Feess - The Savvy Backpackers guide to Europe on a budget: advice on trip planning, packing, hostels & lodging, transportation & more!

Copyright 2015 by James Feess

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

Cover design by Liz Driesbach

Cover photo credit Thinkstock

Print ISBN: 978-1-62914-738-3

Ebook ISBN: 978-1-63220-114-0

Printed in China

Table of Contents

Introduction

F or many people, the thought of traveling to Europe is intimidating, or at the very least, confusing. Its perfectly normal to feel a little overwhelmed by the whole planning process. I know felt the exact same way when I was preparing for my first backpacking trip through Europe. Id never before used public transportation, I spoke only English, I had no concept of hostels, and this trip would be the first time I was truly self-reliant. It did feel daunting at times, but it was also exciting because I knew I was about to have the experience of a lifetime.

Every year, Europe enchants millions of visitors with her countless charms while she happily drains their bank accounts. However, savvy travelers know it doesnt require a lot of money to have an incredible journey abroad. In fact, the more money you spend the larger wedge youll drive between you and the local culture. When you travel on a tight budget, youll have a more authentic experience because youll find yourself perusing the same neighborhood markets, shopping at the same grocery stores, and eating at the same restaurants as the locals.

Luckily, Europe has plenty of inexpensive places to sleep, the public transportation is amazing, and food can be affordable. The infrastructure for budget travel is already in placeyou simply need to learn the travel skills to take full advantage of it. However, if youre not aware of these budget-travel strategies your bank account will take a beating.

Its important to realize that budget travel is more than just saving money. Its also about knowing how to spend your money wisely in order to maximize your travel timewhich is just as valuable. All it takes to plan a successful journey is preparation, strategic budgeting tips, and time-tested travel advice.

I think proper travel planning is essential if you want to get the most bang for your travel buck. That said, people often tell me that they dont want to plan anything and they prefer to play everything by ear. I understand. I was one of those people on my first trip to Europe. I had romantic notions of showing up in a city on a whim, finding a hostel, and then discovering an amazing little caf frequented by locals. In reality, I spent hours trying to find a hostel only to discover that all the cheap rooms were booked. Then I couldnt locate any affordable restaurants, so I finally gave in and ate at McDonalds. Thats when I realized the importance of planning

However, I want to strongly emphasize that over-planning is also a surefire path to failure and any experienced traveler will tell you the critical importance of spontaneity and flexibility. You need to plan just enough to give your trip structure and then fill the rest in as you go.

The goal of this book is to equip you with the travel knowledge needed to plan an amazing journey through Europe. Then once youre fully informed about all of your options, you can make an educated choice of which tips and advice best suits your travel style.

CHAPTER ONE

PLANNING

The secret to traveling cheaply and successfully all starts with a bit of planning. First there are basic matters like getting a passport and sorting out your banking, but the real planning starts when you assemble your itinerary and set your travel budget. It will take a decent amount of effort, but youll be rewarded once youre abroad.

Big Picture Itinerary Planning

Europe is an amazingly diverse continent and it offers something for everyone. In fact, most visitors have a terribly difficult time narrowing down exactly what they want to experience because there is so much to choose from. You could travel for a year and still feel like youve missed something. Unfortunately, most of us dont have the luxury of being able to spend months traveling, so we have to economize our time.

Ill tell you right now that trying to assemble an itinerary will cause a great deal of frustration and stress. But thats okay; it is all part of the process. It takes a lot of creativity, I and youll spend multiple hours nailing down your itinerary. In this section, Ill give you my planning strategies, but my way isnt the only method. Use these tips as a guideline, but ultimately it is up to you to find the one that works the best for your journey.

You may find it useful to go through the entire book and then return to this chapter because youll have a better idea about transportation, travel costs, and other important travel issues so you can create a better-informed itinerary.

STEP ONEEstimate your travel budget. For most people, money is the main limiting factor when it comes to travel planning, so its wise to look at your finances to figure out how much you can spend on your trip. Its fine if you only have a ballpark figure, but it is very helpful to have a dollar amount that you dont want to cross. As you proceed through the next steps, youll need to keep this amount in mind because it will be a major factor in dictating how and where you travel.

STEP TWOPick your approximate travel dates. Now that you have an idea of your budget, its time to choose when and how long you want to travel. Some people travel as long as they can or until the money runs outwhich is a perfectly fine way to travel; however, most travelers dont have this luxury since school, work, or other obligations usually determine when they can go abroad.

During these beginning stages, its not necessary to know your exact travel dates, although, you should have a fairly good idea. Youll inevitably fine-tune and tweak your itinerary as you continue to planmaybe youll see that you can actually travel longer than you anticipated or maybe youll realize the need to cut back. Keep in mind that flexibility is vital if you want to save money; sometimes moving your departure or return date by a day or two can save hundreds of dollars.