I year ago I was embarking on my first backpacking trip in another continent…alone. I witness Pope Francisco speak in the Vatican, ate authentic tapas in Spain, shopped in Vienna, visited a concentration camp in Eastern Europe, climbed up the Eiffel Tower, crossed the Chain Bridge in Budapest, prayed in the Notre Dame, watched the sunset at the Acropolis, had fish and chips in front of the London Eye, cliff jumped in the Italian Rivera, tanned in the Greece beaches and so, so much more. I spent 10 weeks traveling through 14 countries and over 30 cities by plane, train and bus. Some of the moments were beyond what I could even dream of so saying it was a dream come true is an understatement. Now, a year later, I reminisce on one of the greatest experiences of my life.
As the school year ends I notice more and more people preparing for their summer travels and I see that many are getting ready to embark on their own journeys. So, I decided to prepare my own list of tips of what I learned from backpacking Europe alone for 10 weeks.
1. Be OPEN MINDED!
I’m sure if you’re considering traveling you’re probably an open minded person but really, be ready and willing to try new things. Talk to people who look nothing like you and probably don’t even speak your language, try new foods and go off the beaten path every once in a while. I did so many things looking back that I wouldn’t even have imagined but once I got over there I wanted to make the absolute best of this opportunity.
2. Pack LIGHTLY…again, pack LIGHTLY!
You’ll see this tip given over and over and now that I’ve done this trip I know exactly why. As a backpacker you are constantly moving and on planes, trains and buses. You will have to carry around your things and many times it will be miles at a time in the hot sun so do yourself a favor and listen to one of the tips you hear the most, pack lightly!
3. Plan your route and your priorities.
When getting advice about traveling through Europe many people feel that you should just book a ticket and take off. I agree that this is a great way for someone to travel who has a lot of time however, I had less than 3 months and a huge bucket list I wanted to work on in Europe so I had to do some planning. I’m a natural planner who likes to research and prepare everything so of course I planned a lot of my trip to the day. This worked for me and I would suggest others to do some planning because it saves so much time while you’re actually over there. I met fellow travelers who were scrambling around the night before looking for hostels in the city they were going to and having to stay far away from the city center and paying twice as much as I did because they waited last minute to book their rooms. I also suggest preparing a list of must-sees in the cities and countries that you’re going to. If I would have traveled a little more relaxed I might have missed out on some of my most memorable experiences.
4. Book hostels and plane tickets early. Bus and train can be bought last minute.
To elaborate a little more on the pre-planning, I suggest booking hostels and plane tickets early. Booking.com was definitely my favorite site to use to book hostels because of their zero down payments and majority of their hostels being free cancels. There are other sites such as Hostels.com and HostelWorld.com but they do require you to put a 10-12% down payment which isn’t much for one but adds up when you’re booking with several hostels for several days and you end up canceling and losing that money. As with plane tickets in the States you should book yours early if you do plan on taking some flights. Europe has several budget airlines but the best deals are usually to book in advance which does mean you’ll have less flexibility in your schedule but saves you from spending a whole day on a train or bus. For the most part I stuck to my itinerary besides two days when I decided to head to Florence early. Most of my train tickets were bought online the day before or at the actual train station. There are several trains running a day so for example when I wanted to go from Florence to Rome by train I just chose the time from several trains running that day. There were many times that I wasn’t even asked if I had a ticket and some people take this risk but if you’re caught the fines are steep. I usually booked all my bus tickets the day of or day before as well. I suggest booking the day before because popular routes usually do fill up quickly and the bus is a popular way to travel among backpackers because of the price.
5. Book the right dates for travel!
I highly stress this! This includes your flights, train and bus tickets! It might seem like basic information but when you’re sitting on a train going from Venice to Milan in Italy and the ticket checker comes to stamp your ticket and it’s dated for the next day and all of sudden he’s charging you for another €35 ($48) ticket plus a €50 ($69) fine then you wish you would have paid closer attention to the date you were reserving online. Yes, this did happen to me and my innocent puppy face and excuse that I didn’t know didn’t work an ounce on him. At least I was able to get a refund for the original ticket I bought. One of the girls that I traveled with had also accidently booked one of her flights within Europe for the wrong date and had to pay over $100. It happens; luckily we had the money to fix our mistakes. Make sure you leave room in your budget for things like this!
There are several budget airlines in Europe that’ll move you around for as low as €20 one-way but of course there is that fine print that you have to look out for. Many of their carry-on requirements are EXTEMEMLY strict so when they give you a dimension be ready to fit that EXACTLY. There will even be a box with the exact dimensions that they will require you to fit your luggage in to show that it meets the requirements and if it doesn’t then they’ll gladly charge you another €35 which is usually more than your flight. There goes the discount. I even made sure my backpack fit the dimension but when you overstuff it then sometimes it exceeds the width. Then your next option is to wear as much clothing as you can to make your bag smaller, I’m all too familiar with this.
You will wear the same clothes over and over and will need to wash clothes in different countries. I thought I knew how to wash clothes until I came face to face with washers in Spain, France and Italy. They are not all the same especially the instructions in their own languages.
8. Be prepared to be lost and for delays.
I tried to research everything I possibly could before going on my trip but I still got off at the train station in Bratislava, Slovakia and couldn’t find anyone who knew English and wandered for 3 hours looking for my hostel. Luckily, it was a small city so I was able to see a good amount of it during the time I was lost but be prepared. The metro systems also seem to get more and more confusing in every city and you may very well get on the wrong train.
9. Be patient.
You’re not home anymore and things are different so be patient when things aren’t going as planned. I believe that improving my patience is one of the best things that I took from my trip. Just inhale and exhale, it’ll all work out.
Don’t assume what you think the weather will be! I figured that I was going to Europe during the summer so I wouldn’t need any warm clothing but during the time I was over there it was actually cold half of the time. I got to Paris on June 4th and it was in the low 40s and raining. It also rained a lot. So prepare with the clothing you bring.
11. Learn the basics for the languages spoken in the countries you’ll be visiting.
The locals will appreciate you attempting their language! Most people around the world already have a preconceived notion about Americans and can pick you out as soon as you speak. (Yes, we have a very distinct American accent over there.) So, when you go over there expecting customer service to be the same as America you are in for an extremely rude awakening. It’s almost nonexistent in some places over there!
If you don’t know something, ask! You will be able to learn more things on your trip than you ever could from reading article after article. I would ask other travelers that I met in my hostels what things they had done in the city, which food they ate and any tips they’d like to share. I would also always ask the person at the front desk of my hostel for tips on the city and what their must-sees were and local cuisine was. I learned about places and things I wouldn’t have known about had I not asked. You should also take advantage of the Free Walking Tours! Even though you do have to tip them at the end of the tour (I usually tipped €5) they’re still a great way to knock out most of the city and they’re usually done by locals who you can also ask questions to.
13. It’s SAFE!
Safety was probably my biggest concern when I decided to take a trip alone. I was scared! Who wouldn’t be scared about traveling to a completely unfamiliar place so far from home alone? But what I learned is that just because you’re going to Europe doesn’t mean you are going to get “Taken” or kidnapped from a “Hostel” and sold to rich people to murder you. It sounds silly but because of those two popular movies I had tons of people concerned for me before taking my trip. Europe is extremely safe to travel to, even alone. I can’t really think of a time that I felt endangered even when I walked around Paris alone at 2 a.m. Of course, I don’t recommend being reckless, use common sense and take necessary precautions as you would anywhere else.
14. Carry your personal things in front of you.
Pick pocketing is a huge concern for many people traveling to Europe and luckily I was not victim of it. What I did was keep my purse in front of me and valuables in zipper pockets inside my purse. I was mindful of my surroundings and tried my best to avoid giving pick pocketers an opportunity. They’re familiar with which type of people to steal from and they’re usually not going to go out of their way to snatch your purse so just take necessary precautions and you should be fine.
15. It’s CHEAP!
Although, Europe can be very expensive there is definitely a way that you can head over there on a strict budget. When it comes to eating take advantage if your hostel has free breakfast and eat lunch instead of dinner at a restaurant because there’s usually always specials. Every hostel usually has free food in their cabinets or fridges because previous travelers leave it after they've left such as pasta or sauces that are cheaper just to buy again rather then taking with them. It'll be labeled so if it says free take advantage! Grocery stores are also great ways to save money; they have great sandwiches or things to cook if you want to make food at your hostel especially if you’ll be at that hostel for a few days and if you decide to split the cost with other travelers. Traveling by bus is definitely the cheapest but the longest way to travel so if you have the time go that route but there is also good priced train and plane tickets. Research the city you’ll be in and find out all the fun, free things there are to do because there’ll always be something you can check out to stay on budget.
16. Look out for discounts.
If you have a student ID I highly suggest bringing it because many places will give you a student discount such as museums. There are also certain days that you can visit popular tourist sites that are cheaper than others so before you head out to see the Louvre in Paris check online to see what days they offer discounts such as free entry on the 1st Sunday of the month. You can also check online to see some extra tips such as getting your ticket for the Colosseum at Palatine Hill. If you’re heading to Rome and want to see the Colosseum and book your ticket online then you’ll also be charged with a booking fee. But if you get it on site you can avoid that fee. The general admission ticket for the Colosseum includes Palatine Hill, Roman Forum and Colosseum either way and you can get your ticket at any three. The line at the Colosseum is by far the longest; you’ll be waiting for hours. But, if you walk to the Palatine Hill which is about 2-3 minutes away you can purchase your ticket there with no wait and then go back to the Colosseum and skip the line! There are tons of tips like this online that I learned so make sure to do a little research about the places you plan to visit.
17. Use ATMs
One of my biggest questions before heading to Europe was how to convert my money. I found the easiest way to handle my money over there was to take out the maximum my bank allowed at one time from the ATM and hold onto that until I ran out. My daily limit is $400 which came out to about €300 and I would carry that with me until I needed more. This worked for me because I didn’t have to get hit with the ATM fees over and over by taking small amounts out. It also helped to have cash because many places took only cash over there. I also got the best conversion rate from the ATM versus anywhere else. A huge tip: never exchange money at the airport! That’s the most expensive place to exchange your money. Ask your hostel where the best place to exchange money is and they can probably suggest a place to you with a good rate. I also noticed that some places will bargain with you about how much you want to exchange your money for so if you feel like they’re trying to rip you off then say no and more than likely they’ll go down if not there’ll be several other places!
18. Eat all the food!
It you’re a foodie like I am then you’re probably aware of what many places are known for and you’re probably willing to try it all. Do it. Try it all. Aim for the street food, it’s as local as you can get and it’s always cheaper! Eat paella and tapas in Spain, langos in Hungary, crepes and pastries in France, fish and chips in England, waffles in Belgium, pizza and pasta in Italy, gyros in Greece and gelato EVERY WHERE. Seriously, never miss an opportunity to have gelato. Never.
19. Immerse in the culture and with the locals.
Even though there are tourist traps in every large city there is also an entirely other world among the locals. Luckily, I had friends living in Madrid and Florence so I was able to get an amazing experience into the local life in those two cities. I also had extra time in Paris so I was able to wander off and nap in parks as the locals and find more local eateries. I was also in Europe during the World Cup so I was able to watch Italy in Italy and Greece in Greece! Try to find time in your schedule to truly see what it’s like to live in these places and don’t fall into all the tourist traps. You’ll walk away with a much grander experience and bigger appreciation for these places and the way they live.
20. You’ll meet people everywhere!
One of main things that I worried about when I considered traveling alone was …being alone. Then once on my trip I learned that you will meet people everywhere! You’ll become friends with the people in your hostel, you’ll meet other solo travelers on walking tours and you’ll go home with new friends from all over the world. I still keep in DAILY contact with people that I traveled with last year and I know they’ll be my friends for the rest of my life.
Some people get onto me for taking pictures of “everything” but taking pictures is part of my passion. Not in a professional way but I just absolutely love capturing the moment I’m in for my own memories. That’s part of the experience for me but even I had to put my camera down (after I took my picture) and sit and soak in the moment I was in. It’s overwhelming at times when you’re sitting there staring at the view with your own eyes that you saw so many times through pictures.
22. The world has amazingly wonderful people!
There are such amazing people in this world regardless of what the media may portray. You have to expand your mind and interact as much as possible. I met some of the nicest people in Budapest, Hungary, an amazing author from England and definitely the most flattering men in Italy. (Laugh out loud.) Meet people and socialize with the locals!
23. Don’t look for yourself, CREATE yourself!
Many people set out on these types of trips to “find themselves” not realizing they have the opportunity to create themselves and be whoever they want to be. It’s an amazing opportunity to learn about yourself and what you like and what you don’t like. Sometimes I say to myself, “if I can go back I would do this, this and this,” not realizing that I still can! YOU still can. So, DO IT!
24. Remember how very blessed you are.
Getting the opportunity to travel the world and seeing places that people only dream of is such a blessing. Remember that and remember to always thank Him.
25. The travel bug bites…hard! Be ready to handle it.
“Travel while you’re young so you can get it out of your system.” Yeah… no. I’ve heard that saying so much and that didn’t happen to me at all. I got bit by the travel bug and it’s only gotten worse. My soul craves experiencing new cultures and wandering around unfamiliar grounds. I dream of watching sunrises and sunsets in beautiful cities. I want to meet people from all parts of the world and learn how they think and live. I want to converse with them and see how very different yet similar we all are. In my experience, it never leaves your system and you truly realize the more you learn, the less you know.
"Disregard all those "obstacles" you think you have because they're just EXCUSES. Don't be a prisoner in your own mind because of the possibility of failure. Personally, I'd rather die than to breathe without living."
Which to me meant that I will take risks and face my fears instead of remaining in my comfort zone to avoid LIVING. Never settle for a mediocre life, I want to look back one day and know I "motivated myself, thought for myself and lived the best possible life I could!" And remember, ONLY YOU can determine what the best possible life is for you. Wander on my beautiful souls! Bon voyage!