Newbie from the UK going solo doing Istanbul to Geneva. Advice, advice, advice needed
Need advice, just split up from long term girlfriend and need to get away and see some more of the world and have some fun. Never been on holiday alone before (although I have been to many countries in Europe/North America/Carribean) and worried that I will be the old man in the hostel at 33?
Is a 60 litre backpack too large for 2/3 weeks? I dont want to get too dragged down by the weight.
Plan to fly into Istanbul and make my way back towards Geneva by rail (where I will fly back home from), stopping off at Brno to watch the Czech Moto GP.
Wondering if Bucharest is worth it. A long train journey from Istanbul (read lots of bad reviews about the journey, particularly through Bulgaria) and no one seems to have a good thing to say about the place. Futher long trip on to Budapest. Am I just better flying from Istanbul to Bratislava (about 100 euro), visiting Brno from there and then tracking back to Budapest (thus cutting out 2 very long journeys?
Anybody been to the circuit at Brno? I know it is not far from the centre but how easy is it to get there from the town on a busy race day?
Also according to bahn.de, the sleeper from Rome to Munich looks like it is filling up. How difficult will it be to get a ticket in a sleeper for the trip whist in Munich or am I better booking this before I leave (but then it ties me in to leaving Munich on that day)?
Any advice appreciated.
Reply to this Hello Matt 😊
You are not too old to be in a hostel. I am 40 and still stay in them. I have met people who are in their 60s who stay in them. My parents in law are also in their 60s and travelled around Ireland staying in hostels.
I would take the smallest backpack you can fit your stuff in. I rarely travel with more than 10 KG. All my stuff fits in something the size of a day pack.
I personally think Budapest is worth it. I have been there a couple of times. I especially like it in Winter because of the Turkish baths.
About what you are better off doing: I would take the most convenient and least expensive route. If it means missing out on someplace, then there will be future trips.
Book everything on bahn.de a few months in advance if you can. You will get the best prices. You could possibly get from Munich to Rome for as little as 39Euros including all taxes. That is in the seat carriage, where you would have to sleep on a seat. But, you could get a sleeper for around 59 Euros if you search for bargains.
Mel
Reply to this Matt,
Though I have not been to Europe (someday...) so can't comment much on your Europe quesitons, as far as the hostels in general definitely consider it. My first big trip was last year to Ecuador and Central America - at 36 years. Sometimes, I was on the older end but there were plenty of people beyond their college years in hostels. I think hostels have the "young" vibe about them as, being a very budget minded accommodation option they lend themselves to people with less money to spend on accommodations and/or are willing to give up some comforts for saving Dollars (or Euros, Pounds, etc) - which is often younger people. Granted, there are hostels which are quieter and some with more activities. Quieter ones will naturally attract more older people and others with activities and such will cater to younger crowds. If you happen to check out a website such as
Hostelworld there is a spot where reviewers rate the "fun" of a hostel - which may give some insight if a particular hostel is more likely to have younger or more mature crowds.
Your question makes me think of a memory of a lady (in her 50's or 60's) I met in Panama City at the hostel I stayed. She recalled a time where she was with a friend and they were going to stay in a hostel in some "party town" (perhaps Miami?). Her friend was very skittish when they checked in there were college age kids everywhere. Her friend was concerned if they'd be able to sleep at all with "kids" running around. This lady said to not worry and what happened is all the "kids" left to go party on the street around 10PM, right when the older two were winding down for bed. The "kids" didn't return until morning time, when the "old" people were getting up for the day - hence a good nights sleep for the lady and her friend for not much money.
Anyway, packback - think hard about what you'll
really need. You can wash clothes along the way, so pack light on clothes (or, for that matter, buy clothes as needed). Books, if you wish to read, can be bought along the way too. My backpack was probably on the heavy side, but I made sure to constantly ask myself "can I get by without this?" and often told myself the answer was yes. If you buy items such as souvenirs, you can ship them home if you really do not want to lug them around.
Amazing what you realize you can live without, which makes you wonder if you really need it at all...
Reply to this Re: Brno GP, apparently there's a free coach service to the circuit on race days. See http://www.polepositiontravel.com/brno/2009/info.htm
Reply to this Thanks for the responses (I am not that old newplacestogo! and not sure about the Turkish Bath Mel but we shall see)
Found a 60+10 Berghaus backpack in Millets reduced to £79.99 from £109.99 and then whipped out a 20% voucher from last Saturdays Telegraph so £63.99 seemed like a good deal even though it is a bit larger than I probably need. Determined not to fill it though....
Decided it would not feel like a proper trip if I took a flight half way though so I intend to get the train to Bucharest/Budapest rather than the flight to Bratislava (times are not good anyway).
I suppose the Thomas Cook European Timetable is a bit of a must on something like this?
Reply to this The Thomas Cook timetable is the holy grail of all my interrail trips - if you mistime stuff on the continent you might be waiting around as long as 3 or 4 hours for connections. It's definitely worth it because aside from being really useful, it gives you the freedom to change your plan sensibly at any time if you want to. Also, wherever you get internet access along the way, you can use the websites of the rail companies in whichever country you're in (e.g. http://www.mav.hu for hungary, http://www.vlak.cz for czech republic) to check your connections, as not all trains are listed (some not so clearly) in the Thomas Cook timetable.
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