Backpacking Europe alone this summer - who's done this? Tips?

[csnarpy]

If you can, go to a small city in Spain called Lloret de Mar.
Incredible beach, amazing food and very friendly people! Whenever I go to Europe, I always make a point to make my way here.

[undercoverbrother]

Budapest is a must, amazing city, lovely women.

Do not go to the zoo, that is a word of caution.

[NomNomNom]

Thanks guys!

More notes:

- I've got extra SD and CF cards up the wazoo, so I'll be fine on that front (64GB SD card for $37 on boxing day at Best Buy. Insane.
- I'll try to pack as lightly as possible while leaving room in my pack for whatever I end up buying.
- I'm not on any meds, so I won't need to be worried about any of that stuff. I'll just have the usual with me like motrin etc.
- re: flags - On the pack I have now, it has a small Canadian flag sewn onto it. It's not very big but noticeable when you're close. I think I'll just leave it on?
- I work out 4 days a week, and have for a year so I'm going over in pretty good shape. The shoes are a good note because I have this weird floating bone in my left ankle, and have had surgery on my left ankle for the same problem. My feet are kind of brutal at times so I'll need a good pair of shoes. I'll definitely keep an emergency fund tucked away somewhere - that's smart.
- I'd love to hit Portugal but it's insanely expensive to fly into there, and I'm assuming it's the same to fly out as well. Maybe I'll do Portugal around the same time as Spain and just leave from Spain. Mhm, that's the problem with only 8 weeks is I might really fall in love with a place and just stay there for 25% of the trip..
- I was looking at flights from Helsinki to Germany etc. and they are crazy cheap, which is nice because that's less travel time.
- I will avoid the zoo at all costs.

- What did you guys do once you knew laundry needed to be done? Is there laundry in most hostels? I have no idea.
- For my camera friends - I've got a 5D Mark3 and some L glass; has anyone traveled with heavy gear, and was it too much of a pain?
- Where were some Cities where you found the language barrier to be too much to handle?
- What was your money break down? How much did you find yourself spending on food, hostels, transportation etc. throughout your trip? I want to plan out my money, but I'm not really sure where or how to start.

Thanks again!

[Table 5]

Originally Posted by NomNomNom

- For my camera friends - I've got a 5D Mark3 and some L glass; has anyone traveled with heavy gear, and was it too much of a pain?

You definitely want to keep weight down as much as possible, camera equipment or not. Remember that every little thing you have, you'll carry it with you on every train, every hike, every set of stairs. If I have to lug it around, I tend to just carry a 50mm and one zoom that has a wide range.

Btw, you may want to find ways to downplay the fact that you have a 4k+ worth of equipment with you....I'd get the crappiest looking bag that does the job, and maybe even consider putting crappy black tape over the logo. That won't fool everyone, but you definitely don't want to be the guy with the flashiest equipment.

[killer_carlson]

The days you are switching cities are the days you will spend more money. You have less control over where you eat or sleep those days than you do once you are in a city. For budgeting, budget more for those days.

Re: camera equipment. Be prepared for the fact you will be leaving your stuff unattended in a room full of strangers at times. You may think you will always have your camera with you, but you wont be taking it to the bar, or the common room in the hostel. Be prepared that it might get stolen. Based purely on my experience and nothing else, when people got ripped off at a hostel, it seemed to have "locals" in it. Either that or travellers at the end of their trip who were desperate to stay travelling and freaking out about having to go home (like wigging out). I hypothesize that the local nationals have a better idea to offload stolen stuff than would a foreign person, and the guys freaking out are opportunistic and desperate.


Re: laundry. Just ask at the hostel. Most will have it, but some will suggest a laundromat. Ask other travellers to share a box of degergent with you. Save a couple of bucks.

Re: flag. Personal preference. The trip is about you and what you want of make of it. I had a flag and still do. Others dont. Do what you feel like and dont sweat the decision.