Before I continue writing on cities/towns that I have visited, I think it would be even more helpful to provide some general trips on backpacking and travelling in Europe. Bear in mind that most of these tips only apply if your are backpacking, AKA, travelling cheap.
- Travel light - It does not matter if your trip is for 1 month, 2 months or even half a year. 1 week of clothes is more than sufficient. Most hostels have laundry services. Even if they don't, directions to nearby laundry services will be provided. If all else fails, there is always the self-service option. Try and get a washing bag before travelling. This video by Allison Levine is helpful, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ox9jMZyPwB8
- Pre-booking transport - This is the tricky part. Booking your train, bus, ferry and air tickets within Europe earlier will result in the same being cheaper. For example, I got all my train tickets in Italy at trenitalia for 9.99 euros per person. This included a train from Bari to Rome, a 6 hour ride! My bus and train tickets for other countries were generally cheaper than those who bought tickets in the station. However, if you have a bigger budget, I would recommend getting the Euro-rail pass which allows you to hop on to any train to get to your next destination (with a reservation fee). This injects a great amount of flexibility, which enables spontaneous decisions. You can never get the full picture from online research or even from a friends personal experience. It is only when you are physically there that the true picture unfolds. You might feel like staying on longer or leaving earlier. You might discover places to visit which you never found on the internet. The weather might be bad on the day you planned to hike a mountain. A flexible itinerary caters for such instances, albeit at a larger cost.
- Overnight travel - Try and catch a night bus/train when travelling from one country to the other. This way, you get to save on accommodation for one night
- Hostels - Unless you have good couch-surfing options, get a dorm in a hostel! This is where you will make friends and share travel experiences! If you are travelling with your partner and prefer privacy, it is much cheaper to get a private room in a hostel (compared to other accommodation options). Be sure to check reviews before choosing a hostel and try and get one with a decent kitchen.
- Daily budget (excluding accommodation) - I generally capped my daily expenditure to 30 euros (food, internal transportation, tickets). However, I rarely spent that much in a day. You can easily survive with 5 euros for a meal, even in countries such as France and Italy. For breakfast, get cereal and milk or a loaf of bread and keep them with you. A set of cereal and milk costs about 4 to 5 euros and can easily last you for 3 days. Try and cook your dinner meals. Most hostels should have a decent kitchen. Sandwiches and pasta are cheap cooking options. A pasta meal with some meat will only cost about 3 euros. If you are too lazy to cook, get food from the supermarket. By avoiding the 5 euro cap for a meal, you would also have the luxury of splashing out on one (if not more) good meal in each city.
- Weather - If you are planning to visit scenic places in which beauty depends on the weather, try not to plan too long ahead. You might end up staring at clouds or mist instead of a beautiful mountain peak. If possible, try and book tickets to such places around a week in advance so you have reliable weather forecast information. If you have to book much earlier in advance, check the weather forecast anyway.
- Free walking tours - Always try and catch a free walking tour on the first day of arrival in a city. It gives you a good idea on how to travel within the city and also which locations you must visit. Additionally, you get to ask the tour guide any question at the end of the tour (the tour guides are extremely friendly).
- City pass - The first thing to do when you arrive should be to head to the tourist centre. Each city generally has a daily or weekly pass. This may include access to tourist spots. Just speak to the guide and tell them what your rough plans are. These places generally sell maps as well, but most hostels provide free maps so just wait until you get to your hostel
- Pre-drinks - Alcohol in supermarkets are really cheap! You can easily get a decent bottle of wine for less than 4 euros in most places. Alcohol in bars and clubs are very expensive. Its much better to pre-drink in the hostel before heading out.
- Walking - Always try and walk whenever possible. This way you can discover hidden back routes and roads which might lead to unknown gems.
- Pub crawls - Try and go for a few pub crawls during your trip. It is a great way for making new friends (unless you are really unfortunate). They are generally reasonably priced and often include a short period of unlimited alcohol. If it does not, pre-drink! Just watch out for absinthe shots!
- Planning ahead - While being spontaneous is great, it does not apply all the time. Be sure to have a rough idea on how to get to your hostel before you arrive at that particular city. Find out how to get to the relevant station before your departure date. Have all relevant addresses and details written down somewhere
- Languages - Try and learn to express basic phrases in the local language. This should, at the very least, include "hello" and "thank you". Trust me, one word can go a long way.
- Stay safe - Well, needless to say, always be alert and keep your belongings close to you. Bring a padlock and store your valuables safely in the hostel. Theft in hostels are not unheard of.
I apologize if I missed out anything. Will update the list if anything else comes to mind. On a more general note, I believe everyone must try travelling solo at some point in time. It was a real eye opener and I learnt so much in a short span of time. It is only through solo-travelling that you will get to connect within at a much deeper level and reach limits you never knew existed.
