Hi all!
I'm planning a trip around Europe in June/July 2010. I have 30 days to spare for this one.
I will use trains as the main means of transportation, and I want to visit as many countries as possible, but without missing out the important stuff in each one.
1) Which countries do you think I should go for? (except the UK, Italy and Romania - in which I have been over and over again)
2)I am on a very tight budget, and I have no experience with backpacking through Europe. What do you think will be the cost per day (excluding transportation)?
Reply to this I am doing a similar trip but taking 2 weeks in Iceland to visit a family I lived with during an cultural exchange in 1980 then headed to Europe for 2 weeks. I have never been to mainland Europe, so if you can share what you find out, I would really appreciate it!!!
Thanks 😊
Reply to this When it comes to which countries to go for I think what you need to look at is how many of the more affordable countries are you interested in which are close together. If you've only got 30 days and a tight budget then I wouldn't be going to too many countries because then you spend more of your money on travel expenses rather than the real experiences. Trains can be very expensive and time consuming. First of all I would highly reccomend you buy a eurail pass if you haven't already got one. It will definitely save you money considering the kind of travel you have in mind.
Why is your goal to see as many countries as possible? Why not choose your top four and spend a week in each? I backpacked Italy, Spain and France last year, spent a month in each country and STILL feel like I only scratched the surface of what there was to see. If you go to a famous city like Amsterdam for example, you're not going to see much of it in one day. You'll probably want to spend at least two days, sometimes three in each major place you go to. Assuming there is more than one great travel destination in each country you visit then one week in each would probably be a better way to get a proper taste of what that country has to offer.
Then again I've never done the whirlwind kind of trip you're proposing so perhaps I'm not the right one to comment. The key thing here is what kind of experiences do you hope to get out of your trip? I know you can get one month bus tours which take you to heaps of different countries. I have a friend who did that and loved it.
And in terms of more affordable countries I'd say Spain is pretty good (though not as great as it used to be) and France is expensive. Also if you travel out of season things will be more affordable.
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