Trip Suggestions

[Alex C.]

Hi People .

I'm quite interested in travelling, but I haven't really got much of a chance of convincing any friends, mainly due to the cost (and the fact they'd all prefer sunny sunbathing holidays).

I'm in the UK at the moment, and any trip wouldn't be for a good few months (I'm guessing summer is an expensive time, so probably either May or October). I'm not sure where to go or what to see.

Ideally, I'd love to just buy a plane ticket into europe (maybe Italy then work my way back), book a cheap hotel for the first night and then do whatever I fancy - what are the practicalities of this; mainly, am I going to have a lot of trouble finding accomodation?

This first 'trial' trip would be 2ish weeks (a budget of no more than £1000, and I can be quite impulsive with my spending) so I'd love to just spend a couple of days in each place (maybe 5-6 places between Italy).

I can of course plan the trip in advance, book it all beforehand, but to be honest, this is an opportunity for me to do something spontaneous - I have to be organised at work, so I'd like to just do what I feel like without having a plan to work to. Even if I was booking hostels the day before it wouldn't be too bad.

Anyway, sorry for the rambling, half of it was to clarify my own thoughts - basically, what difficulties will I experience if I do a trip like this, and is there anywhere that anyone can recommend as a general area (to keep travel costs down somewhat) to 'explore' over a few weeks. I'm not fussy what I see - I'm quite into photography so anywhere picturesque is good, and whilst I'm not a fan of the sort of Costa Del Sol tourist spots, I'd like somewhere where I can fall back onto English when my limited language skills fail

Thanks!

[MeTurk]

If I was you I'd start in Prague, Italys to close to home and Prague would put the travel bug in anybody. It has a completely different feel to it than westeren Europe. Then it's up to you where you go, I didn't have any plans or reservations and just took the advice of people I met along the way.

We have it handy being Europeans we have all the same privilages as the locals (get your E111).

[BigE]

I like the idea of starting in Prague. Go solo. Best way to travel.

Awesome!

[Maineartist]

Good plan to go in the offseason for your first trip.

Have you considered Sicily? There's beautiful scenery everywhere. I recommend anywhere here for backpacking. It was really laid back. Palermo is an interesting city. There's a HI hostel that is on a bay a little ways out from the city. There are really stunning mountains on the bay.

Good luck.

[Esterina]

Hi there and welcome to travelpunk.com ! A two week trip to start is very wise !

You don't need to book ahead because you'll be travelling in the low season. Some cities though are backpackers crowded all year around. If you don't reserve a bed, you might end up sleeping in off center hostels - which is not a big deal by the way, but if that matters to you, you better know -. I'm thinking of the major cities, including Budapest, Krakow and Prague. Also, some attractions aren't opened in the off season.

I've myself never made any reservation, and always traveled in the off season. Less tourists, what a joy ! And if you get away from the beaten path, you may "bargain" the price a hotel room (not hostel).

Two weeks might be a bit tight from Prague : around 4 countries to cross... That doesn't leave much time for visiting. But a solution is the overnight train to save on the travel time.