So it's 2:30 in the morning where I am. I'm at my friend's house and we are discussing the idea of backpacking across Europe within the upcoming years. Surprisingly, it's not all that expensive. One man whose itinerary we're studying took a 3 month trip to over 20 countries on a budget of around $6,000. We figure we could hit fewer places, spending more time in each, and save a bit of cash. We wanna hit a lot of castles as well as a few obligatory monuments (Stonehenge, the Louvre, Rome, etc.)

If you could go backpacking across Europe (or anywhere that would interest you really) where would you go? What would be your priority sights? Any time based plans (Oktoberfest, Carnival, etc)?

That's a lot of time and countries! I'd probably get burnt out from being a tourist for that long. As for where I'd visit, Spain (esp. Catalonia), Italy and Austria would be high in my list, but they're places I've already been to. Norway, Croatia and Greece (esp. the islands) I'd like to see.

If you come to my country (UK), I'd recommend central London of course. Stonehenge is a bit out of the way, but if you happen to be nearby or take a special interest in it, then go. Edinburgh, Brighton and Cambridge are other cities I've been to and would recommend.

In London, it's worth seeing the free sights (tower bridge, Trafalgar square, Palace Westminster, etc.) but London Eye is maybe not worth the price. Favourite museums are the Natural History museum and the British museum. Dungeon was fun, but they moved/changed it since I went. Tussauds is nice but v. expensive. Go to Camden if you like markets, and Shoreditch/Brick Lane area if you like vintage shops and hipsters.

oh my gosh that sounds amazing, can I come too? hah.

I just want to travel anywhere, but would definitely like to go to the UK, and backpacking seems like an exciting option. mandatory stop would be Blithfield Hall in Staffordshire to see the remarkable creature that bares my family's name . . . the Bagot goats. :|

That sounds so exciting! I would do research on where you want to go and traveling prices. I think the train would be an excellent way for fast and easy travel when traveling from country to country. If I could travel across Europe, I would go to England, France, Spain, Germany, Italy, and Croatia. I think they would all be beautiful countries to visit, and most of them have beautiful beaches you can go to.

Before you go traveling on a huge continent, make sure you have safety as one of your priorities. Always have a way to communicate to your friends/authorities (I would recommend having an address book of including info from your friends, family, embassies, and emergency numbers). Bring your passport, any identification, and pocket cash and always keep them in a safe place. Best of luck!

Backpacking's not really my style, but I'd love to go to southeast Asia... Vietnam and Singapore are high on my list. :)

I would love to backpack across Europe but I'm not much of a outdoorsy person (I'd fall down the Alps or something) and the idea of staying in hostels scares me (I'm worried I'd wake up in a bath tub full of ice missing a kidney, or worse, end up as a sex slave somewhere).

I'm looking into grad schools in Europe, mostly Ireland and the UK. I'm also looking at Germany, France, and Italy. And I'm going to Spain in May with school!

Definitely look up what is going on at each place you plan to stop. Recently I got back from a river cruise to Europe. I went during a time where there were what they call Christmas Markets, They spring up every year all over Europe and have different things each year. However, I have read online about many different festivals that happen at any given time. Depending on the crowds even hostels could get expensive.

Definitely look up what is going on at each place you plan to stop. Recently I got back from a river cruise to Europe. I went during a time where there were what they call Christmas Markets, They spring up every year all over Europe and have different things each year. However, I have read online about many different festivals that happen at any given time. Depending on the crowds even hostels could get expensive.

Definitely look up what is going on at each place you plan to stop. Recently I got back from a river cruise to Europe. I went during a time where there were what they call Christmas Markets, They spring up every year all over Europe and have different things each year. However, I have read online about many different festivals that happen at any given time. Depending on the crowds even hostels could get expensive.

Please be safe. You can really get into some shit backpacking. I know I sound like an old lady, but I just cringe at the word these days. If you haven't done this before try to bring a friend (an actual friend not an acquaintance) who's experienced with you.

Going to Europe has been my goal in life for as long as I can remember. I'm not sure if I wanna go backpacking? Do it some other way that seems safer? idk idk

But it's all so expensiiiiive ;; I'm already thousands of $ in debt from college, I don't have a few thousand laying around to afford to go on a trip like that. -siiiiigh-

If I could though! France would be a top spot for me. I was European Studies major/French minor in school and I've always felt like I just really need to go there. And see everything. Every bit.

After that, uhhhh let's see, have to go to Italy and try out all the amazing food. I'd cry if I missed that. I have to go to Germany and Poland and find as many war monuments as possible. Especially anything to do with Prussia, my absolute fave. hhmmmm I've always had a soft sopt for Scandinavia, so I wanna stop in all those countries, especially Iceland. I'd never forgive myself if I missed Stonehenge too omg. So that's my priority list!

I've been through most of western and northern Europe and I have to say that Oslo was the most stunning city that I've ever seen. Amsterdam comes in second. Coastal Greece is stunning as well, but I have a thing for beaches.

As for if I were ever to go on a backpacking/road trip through Europe again, I would do it in the summer during festival season. I'm a major metalhead and I've always wanted to go to Wacken and Tuska. My friend and I almost went to Summer Breeze last year but something came up for her so I ended up going to (Heavy) Montreal with a different friend.

I would also love to go island hopping through the caribbean again.

I must say that I absolutely love backpacking, and you are right that it is totally affordable! I spent 3 months backpacking this past summer (Peru, Ecuador, Colombia) and spent about $3,000. Total. Including my flight.

Europe is more expensive, but it is absolutely possible - especially with the budget airlines over there; it makes for hopping between countries really easy! I did a weekend trip to Dublin when I was in Scotland and roundtrip with conversion the flight was like $80. Hostels get a really bad rap, but you can find amazing ones, I actually haven't stayed in an awful one, ever.

I want to do another backpacking trip, my next priority is India and SE Asia. I am a slower traveler though, which means I prefer to stay in one place longer and not race to see a bunch of things merely for bragging rights. I totally feel that backpacking can be about the spirit of travel: immersing yourself in different cultures and gaining experiences. You do not need fancy resorts to do this.

My top destination for backpacking in Europe would be a half of Ex-Yugoslavia countries (namely, Bosnia, Croatia, Montenegro and Serbia). It's just my personal interest of the history and culture in that area that make me want to go there more than other popular countries (although, yes I want to go to Slovakia as well).

The cost of stuffs there especially food is very cheap although the traveling could be quite troublesome (super delayed trains for example) since the transportation infrastructures there were affected badly by the wars two decades ago and even nowadays, some still don't get all the improvement they need. Even so, one of the things I want to do when I go there is to ride the Belgrade-Bar train(from the capital of Serbia to a coastal town in Montenegro which passes through Dinaric Alps). Another priority for my Ex-Yugo trip would be visiting Museum of Yugoslav History in Belgrade as well.

Other than that, most of my trip would be for sight-seeing and 'get a feel' of cities I have read about for years. If possible though, I hope my trip would be in the same period when Đakovački vezovi is held; that's one of the major festivals in Slavonia region in Croatia and it's mainly about folk costumes and folk culture of Slavonia region and all of Croatia.

I actually did go on a Europe trip a year and a half ago, where I went to Germany, France, Switzerland, Greece, and Turkey. I didn't have the time to go to Italy, but whenever I get the chance to travel again, I will make sure to go to Italy, and while I'm at it, to some other countries as well. You should definitely do it! I think it would be a great experience and I'm sure you'll have lots of fun!

Do it! I went for two months and it was fucking amazing. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed my detour into Central/Eastern Europe--I was planning to mostly stay in Germany but I ended up really liking Bosnia, Serbia, and Hungary. It's cheap as hell and people are really lovely. I miss it a lot.

I guess my first advice is don't feel the need to pressure yourself into seeing as many countries as possible. I only visited six over the course of two months and I really like that I got a good feel for each one at my own pace. I never booked anything more than a few days in advance. But that's just my style.

Second, everybody wants to see France and Italy and Switzerland and whatnot but if you're feeling broke, cheaper countries are just as beautiful and there's just as much to see and do. I absolutely fell in love with Sarajevo and Budapest and I never even planned to go there originally. So if you're worried about money, I would seriously consider checking out countries you might not be considering yet.

Also if you're a student, studentuniverse has AMAZING discounts on flights, I got from the east coast of the US to Germany for only $350 by booking through them. I'm kinda sorry I'm a graduate and can't use it anymore. Rome2Rio is also good website for finding the best way to get from point A to point B once you're in Europe.

I still have so many countries I haven't seen yet though. Whenever I make it back I really want to see the Netherlands, more of Germany, Poland, Ukraine, Russia, pretty much everywhere. But Southeast Asia is definitely next on my list. I'm currently on a much longer-term backpacking trip in Australia and I gotta take advantage while it's so close :s

If you do decide to do this, feel free to hit me up for recommendations!

If you are backpacking the Eurail pass is pretty amazing for visiting a bunch of countries over an extended period of time. It's how my parents traveled through Europe when they were young before my brother and I were born.

Also, note that on a practical level that Italy is pretty notorious for pickpocketers so safeguard your valuables.

I've actually gone through a handful of European countries but only stayed for a couple days in most of them though since it was via a European cruise. Unfortunately when I went to France it was right over the new year so everything was closed though the Eiffel Tower was beautiful and the snow was lovely.

I guess if I were to go to Europe again and I would love to go again I'd probably go to the parts of Europe I missed like Austria, Hungary, Britain and go back to France and Italy to both visit Paris again and to go to the Italian Renaissance art capitals since I didn't go last time. I'd also love to see the Sistine Chapel once since there was an event at the Vatican when I went so the Sistine chapel wasn't open to visitors at the time.

As a side note, Barcelona is pretty cool... Spent a couple days there and it was pretty fun.

piece of advice is get your internationally recognised student card. Europe is one of the only places that consistently recognises it and gives out discounts, and it's amaaaaazing the $$ you'll save using it. My mom still used hers when we went (even though she was 35, 37, and 43 the times we went) and it saved us probably a good 5th of our total $s. Second, bring a travel guide of some sort. We always use Lonely Planet because they're super comprehensive, but they can be ~1-2 years out of date even if you get them brand new (because it takes a long time to collect all that information). Third, try to get set up on couchsurfing. If you're a woman or a couple, you will be much more likely to get responses, since there's a bit more trust (woo sexism), but even if you're a boy you'll still get plenty of responses. It's very reliable if you can find people with a few reviews on their profiles. My mom and I have been using it for years and we've only ever had one (sort of) bad experience, and we've both been to/had 15-20 meetups/couchsurfers/hostings. Not only that, hosts are almost always super welcoming and will point you in the direction of the coolest sites/cheapest food/best nightlife/whatever you're into.

Also, look into getting week or month long train tickets in Europe. They're unlimited use for however long you buy them for, and really save on money if you plan on doing a lot of travelling. We used ours to get all over Germany, as well as a few areas in the countries around Germany. I'm fairly certain they work in every EU country, although Britain may be too out of the way for it to apply.

All in all, have fun! Europe is so rich in culture and history that you're bound to have a good time regardless of where you go.

[edit] Also if you're worried about carrying money on your person, then Western Union and travellers cheques are both great ways to limit the amount you have at any given time, and we've never had problems in Europe finding outlets for either of those methods. P.S. I've been backpacking many times, in Europe and other places. Feel free to sMail me :)