You're all terrible snobs :shock:
Anyway hostels are very much the way to go to meet people! I use hostelworld.com and rely heavily on their user ratings. I know often you can go direct to a hostels website and get the same rate without paying the US$2 service charge for booking through hostelworld, however I've done that twice and both times I've rocked up and my booking has been "lost" and there are now no rooms available! Excellent news for a young female single traveller at 10pm. Once bitten twice shy so now I just buy the $10 gold card every year and always book through them.
Dorms are fine as long as you pack earplugs and an eye mask. Again, look at the user reviews to see what problems are likely to occur and plan ahead! Remember to buy a couple of combo locks too for locking up your bags (most hostels provide lockers but you need to byo locks). If you're doing a lot of long train or bus trips it's probably worth investing in a lockable wire cage dohickey thingo for your backpack. I've had stuff nicked in Europe and Australia, but never in Asia. Go figure.
You may spend time battling for power points, so it's worth taking a light double adaptor so you can charge 2 things at once if you've got more than 1 electrical thing (laptop, pda, phone, mp3 player, camera etc!).
Oh and my favourite must haves in luggage - a set of plastic, easy to clean cutlery, a light plastic cup, swiss army knife or similar, roll of duct tape, zip ties, zip lock bags, length of string, spare pillow case .... you'll be surprised how often all of these things come in handy!
Yep! The backpack I bought came with locks, plus I have some anyway from the other trips I've done with my "normal" luggage. Have already packed a small powerboard too so that I can charge multiple things at once.
Good idea on the cutlery, etc. May come in useful if I decide to do a bit of cooking etc. at the hostel rather than eating out. I also already have a silk sleeping sheet, I've read that this will come in handy too! It has a slip for the pillow, too. The length of string I'm assuming will come in for a make-shift clothesline
I'm sure you will have a great time doing this Flashware!
It is good to be not too tied to plans, but I have found a minor downside. I'm towards the tailend of a DONE4, where not much was pre-booked other than the airfare.
It's been quite a chore booking accommodation, checking transport (e.g. from airport to hotel), and planning what to do in each location. The netbook needs to come out on an almost daily basis (there is then the added complication of whether you have internet access or not, or the extra cost of having it).
Of course, this may not apply exactly to you, but something to bear in mind.
I've found wikitravel.org to be a good resource in terms of what to do once you reach a city,
anat0l was the master in navigating the info and planning our days accordingly when we tripped around Europe.
I've been around Europe twice using hostels... spent 3 months travelling with my trusty backpack till the day some idiot sleeping on the bunk above me puked all over my backpack on the floor and disappeared before I woke up in the morning. Interestingly, the weight of my backpack when I arrived in London was 9.3 Kgs.
Travelled around with all my stuff in a big garbage bag till I bought a really cheap backpack from a market in Belarus, which I still have and use nearly 10 years later.
Now, I use cheaper hotels instead of hostels. I've grown to appreciate having my own bathroom and not having to deal with people coming in and out of dorm rooms. Have a look at
Hotels, hotel reservations, from luxury to cheap hotels - venere.com for accomodation options around Europe. I've found some bargain prices at places like Venice or Paris walking distances from central stations.
Also, look at
Cheap Flights from Budget Airlines with WhichBudget.com to determine which LCC flies between what cities. Always look at going out or into a secondary airport as they can be a lot cheaper. And as has been mentioned, trains are brilliant ways to travel around Europe. My thinking was that if I can get from one place to another overnight or in under 6 hours, I'd go by train... otherwise, I'd look at flying.
I guess it comes down to how you want to travel. By staying in cheap hotels, you miss out on the meeting people factor ; that being said, my last trip in Europe we did quite a few walking tours and that was a great way to meet people (we were staying in hotels also).
From what I've priced up so far it looks like I'll be doing a combo of flying / bussing / training to get to each destination. Each has it's pro's and con's and given I'm under no time restriction often the bus can be a much more effective option.
On this...if one is staying in hostels...if you travel off peak season...normally hostels will not be full so you can just roll up. Just have a few options and not arrive too late.
If you are treavelling by yourself...then the biggest advantage of being in hostels is that it is very easy to meat people to talk with, go out with...go on tours etc...
You will probably end up bumping into people gain and again....and even travel at times together.
It makes the whole trip a lot more fun.
Then add to that all the info and tips you gain at the hostels...where to stay, go etc...
The downside is the dorms though!!!
Could not agree more! Yes, the dorms certainly will be interesting, but it all adds to the experience right?
A few tips from off the top of my head:
- overnight trains save a night's accommodation. I'm not sure if they're still the same but the couchettes could be folded our for a flat bed. Get in, set up the bed, close the curtains etc. If someone pokes their head in looking for a seat, snore loudly and start frothing at the mouth. Repeat as required.
- By catching overnight trains you arrive early to get the best hostel rooms (although pre-booking may be more prevalent with the internet).
- Private rooms in hostels are great if you can afford them.
- After a while on the road, a hostel that does your washing is a goldmine (I still have fond memories of the Boathouse in prague).
- Steer clear of hostels recommended by american guidebooks such as let's go unless you want a frat party atmosphere.
- Some hostels have great walking tours. The best one i've ever been on is Terry's tophat tour in Berlin.
- Invest in a good quality backup. My 12 year old Macpac is my primary travel bag still and is in perfect condition and when full weighs almost exactly 20kg.
- Take a bike lock to chain your backpack when sleeping. Make our stuff harder to steal than the next person and you should be OK.
- Your photos are most likely your only possession that are not replaceable.
The walking tours conducted by New Europe I found to be quite good, they're "free" ; i.e. they operate on a tips basis. I never had any issues in tipping around 5-10 euro, which for a 3 hour tour I thought to be of good value.
If/when I stay at hostels, I normally do a rather intensive research on them and cross reference reviews between multiple sites. I find this normally gives an effective choice. As always, YMMV and I may even transform flashware.net into a site that gives tips on how/where to stay.
I was thinking of mentioning night trains. They are good for saving a night in a hotel. I would offer some notes of caution, having used them a couple of times. (note, after that use I'm not sure if I would use them again). I felt dirty after using the night train, you leave your accommodation, spend most of a day looking around, then get on the train. Then when you get to your destination, you've been asleep, you have no shower, no teeth cleaning, you have to get off the train and find somewhere to stay. Thinking of check in times, you might not be able to get into the room until about midday. I found this a bit of a hassle, but then if you're backpacking maybe it doesn't matter.
I'm also not sure about being able to grab any seat in a couchette. The ones I used had to be reserved and the third class couchette the berths were already set up. 6 to a cabin and all berths taken. If you get in the 6 berth couchette whatever you do do not shut the window, no matter how cold you get. Shutting the window is much worse than being turned to ice.
Especially when the 2 people on the bottom berths have 2 car tires each for their luggage.
Did a night train from Vienna - Venice, but we did "first class", so 4 beds in the cabin. Was very pleasant and had a nice trip, sharing with a female who was quite personable. I think the whole shower thing depends on what time of year you travel also, e.g. winter is a bit easier to swing by than summer for example. That being said, I normally like to get 2 showers in per day, but worst case scenario one each morning is the minimum!
Great to see all the comments so far, some good stuff here guys and gals.
