Flying Pig Downtown, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Flying Pig Uptown, Amsterdam, Netherlands

6. Hostels and Accommodations

This topic is brought up all year long in one form or another and it’s always worth going over each year before the main travel season.
Hostels are a combination of motels/dorm rooms/YMCA.

They are the preferred accommodation choice for backpackers and student travelers, mainly because of the budget prices but also because of the ambience.

When you book a hostel bed in a dorm, you can expect to get just that- dorm style beds (bunker beds) in a shared room with other travelers. You can find dorm rooms with 2 beds on up to 12, 16, 20 beds, etc…

The more the beds in one room, the cheaper the price per bed, generally speaking. But even during the busy season, these beds can pull a hefty price.

Personally, I always work “private rooms” into my budget. That’s right, it’s mine all mine!

This way I don’t have to worry about not being able to sleep because of noisy travelers (some that come into the room at all hours of the night drunk off their asses!).

The other factor is being able to leave my backpack in the room unattended and not having to worry about dishonest backpackers rummaging through my backpack while I am off exploring the city all day.

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This is a 12 part series on Backpacking Europe for all you aspiring & seasoned backpackers and student travelers.

5. Backpacks & Money Belts

Get a good backpack that fits your size and is comfortable for you to carry. This, extension of your back, is going to be your best friend throughout your trip so pick that will meet and exceed your expectations.

You must do this well before you take off to ensure that you got the right one.

If you buy one online, when it gets there and you try it out, you may find that it is not the right one that you are looking for. So, to pack it up and mail it back, then find another one that you want and wait for that one to be sent to you again can easily take a week or two, so get this out of the way as soon as possible.

It will eliminate one of the “messes” you have floating around in your head.

Make sure to buy one with a “daypack” attached to it (like the picture above). This way you can leave your big backpack in your hostel room and roam around the city all day with your daypack carrying all of your valuables and necessities for the day like a light jacket, guidebook, bottle of water and some grub.

*Note* When on the Eurail, you will most likely stash your backpack on the racks by the doors or on top of your seat. In either case, unzip your “daypack” and cling on to it at all times. If your backpack gets stolen, you will still have your daypack with all of your valuables. Your backpack and clothes can easily be replaced.

Once you’re ready to go and you’ve started packing for your trip, fill it only up to about 80-90 percent. This will give you a little bit of room to buy a few small souvenirs along the way

Money Belts.

These are essential for every backpacker and student traveler.

I usually get the one that you wear around your waist. It’s tucked away under your pants and away from the eyes of the ever-present pickpockets that prey on millions of travelers and tourists each year.

You wear it like a belt around your waist, under your pants.

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4. Buy The Eurail Pass

Europe has a brilliant rail system that conveniently interconnects most European countries. DEFINITELY get this pass before you take off. (Rail Europe is the leader in the Eurail Pass industry and their customer service is awesome!)

Generally speaking, you will buy a pass with a certain number of days you can use for travel on the Eurail.

This will allow you to hop on and off when you wish. Each DAY that you travel will be scratched off your total number days that you have purchased.

For example, if you bought a Eurail pass with a total of 8 travel days to use throughout your trip, you will have 8 “slots” on your pass that you will write the date that you traveled in each slot.

Say you chose to use one day for your travel from Paris to Barcelona, then you will have 7 days (slots) left in the future.
You can hop on and off as much as you like on each 24hr day of travel.

Just make sure you use your pass wisely. Use them for your LONGEST and or most expensive travel routes (ie..Paris to Madrid, Madrid to Amsterdam, Barcelona to Rome, Milan to Frankfurt, etc…). The longer the route, the more the normal cost would have been, so to get the maximum savings out of your Eurail Pass, make sure you…

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3. Buying Your Plane Ticket= Closes the Deal

Tired of talking the talk and never walking the walk?

Here’s how you can finally close the deal and make your travel dreams a reality. Buy your ticket.

This is the action above all other pre-travel actions that is bound to get you on your high horse so you can ride off into the sunset and get on with rest of your darn life.

There’s a good ole saying that “No one ever struck it rich planning for gold” (as opposed to panning for gold).

Up until you actually purchase your plane ticket, it’s been all talk and hype. However, executing this action is the grand daddy of them all.

By buying your plane ticket, you’ve pretty much made one of those kinds of commitments that you won’t be able to back out of…unless you’re known to be a chicken.

But you don’t want to go down living life as a chicken, do ya?! I didn’t think so!

So putting yourself on the spot like this gives you an opportunity to grow a pair and follow through with your plans.

Once you nail down your exact plans, at the very least an arrival and a departure point, you can begin your search for the cheapest fairs.

One option for you is our online travel search engine sponsored by Booking Wiz. It’s a proprietary search engine that searches for the best deals and the lowest airfares from all of the big boys in the online travel discount arena like- Kayak, Priceline, Travelocity, Hotwire, Orbitz, etc…Plus, the deals are updated every 10 minutes and they have weekly travel specials.

Right after you purchase it, you’ll be like “Holy diggem smacks! What did I just do?! I guess I’m actually going to Europe!”

That’s the moment where it all sinks in and from that moment, that’s really all you start to talk and think about.

Buying that plane ticket allows you to start putting your priorities in place- cut down on partying, going out to dinners, eating out all the time for every meal, buying crap you don’t need, working more hours for overtime pay, saving money, coercing your parents to buy your Eurail pass for you, etc…

So, get on the fast track to success and  buy your ticket!

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2. Passports and Visas

Most of the European countries are covered under Schengen visa although you may need to apply for independent visas for some.

For Americans, the rules are clear on the length of time you can travel Europe.

The U.S. Department of State says that “you can travel Europe for business or pleasure for 90 days. That 90-day period begins with entry into any of the “Schengen group” countries: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden. Multiple visits to Schengen countries may not exceed 90 days in any 6 month period.”

Back in the day, you could pretty much extend this period by overstaying as you wish, without worrying much about the ramifications.

Today, things have gotten a lot stricter and I’m not sure you want to test out Homeland Security these days.

As part of your pre-travel preparations, make sure you make clear photo copies of your passport and any and all visas.

Then, email those copies to yourself, by creating a “dummy” email account.

For example, if you have a Yahoo account that you always use, then open up a Gmail “dummy” account and email these copies to that account. You will ONLY open that account in the case of an emergency (hopefully never).

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1. Create a Plan

“People don’t plan to fail, they fail to plan.” That’s a good old saying that I learned long ago and it applies to any goals that you may have in your lifetime.

Travel goals are no exception.

Write out your travel plans as if it were a rough business plan. Planning on paper will bring to fruition the mental image you have in your head of backpacking Europe (or the rest of the world for that matter).

Some people are more visual than others and having a plan that you can actually see can get your adrenaline pumping.

Nothing will be set in stone, but just write down whatever you got flowing in your head.

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Most first-time travelers visit Europe during the summer months (roughly mid-June to late August). On the plus side summer is packed with cultural events, the weather is warm and the days are long. During summer most public transport networks are in full operation, a definite plus in places like Scotland, Ireland, Greece and the Scandinavian countries.

The bad news is that, during summer, you will battle heavy crowds in major cities, prices will be higher and the weather can be sweltering, especially in southern Europe.

The worst month of all is August, when millions of European families and holiday-makers hit the road, clogging beach towns, ferries and trains like sardines.
Avoid traveling during this month if at all possible, or bypass the over-crowded tourist haunts and head instead for the semi-somnolent towns and cities.

When it comes to crowds and high prices, the general rule of thumb is that June is better than July, and July is better than August. Depending on your itinerary the best times to visit Europe are late May/early June and September, when the crowds thin, prices drop and the weather is still good.

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Officially, an EU citizen is allowed to work in any other EU country, but the paperwork isn’t always straightforward for long-term employment.

Other country/nationality combinations require special work permits that can be almost impossible to arrange, especially for temporary work. That doesn’t prevent enterprising travelers from topping up their funds occasionally by working in the hotel or restaurant trades at beach or ski resorts or teaching a little English, and they don’t always have to do this illegally either.

You must definitely put yourself “at the right place, at the right time,” by asking locals, expats, other travelers, and learning from those who have gone before you.

The UK, for example, issues special ‘working holiday’ visas to Commonwealth citizens aged between 17 and 27 valid for two years. Your national student exchange organization may be able to arrange temporary work permits to several countries through special programs.

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Stop thinking about all the reasons why you shouldn’t go (like work, school, family, upcoming bdays and events, debt, etc…), and start focusing on YOU.

Focus on what will make YOU happy and stop pleasing others…all the time.

It is your life and you deserve to be happy and live in abundance. It is your right to explore this beautiful planet and the 6 billion plus people that live in it.

Go run with the bulls in Spain. Visit Machu Picchu in Peru. Ski the Swiss Alps. Ride through the canals of Venice, Italy. See the spectacular views from the Eiffel Tower. Experience up close the priceless masterpieces in all of the world famous museums. Eat rice and whatever in the Philippines…

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Navigating your way on their site is a breeze and doesn’t really need any explanation. Country, State, City, done.

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