What issues do you see arising with this European Backpacking plan?

[aaronrowland]

Hey everyone,

I'm planning on traveling to Europe this fall after graduating from grad school. I'm a 23 year old guy that doesn't mind roughing it, but I would definitely like to have enough cash to see some local sights and have some fun. I'm planning on buying a 3 month Eurorail ticket and staying at local hostels. Attached below is my tentative schedule and budget.

What I'm hoping you might be able to do is offer suggestions or point out any problems with the travel plans. Maybe I'm not spending enough time in a certain place, or there are train issues from one place to another, or I'm missing something from my budget, not budgeting enough, etc. I'm an American citizen planning on only spending 90 days in the Shengen countries, so I don't think i'll have any Visa issues.

Also, if you have any ideas for things to do in these locations or anything like that, please feel free to offer suggestions. I also want to hit up some gay nightclubs on weekend nights, so if anyone has any info for the gay traveler, I would love that as well. Really, I'm grateful for whatever info you can provide.

Here are my tentative plans...
[27 Aug 2009 - 01 Sep 2009] Dublin, Ireland
[01 Sep 2009 - 04 Sep 2009] Liverpool, United Kingdom
[04 Sep 2009 - 07 Sep 2009] Manchester, United Kingdom
[07 Sep 2009 - 10 Sep 2009] Cardiff, United Kingdom
[10 Sep 2009 - 17 Sep 2009] London, United Kingdom
[17 Sep 2009 - 24 Sep 2009] Paris, France
[24 Sep 2009 - 27 Sep 2009] Brussels, Belgium
[27 Sep 2009 - 04 Oct 2009] Amsterdam, Netherlands
[04 Oct 2009 - 09 Oct 2009] Berlin, Germany
[09 Oct 2009 - 15 Oct 2009] Prague, Czech Republic
[15 Oct 2009 - 20 Oct 2009] Vienna, Austria
[20 Oct 2009 - 25 Oct 2009] Budapest, Hungary
[25 Oct 2009 - 27 Oct 2009] Zagreb, Croatia
[27 Oct 2009 - 29 Oct 2009] Ljubljana, Slovenia
[29 Oct 2009 - 03 Nov 2009] Munich, Germany
[03 Nov 2009 - 07 Nov 2009] Venice, Italy
[07 Nov 2009 - 12 Nov 2009] Rome, Italy
[12 Nov 2009 - 16 Nov 2009] Athens, Greece
[16 Nov 2009 - 20 Nov 2009] Mýkonos, Greece
[20 Nov 2009 - 23 Nov 2009] Athens, Greece
[23 Nov 2009 - 25 Nov 2009] Rome, Italy
[25 Nov 2009 - 29 Nov 2009] Milan, Italy
[29 Nov 2009 - 01 Dec 2009] Monte-Carlo, Monaco
[01 Dec 2009 - 03 Dec 2009] Marseille, France
[03 Dec 2009 - 07 Dec 2009] Barcelona, Spain
[07 Dec 2009 - 10 Dec 2009] Valencia, Spain
[10 Dec 2009 - 14 Dec 2009] Madrid, Spain
[14 Dec 2009 - 17 Dec 2009] Lisbon, Portugal

and my projected budget...

1050 - Airfare (Denver to Dublin, Lisbon to Denver)
1250 - 3 Month Eurorail Ticket
1650 - 110 days at $15 a day for food
300 - 30 days at $10 a day for drinks/cover
3000 - 100 days at $30 youth hostel, 10 days on Eurorail
3000 - 100 days at $30 a day exploring, 10 days chilling
1000 - 100 days at $10 a day travel in towns
350 - Flights from Rome to Athens and back
300 - Ferry from Dublin to UK
250 - Ferries to and from Mykonos
200 - Ride through chunnel out of England
300 - Train pass for England
350 - 4 months Storage (saving rent by packing current apartment)

Total: 13,000 for 3.5 Months

Thanks Again!

 

[Elizabeth]

Your schedule seems fine, and you should have time to travel to smaller places with that kind of schedule as well. 3 days in Cardiff is a lot, for example, but if you took a day trip to Swansea or the Gower Peninsula, it might not be so bad. Make sure you research nearby sites, not just the ones in the major cities. You're missing Edinburgh though, which is my favorite UK city.

I think your budget is a bit off though.
-Airfare is correct (using http://momondo.com)
-Pre-booking train tickets on a local level (using the internet) is often a lot cheaper than a Eurail pass, but it's also more constricting since you need to know exact dates of travel ahead of time to get good prices.
-There's no way you can eat on $15 per day in most of those cities, unless you are only eating student-budget food you cook yourself where you're staying. Even then it's unlikely in the more expensive places. To eat street food and in cheap restaurants, you need $30-40/day in western Europe.
-Just a cover charge is $5+ in some places. Drinks differ a lot from country to country, but are $6+ each in places like Paris and Amsterdam. Use http://www.pintprice.com/
-Hostel prices are about right, will be cheaper in some countries.
-Sightseeing depends on what you want to do, budget seems okay.
-Travel could be less or more, depending on how much you're willing to walk.
-Rome/Athens return is ~$200 on Momondo.
-Dublin-UK ferry is under $40 for a foot passenger: http://www.irishferries.com/fares-offers-ireland-from-britain.asp
-Mykonos ferry is much cheaper: http://www.athensguide.com/ferries.html
-Chunnel ticket should be under $100
-It's generally a lot cheaper to fly budget within the UK than take trains. Use Momondo, or check budget airline sites for Ryanair, Easyjet and Bmi.

As for gay travel, about.com usually has good recommendations:
http://goeurope.about.com/od/gaylesbian/Gay_and_Lesbian_European_Travel.htm
I could help with Scandinavia or Scotland, but they're not on the itinerary.

 

[tartu2222]

The other two answers are great. I would add, however, that you might not want to spend three days in Monte Carlo. You could go down the coast a bit and be in Nice, France. I really liked it, and I think it's worth a visit.

I also don't like the fact that you're buying a Eurail Pass. I don't think you'll get your money's worth. You could hook up with local trains for less, and there are going to be times when you're going to find that buses will be a better way to go. I also think your schedule is a tad bit tight. You should 'go with the flow' (sorry) a bit. It tends to make for a better vacation if you let things come to you sometimes.

One of the biggest hassles I found about backpacking was getting my laundry done. What I finally came up with was a scheme where I brought lots of underwear (I'm partial to one type), and I bought clothes as I needed them.

Finally, since you are interested in the gay scene, please be advised that in many countries in Europe, especially the further East you get, the less tolerant you're going to find people. I am not gay, but I've met many along the way, and that seems to be the one universal truism about Europe.