I'm wanting to do a tour of europe in one form or another next year -2015 perhaps a ferry to netherlands, and using trains to various points and camping/hotels for stop overs anyone done anything similar, what's a good recommendation?
Probably not the kind of answer you were looking for straight off the bat. You'll no doubt have plenty more to read beyond this post. How much time will you be on the Continent.? I backpacked to OZ a coupla years ago. Using Malaysian airlines. Travelled constantly for two years - non stop. Up & down the East Coast. Good Times.
not sure yet, it's planned for next year, not exactly sure of the itinerary, it will be max a couple of weeks though i'd like to visit the french ww2 memorials and hopefully include a visit to auschwitz, and just generally see as much culture/amazing things as cheaply possible in the time limit i love camping
Car'nt say Greegsy I 've had the pleasure of the European Experience. Ever. But I was hoping at some point back in 1989 to havee a Lads week out at Ibiza If your UP for it for a few weeks & Money holds Out. Take plenty of pictures & charge through the time allocated with your Head down - like a Bull in a China shop. & You"ll be home before you know it .I'll stay Interested on here as to any developments. Good Luck.
that's what really doesn't interest me, places like ibiza/magaluf/sunny beach i want to extend my visits to places where the average tourist doesn't visit, to see the culture, the landscapes and any amazing/haunting sights such as auschwitz, auschwitz has been a ambition of mine for quite awhile, the plans are very very raw at the moment, going for cheapest possible, fortunately hull offers a cheap viable solution into mainland europe through the ferries
I did inter-railing with the lads for 3 weeks back in 2001. Flew out to Barcelona and then got the train to Nice, Monaco, Milan, Geneva, Zurich, Munich, Vienna, Prague, Berlin, Amsterdam and Brussels before getting the ferry back from Rotterdam. Was a good trip with accommodation being down to winging it at each city. A few years back I drove around Europe with my wife for a couple of months (albeit with an extended stop at her parents in Liberec). Drove to Brugges, Luxembourg, Plzen, Liberec, (train to Dresden and back, bus to Prague and back), Fussen (for castle Neuschwanstein), Berchtesgaden (the most amazing place I've ever been), Salzburg, Cesky Krumlov (bus to Bratislava, train to Vienna, train to Budapest), Krakow (including Auschwitz), Berlin, Lubeck, Cologne and Antwerp. Best two holidays I've ever done. Want to know any more then let me know or PM me.
that's sounds absolutely incredible, what were your approximate costs per person? we're just going to wing it, at the moment it's a case of saving money it's been a dream of mine for years
Definitely drive, European roads are amazing. Specially in Spain, Southern France, Switzerland, Italy and Germany.
Recommendation? Do it , just do it. The trick is getting the balance between military style planning and spur of the moment spontaneity. Get this right and you'll have the experience of a lifetime. Costs? Depending on age a month long, any time use Interrail card is between £350 and £550. Budget approx €15-20 per night campsite fees. (Although prices very tremendously). Take a credit card. You may not use it but if you need to you'll be glad of it.
This works really well, but you do need to book in advance 'cos the Interrail slots on night trains are limited. There is a Rail Planner App which informs you about trains that do and don't need reservations. The Interrail website is the place to start planning your trip.
I would suggest starting it mid-late July at tomorrowland in Belgium as the first destination, and finishing it in Croatia early September at Outlook festival.
We could have a sweep on here what city/country you'll annoy someone enough to kill you in. I'm going for Romania.
Ummm, gonna have to give this some thought before I cast my vote. It's not a level playing field. For example, it's dead easy to annoy a Frenchman, (in some cases your mere existence can do that), but they are unlikely to kill you. They'll prefer to get their revenge by making you wait an absurd amount of time for the omelette you just ordered whilst they slouch past you grumbling and harrumphing every three minutes. On the other hand your average Austrian can be abused (verbally of course) for hours on end without a twitch of the moustache, but never, ever accept an invite to join one in a cellar. Belgium's talk a good united European speel but will dissolve your head in a vat of acid it you cut them up at a T junction. If we are going to have a sweep it's only fair to produce a form guide first.
I think the 3 weeks inter-railing cost about 1200. Was 2001. Things got cheaper when you went east. Cheapest accommodation was £8 (hostel in East Berlin), most expensive was about 20. Remember finding beer for equivalent of 30p a pint in Prague. The driving trip was in 2008 and probably cost about 2k each. I drove over 5000 miles and petrol was around £500. Camping was 10-15 quid a night but, due to me buying an insufficiently sized tent, we only camped for 6 nights. Hotels were a bit of a mixed bag. I mostly tried to use sites like booking.com and book the next hotel when we were ready to move on. Cheapest beer rose to around 60p a pint (mostly due to weaker pound).
Thought this was going to be a thread about travel to Slovakia! We lived in Germany for 10 years when my husband was in the Army, travel on the continent is easy whether by bus, train or car. Life is what happens while you're busy making plans so just commit to going and come back when the money runs out.
For history/culture, I think Europe is pretty unbeatable. It is really expensive though (especially as a lot of the 'tick box' sites are in the capitals/major cities), and the Eastern countries aren't anywhere near as cheap as they once were. Camp sites in general are really good there. Driving would be cool but the train system is nice and easy. I spent quite a bit of time using trains and camping, mainly in Italy - lost over a stone in weight as did it on a budget and walked a hell of a lot. Went in a big group of lads, if you're doing it on your own, I'm not sure there are as many people to meet as there are doing Australia/Asia but I could be wrong.
