of the specific post office branch, but these days that's easy to find out - any branch will tell you about branches in other cities.
You have to use the words "poste restante" (it's French - there was a time when the French language ruled the world of communications and diplomacy...) and means "awaiting mail".
Example:
Joe Citizen
Poste Restante
CH 3000 Bern
Switzerland
That would go to the main post office (Hauptpost) in Bern, the capital of Switzerland, and stay there - I don't know for how long before getting returned to sender, but usually many months because it's used by travelling folks.
(Note how to address mail to Europe: Country abbr.
And postal code on same line as and followed by city name!
CH is Switzerland, F is France, etc.).
Get an international hostel membership.
Some student lodgings (dorms etc.) are available cheaply when Universities are on vacation - research them and you may save a bundle in some cities at some times.
For cheap food - cafeterias in unlikely places may let you in - look for places like railway shunting yards, dockworkers' canteens, and other industrial complexes, universities, government office blocks, and they can be cheap and full of character(s)!
I remember eating among a rambunctious lot of railway workers in Italy when I was younger, for next to nothing, and I was glad to speak Italian because I would have missed out on a lot of rough-and-tumble but very funny jokes if I hadn't.
In Sydney I ate cheaply and made friends at a Tech College (since renamed into something high-falutin'), and in Paris in the old days it was de rigueur to eat onion soup (great hangover cure!) at 5AM at Les Halles when they were the bustling wholesale markets.
You'll quickly realize the worth of learning a bit of a language - Europe may be united in other ways, but it's still the Town of Babel, and in the countryside (where you'll likely do your WOOF-ing) you can't expect English to be spoken by many.
A little vocabulary (grammar is a luxury, reserved for later...) goes a long long way, especially when combined with a friendly demeanour and the translated words please and thank you, used often.
Before you leave, splurge on easily washable and quick-drying underwear (at any of the travel outfitter websites), and carry small quantities of laundry powder (lighter than the wet stuff), a good piece of sturdy nylon string, and some clips.
That underwear may be expensive, but you'll save a bundle over time over the exorbitantly expensive European laundromats (if you can find them...).
How about 15 bucks for a small load in Paris?
No thanks.
Cheers
O.
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Hey guys
Thank you so much for your enthusiasm about my trip, its so exciting to me when others feel the same way as i do.
All the tips that you guys posted i am for sure going to look into.
The SERVAS (sp?) thing looks great, im going to go check that website out right now, and also, great tips about the washing my clothes, that much money on a load of laundry is crazy!
I for sure will keep everyone updated on details of the trip.
My girlfriends mother just gave us two books to take with us on our trip, they look great (lonely travelers?), with one having detailed chapters about every county in Europe and some surrounding countries as well.
They have hostel prices, camp prices, ave.
Temperatures, where to eat, what to see, what to avoid, all that good stuff, im sure that will come in handy too.
I was told by a fiend who just got back from Europe that a good way to do the whole book thing is to buy a book of the country where you first are, then as you move to different countries go to book swaps and swap yours for a book of the country you are now in.
Im also going to be getting on getting a WOOFing membership in the near future and talk to an old friend who is actually still in Europe, or maybe actually Tibet now, with his girlfriend, who has been only WOOFing for the past year and a half, im sure he will just be full of great tips as well.
Thanks again to everyone who has been throwing in helpful tips, the staff at independent traveler, O, thanks
Talk to you all soon
Jake.
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Hi Jake,
The book you probably received was Lonely Planet's Europe Guide, which is a great start;
I think I have Frommer's Europe - all of 'em are big and heavy so you'll maybe want to journal a lot of the stuff you read so as to avoid lugging around too much dead weight!
But get yourself all into that book and if you have time, visit the bookstores, grab a country or region off the shelf, peruse it and take notes too;
I've done this a lot, no one bothers me.
Also, most of the travel book publishers have online sites, although I don't know, maybe they limit the content so they can still try to sell the book?
Point is, by hopping into internet cafes and logging on to say, Lonely Planet's website, selecting a location, you'll find enough useful info to get you going.
Also, many cities publish their own sort of guide, then of course there is TimeOut, popular the world over in so many cities and a useful resource.
In Edinburgh, Scotland I found something called "The Line" and it was great!
A thin little magazine, easy to carry around and light enough to save to bring home to add to my collection of travel STUFF.
The meals advice O gave you was brilliant and will surely be a fun way to interact with locals - a big reason for traveling, to meet others!
I forgot about the seasonal vacancies at Universities;
A lot of the stuff O and I mentioned and more, you will find covered in Transitions Abroad;
I can't emphasize enough how important that magazine and website will be to your travels, as will SERVAS.
I'm glad O also mentioned basic language skills as this is always one of my favorite items to recommend to travelers;
It just makes things so much more fun and interesting and it can sure open up doors or just give you a smiling face!
O put it well re: mastering grammar vs.
Learning vocabulary;
I'm into languages big time and so I do try to aim for grammar but when I get very tired and can't think "in the language" I just blurt out vocab or incorrect conjugations of a verb the person understands (and of course, as O mentioned, using the local "hello," "please" and "thank you") I get by.
Sometimes I'm so tired I mix two foreign languages - that's always amusing!
Just don't waste your money on the Berlitz Pocket Language guides;
They are not very useful for the independent traveler;
They are more for the tour group kind of traveler and will be of little use to you.
I have a book that is by Charles Berlitz (I guess they're the same people?) that combines the basics of several languages, it's called "Passport to the World" and it covers a lot of languages on a basic, simplistic manner which may be all you need.
It's not too thick and heavy either so it'd be fairly easy to tote along.
I also love to read Travelogues/Memoirs as part of my travel reading;
I have learned almost as much or more from these books and I love to watch films (foreign or in english) that are set in other countries but that tends to be more fun AFTER you've returned and want to have a look at on screen some of the amazing places you've been to.
When I got home from Scotland, I RAN to Blockbuster to rent Braveheart & Rob Roy because I SAW Stirling Castle and Loch Lomond!
I'd seen the films before but they were brand new for me after the trip and I felt like I was inside the film, maybe as an extra, seeing it all again after having been there.
I love Paul Theroux's many wonderful books on travel/life and there have been so many others I've enjoyed too but Theroux may be one of the most prolific writers, love his style and he's been, like EVERYWHERE!
Oddly enough, I read about China after I came home from visiting there because my interest was peaked by all the info I got from our guide - he took a chance telling us the things he did - and when I got done with all my China reading, I realized I would not have gone to China had I known then what I'd learned after the fact.
Reading Seven Years in Tibet by Heinrich Harrar is wonderful but tragic insofar as THAT Tibet no longer exists.
VS Naipaul wrote a great book called "Area of Darkness" about a journey to his native land India (though he grew up in Trinidad, a place where many Indians have gone to live) most of which takes place in parts of India we can't go to because of war - Kashmir.
I pulled some others out of my library (non-Theroux books;
He has so many)
here they are:
"Nothing to Declare" by Mary Morris - your girl might really enjoy this one
"Under the Tuscan Sun" by Frances Mayes - bears almost no resemblence whatsoever to the film;
The book was great
"Village to Village: Misadventures in France" by Alister Kershaw
"Dear Exile: The True Story of Friends Separated (for a year) By an Ocean" by Hilary Liftin and Kate Montgomery
"Without a Guide" a compilation of travel stories edited by Katherine Govier
There was one I loved by Bill Bryson, only one but he has enjoyed much success as a travel-writer, I'm gonna post this then go look for the title on the web and come back with the title;
It was hysterically funny and if I remember correctly, he was wandering around Europe.
There are others that I've read but the above stand out, like Theroux's, so definitely consider that as part of your pre-trip reading.
A lot of them aren't too voluminous so they're quick reads, others will require more time, especially Naipaul's book but it was so worth it.
So were the books on China;
Mostly memoirs, mostly BIG books that took time to read.
OK I found the Bryson book and it's a MUST READ for you because it's him, revisiting all the destinations he visited on HIS first backpacking trip as a young man in the 70's.
It was GREAT and it's called "Neither Here Nor There"
YA GOTTA READ IT!
Anyway, guess that's all for now (maybe too much??) but I hope it helps get you stoked for the trip!
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A year is an awfully long time to be backpacking in Europe.
If I were you, I would enroll in a school program for a few months to learn a language somewhere.
My daughter spent her junior year abroad in Montpellier, France.
She spent a lot of weekends on the trains and it was nice to have a central place to come "home" to.
Moving around all the time gets old quickly.
I would not rush out to buy Eurail passes.
They only break even if you are going to cover a lot of ground in, say, 3 months.
Chances are, given the amount of time you intend to be abroad, you will concentrate on an area and then, after 3-4 months, move onto another area.
Some of the country passes might be more economical for you.
Moreover, there are always deals available within Europe.
Structuring rail passes that way would save you tons of money.
What a Eurail pass does is save you the hassle of buying tickets when you do not know the language.
It is not necessarily a good deal financially.
Please remember that you still have to pay for seat reservations on long distance trains if you want to be assured of a seat.
I have to say that there is no way I would recommend backpacking aimlessly in Europe for a year.
Once you get started, you will see what I mean.
There is a lot of stress in constantly moving locations and finding a place to stay, etc.
Renting a studio long term somewhere and taking trips here and there will just be more productive.
Of course, that is my opinion.
It is your trip!
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LS Kahn makes a good point or two!
Aside from all the travel information we can give you, there's much more to your plan, and on that scale I think you're biting off way more than you'll be able to chew.
I doubt that you guys can support yourselves adequately for a whole year in Europe.
Especially in winter - it's grim, there's no outdoor work, and if your luck runs out, waddayagonnado, kids?
Money will just leap out of your pockets, the Dollar isn't likely to recover anytime soon, let alone become the dominant currency again, and living on the cheap in Europe, especially in winter, is not at all as easy as it can be in the States.
Just getting a hot meal, anytime anywhere, for under ten bucks including coffee (no refills by the way...) is impossible, there are precious few places that resemble our Denny's or the like.
$2.99 breakfast special with two eggs etc.
- are you kidding?
A hot chocolate alone (not a big cup, either) will cost you six bucks or more!
There's another thing, too: Can you stand each other under such taxing circumstances for a whole year?
All those little decisions - who makes them, and who resents the other for making them?
Once the bickering starts, there's nothing you can do but give up, but that's easier said than done.
Have you gone through trial by fire and come out with your relationship intact?
I'm not talking about a little spat, I'm talking about living in each other's pockets, something that would test the most proven of longterm relationships!
(Dr. Phil now ends his sermon.
Aren't you glad?)
I'd say save up for a trial run and go just before or after the height of summer, for a few weeks or so, get a feel for the place, establish contacts, then come back and regroup.
Come to think of it, you (as LS Kahn points out) would be overdoing it with a Eurail Pass but may benefit from one of the less general ones (see www.ricksteves.com for excellent explanations of the many types of passes), but I doubt that you'll be able to afford train travel all the time.
Trains in Europe are very expensive.
You're a candidate for the budget coach/bus services that criss-cross Europe, like www.busabout.com - check them out and research others.
London and Amsterdam are good starting points.
Sorry to rain on your parade, but life is the ultimate reality show, and you get no rehearsals or second takes...
Cheers
O.
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I am planning on doing something similar myself.
My girlfriend and I will travel the world over--not just Europe--in order to test our relationship and ourselves.
I have projected the costs and am currently saving money to cover 1 years worth.
I hope to pick up odd jobs along the way (basically anything I can do to extend my trip one more day!).
I have read the entire thread and here is my take.
Ditch the rail passes.
Use either point-to-point tickets or fly RyanAir or EasyJet.
The good deals are out there if you look!
I got a 30 Euro flight from Rome to Paris in JUNE.
Most of the ticket agents speak English.
As an added note to your WOOFing...you can sometimes just ask the family if you can use a small piece of land to pitch your tent.
You won't usually have to pay but a small gift after the stay will go a long way!
Always ask before you build a fire too.
Leave the land better than you found it.
A tip to make your trip more enjoyable: You and your girl need to make a list of places you want to go.
You should make seperate lists and compare.
If you have some differences, you can always go solo for a little while and agree to meet back up at another point.
It is also good when one of you feels that you need some "air."
National Express (bus service, do a google search) in London is excellent.
They have trips for *1* POUND if you book online.
Look into it! You might save a ton that way.
I got this tip from a London resident on another board.
If you are hosteling at all...go to hostelworld.com or another major site and search.
All the hostels are rated by other travelers and they can be arranged by rating.
Most of the places have at least 300 ratings so 300 people cant be wrong.
You can also talk to owners/operators of independant hostels and possibly trade work for free/discounted shelter.
I have most of this info an more on my website.
I have put the link in my profile so feel free to check it out.
PS: Rick Steve's has some awesome phrase books.
Some of them have 3 or 4 languages in one very small, light book.
foofiter
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Great advice foofiter, I despite some other interesting views on the idea of a long trek, I think you offered some great advice and many more "pros" on the overall plans of an extended trip abroad.
I think the list comparison is a great idea, and even splitting up for short times if it works out that way.
The London bus info was great is it one pound to go places just in London or outside the city?
Not sure which buses you are referring to;
There are many. Also, the RyanAir and EasyJet plans are good too;
They've been around awhile but I don't think a lot of people know or else they are convinced somehow that the only way to fly is on the bigger, national carriers etc.
Giving gifts to people who host you is ALWAYS a great idea and should never be overlooked.
That small gesture could result in long term friendships and future trips, either you visiting them or them visiting you!
It has worked for me as I have friends in Japan, Hong Kong, New Zealand, England, Germany...
There are a lot of lightweight but interesting and reasonably priced items you can bring from home - people abroad are interested in where YOU come from if they are hosting you - and just distribute them as you travel about.
Small things like keychains, postcards, magnets - none of these will weigh down your pack terribly.
Also, if someone has been extraordinarily hospitable, you can just buy them something locally, something that you have noticed from spending time with them that they would like/appreciate.
I still think it'd be a great adventure and sure, there are kinks to work out in planning, and in the doing - unexpected things will occur as you go along but then isn't that kind of why one goes on a trip of this sort to begin with?
To learn, experience, see, grow, adapt, survive!!
I think it is a tremendous character builder and can help a lot of young adults discover more about themselves and what interests them.
With this kind of experience, one might find their "true calling" in life and return home with a plan that they might never have thought of before embarking upon the trip.
I'd DEFINITELY would have done it, if I'd had the confidence and foresight, but luckily I've done lots of great trips - none long term -that have enlightened me greatly and there are many places I have visited that I could easily have spent a month or more at/around anyplace I happened to be etc.
I even got my Irish citizenship - permitted by Ireland to children and grandchildren of Irish born familyl;
I'm an Irish granddaughter.
There are a few reasons I went through this long, arduous, but worthwhile process and primary among them was the fact that having citizenship and a passport in an EU country meant I could live and work there legally which was something I had thought I might do, once upon a time and might still do, sometime in the future.
It is also more convenient for traveling within the EU and I don't have to fill in immigration papers and get use the shorter "EU Passports" line anywhere I go, and also, if need be should I ever find myself in a precarious sitiuation where it would be to my advantage to NOT be American, well that Blue Passport stays stowed away and the Red/Burgundy colored one comes out instead!!
I don't figure I'm as valuable as a hostage, heaven forbid, as an Irish National (except maybe by the Northern Irish, lol but thankfully even that has simmered down) than I would be as an American.
While I don't generally travel in the "not recommended to visit" areas listed by the State Department, these days, you never know where something could flare up so I'm glad I have it, the Irish Passport, that is.
Also, it is a symbol of my grandfather's legacy which was another very meaningful reason for me to have the Irish Citizenship.
He came here alone to try and make a better life for my family and in my life as an American, I want to be a part of where he came from, as a tribute and a gesture of thankfulness.
Anyway, it sounds like you have great plans and have really thought this through pretty well thus far.
Despite naysayers (sp?) I'd do if it seemed possible and I think it is possible;
It might not be for everyone of course but for some bold, intrepid travelers, I think it can be done.
Things might not always go as planned and you will face challenges but then that's the whole reason for going, isn't it?
I doubt anyone would be doing this just to go and take pictures and ride tour buses.
It's a much more cerebral endeavour and there can't be much wrong with pursuing that.
It's just something some people HAVE to do.
Thanks again for a great post and great ideas.
Hope your international trip turns out to be a spectacular success!
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Hi, we´re doing a simular thing to you, (just searched this website).
Myself and my daughter and a few friends are travelling round spain,
we only arrived a week and a half ago, so good luck to you, and and tips I get, I´ll pass them on, we´re members of couch surfing, so we´re hoping this will help us on our way.
We´re also onto the woofing thing, and have been to visit some farms already, wishing you luck and good travels, Lis.
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