Backpacking through Europe (hostel, airline, Rome, itinerary)

[IonRedline08]

Originally Posted by Aredhel

Amsterdam
Prague
Berlin: These three could pair nicely for a 10-day trip. You could also easily spend 10 days checking out just the Netherlands, plus Bruges and possibly Berlin. As was said upthread, this region is compact and easy to get around in.
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We did 10 days in Amsterdam and Prague in April/May... Had a great time, was a pretty good amount of time in each city

[Aredhel]

Originally Posted by IonRedline08

We did 10 days in Amsterdam and Prague in April/May... Had a great time, was a pretty good amount of time in each city

The nice thing about that region is that, because it IS so compact, the OP could just start in Amsterdam and wing it. Spend as few days in Amsterdam and then go from there: maybe Prague, maybe Berlin, maybe a few other Dutch cities, maybe Bruges. That's about as close to traditional "backpacking" as a 10-day trip can get.

[IonRedline08]

Originally Posted by Aredhel

The nice thing about that region is that, because it IS so compact, the OP could just start in Amsterdam and wing it. Spend as few days in Amsterdam and then go from there: maybe Prague, maybe Berlin, maybe a few other Dutch cities, maybe Bruges. That's about as close to traditional "backpacking" as a 10-day trip can get.

Agreed.. Im actually thinking about doing a similar trip next year, starting in Prague or Budapest and taking the train to various stops and then flying home from Amsterdam or Brussels

[FrankInPhilly]

Originally Posted by Aredhel

Honestly, if you're only going for 10 days you don't have time to do much wandering about. Pick two destinations you'd like to see, fly into Destination A and return from Destination B.

Or if that open jaw ticket price is uncomfortable, make a big loop. You're right. 10 days is a choice between seeing a couple of places in depth (or close to in-depth) or just bopping about from place to place on the trains and covering a lot of ground, doing reconnaissance for what to see on the next trip. Either way, it'll be fun.

[Aredhel]

Originally Posted by IonRedline08

Agreed.. Im actually thinking about doing a similar trip next year, starting in Prague or Budapest and taking the train to various stops and then flying home from Amsterdam or Brussels

Consider the combo of Prague, Budapest, and Vienna. The train from Budapest to Vienna is short (about 3 hours), and the three cities are a study in contrasts. You could fly into Prague and return via Vienna. I did that trip a few years ago, and it was wonderful.

[shellymdnv]

Originally Posted by sawyersmom

Yes, we are looking for an adventure. Perhaps backpacking wasn't the right term. However, we will likely have 10 days as neither get that many vacation days and would like to go from one place to another without a set itinerary. I've always booked 3 days here, another 3 days there but we were thinking of starting in one place and then taking trains ands staying at hostels or airbnbs. Neither of us have done a trip like this before so I appreciate all of the feedback.
With our limited time, would it be best if we focused on one area and do multiple cities around that area? Say...something like Amsterdam, Prague, Munich, Berlin. Or Spain and Portugal. Or France and Belgium? What do you all suggest. We are really open to anything. We've only been to Paris and Rome and that was on our honeymoon 4.5 years ago. Now, I know there I can't see all of the below at once but if maybe you can help me group them, I'd really appreciate it. Also, if you have any insight on where would be a good starting place, with cheaper flights, that would also be great, we're on the east coast, near D.C. if that helps.

Our wish list of places we'd like to see in our lifetime...not one trip...we know that's not possible. In no particular order:
London
Dublin--and other areas of Ireland
Italy--we've been to Rome, would love to see other parts of the country
France--again, we've been to Paris. We would love to go back but we also would love to see other parts of France.
Spain--especially Barcelona. My dad lived there when he was younger and raves about it, also my husband is a huge soccer fan and loves Barca.
Portugal--Lisbon but open to other areas.
Amsterdam
Prague
Berlin
Poland
Oslo
Iceland
Sweden
Denmark


We love walking around cities and just looking at the different architecture. We love good food and we are huge beer fans, but love wine too. Beaches a great but are not a deal breaker if we can't see/go to a beach. We like Art and experiencing different cultures. My husband is a big soccer fan so I know Spain and England especially are of interest to him. Honestly, we just like different cultures and experiencing new things and we are open to new experiences.

We are thinking about going in the Fall next year, but if you have suggestions for better times, we are open to that too.

I hope this helps a little more.

Thank you all again for taking the time. It is much appreciated.

From the DC area you have many options, especially if you are willing and able to also consider flying out of NYC or Philly.

In terms of cost, consider WOW, Icelandair or Norwegian for deals from the DC area. Brussels Airlines also has reasonable flights between Dulles and Brussels and you may also want to look for flights into Amsterdam. You should be able to find many reasonable flights from NYC to Europe. Emirates often has deals to Milan for less than $500 a person.

Travel within Europe is relatively cheap especially if you are traveling light and Milan and Brussels are good hub cities for the low cost carriers. You can often find cheap flights that leave soon after landing in these cities so although you might add on an extra hour or two, you can save money compared to flying directly to your final destination.

There are so many options for a 10 day trip that most of your effort should be planning on what cities you want to see and checking on how easy or difficult it is to get there. Accommodations will be generally easy to secure but transportation could go either way especially if you need to fly to your next stop since some flights only operate on certain days.

Some possible itineraries:
1. Amsterdam, Brussels, London
2. Cinque Terre, Florence, Venice

[annabanana123]

We did two weeks and went to Amsterdam, The Hague, Bruges, Antwerp, Ghent, Brussels and mechelen. Skip Antwerp and definitely hit Bruges. If I had 10 days I would do this:

3 nights in Amsterdam, 2 in Bruges, 1 in Ghent, 1 in The Hague, 1 in Brussels, 1 in mechelen, 2 in cologne (Germany).

If you would rather stay put you could easily use Amsterdam as a base and Bruges as a base and spend 5 nights at each.

[sawyersmom]

Thanks everyone for all of the help and suggestions. You all are amazing! I really appreciate it. I feel like I at least have some idea on where to start this adventure.

Thanks!

[Chasva69]

Originally Posted by sawyersmom

Has anyone here done it? If so, what are your best tips. My husband and I were thinking about doing it next year but honestly, I'm not sure where/how to start. I've always had my flight and hotels planned well ahead of time but we want an adventure.

Thanks in advance for your help!

I'd say, number one, get a Eurail pass. I got one for 30 days continuous last summer and was able to see about 20 countries. You can sleep on some long distance, overnight trains, which saves the cost of a hotel room. The ticket comes with a detailed railway map of Europe. This made the transportation part of the trip much easier.

[Aredhel]

Originally Posted by Chasva69

I'd say, number one, get a Eurail pass.

For a 10 day trip, a Eurail pass is likely to be overkill. Buying individual point-to-point tickets is likely to be cheaper. And if the OP decides to see the Netherlands, that country has a card you can load money on that works on ALL their public transportation, including trains traveling between the various Dutch cities. She'd only need train tickets for any trains going outside the Netherlands.