A gap semester has always been something I wanted to do. I’ve always been incredibly wanderlust and have decided it’s time to make my biggest dream of seeing the world a reality, so I’m pushing graduation off a semester and taking myself on a backpacking trip across 20 countries from Greece to the UK. Here’s some of the best advice that I’ve found and a step by step guide to plan your perfect trip on a tight college student budget featuring some of HC PSU’s own world travelers.
Figure out how much time you can take off and when you can take off
Can you take two weeks off? A month? Four months? A year? Figuring this out is step one as it entirely determines how many places you can visit and for how long. I can do four months, and the general rule of thumb I’ve found among most travel bloggers is to plan about four-five countries per month, depending on how much time you want to spend in certain towns and cities.
Make a budget
Most experienced backpackers recommend that you’ll need around $30 a day, however remember that some days you may be spending more and some days you may spend nothing. It all depends on where you’re staying and where you’re eating. Have good connections abroad who would let you crash for a few nights. You’ll spend a lot less than the backpacker who stays in Hostels for $15-$25 a night and eats out for every meal. Figure out how much you can spend, subtract about $1,000 for flying there and back and go from there.
Make a pinterest board
I’ve always been a serious Pinterest junkee, but if you’re not I recommend getting into it. Pinterest has hundreds of thousands of cool backpacking suggestions, beautiful destination ideas and important tips on how to travel on a strict budget safely from experts. You can check out my backpacking board here.
Follow these bloggers
The Savvy Backpacker and The Blonde Abroad are two of my favorites. The Savvy Backpacker is a couple who are living their dream of seeing the world while spending a tiny amount of money and The Blonde Abroad is living proof that as a woman you can travel solo, on a budget, and safely all with a super light backpack. I also like the instagrammer @shesgoing. Their travel pictures are gorgeous and the places the duo visits are mesmerizing. From Dubai to Austria these impressive young ladies know how to make the most out of world travel.
Make a dream destination list
Go crazy here. When I first started planning I had upwards of 100 cities pin marked on my google map. I know I won’t be able to see all of the places I want to but this is dream mode. We’ll focus on what you can actually do and how to make the perfect itinerary later. To figure out some of these dream destinations, first think about where you’ve always wanted to go. Does your mind wander to Paris while you’re laying in bed at night? Do you daydream about seeing the great pyramids in Egypt? Do you ever picture yourself adventuring the streets of Florence when you eat a bowl of gelato? If so, then you’ve already got a pretty great foundation. Add to it by checking out some listicles like this one from well traveled backpack bloggers and do further research through the Lonely Planet. You may also want to consider investing in a book like 1,000 places to see before you die. Take a highlighter to it and go nuts. Feel free to check out my backpacking pinterest board which includes over 200 of my dream destinations here.
Research events
Know you want to be in Venice for Carnivale? Want to experience Oktoberfest in Munich? Figure this out next. This cool website can be of help. Once you have some events you want to experience nailed down it becomes a lot easier to figure out what you can actually do on your trip and knock off some places that definitely aren’t possible.
Make a “Musts” and a “Maybes” list
Only knock off a place if you’re sure you won’t be able to budget it in, I’ve done so much removing and readding of locations already. Instead, go through your dream list and sort. For each location, there are three questions you need to ask yourself;
1. Is it way off the beaten track?
2. Is it too similar to another location on my list?
3. If I don’t go here, will I regret it?
Answer these questions and revaluate. You can also read destination reviews on sites like Lonely Planet and Tripadvisor to help you further decide if it’s worth the time and travel. Also keep in mind how pricey each city is. European cities in the west like Paris and Amsterdam are typically almost double the cost to sleep, eat and shop whereas cities in the East like Budapest and Mostar are going to be much less expensive but just as cool. Also, look into currency exchange rates. How much is the US dollar worth in Turkey? What about Ireland? Figuring this out is key to penny pinching while abroad.
Map it out
My maps has been my favorite tool to plan all of this so far. You can pin all kinds of cities, color code them, make layers, customize the look of the map, draw lines wherever your heart desires and also share it with your travel buddies. It’s everything. Check out this youtube tutorial for a general idea of what to do and a blank map here to start planning your trip.
Connect the dots
Once you have all of your pins dropped, it’s time to start figuring out how you’re going to get from place to place and for how long you want to be there. While you’re probably going to want to spend four-seven days in major cities, for smaller towns you may only need a night or two. This is also where you can start figuring out if any of your destinations are small enough to be day trips from major places. As you sort this out, connect the dots from place to place. I had the website Rome2Rio.org pulled up in another tab to get a relative feel of how much it would cost to travel between each location and how long it would take. Will you need to fly from one location to another? Is the train best? If so should you purchase a Eurail pass? More on this later.
Figure out the best way to get from point A to point B
Again, Rome2Rio is the best site to generally gauge how much it’ll cost to get from one place to the other, but don’t let the high prices you may see freak you out. More than ever ride share programs are popping up all over Europe where you can pretty much safely hitchhike for a small price. Check out this site to start thinking about what that may look like. Think you’ll be taking the train a lot? Check out this website to help you decide if an Eurail pass is worth it. Need to fly? RyanAir is an insanely cheap option, offering some flights across the continent as low as one euro. There are also always trains and buses running between major cities that typically won’t cost more than $20. If you are flying within Europe, plan your layovers wisely. Turkish air is very cheap and could score you a long enough layover to adventure around Istanbul or Ankara for a day. While you’re planning travel, ask yourself how long you want to be moving. Do you really want to be on a bus for 10 hours? Maybe not, but it’s up to you. Although taking a bus may save you money, if you could take a plane and be there in a quarter of the time is it worth it? This is definitely something for you to figure out before booking travel.
Figure out the types of places you want to stay
Where you’re sleeping is going to make or break your budget. Most backpackers plan on staying in hostels for at least some of their trip and chances are you will too. Some great websites to help you choose a hostel are this one, and this one. However, if you’re comfortable with it, couchsurfing is also an option. Couchsurfing is almost always free and typically the hosts are travelers too who know what you’re going through. Find hosts here. Not comfortable staying with strangers? That’s ok. It can be daunting at first. If you have connections in Europe reach out, chances are they’ll be more than happy to let you crash at their place for a few nights.
Buy the perfect backpack
The smaller the better, but also choose one that’s realistic for you. I’m a chronic overpacker but I’m still using the same backpack I took on a three week long Appalachian Trail excursion. Try to choose one that fits carry on, but if it doesn’t don’t sweat it. A lot of airlines will let you check a bag for free. I’d definitely recommend visiting an outdoor recreation store for help choosing the perfect backpack. Although some people are fine without, having an expert there to help you find a pack that fits your needs as a backpacker is 100x better than taking a chance on the first pack you see on Amazon. It is also important to splurge a little on a backpack. Mine was a little under $200, but it’s lasted me almost four years and over 100 miles on the Appalachian Trail without showing any wear. Getting a pricier backpack that will last a long time is so much better than getting a cheap one and having a hole rip in it two weeks into your travels. Trust me, be frugal for literally everything but the backpack.
Get Booking!!
First things first is the plane to get there and back. It is recommended for international travel that you book six months in advance. Weirdly, the cheapest days to fly and book are Tuesday-Wednesday so if you can manage a mid-week flight do it. Expedia is my go to for booking flights and some of the cheapest airlines I’ve found have been WOW Air, Lufthansa, and British Airways. Even more important than the airline is the airport. When I was booking my trip to Italy this summer I found that a round trip from Philadelphia, PA to Rome, IT was typically around $1,200 per person but flying from Newark, NJ to Bologna, IT came in under $600 for a round trip even though I was flying in and out of cities a mere hour apart. For my backpacking trip so far I’ve found Dublin to be the cheapest airport with a one way ticket from Newark, NJ for only $200. To contrast a flight to Dublin’s neighbor city Shannon would have put me out around $1,000. Do your research!
Probably the most argued factor of backpacking Europe is how much to book in advance, but in my research I’ve found that this method works best; Book major destinations (5-7 day trips) at least 4 months in advance, with the exception of major festivals (Oktoberfest in Munich) that you should book six-eight months in advance. Book smaller destinations (4> days) a month in advance or on the go. Allow your smaller destinations to change a bit if adventure comes up, anything could happen on your journey so don’t be afraid to go with the flow sometimes. It’s totally safe and cheap to book hostels in many places a day or two in advance, especially if they’re in smaller, less touristy towns. Use this site to book hostels or book directly through their site for the lowest rate. Remember to check how much a hostel where you’re staying typically costs to make sure you’re not getting a rip off. No where should you pay more than $30 a night, but generally in eastern Europe a bed will put you out around $10-15 a night while in the west around $20-30. Book inter-trip flights (I.e. from Greece-Italy) 1-2 months in advance and everything else around 1 week-1 month before departure.
Get packing, collegiates! Adventure awaits.