24 days, 10 cities, 6 countries, 1 carryon
IM BAAACK
It’s been a minute since I’ve posted—sorry ‘bout that. I know you’ve probably been checking my website every day just hoping to find a new post, right? (If that’s a hard pass, then at least keep my hopes up! Prego.)
Since my two-part post on London, Obie and I have been to Amsterdam, Paris, Brussels, Dublin, Nice, Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Budapest, Pisa, Florence, Milan, Lake Como, and Copenhagen.
Side Note: Wow I am blessed. I truly never thought I’d have the opportunity to see this much of the world, and I just want to take a second to acknowledge how lucky I am. It’s been nothing short of a dream come true for me and I am so grateful.
As you can tell, we’ve been pretty busy.
While I haven’t posted on my blog about these trips, I have made videos from our trips to Amsterdam and Paris, and I recently finished editing a video compiling everywhere we went over our 24 day Easter holiday. If you want to check them out, all of my videos are on my home page of my blog—just scroll down! You can also find them on my Vimeo account.
In my last blog post I promised that I’d post about the best things to do in Amsterdam - which I will do - but since I just got back from 24 days of traveling, I wanted to focus this post on the logistics of how we actually pulled it off—how we tried to save money, how we packed, and how we surprisingly pulled off a trip without any hostel mistakes or flight errors.
*Yes, some of this was just dumb luck*
As much as I’d like to think we’re travel experts now, we still had our fair share of bumps along the way, like when we accidentally rode the bus in Italy for free half the time. (I’ll share more about this when I post about Italy.)
So if you’re thinking about backpacking through Europe, first of all do it. Just do it. Once you get past that whole existential crisis, here are some helpful tips for you to consider as you plan.
PLANNING
When you begin planning your trip, you might be overwhelmed with all of the places you want to go. After all there is so much to see and so little time (this is how I still feel lol). I suggest making a list of a few cities you’re dying to see and then make another list of cities you’d be interested in seeing. When you’re making this list, keep in mind how many days you will have to travel—and whether or not you’ll be traveling from place to place for a certain amount of time, or if you’ll have a home base location for a set number of months (if you’re studying abroad, interning, etc.).
The next step is to create route options. When I was planning Obie and I’s Easter holiday, I used Google flights. It’s so clutch. You type in the location you’ll be flying out of and then you can browse the map of Europe and prices will pop up on certain cities. There’s also a filter that you can select that will narrow your search to show you flights under a certain dollar amount. For me it automatically goes to pounds since I’m studying in England, but there’s a filter you can select to switch everything to US dollars which is helpful.
I let this guide a lot of my decisions because Obie and I knew we wanted to see a lot of different places for as cheap as possible. So I looked at the cheapest flights from each destination we’d be flying out of, and looked to see if those cities were any of the ones we really wanted to see or if there were any cities we’d be interested in seeing after doing some research.
I created eight different route options and we ultimately ended up choosing the cheapest route because we wanted to save money, but also because it hit all of the locations we really wanted to see.
If you go through this routing process a few times, eventually you’ll find a cheap route, but you’ll have to create a few different paths first. Saving money on flights meant more gelato for us, so it was a win-win! Another helpful feature on Google Flights is the calendar tool. You can click the drop down menu on the calendar and it’ll show you what days the flight prices are lower to fly out of certain locations.
Some locations might be cheaper to get one-way tickets for if you’re hopping from one destination to the next. For example, a round trip from Liverpool to Barcelona is extremely expensive. However, a one-way ticket from Nice to Barcelona was very affordable. When I was planning our spring break trip I tried to focus on Southern Europe because flying from Liverpool to one of those countries just for one weekend was much more expensive.
I’m not going to lie to you; this takes some time.
If you really want to save money and see a lot of places, you’ll be willing to take the time to figure this out. You probably won’t be sold on the first route you come up with. Like I said before, I made eight different options for Obie and I. But what I can promise you is that it’ll be 100% worth it.
PACKING
I’ve actually gotten a few questions about this. Which—by the way—if you ever have questions about traveling or studying abroad or anything please ask!!! I absolutely love sharing what I’ve learned and giving advice (obviously lol) so if you have any questions please feel free to reach out to me! I’m definitely not an expert, but I feel like I’ve learned a thing or two.
Anyway, I knew packing would be challenging for me. Flights in Europe are generally very cheap, if you work the system. Airlines like Ryanair and Easyjet (typically the cheapest airline options) have strict carryon policies. Ryanair will let you have two carryons, a small bag and a carryon, which can be a small roller bag. Easyjet, however, will only let you have one carryon, which can be a roller bag. You have the option to pay to check your bags for every airline. However, if you factor how many flights we were on in 24 days and add a checked bag to every single flight cost, then we wouldn’t have been traveling for that cheap anymore. So, Obie and I did what we had to do and traveled “light.”
Side Note: Every airline is different. Some don’t charge a lot to check bags. If that’s something you’re worried about, make sure to check the airline policy and consider paying to check your bags if the price isn’t too high for you. If your carryon is too big for the airlines requirements they will charge you a ridiculous fee at the gate that can be around $80.
Side-Side Note: Another thing the airlines will try to make more money off of is checking in. You’ll want to make sure you check in for your flight online and print off your ticket before you leave for the airport or the airline will charge you if you wait to do it until you’re there.
I touched on packing a bit for weekend trips in my last post, and a lot of those tips will apply to this, like sharing clothes with your travel buddies and planning outfits.
Some tricks that Obie and I found to be very helpful was to wear lots of layers in the airport. Yes it’s uncomfortable. Yes it’s hot. Yes we looked like back up dancers for Macklemore’s “Thrift Shop” music video—and yes it was 100% worth it to have more outfit options. I mean you don’t want to ‘Gram in the same outfit a million times. Can you imagine what your followers would think !?!?! (I hope you guys caught the sarcasm there…but honestly if you’re traveling for 24 days you’ll need at least 24 outfits just to have clean clothes. So that’s not even including being ~extra~)
By layers I mean minimum three shirts under your sweater, leggings under your jeans, and two or three jackets tied around your waist and a few coats on. I even tied a pair of jeans around my waist once. I’ve also stuffed shirts and skirts in my coat pockets to have more room in my suitcase. Honestly, you’ve got to be willing to make some sacrifices if you want to travel cheaply and fashionably. Peep below to see pics of Obie and I’s airport runway looks. We were definitely turnin’ heads.
Side note: Ryanair messed up and we found out that I didn't need to weigh my bag because I wasn't checking it so I actually got to put a few layers of clothing back into my suitcase. We never actually got our carryons weighed.
If you’re traveling in the summer, well lucky you because coats, sweaters, and jeans take up a lot more room than tank tops and shorts. So you probably won’t have as much of a problem. And actually if you think you have a problem, well you’re wrong and I don’t feel sorry for you.
Pack one or two pairs of shoes that go with everything and are comfortable for a lot of walking. Of course you’ll need shower shoes. Don’t forget those. I packed two pairs of shoes along with my shower shoes, which wasn't good planning on my part because I forgot my beloved Adidas tennis shoes in our hostel in Pisa, and I didn’t even notice for a long time because my suitcase was so full. So if you’re like me and can only keep track of the pair of shoes on your feet, then one pair of shoes should be good for you. (If you’re wondering if I also lost my shower shoes, I did. Thank God for Obie’s shower shoes.)
Pack lots of underwear and socks. Count out how many pairs you’ll need before you leave and make sure you have enough for how long you’ll be traveling and maybe even a few extras. Obie and I ran out of clean socks and underwear while we were on our trip so we had to buy more…lol.
Bring lots of toiletries, but be economic about it. Obie and I shared shampoo, conditioner, face wash and body wash, which was really helpful for saving room, but we ran out of all of them. This left us trying to read Hungarian beauty products and painstakingly converting Danish crones to dollars in hopes of finding cheap replacements—so if you’re going to be traveling for more than 20 days you might not be able to share things like Obie and I had been able to do for weekend trips. It’s not a huge deal to find a pharmacy and buy more; it’s just more convenient if you don’t have to worry about that while you’re traveling.
TRANSPORTATION
Public transportation is amazing in Europe. If you’re someone from a city without a lot of public transportation, then this is probably extremely intimidating for you—at least it was for me at first. After conquering the tube in London, Obie and I felt a lot better about riding the subway like a local.
It takes some getting used to, but here are some things I found to be helpful.
Navigating from the airport to the hostel:
Sometimes the airport is a bit outside of the city center and can be a commute to your hostel—a small distance to Europeans can be anywhere from a 20 to 40 minute drive, and Ubering everywhere is not the way to go in Europe. Especially since some European countries don’t even have Uber (how do they get around!?! Right!?!) And even in countries with Uber, it’s definitely not the cheapest way to travel when there’s public transportation.
Typically the hostel will email you directions on how to use public transportation from the airport to navigate your way to the hostel. This sometimes means taking a train, or the subway, or a bus, or a combination of things. Again, Google Maps also is helpful here when the hostel instructions are rather vague. These routes are normally half, if not less than, the price of taking a taxi or an Uber. However, public transportation may not be operating at your time of arrival to a city, so this isn’t always an option.
Navigating around the city:
Obie and I often asked the people working the front desk at the hostel the best way to travel in the city we were visiting. Some cities are smaller than others and it won’t be necessary for you to buy a metro card or a bus pass if you don’t mind walking. The people at the front desk often will let you know which pass to get if they recommended one, where to get it, and about how much it would cost. Sometimes Obie and I were able to figure this out by ourselves just by going to the kiosk at a station and selecting an unlimited pass for however many days we needed, but in some cities that wasn’t always an option. Sometimes you can do unlimited passes between certain zones, and if you’re not familiar with the city or what locations are in certain zones, it can be confusing to figure out what kind of pass you should buy. Typically the people at the front desk of the hostel are more than willing to help you out with these questions!
Side Note: Don't be afraid to ask for help. If you’re lost, confused, or wanting to know the best local spots for lunch locals generally (if they speak English) will be more than willing to help you.
Public transportation may seem intimidating, but it’s pretty easy to pick up on—and that’s coming from me, someone who is extremely directionally challenged. The only country Obie and I really struggled in was Italy. It’s a wonderful country, great wine, great pizza and pasta, but not as many people speak English and from our experience, their public transportation was unorganized and confusing. Cheap…but not very easy. So if you’re going to Italy, good luck. Ask lots of questions. Maybe learn a few Italian words. Expect to get lost. And if you learn anything useful about their transportation, well let me know. I’m going back soon and I could use some advice. :)
WHEN YOU ARRIVE
So you’ve just arrived in a European city and you have no idea what to do. A lot of the times hostels will offer free walking tours, and this is a great starting point. I’m kind of a nerd, but I genuinely enjoy learning the history of a city and its landmarks. But museums sometimes are boring and going to a lot of them can get expensive. So what Obie and I enjoyed doing were the walking tours. It was a fun—free—way to start a trip in a new city because we learned a lot, and they’re so much more engaging than history museums. Often times the guides would even give suggestions on places to eat as well as other things to do and see in the city. The tours also helped us get a little more familiar with the city as well as learn some fun facts about the culture.
Another way Obie and I planned out our days was simply by Googling “things to do in ___ city.” Travel blogs came up with helpful suggestions as well as just general reviews on certain destinations in the city –I will be doing this with the cities I visited so be on the look out for those posts if you’re planning to visit or thinking about visiting any of the cities I went to. Google also automatically pops up a list of popular tourist sites, so that was another thing that helped us kind of pick out some things to do.
Again, ask the people at the front desk, friends you know who have traveled to certain cities, or even locals. People tend to love sharing their favorite parts about the city. :)
That’s all my tips for now! In my next blog I’ll talk about the things Obie and I enjoyed in Amsterdam and some suggestions if you want to plan a trip there.
I know you’re probably thinking, “but wait you didn’t tell us about hostels!!!!” Oh, but don’t worry I’ve got plenty to say about hostels. So much to say, in fact, that I’m going to make an entire post about it—just try to contain your excitement. I’ll be calling out the bad hostels and the good ones so you’ll know which ones to avoid, but more importantly which ones you should book. So hopefully I can save you from some bad hostel experiences and help you experience the best of what hostels can offer.
THANK YOU for patiently waiting for me to update this blog—and if you haven’t already, be sure to checkout my vids where I attempt to capture the beauty of some amazing European cities.
Cheers xx
Isabel