Hi Stavan,
Sorry I’ve just seen this message!
Basically, I’d wanted to travel for my entire life, so when I’d finished studying I took up full time work for a year to save for it.
All up I saved about $12,000 which paid for my flights ($2,100), the Contiki tour I chose to do ($2,000) and left me with $8,000 spending money.
It was my first time overseas so I was really worried about doing it all alone, but I turned out to be fine.
It was planned to be a 2 month trip, but I ended up extending it for another month while I was there - which cost an extra $75.
I landed in London first to meet up with a friend. It’s a good choice to go to an English speaking country first so you don’t get too much of a culture shock.
I stayed at Palmers Lodge in London which was amazing, but if you go to Hostel World at http://www.hostelworld.com/ you’ll find an infinite amount of information about hostels all over the world.
It has bad and good reviews by fellow travelers and helped me no end.
The cleanliness rating at hostels is probably the number one thing you want to look out for.
From London I did a Contiki tour for two weeks. I chose to do this because I thought it would be a good way to meet people my age, and would be a good introduction to Europe.
It was really good, but very party oriented and everyone felt sick after 14 nights of drinking.
There are a whole bunch of tours offered across Europe, here are some of the websites:
Contiki: http://contiki.com.au/
Topdeck: http://www.topdeck.travel/
Busabout: http://www.busabout.com/explorer
After my tour ended, I was back at my hostel in London. From there, I was given a lot of advice on what places I should travel to.
Places I traveled alone to were Edinburgh and Glasgow (Scotland), Dublin (Ireland), Barcelona (Spain), Berlin (Germany), Amsterdam (Netherlands) and Paris (France).
I also did a bit of traveling around England itself, visiting Oxford, Bristol and York.
Staying at hostels is a great way to meet people and to socialise. I made lots of friends while I was away, and a few whom I hope to keep for life.
For traveling around Europe, I chose to use buses mostly, which can take hours but are the cheapest option.
Euolines was the website to buy the tickets off: http://www.eurolines.com/
You can also choose to travel by train or plane. Google is your friend with all of this, trust me.
Another tip I have is in all the major cities there are these free walking tours. They’re free in theory, but the tour guide’s work off tips and the polite amount is about €5.
Because the tour guides work for tips, there are amazing, they work really hard to keep the tour interesting and funny.
I did them in Edinburgh, Paris, Berlin, Dublin and Amsterdam.
Here’s the website for the tours: http://www.neweuropetours.eu/
They also have a huge knowledge of the cities so you can ask them for advice on what to do.
AND you meet a whole bunch of other travelers on the tours! Bonus.
OH! And if you have an iPhone/another small device that can use WiFi - TAKE IT WITH YOU! There is WiFi EVERYWHERE in Europe. Sometimes you have to pay for it, but in McDonalds, Starbucks, Libraries, hostels, bars, cafe’s - they offer it for free.
And another fantastic thing is that if you have Google Maps, open it while you’re connected to WiFi and load the map of where you are. The GPS will work even if you have no internet connection!
It’s amazing! In Berlin I made sure my map was loaded, then hired a bike and got lost on purpose for the day. When it got dark, I could work out how to get home really easily.
So I hope this has helped!
The best tips I can give you is to ask questions, and don’t be scared to ask for help from hostel staff and fellow travelers. Google will be your best friend. Ask people you know that have traveled for tips on where to go. Get lost on purpose. Try different foods. Don’t just go to the main tourist places, get to see the city for what it really is. Almost everyone speaks English, they might just not want to sometimes.
Traveling is one of the best things you could do and don’t put it off!
I’ve been horrible with updating this in the last few… well the whole time, really.
I leave London in six hours and am completely at a loss as to how it’s already been 3 three months.
Blahhh I am not looking forward to this long ass flight home.
Bye.
My mascot, Simba.
I bought him at the Disney store on Oxford Street and he’s been my like my Sphinx since then, protecting me and my things. Love.
I call this one - the hat of wonders. (Alcohol).
This photo gained unprecedented attention for a photo that was just hidden away in one of my travel albums.
If I’d known it would be so famous, I’d have made it my profile picture.
The time has obviously passed though.
Still, one can dream…
- Piccadilly Institute, London.
September, 2011.
