I never got the opportunity to go on one of those pre planned euro trips and thank god I didn't because know I realize there are way much better options to travel Europe. I took a gap year between high-school and college and moved to Munich, Germany. During my year there I got the opportunity to make all sorts of trips through Europe, I had never been in Europe before and had no idea how to plan a trip, so I definitely struggled at first, but now that I've learned and traveled so much I can share my experience and save you guys some of the struggle I went through. Here are some tips I hope you find helpful!
Are you in Europe already?
If you're not I recommend you booking a flight that will take you to either Amsterdam or Frankfurt airport, theses are the two biggest airports in Europe which means that they carry airlines from all over the world and offer many connecting flights to other cities, offering so many options will guarantee you being able to choose the schedules that fancy and accommodate you the most, saving on fares is always a good thing. Don't forget to book your flight with as much anticipation as possible.
- The bus is cheaper. This is the main reason why I choose to travel by bus, its cheaper and in my opinion its easier to book.
- No changes! Most trains will require you to change at a certain station to continue on to your final destination, and booking a direct train is almost as expensive as taking a plane. On the bus you can comfortably doze off for the entire journey without having to worry over missing your exit station.
- Time of travel is almost the same as the bus. When taking the train on long journeys you save only a couple of hours of travel time. Not worth the money.
- Ticket check. Once you enter the bus you won't have to show your ticket again. On trains, since people get on and off at every stop. The train security is always checking that you have your valid ticket with you, they even wake you up to do so if necessary.
- Luggage space. You don't really have a lot of space for your luggage on the train, and if its packed with people you'll definitely struggle if you have a suitcase with you. On the bus you can check up to 2 pieces of small (carry on size) luggage and take a smaller bundle (bag) on the bus with you.
- Sitting space. Trains tend to be fuller than buses, and since people can book a certain seat you don't have the liberty of sitting anywhere. On the bus you sit on any available seat you can find, and on low tourist seasons buses are never full. I've personally taken up to an entire row of seats do to the low demand :)
- Charging your phone! Perhaps an essential to most people, buses offer an outlet to change your phone at every row of seats and even sometimes they have a usb outlet at every seat. Trains have them too but not as many and are harder to accommodate you depending on where your seating.
- FREE WIFI. Buses have free wifi, trains don't. But being honest sometimes the wifi on the bus doesn't work but personally I'm not down for paying for the wifi on the train.
- Don't worry both the bus and the train have air conditioning/heating and bathroom available.
- I wouldn't take a bus for any longer than 12 hours, if the journey by bus is longer than 12 hours its better to take a plane. Planes can be so cheap when in Europe.
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| (FlixBus) Best bus company I've travel with! |
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| This App will help you compare bus, train and plane fares |
How to pick a Hostel
Lets start with location. When picking a hostel make sure you look up before hand where the city center is therefore you can choose a hostel thats near the city center. These hostels tend to be close to lots of bars, tourist information points and the most important sightseeing spots of the city. But since there are so many to choose from heres how to narrow it down...
When searching through hostels on a website you are offered the option to choose the facilities you wish your hostel to have, theres also valuable info on the description of each hostel. I recommend you keeping an eye for the following...
- Bar! cuz we all know your there to party to. Hostels with bars always offer Pub Crawls!
- Youth Hostel. This means the hostel has an age restriction which if your a girl will keep the creep out of the way. Ages range from 18 to 25/30.
- Price range. I never payed for more than 50 euros per night, you can book a cheap hotel for that price. This will depend if your staying on a private or shared room.
- Lift. If you have a large suitcase its best to have access to a lift.
- Towels. Sometime there for free and something you'll need to rent them, depending on which you can decide to pack one or not.
- Locks. I always take my own but sometime you can rent them too since all hostels have lockers available for you to store your stuff, which are included when you book a room or bed.
- Free wifi. An essential to everyone, 90% of hostels offer this.
- Ensuite rooms. Make sure that the bathrooms on the hostel are shared only within the people of the room, it can either be a private or shared room. You want to avoid sharing a bathroom with the entire floor.
Picking a room will depend on who your traveling with, heres a few recommendations...
- If your traveling solo I recommend you staying at a small hostel with a friendly atmosphere in a shared room. Most people are quite friendly even the staff members so you won't have any trouble making friends and you'll definitely won't be the only one traveling alone so get out of your comfort zone and experience something new! I was lucky when I picked my hostel in Budapest, I made so many friends and they even offered free dinner which meant that we ate together, sharing stories and traveling experiences.
- If your traveling with one or two people I recommend you staying in a shared room. You can choose all men, all female or mixed depending on your lever of confidence and where you feel the most comfortable in.
- If your traveling with your group of friends a private room is best. This way you can make as much mess as you want without bothering anyone else. But stay at a cool hostel where you can meet other travelers and make friends.
- If your traveling with your parents this is not the blog for you :P
Pro tip: be polite and introduce yourself to others in when entering your room!
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| (Airbnb) Best App to book an Apartment with your friends (recommended for week long trips) |
Free Walking Tours
When traveling on a budget you don't want to spend your money on a tour guide that will explain the same stuff someone else will do for free. Just google free walking tour nameofcity and 90% of the time a tour will be available to book online, the booking is just for the tour guides to have a control on how many people to expect, you can also choose the language of the tour, yet most of them offer only English and sometimes Spanish. Be sure to grab one of the free city maps at your hostel and check out other brochures on tours you fancy taking. Free walking tour brochures are always available at the checking are of the hostel.
My Packing Tips
- I recommend you taking a small hard case suitcase for week long trips. And leave some extra space since you might need it if you end up doing some shopping.
- For weekend trips a medium size backpack will suffice.
- Preplan your outfits. These may take you more time while packing but will save you so much when getting ready for a full day of touristing.
- Check the weather of the city or cities your visiting before hand. You don't want to end up buying a cheap umbrella you'll end up breaking/loosing.
- Invest in a good toiletry case, best if it has plastic dividers to store liquids.
- Buying travel size everything is totally worth it. Specially if you tend to travel a lot, this will save you so much time when packing cuz you'll have all your toiletries ready to go!
- Don't forget to have a tag on your luggage with all your basic info in case you lose it.
- A combination lock on your suit case is a precaution I always took when traveling by bus.
- Buying a universal adaptor for all your electronics is essential since not all cities have the same outlets.
- Is best to take some flip flops with you if you plan on sharing a bathroom.
- And don't forget your towel if you can't or don't want to rent one.
Heres some pictures of all the trips I took during my gap year, and details about each one!
(order: first to last)
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| Berlin FlixBus (Munich - Berlin) One80° Hostel (shared mixed room) good & modern weekend trip (one suit case) |
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| Italy Milan FlixBus (Munich - Milan) Milano Hostel (shared mixed room) not good :/ Florence FlixBus (Milan - Florence) Plus Florence Hostel (shared mixed room) pretty good Rome FlixBus (Florence - Rome) The Yellow Hostel (shared female room) best hostel ever! Fueling flight (Rome - Munich) 2 week trip (one suitcase, one medium bag and a purse) |
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| Amsterdam ICE train (Munich - Amsterdam) last minute buy, very expensive :/ Bobs Youth Hostel (shared female room) never share a room with 14 girls :/ bad hostel weekend trip (one suitcase) |
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| Prague FlixBus (Munich - Prague) Mosaic House Hotel/Hostel (shared mixed room) not youth hostel but modern & trendy 1 day trip (one backpack) |
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| Dresden FlixBus (Prague - Dresden) A&O Hotel/Hostel (shared female room) very clean! 1 day solo trip (one backpack) |
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| Paris FlixBus (Munich - Paris) Generator Hostels (private room) 5 day trip (one suitcase and one small backpack) |
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| Vienna FlixBus (Munich - Vienna) 7 hour layover trip (one backpack) |
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| Budapest FlixBus (Vienna - Budapest) HomePlus Hostel (shared room) weekend trip (one backpack) |
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| Magaluf Vueling round trip flight (Munich - Mallorca) Universal Hotel Florida (all inclusive 3 star Hotel) 4 day trip (one suit case) |
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