#in spain if someone where to ever give a 10 euro tip everyone would be like wow you're rich
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I was permanently banned from r/anti_restaurant_work because I said American tipping culture was insane on a post where some server complained about a 10$ tip being "too little" because it didn't complain with their bullshit "you have to tip 18%-22% percent of the meal" rule. I know this is anti worker solidarity or whatever but American tipping culture is insane.
#liveblogging my life#shshshshdhdh I'm too Spanish for this#in spain if someone where to ever give a 10 euro tip everyone would be like wow you're rich#and our servers are paid like dirt here too and that is a problem#but it's not seen as the people's duty to pay them#a tip is something optional you leave for very good service not an imposed tax#but like idk you don't tip any other badly paid job no one tips the cleaners#and they also deserve more money#but that's the employers collective job to have both good wages and good prices for their employees and clients#not the individual customers#and so many of the servers in that sub were saying 'well if my wages were raised with no tips I'd make less money' yeah that's because ppl#tip you way too much#abd because the prices wherever you live are insane#price and wage regulation is what's needed#and some tips too but not a full 20% are you insane#it's too much
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My Step-By-Step guide To Backpacking Europe
Updated: 1/19/19 | January 19th, 2019
Backpacking Europe is still one of my favorite things to as a traveler. There isn’t a year I don’t criss-cross the continent.
I’ve been doing it for over close to thirteen years and it never gets old.
During the summer, hostels brim with life, the Mediterranean sparkles, streets brim with people slowly drinking wine, and the late night setting suns leads to long wonderous days. During the winter, winter brings Christmas markets, skiing, fewer crowds, and lower prices! (Note: May and October are really the best months to backpack Europe in my opinion.)
Over the decade I’ve been writing this blog, I’ve written a lot of posts on Europe. I visit Europe multiple times a year, have been all over the continent, and even run tours there.
Everything you could ever want to know about backpacking Europe.
I wanted to create an awesome resource page that will help you plan your backpacking trip to Europe where all my best stuff on planning a backpacking or budget trip to Europe could be found in one place.
Without further ado, here’s everything:
Step 1: Plan Your Backpacking EuropeT rip
How Not to Feel Overwhelmed While Planning – Planning the perfect trip to Europe can be daunting and overwhelming. I’ve been there and I understand, but I can tell you from years of experience that the more you plan your trip, the more anxiety you will face.
How to Save for Your Trip – Is money stopping you from taking the trip of your dreams? Here are 22 easy ways to cut down on your daily expenses so you can save money to backpack Europe.
How to Find a Cheap Flight – Getting to Europe can be half the challenge. Luckily, there are a ton of flight deals to the continent now if you know when and how to look for them. This article will show you how to always get a cheap flight to Europe and avoid being the person that paid the most for their ticket!
How to Earn Points for Free Flights and Hotel Stays – Free travel is my favorite kind of travel! This post shows you eight strategies I use to get over a million frequent flier points. These will get you out of your house faster, cheaper, and in comfort!
How to (Legally) Stay in Europe for More Than 90 Days – Every year, thousands of travelers wonder how they can stay in Europe for more than 90 days, which is the limit in the Schengen Zone. The good news is that there are a few different ways to stay (especially because not all of Europe is in the Schengen Zone). In this post, I share what you can do to stay legally beyond 90 days and on the continent in general.
How to Avoid Paying ATM Fees (FOREVER) – You should never have to pay any bank fees while you are accessing your money in Europe! Here is my advice on how to avoid bank fees as your backpacking Europe.
Is Europe Safe to Visit? – After a few high-profile terrorist attacks (as well as various protests), many people think that Europe isn’t safe to visit. Fortunately, that couldn’t be further from the truth!
Step 2: Get Your Gear for Backpacking Europe
How to Pick the Best Backpack – It’s important to pick a quality backpack for your trip since it’s going to get beaten up as you travel! This guide to choosing the right travel backpack will help you determine the best pack for your trip.
What to Pack for Your Trip – What should you pack on your trip? Well, there is no one right answer, but this list will give you a good place to start. It’s what I take on my trips with me (though you’ll need to make some seasonal variations, I’m sure!).
The Ultimate Packing List for Female Travelers – In this post, Kristin Addis shares her packing insights for women, so that you can travel just about anywhere without spending a fortune on gear.
How to Buy Good Travel Insurance – Travel insurance is one of the most important things you’ll need for your trip. You wouldn’t have a car without car insurance ora home without home insurance, and you can’t have a trip without travel insurance!
Smartphones, Tablets, or Laptops: What’s Best for Travelers? – Not sure what tech gear to bring on your next trip? Our resident tech expert Dave Dean will walk you through the pros and cons of each device and help you get the most out of your travel tech.
Why T-Mobile is the Best Phone Carrier for US Travelers – Looking for a reliable carrier for your next trip? Consider making the switch to T-Mobile.
The Best Travel Cameras – Wondering what kind of camera you should get for your trip? This post will show you exactly what you need — no matter your budget!
Step 3: How to Get Amazing Accommodation in Europe
How to Find Cheap Accommodation – If you are looking to stay somewhere besides a hotel or a hostel, this article lists all the types of places where you can rest your head in Europe — from couches to farms and even monasteries!
How to Find a Good Hostel – This article features my best tips on how to find an affordable, clean, and fun hostel where you can meet a lot of amazing people.
The Best Hostels in Europe – This is a list of European hostels that I would definitely use again if I have the chance. Hope this helps with your next European backpacking adventure!
How to Find a Couchsurfing Host – Couchsurfing is a great way to save money (it’s free!), and it offers a peek into local life and a way to meet locals. It’s one of my favorite resources when I travel. Plus, Europe has a ton of hosts! If you want to stand out from the crowd and stay with amazing hosts, follow these seven steps, my tried-and-true Couchsurfing advice.
How to Become a House Sitter – This is a how-to guide to house-sitting, a wonderful opportunity that allows you to stay in a location rent free in exchange for watching someone’s house.
Step 4: Get Around Europe on the Cheap
7 Cheap Ways to Travel Across Europe – Even with the falling euro, traveling around Europe can still be fairly expensive. Here are seven ways to backpack Europe without breaking the bank.
Are Eurail Passes Worth It? – Everyone traveling to Europe wonders if they will save money by buying a rail pass or if it’s cheaper to buy tickets as they go. This detailed post will give you the pros and cons of buying a rail pass!
Would You Contiki? – Is a Contiki tour cheaper than backpacking Europe solo? Are the tours worth doing? Find out more about the costs of solo vs group travel and whether a Contiki tour is right for you.
Sailing Around Croatia with Busabout – Busabout is a hugely popular tour company for those backpacking Europe. They are especially famous for their Croatia sailing trips. Here’s a review of my experience I took with them.
Step 5: Save Money While Backpacking Europe
How to Save Money on Food – While traveling Europe, food often becomes a major expense. Here are some tips for saving money on food so you still can afford a nice meal out every now and then.
How to Use the Sharing Economy to Save Money – The rise of the sharing economy has made backpacking Europe so much easier and cheaper. This post lists all my favorite ridesharing, house sharing local meeting websites so you can get off the tourist trail and experience day-to-day life with locals!
61 Tips to Make You the Savviest Traveler – These 61 travel tips will help you become an expert traveler who gets around Europe cheaper, better, longer, and smarter!
My 18 Current Favorite Restaurants in Europe – After exploring Europe quite a bit last year and gorging on food, these are my new favorite 18 restaurants around the continent. They are definitely places you don’t want to miss the next time you travel Europe.
How I spent $100 in 5 days in Stockholm – Here’s how I did Stockholm on an ultra-tight budget so you can use my tips and tricks throughout the continent.
How I spent 10 days in London for $700 USD – Here’s a detailed post about how I managed to travel around London for less than $70 a day. The methods I used will help you throughout the continent.
14 Major Travel Scams to Avoid – Losing money to a preventable travel scam sucks. Learn what scams to look out for in Europe and save yourself a potential headache!
Step 6: Find Out What to do and See in Europe
What do you do while backpacking Europe? LOTS! Here are all my comprehensive budget travel guides for destinations around Europe with tips and advice on things to do and see, ways to save money, and typical costs for each of them. You’ll find country specific tips as well as a host of cities listed as well. I have over 100 guides to places in Europe! Everything you ever need to know about where you are going can be found in these articles!
Austria Belgium Bulgaria Croatia Czech Republic Denmark England Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Iceland Ireland Italy Malta Netherlands Norway Poland Portugal Romania Russia Scotland Spain Sweden Switzerland Ukraine
In addition to the free city and country guides above, here are some insightful travel itineraries to help you make the most out of your trip to some of Europe’s most popular cities:
How to Spend 4 Days in Amsterdam
How to Spend 5 Days in Paris
How to Spend 7 Days in London
How to Spend 5 Days in Barcelona
How to Spend 4 Days in Prague
***
This massive resource list will help you plan your trip to backpacking Europe in an easy-to-follow, step-by-step pattern so you won’t get lost, overspend, or stress out about your upcoming dream trip. Europe is one of my favorite regions of the world (which is why I spend so much time there). There’s so much variety in food, culture, language, as well as so much history. I love the continent and hope you use these tips to plan your ultimate backpacking adventure in Europe!
Want All My Money-Saving Tips? Get My Guide to Europe
Nomadic Matt’s Backpacking Europe
My detailed, 200+ page guidebook is made for budget travelers like you! It cuts out the fluff found in other guidebooks and gets straight to the practical information you need to travel and save money while backpacking around Europe. You’ll find suggested itineraries, budgets, ways to save money, on and off the beaten path things to see and do, non-touristy restaurants, markets, and bars, and much more!!
Get the Europe Guide
Also look at my other Europe guides:
Amsterdam
Iceland
Paris
Stockholm
View all my guides —>
Book Your Trip to Europe: Logistical Tips and Tricks
Book Your Flight
Find a cheap flight by using Skyscanner or Momondo. They are my two favorite search engines, because they search websites and airlines around the globe, so you always know no stone is being left unturned.
Book Your Accommodation
You can book your hostel with Hostelworld. If you want to stay somewhere other than a hostel, use Booking.com, as it consistently returns the cheapest rates for guesthouses and cheap hotels. I use it all the time.
Don’t Forget Travel Insurance
Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it, as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. I’ve been using World Nomads for ten years. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are:
World Nomads (for everyone below 70)
Insure My Trip (for those over 70)
Looking for the best companies to save money with?
Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel! I list all the ones I use — and I think they will help you too!
Looking for more information on visiting Europe?
Check out my in-depth destination guide to Europe with more tips on what to see and do, costs, ways to save, and much, much more!
Pin for later!
Photo credit: 1, 3
The post My Step-By-Step guide To Backpacking Europe appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.
source https://www.nomadicmatt.com/travel-blogs/backpacking-europe-guide/
0 notes
Text
My Step-By-Step guide To Backpacking Europe
Updated: 1/19/19 | January 19th, 2019
Backpacking Europe is still one of my favorite things to as a traveler. There isn’t a year I don’t criss-cross the continent.
I’ve been doing it for over close to thirteen years and it never gets old.
During the summer, hostels brim with life, the Mediterranean sparkles, streets brim with people slowly drinking wine, and the late night setting suns leads to long wonderous days. During the winter, winter brings Christmas markets, skiing, fewer crowds, and lower prices! (Note: May and October are really the best months to backpack Europe in my opinion.)
Over the decade I’ve been writing this blog, I’ve written a lot of posts on Europe. I visit Europe multiple times a year, have been all over the continent, and even run tours there.
Everything you could ever want to know about backpacking Europe.
I wanted to create an awesome resource page that will help you plan your backpacking trip to Europe where all my best stuff on planning a backpacking or budget trip to Europe could be found in one place.
Without further ado, here’s everything:
Step 1: Plan Your Backpacking EuropeT rip
How Not to Feel Overwhelmed While Planning – Planning the perfect trip to Europe can be daunting and overwhelming. I’ve been there and I understand, but I can tell you from years of experience that the more you plan your trip, the more anxiety you will face.
How to Save for Your Trip – Is money stopping you from taking the trip of your dreams? Here are 22 easy ways to cut down on your daily expenses so you can save money to backpack Europe.
How to Find a Cheap Flight – Getting to Europe can be half the challenge. Luckily, there are a ton of flight deals to the continent now if you know when and how to look for them. This article will show you how to always get a cheap flight to Europe and avoid being the person that paid the most for their ticket!
How to Earn Points for Free Flights and Hotel Stays – Free travel is my favorite kind of travel! This post shows you eight strategies I use to get over a million frequent flier points. These will get you out of your house faster, cheaper, and in comfort!
How to (Legally) Stay in Europe for More Than 90 Days – Every year, thousands of travelers wonder how they can stay in Europe for more than 90 days, which is the limit in the Schengen Zone. The good news is that there are a few different ways to stay (especially because not all of Europe is in the Schengen Zone). In this post, I share what you can do to stay legally beyond 90 days and on the continent in general.
How to Avoid Paying ATM Fees (FOREVER) – You should never have to pay any bank fees while you are accessing your money in Europe! Here is my advice on how to avoid bank fees as your backpacking Europe.
Is Europe Safe to Visit? – After a few high-profile terrorist attacks (as well as various protests), many people think that Europe isn’t safe to visit. Fortunately, that couldn’t be further from the truth!
Step 2: Get Your Gear for Backpacking Europe
How to Pick the Best Backpack – It’s important to pick a quality backpack for your trip since it’s going to get beaten up as you travel! This guide to choosing the right travel backpack will help you determine the best pack for your trip.
What to Pack for Your Trip – What should you pack on your trip? Well, there is no one right answer, but this list will give you a good place to start. It’s what I take on my trips with me (though you’ll need to make some seasonal variations, I’m sure!).
The Ultimate Packing List for Female Travelers – In this post, Kristin Addis shares her packing insights for women, so that you can travel just about anywhere without spending a fortune on gear.
How to Buy Good Travel Insurance – Travel insurance is one of the most important things you’ll need for your trip. You wouldn’t have a car without car insurance ora home without home insurance, and you can’t have a trip without travel insurance!
Smartphones, Tablets, or Laptops: What’s Best for Travelers? – Not sure what tech gear to bring on your next trip? Our resident tech expert Dave Dean will walk you through the pros and cons of each device and help you get the most out of your travel tech.
Why T-Mobile is the Best Phone Carrier for US Travelers – Looking for a reliable carrier for your next trip? Consider making the switch to T-Mobile.
The Best Travel Cameras – Wondering what kind of camera you should get for your trip? This post will show you exactly what you need — no matter your budget!
Step 3: How to Get Amazing Accommodation in Europe
How to Find Cheap Accommodation – If you are looking to stay somewhere besides a hotel or a hostel, this article lists all the types of places where you can rest your head in Europe — from couches to farms and even monasteries!
How to Find a Good Hostel – This article features my best tips on how to find an affordable, clean, and fun hostel where you can meet a lot of amazing people.
The Best Hostels in Europe – This is a list of European hostels that I would definitely use again if I have the chance. Hope this helps with your next European backpacking adventure!
How to Find a Couchsurfing Host – Couchsurfing is a great way to save money (it’s free!), and it offers a peek into local life and a way to meet locals. It’s one of my favorite resources when I travel. Plus, Europe has a ton of hosts! If you want to stand out from the crowd and stay with amazing hosts, follow these seven steps, my tried-and-true Couchsurfing advice.
How to Become a House Sitter – This is a how-to guide to house-sitting, a wonderful opportunity that allows you to stay in a location rent free in exchange for watching someone’s house.
Step 4: Get Around Europe on the Cheap
7 Cheap Ways to Travel Across Europe – Even with the falling euro, traveling around Europe can still be fairly expensive. Here are seven ways to backpack Europe without breaking the bank.
Are Eurail Passes Worth It? – Everyone traveling to Europe wonders if they will save money by buying a rail pass or if it’s cheaper to buy tickets as they go. This detailed post will give you the pros and cons of buying a rail pass!
Would You Contiki? – Is a Contiki tour cheaper than backpacking Europe solo? Are the tours worth doing? Find out more about the costs of solo vs group travel and whether a Contiki tour is right for you.
Sailing Around Croatia with Busabout – Busabout is a hugely popular tour company for those backpacking Europe. They are especially famous for their Croatia sailing trips. Here’s a review of my experience I took with them.
Step 5: Save Money While Backpacking Europe
How to Save Money on Food – While traveling Europe, food often becomes a major expense. Here are some tips for saving money on food so you still can afford a nice meal out every now and then.
How to Use the Sharing Economy to Save Money – The rise of the sharing economy has made backpacking Europe so much easier and cheaper. This post lists all my favorite ridesharing, house sharing local meeting websites so you can get off the tourist trail and experience day-to-day life with locals!
61 Tips to Make You the Savviest Traveler – These 61 travel tips will help you become an expert traveler who gets around Europe cheaper, better, longer, and smarter!
My 18 Current Favorite Restaurants in Europe – After exploring Europe quite a bit last year and gorging on food, these are my new favorite 18 restaurants around the continent. They are definitely places you don’t want to miss the next time you travel Europe.
How I spent $100 in 5 days in Stockholm – Here’s how I did Stockholm on an ultra-tight budget so you can use my tips and tricks throughout the continent.
How I spent 10 days in London for $700 USD – Here’s a detailed post about how I managed to travel around London for less than $70 a day. The methods I used will help you throughout the continent.
14 Major Travel Scams to Avoid – Losing money to a preventable travel scam sucks. Learn what scams to look out for in Europe and save yourself a potential headache!
Step 6: Find Out What to do and See in Europe
What do you do while backpacking Europe? LOTS! Here are all my comprehensive budget travel guides for destinations around Europe with tips and advice on things to do and see, ways to save money, and typical costs for each of them. You’ll find country specific tips as well as a host of cities listed as well. I have over 100 guides to places in Europe! Everything you ever need to know about where you are going can be found in these articles!
Austria Belgium Bulgaria Croatia Czech Republic Denmark England Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Iceland Ireland Italy Malta Netherlands Norway Poland Portugal Romania Russia Scotland Spain Sweden Switzerland Ukraine
In addition to the free city and country guides above, here are some insightful travel itineraries to help you make the most out of your trip to some of Europe’s most popular cities:
How to Spend 4 Days in Amsterdam
How to Spend 5 Days in Paris
How to Spend 7 Days in London
How to Spend 5 Days in Barcelona
How to Spend 4 Days in Prague
***
This massive resource list will help you plan your trip to backpacking Europe in an easy-to-follow, step-by-step pattern so you won’t get lost, overspend, or stress out about your upcoming dream trip. Europe is one of my favorite regions of the world (which is why I spend so much time there). There’s so much variety in food, culture, language, as well as so much history. I love the continent and hope you use these tips to plan your ultimate backpacking adventure in Europe!
Want All My Money-Saving Tips? Get My Guide to Europe
Nomadic Matt’s Backpacking Europe
My detailed, 200+ page guidebook is made for budget travelers like you! It cuts out the fluff found in other guidebooks and gets straight to the practical information you need to travel and save money while backpacking around Europe. You’ll find suggested itineraries, budgets, ways to save money, on and off the beaten path things to see and do, non-touristy restaurants, markets, and bars, and much more!!
Get the Europe Guide
Also look at my other Europe guides:
Amsterdam
Iceland
Paris
Stockholm
View all my guides —>
Book Your Trip to Europe: Logistical Tips and Tricks
Book Your Flight
Find a cheap flight by using Skyscanner or Momondo. They are my two favorite search engines, because they search websites and airlines around the globe, so you always know no stone is being left unturned.
Book Your Accommodation
You can book your hostel with Hostelworld. If you want to stay somewhere other than a hostel, use Booking.com, as it consistently returns the cheapest rates for guesthouses and cheap hotels. I use it all the time.
Don’t Forget Travel Insurance
Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it, as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. I’ve been using World Nomads for ten years. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are:
World Nomads (for everyone below 70)
Insure My Trip (for those over 70)
Looking for the best companies to save money with?
Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel! I list all the ones I use — and I think they will help you too!
Looking for more information on visiting Europe?
Check out my in-depth destination guide to Europe with more tips on what to see and do, costs, ways to save, and much, much more!
Pin for later!
Photo credit: 1, 3
The post My Step-By-Step guide To Backpacking Europe appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.
from Traveling News https://www.nomadicmatt.com/travel-blogs/backpacking-europe-guide/
0 notes
Text
My Step-By-Step guide To Backpacking Europe
Updated: 1/19/19 | January 19th, 2019
Backpacking Europe is still one of my favorite things to as a traveler. There isn’t a year I don’t criss-cross the continent.
I’ve been doing it for over close to thirteen years and it never gets old.
During the summer, hostels brim with life, the Mediterranean sparkles, streets brim with people slowly drinking wine, and the late night setting suns leads to long wonderous days. During the winter, winter brings Christmas markets, skiing, fewer crowds, and lower prices! (Note: May and October are really the best months to backpack Europe in my opinion.)
Over the decade I’ve been writing this blog, I’ve written a lot of posts on Europe. I visit Europe multiple times a year, have been all over the continent, and even run tours there.
Everything you could ever want to know about backpacking Europe.
I wanted to create an awesome resource page that will help you plan your backpacking trip to Europe where all my best stuff on planning a backpacking or budget trip to Europe could be found in one place.
Without further ado, here’s everything:
Step 1: Plan Your Backpacking EuropeT rip
How Not to Feel Overwhelmed While Planning – Planning the perfect trip to Europe can be daunting and overwhelming. I’ve been there and I understand, but I can tell you from years of experience that the more you plan your trip, the more anxiety you will face.
How to Save for Your Trip – Is money stopping you from taking the trip of your dreams? Here are 22 easy ways to cut down on your daily expenses so you can save money to backpack Europe.
How to Find a Cheap Flight – Getting to Europe can be half the challenge. Luckily, there are a ton of flight deals to the continent now if you know when and how to look for them. This article will show you how to always get a cheap flight to Europe and avoid being the person that paid the most for their ticket!
How to Earn Points for Free Flights and Hotel Stays – Free travel is my favorite kind of travel! This post shows you eight strategies I use to get over a million frequent flier points. These will get you out of your house faster, cheaper, and in comfort!
How to (Legally) Stay in Europe for More Than 90 Days – Every year, thousands of travelers wonder how they can stay in Europe for more than 90 days, which is the limit in the Schengen Zone. The good news is that there are a few different ways to stay (especially because not all of Europe is in the Schengen Zone). In this post, I share what you can do to stay legally beyond 90 days and on the continent in general.
How to Avoid Paying ATM Fees (FOREVER) – You should never have to pay any bank fees while you are accessing your money in Europe! Here is my advice on how to avoid bank fees as your backpacking Europe.
Is Europe Safe to Visit? – After a few high-profile terrorist attacks (as well as various protests), many people think that Europe isn’t safe to visit. Fortunately, that couldn’t be further from the truth!
Step 2: Get Your Gear for Backpacking Europe
How to Pick the Best Backpack – It’s important to pick a quality backpack for your trip since it’s going to get beaten up as you travel! This guide to choosing the right travel backpack will help you determine the best pack for your trip.
What to Pack for Your Trip – What should you pack on your trip? Well, there is no one right answer, but this list will give you a good place to start. It’s what I take on my trips with me (though you’ll need to make some seasonal variations, I’m sure!).
The Ultimate Packing List for Female Travelers – In this post, Kristin Addis shares her packing insights for women, so that you can travel just about anywhere without spending a fortune on gear.
How to Buy Good Travel Insurance – Travel insurance is one of the most important things you’ll need for your trip. You wouldn’t have a car without car insurance ora home without home insurance, and you can’t have a trip without travel insurance!
Smartphones, Tablets, or Laptops: What’s Best for Travelers? – Not sure what tech gear to bring on your next trip? Our resident tech expert Dave Dean will walk you through the pros and cons of each device and help you get the most out of your travel tech.
Why T-Mobile is the Best Phone Carrier for US Travelers – Looking for a reliable carrier for your next trip? Consider making the switch to T-Mobile.
The Best Travel Cameras – Wondering what kind of camera you should get for your trip? This post will show you exactly what you need — no matter your budget!
Step 3: How to Get Amazing Accommodation in Europe
How to Find Cheap Accommodation – If you are looking to stay somewhere besides a hotel or a hostel, this article lists all the types of places where you can rest your head in Europe — from couches to farms and even monasteries!
How to Find a Good Hostel – This article features my best tips on how to find an affordable, clean, and fun hostel where you can meet a lot of amazing people.
The Best Hostels in Europe – This is a list of European hostels that I would definitely use again if I have the chance. Hope this helps with your next European backpacking adventure!
How to Find a Couchsurfing Host – Couchsurfing is a great way to save money (it’s free!), and it offers a peek into local life and a way to meet locals. It’s one of my favorite resources when I travel. Plus, Europe has a ton of hosts! If you want to stand out from the crowd and stay with amazing hosts, follow these seven steps, my tried-and-true Couchsurfing advice.
How to Become a House Sitter – This is a how-to guide to house-sitting, a wonderful opportunity that allows you to stay in a location rent free in exchange for watching someone’s house.
Step 4: Get Around Europe on the Cheap
7 Cheap Ways to Travel Across Europe – Even with the falling euro, traveling around Europe can still be fairly expensive. Here are seven ways to backpack Europe without breaking the bank.
Are Eurail Passes Worth It? – Everyone traveling to Europe wonders if they will save money by buying a rail pass or if it’s cheaper to buy tickets as they go. This detailed post will give you the pros and cons of buying a rail pass!
Would You Contiki? – Is a Contiki tour cheaper than backpacking Europe solo? Are the tours worth doing? Find out more about the costs of solo vs group travel and whether a Contiki tour is right for you.
Sailing Around Croatia with Busabout – Busabout is a hugely popular tour company for those backpacking Europe. They are especially famous for their Croatia sailing trips. Here’s a review of my experience I took with them.
Step 5: Save Money While Backpacking Europe
How to Save Money on Food – While traveling Europe, food often becomes a major expense. Here are some tips for saving money on food so you still can afford a nice meal out every now and then.
How to Use the Sharing Economy to Save Money – The rise of the sharing economy has made backpacking Europe so much easier and cheaper. This post lists all my favorite ridesharing, house sharing local meeting websites so you can get off the tourist trail and experience day-to-day life with locals!
61 Tips to Make You the Savviest Traveler – These 61 travel tips will help you become an expert traveler who gets around Europe cheaper, better, longer, and smarter!
My 18 Current Favorite Restaurants in Europe – After exploring Europe quite a bit last year and gorging on food, these are my new favorite 18 restaurants around the continent. They are definitely places you don’t want to miss the next time you travel Europe.
How I spent $100 in 5 days in Stockholm – Here’s how I did Stockholm on an ultra-tight budget so you can use my tips and tricks throughout the continent.
How I spent 10 days in London for $700 USD – Here’s a detailed post about how I managed to travel around London for less than $70 a day. The methods I used will help you throughout the continent.
14 Major Travel Scams to Avoid – Losing money to a preventable travel scam sucks. Learn what scams to look out for in Europe and save yourself a potential headache!
Step 6: Find Out What to do and See in Europe
What do you do while backpacking Europe? LOTS! Here are all my comprehensive budget travel guides for destinations around Europe with tips and advice on things to do and see, ways to save money, and typical costs for each of them. You’ll find country specific tips as well as a host of cities listed as well. I have over 100 guides to places in Europe! Everything you ever need to know about where you are going can be found in these articles!
Austria Belgium Bulgaria Croatia Czech Republic Denmark England Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Iceland Ireland Italy Malta Netherlands Norway Poland Portugal Romania Russia Scotland Spain Sweden Switzerland Ukraine
In addition to the free city and country guides above, here are some insightful travel itineraries to help you make the most out of your trip to some of Europe���s most popular cities:
How to Spend 4 Days in Amsterdam
How to Spend 5 Days in Paris
How to Spend 7 Days in London
How to Spend 5 Days in Barcelona
How to Spend 4 Days in Prague
***
This massive resource list will help you plan your trip to backpacking Europe in an easy-to-follow, step-by-step pattern so you won’t get lost, overspend, or stress out about your upcoming dream trip. Europe is one of my favorite regions of the world (which is why I spend so much time there). There’s so much variety in food, culture, language, as well as so much history. I love the continent and hope you use these tips to plan your ultimate backpacking adventure in Europe!
Want All My Money-Saving Tips? Get My Guide to Europe
Nomadic Matt’s Backpacking Europe
My detailed, 200+ page guidebook is made for budget travelers like you! It cuts out the fluff found in other guidebooks and gets straight to the practical information you need to travel and save money while backpacking around Europe. You’ll find suggested itineraries, budgets, ways to save money, on and off the beaten path things to see and do, non-touristy restaurants, markets, and bars, and much more!!
Get the Europe Guide
Also look at my other Europe guides:
Amsterdam
Iceland
Paris
Stockholm
View all my guides —>
Book Your Trip to Europe: Logistical Tips and Tricks
Book Your Flight
Find a cheap flight by using Skyscanner or Momondo. They are my two favorite search engines, because they search websites and airlines around the globe, so you always know no stone is being left unturned.
Book Your Accommodation
You can book your hostel with Hostelworld. If you want to stay somewhere other than a hostel, use Booking.com, as it consistently returns the cheapest rates for guesthouses and cheap hotels. I use it all the time.
Don’t Forget Travel Insurance
Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it, as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. I’ve been using World Nomads for ten years. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are:
World Nomads (for everyone below 70)
Insure My Trip (for those over 70)
Looking for the best companies to save money with?
Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel! I list all the ones I use — and I think they will help you too!
Looking for more information on visiting Europe?
Check out my in-depth destination guide to Europe with more tips on what to see and do, costs, ways to save, and much, much more!
Pin for later!
Photo credit: 1, 3
The post My Step-By-Step guide To Backpacking Europe appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.
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My Step-By-Step guide To Backpacking Europe
Updated: 1/19/19 | January 19th, 2019
Backpacking Europe is still one of my favorite things to as a traveler. There isn’t a year I don’t criss-cross the continent.
I’ve been doing it for over close to thirteen years and it never gets old.
During the summer, hostels brim with life, the Mediterranean sparkles, streets brim with people slowly drinking wine, and the late night setting suns leads to long wonderous days. During the winter, winter brings Christmas markets, skiing, fewer crowds, and lower prices! (Note: May and October are really the best months to backpack Europe in my opinion.)
Over the decade I’ve been writing this blog, I’ve written a lot of posts on Europe. I visit Europe multiple times a year, have been all over the continent, and even run tours there.
Everything you could ever want to know about backpacking Europe.
I wanted to create an awesome resource page that will help you plan your backpacking trip to Europe where all my best stuff on planning a backpacking or budget trip to Europe could be found in one place.
Without further ado, here’s everything:
Step 1: Plan Your Backpacking EuropeT rip
How Not to Feel Overwhelmed While Planning – Planning the perfect trip to Europe can be daunting and overwhelming. I’ve been there and I understand, but I can tell you from years of experience that the more you plan your trip, the more anxiety you will face.
How to Save for Your Trip – Is money stopping you from taking the trip of your dreams? Here are 22 easy ways to cut down on your daily expenses so you can save money to backpack Europe.
How to Find a Cheap Flight – Getting to Europe can be half the challenge. Luckily, there are a ton of flight deals to the continent now if you know when and how to look for them. This article will show you how to always get a cheap flight to Europe and avoid being the person that paid the most for their ticket!
How to Earn Points for Free Flights and Hotel Stays – Free travel is my favorite kind of travel! This post shows you eight strategies I use to get over a million frequent flier points. These will get you out of your house faster, cheaper, and in comfort!
How to (Legally) Stay in Europe for More Than 90 Days – Every year, thousands of travelers wonder how they can stay in Europe for more than 90 days, which is the limit in the Schengen Zone. The good news is that there are a few different ways to stay (especially because not all of Europe is in the Schengen Zone). In this post, I share what you can do to stay legally beyond 90 days and on the continent in general.
How to Avoid Paying ATM Fees (FOREVER) – You should never have to pay any bank fees while you are accessing your money in Europe! Here is my advice on how to avoid bank fees as your backpacking Europe.
Is Europe Safe to Visit? – After a few high-profile terrorist attacks (as well as various protests), many people think that Europe isn’t safe to visit. Fortunately, that couldn’t be further from the truth!
Step 2: Get Your Gear for Backpacking Europe
How to Pick the Best Backpack – It’s important to pick a quality backpack for your trip since it’s going to get beaten up as you travel! This guide to choosing the right travel backpack will help you determine the best pack for your trip.
What to Pack for Your Trip – What should you pack on your trip? Well, there is no one right answer, but this list will give you a good place to start. It’s what I take on my trips with me (though you’ll need to make some seasonal variations, I’m sure!).
The Ultimate Packing List for Female Travelers – In this post, Kristin Addis shares her packing insights for women, so that you can travel just about anywhere without spending a fortune on gear.
How to Buy Good Travel Insurance – Travel insurance is one of the most important things you’ll need for your trip. You wouldn’t have a car without car insurance ora home without home insurance, and you can’t have a trip without travel insurance!
Smartphones, Tablets, or Laptops: What’s Best for Travelers? – Not sure what tech gear to bring on your next trip? Our resident tech expert Dave Dean will walk you through the pros and cons of each device and help you get the most out of your travel tech.
Why T-Mobile is the Best Phone Carrier for US Travelers – Looking for a reliable carrier for your next trip? Consider making the switch to T-Mobile.
The Best Travel Cameras – Wondering what kind of camera you should get for your trip? This post will show you exactly what you need — no matter your budget!
Step 3: How to Get Amazing Accommodation in Europe
How to Find Cheap Accommodation – If you are looking to stay somewhere besides a hotel or a hostel, this article lists all the types of places where you can rest your head in Europe — from couches to farms and even monasteries!
How to Find a Good Hostel – This article features my best tips on how to find an affordable, clean, and fun hostel where you can meet a lot of amazing people.
The Best Hostels in Europe – This is a list of European hostels that I would definitely use again if I have the chance. Hope this helps with your next European backpacking adventure!
How to Find a Couchsurfing Host – Couchsurfing is a great way to save money (it’s free!), and it offers a peek into local life and a way to meet locals. It’s one of my favorite resources when I travel. Plus, Europe has a ton of hosts! If you want to stand out from the crowd and stay with amazing hosts, follow these seven steps, my tried-and-true Couchsurfing advice.
How to Become a House Sitter – This is a how-to guide to house-sitting, a wonderful opportunity that allows you to stay in a location rent free in exchange for watching someone’s house.
Step 4: Get Around Europe on the Cheap
7 Cheap Ways to Travel Across Europe – Even with the falling euro, traveling around Europe can still be fairly expensive. Here are seven ways to backpack Europe without breaking the bank.
Are Eurail Passes Worth It? – Everyone traveling to Europe wonders if they will save money by buying a rail pass or if it’s cheaper to buy tickets as they go. This detailed post will give you the pros and cons of buying a rail pass!
Would You Contiki? – Is a Contiki tour cheaper than backpacking Europe solo? Are the tours worth doing? Find out more about the costs of solo vs group travel and whether a Contiki tour is right for you.
Sailing Around Croatia with Busabout – Busabout is a hugely popular tour company for those backpacking Europe. They are especially famous for their Croatia sailing trips. Here’s a review of my experience I took with them.
Step 5: Save Money While Backpacking Europe
How to Save Money on Food – While traveling Europe, food often becomes a major expense. Here are some tips for saving money on food so you still can afford a nice meal out every now and then.
How to Use the Sharing Economy to Save Money – The rise of the sharing economy has made backpacking Europe so much easier and cheaper. This post lists all my favorite ridesharing, house sharing local meeting websites so you can get off the tourist trail and experience day-to-day life with locals!
61 Tips to Make You the Savviest Traveler – These 61 travel tips will help you become an expert traveler who gets around Europe cheaper, better, longer, and smarter!
My 18 Current Favorite Restaurants in Europe – After exploring Europe quite a bit last year and gorging on food, these are my new favorite 18 restaurants around the continent. They are definitely places you don’t want to miss the next time you travel Europe.
How I spent $100 in 5 days in Stockholm – Here’s how I did Stockholm on an ultra-tight budget so you can use my tips and tricks throughout the continent.
How I spent 10 days in London for $700 USD – Here’s a detailed post about how I managed to travel around London for less than $70 a day. The methods I used will help you throughout the continent.
14 Major Travel Scams to Avoid – Losing money to a preventable travel scam sucks. Learn what scams to look out for in Europe and save yourself a potential headache!
Step 6: Find Out What to do and See in Europe
What do you do while backpacking Europe? LOTS! Here are all my comprehensive budget travel guides for destinations around Europe with tips and advice on things to do and see, ways to save money, and typical costs for each of them. You’ll find country specific tips as well as a host of cities listed as well. I have over 100 guides to places in Europe! Everything you ever need to know about where you are going can be found in these articles!
Austria Belgium Bulgaria Croatia Czech Republic Denmark England Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Iceland Ireland Italy Malta Netherlands Norway Poland Portugal Romania Russia Scotland Spain Sweden Switzerland Ukraine
In addition to the free city and country guides above, here are some insightful travel itineraries to help you make the most out of your trip to some of Europe’s most popular cities:
How to Spend 4 Days in Amsterdam
How to Spend 5 Days in Paris
How to Spend 7 Days in London
How to Spend 5 Days in Barcelona
How to Spend 4 Days in Prague
***
This massive resource list will help you plan your trip to backpacking Europe in an easy-to-follow, step-by-step pattern so you won’t get lost, overspend, or stress out about your upcoming dream trip. Europe is one of my favorite regions of the world (which is why I spend so much time there). There’s so much variety in food, culture, language, as well as so much history. I love the continent and hope you use these tips to plan your ultimate backpacking adventure in Europe!
Want All My Money-Saving Tips? Get My Guide to Europe
Nomadic Matt’s Backpacking Europe
My detailed, 200+ page guidebook is made for budget travelers like you! It cuts out the fluff found in other guidebooks and gets straight to the practical information you need to travel and save money while backpacking around Europe. You’ll find suggested itineraries, budgets, ways to save money, on and off the beaten path things to see and do, non-touristy restaurants, markets, and bars, and much more!!
Get the Europe Guide
Also look at my other Europe guides:
Amsterdam
Iceland
Paris
Stockholm
View all my guides —>
Book Your Trip to Europe: Logistical Tips and Tricks
Book Your Flight
Find a cheap flight by using Skyscanner or Momondo. They are my two favorite search engines, because they search websites and airlines around the globe, so you always know no stone is being left unturned.
Book Your Accommodation
You can book your hostel with Hostelworld. If you want to stay somewhere other than a hostel, use Booking.com, as it consistently returns the cheapest rates for guesthouses and cheap hotels. I use it all the time.
Don’t Forget Travel Insurance
Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it, as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. I’ve been using World Nomads for ten years. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are:
World Nomads (for everyone below 70)
Insure My Trip (for those over 70)
Looking for the best companies to save money with?
Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel! I list all the ones I use — and I think they will help you too!
Looking for more information on visiting Europe?
Check out my in-depth destination guide to Europe with more tips on what to see and do, costs, ways to save, and much, much more!
Pin for later!
Photo credit: 1, 3
The post My Step-By-Step guide To Backpacking Europe appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.
from Traveling News https://www.nomadicmatt.com/travel-blogs/backpacking-europe-guide/
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Text
My Step-By-Step guide To Backpacking Europe
Updated: 1/19/19 | January 19th, 2019
Backpacking Europe is still one of my favorite things to as a traveler. There isn’t a year I don’t criss-cross the continent.
I’ve been doing it for over close to thirteen years and it never gets old.
During the summer, hostels brim with life, the Mediterranean sparkles, streets brim with people slowly drinking wine, and the late night setting suns leads to long wonderous days. During the winter, winter brings Christmas markets, skiing, fewer crowds, and lower prices! (Note: May and October are really the best months to backpack Europe in my opinion.)
Over the decade I’ve been writing this blog, I’ve written a lot of posts on Europe. I visit Europe multiple times a year, have been all over the continent, and even run tours there.
Everything you could ever want to know about backpacking Europe.
I wanted to create an awesome resource page that will help you plan your backpacking trip to Europe where all my best stuff on planning a backpacking or budget trip to Europe could be found in one place.
Without further ado, here’s everything:
Step 1: Plan Your Backpacking EuropeT rip
How Not to Feel Overwhelmed While Planning – Planning the perfect trip to Europe can be daunting and overwhelming. I’ve been there and I understand, but I can tell you from years of experience that the more you plan your trip, the more anxiety you will face.
How to Save for Your Trip – Is money stopping you from taking the trip of your dreams? Here are 22 easy ways to cut down on your daily expenses so you can save money to backpack Europe.
How to Find a Cheap Flight – Getting to Europe can be half the challenge. Luckily, there are a ton of flight deals to the continent now if you know when and how to look for them. This article will show you how to always get a cheap flight to Europe and avoid being the person that paid the most for their ticket!
How to Earn Points for Free Flights and Hotel Stays – Free travel is my favorite kind of travel! This post shows you eight strategies I use to get over a million frequent flier points. These will get you out of your house faster, cheaper, and in comfort!
How to (Legally) Stay in Europe for More Than 90 Days – Every year, thousands of travelers wonder how they can stay in Europe for more than 90 days, which is the limit in the Schengen Zone. The good news is that there are a few different ways to stay (especially because not all of Europe is in the Schengen Zone). In this post, I share what you can do to stay legally beyond 90 days and on the continent in general.
How to Avoid Paying ATM Fees (FOREVER) – You should never have to pay any bank fees while you are accessing your money in Europe! Here is my advice on how to avoid bank fees as your backpacking Europe.
Is Europe Safe to Visit? – After a few high-profile terrorist attacks (as well as various protests), many people think that Europe isn’t safe to visit. Fortunately, that couldn’t be further from the truth!
Step 2: Get Your Gear for Backpacking Europe
How to Pick the Best Backpack – It’s important to pick a quality backpack for your trip since it’s going to get beaten up as you travel! This guide to choosing the right travel backpack will help you determine the best pack for your trip.
What to Pack for Your Trip – What should you pack on your trip? Well, there is no one right answer, but this list will give you a good place to start. It’s what I take on my trips with me (though you’ll need to make some seasonal variations, I’m sure!).
The Ultimate Packing List for Female Travelers – In this post, Kristin Addis shares her packing insights for women, so that you can travel just about anywhere without spending a fortune on gear.
How to Buy Good Travel Insurance – Travel insurance is one of the most important things you’ll need for your trip. You wouldn’t have a car without car insurance ora home without home insurance, and you can’t have a trip without travel insurance!
Smartphones, Tablets, or Laptops: What’s Best for Travelers? – Not sure what tech gear to bring on your next trip? Our resident tech expert Dave Dean will walk you through the pros and cons of each device and help you get the most out of your travel tech.
Why T-Mobile is the Best Phone Carrier for US Travelers – Looking for a reliable carrier for your next trip? Consider making the switch to T-Mobile.
The Best Travel Cameras – Wondering what kind of camera you should get for your trip? This post will show you exactly what you need — no matter your budget!
Step 3: How to Get Amazing Accommodation in Europe
How to Find Cheap Accommodation – If you are looking to stay somewhere besides a hotel or a hostel, this article lists all the types of places where you can rest your head in Europe — from couches to farms and even monasteries!
How to Find a Good Hostel – This article features my best tips on how to find an affordable, clean, and fun hostel where you can meet a lot of amazing people.
The Best Hostels in Europe – This is a list of European hostels that I would definitely use again if I have the chance. Hope this helps with your next European backpacking adventure!
How to Find a Couchsurfing Host – Couchsurfing is a great way to save money (it’s free!), and it offers a peek into local life and a way to meet locals. It’s one of my favorite resources when I travel. Plus, Europe has a ton of hosts! If you want to stand out from the crowd and stay with amazing hosts, follow these seven steps, my tried-and-true Couchsurfing advice.
How to Become a House Sitter – This is a how-to guide to house-sitting, a wonderful opportunity that allows you to stay in a location rent free in exchange for watching someone’s house.
Step 4: Get Around Europe on the Cheap
7 Cheap Ways to Travel Across Europe – Even with the falling euro, traveling around Europe can still be fairly expensive. Here are seven ways to backpack Europe without breaking the bank.
Are Eurail Passes Worth It? – Everyone traveling to Europe wonders if they will save money by buying a rail pass or if it’s cheaper to buy tickets as they go. This detailed post will give you the pros and cons of buying a rail pass!
Would You Contiki? – Is a Contiki tour cheaper than backpacking Europe solo? Are the tours worth doing? Find out more about the costs of solo vs group travel and whether a Contiki tour is right for you.
Sailing Around Croatia with Busabout – Busabout is a hugely popular tour company for those backpacking Europe. They are especially famous for their Croatia sailing trips. Here’s a review of my experience I took with them.
Step 5: Save Money While Backpacking Europe
How to Save Money on Food – While traveling Europe, food often becomes a major expense. Here are some tips for saving money on food so you still can afford a nice meal out every now and then.
How to Use the Sharing Economy to Save Money – The rise of the sharing economy has made backpacking Europe so much easier and cheaper. This post lists all my favorite ridesharing, house sharing local meeting websites so you can get off the tourist trail and experience day-to-day life with locals!
61 Tips to Make You the Savviest Traveler – These 61 travel tips will help you become an expert traveler who gets around Europe cheaper, better, longer, and smarter!
My 18 Current Favorite Restaurants in Europe – After exploring Europe quite a bit last year and gorging on food, these are my new favorite 18 restaurants around the continent. They are definitely places you don’t want to miss the next time you travel Europe.
How I spent $100 in 5 days in Stockholm – Here’s how I did Stockholm on an ultra-tight budget so you can use my tips and tricks throughout the continent.
How I spent 10 days in London for $700 USD – Here’s a detailed post about how I managed to travel around London for less than $70 a day. The methods I used will help you throughout the continent.
14 Major Travel Scams to Avoid – Losing money to a preventable travel scam sucks. Learn what scams to look out for in Europe and save yourself a potential headache!
Step 6: Find Out What to do and See in Europe
What do you do while backpacking Europe? LOTS! Here are all my comprehensive budget travel guides for destinations around Europe with tips and advice on things to do and see, ways to save money, and typical costs for each of them. You’ll find country specific tips as well as a host of cities listed as well. I have over 100 guides to places in Europe! Everything you ever need to know about where you are going can be found in these articles!
Austria Belgium Bulgaria Croatia Czech Republic Denmark England Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Iceland Ireland Italy Malta Netherlands Norway Poland Portugal Romania Russia Scotland Spain Sweden Switzerland Ukraine
In addition to the free city and country guides above, here are some insightful travel itineraries to help you make the most out of your trip to some of Europe’s most popular cities:
How to Spend 4 Days in Amsterdam
How to Spend 5 Days in Paris
How to Spend 7 Days in London
How to Spend 5 Days in Barcelona
How to Spend 4 Days in Prague
***
This massive resource list will help you plan your trip to backpacking Europe in an easy-to-follow, step-by-step pattern so you won’t get lost, overspend, or stress out about your upcoming dream trip. Europe is one of my favorite regions of the world (which is why I spend so much time there). There’s so much variety in food, culture, language, as well as so much history. I love the continent and hope you use these tips to plan your ultimate backpacking adventure in Europe!
Want All My Money-Saving Tips? Get My Guide to Europe
Nomadic Matt’s Backpacking Europe
My detailed, 200+ page guidebook is made for budget travelers like you! It cuts out the fluff found in other guidebooks and gets straight to the practical information you need to travel and save money while backpacking around Europe. You’ll find suggested itineraries, budgets, ways to save money, on and off the beaten path things to see and do, non-touristy restaurants, markets, and bars, and much more!!
Get the Europe Guide
Also look at my other Europe guides:
Amsterdam
Iceland
Paris
Stockholm
View all my guides —>
Book Your Trip to Europe: Logistical Tips and Tricks
Book Your Flight
Find a cheap flight by using Skyscanner or Momondo. They are my two favorite search engines, because they search websites and airlines around the globe, so you always know no stone is being left unturned.
Book Your Accommodation
You can book your hostel with Hostelworld. If you want to stay somewhere other than a hostel, use Booking.com, as it consistently returns the cheapest rates for guesthouses and cheap hotels. I use it all the time.
Don’t Forget Travel Insurance
Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it, as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. I’ve been using World Nomads for ten years. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are:
World Nomads (for everyone below 70)
Insure My Trip (for those over 70)
Looking for the best companies to save money with?
Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel! I list all the ones I use — and I think they will help you too!
Looking for more information on visiting Europe?
Check out my in-depth destination guide to Europe with more tips on what to see and do, costs, ways to save, and much, much more!
Pin for later!
Photo credit: 1, 3
The post My Step-By-Step guide To Backpacking Europe appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.
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Text
Day 1 in Madrid: Huge Tapas, Chocolate Churros, and the Heat Wave
Jet lagged, but excited! Standing in the center of Plaza Mayor.
So you want to hear more about Madrid, eh? I didn’t bore you with all my talk of trip prep & somehow taking a 16 day trip for less than $1400 for all travel and lodging through Spain? Great. Let’s get to it.
DAY 1
When we last checked in on Celia and Remy, they were exchanging hugs and Afrin in a small hostel in Madrid. Celia majorly jet lagged, Remy a little sniffly, but resilient. The first order of business was to get something yummy in their hungry American bellies while heading towards their next destination at the Hostel Alvaro. Together, they rolled their suitcases, backpacks on backs, and started a steady uphill climb to the next hostel in the dry 95 degree Farenheight Madrid heat, stopping only for some freshly squeezed juice and a “panepinno toasta” at a spot on the way.
I wish I could tell you Celia lasted longer, that she defeated jet lag with the strength of someone that had just recently left college so all nighters were no-biggie. But sadly, Celia was three years out, and her frail eyelids could not hold themselves up. After arriving at the private double bunk-bed room, Celia resolved to napping for two hours—NO MORE THAN TWO HOURS. And Remy, well adjusted to the time zone at this point, pledged to wake her my 3 at the latest after she herself had showered and looked into planning the day.
Another problem with jet lag from a red-eye is that though one may be exhausted, one also might be too exhausted to sleep. And so Celia lay in her lower bunk, eye mask on, for approximately 45 minutes before finally drifting into a light sleep. What must have been 5 minutes later, Remy woke her, informing her she had in fact slept for two hours (give or take that 45 minutes). From there, it was off to the races.
As the two left the Hostel ready to get their first real glimpse of Madrid, we will, dear reader, depart from third person omniscient and back into first.
The beautiful Mercado!
Out of the Hostel and Into the City!
There. After changing into something a bit more hot-hot-hot Madrid appropriate – some lightweight flowy pants and a sleeveless top, a nice departure from the t-shirt and jeans I’d been wearing on the plane Remy and I exited the Hostel and began to do what one can only describe as guided wandering. A friend of Remy’s who had spent a significant amount of time in Madrid had sent her a massive list of things to do, and we were determined to do them all. Perhaps not that day, but within the three we were there.
We first wandered to Plaza Mayor, which as you can guess, was the “Main Square.” We’d find out on our walking tour the next day that it had been around for centuries, among other interesting facts. One in particular about why the horse statue in the center stank for centuries. While in the Square, we wandered over some headless Matadors & Flamenco dancers, and got into position to take a photo with our heads in their heads’ steads (say that 10 times fast.) A nice woman came by and offered to take a photo of the two of us. As it turns out, she asked for a tip afterwards. And that is how I lost my first two Euros to the Roma. It would not be the last time on the trip. But I think I got away with not losing 10, so that’s good?
The delicious chicken empanadas we shared at the Mercado.
Mercado de San Miguel
From the square, we meandered down to the next place on the list, the “Mercado de San Miguel,” a large classic indoor market with many varieties of Spanish food, tapas, and drinks to try. Remy and I shared two chicken enchiladas first, while she went on to get a goat cheese croquette and some patatas bravas. I had a big cup of freshly cut fruit because between the plane flight and the heat I was craving some fresh vitamin C.
Finally, Remy finished off her Mercado excursion with some Sangria Blanco, but I, not ready to stomach wine in addition to my sleep deprivation ate the fresh olives that came with the Sangria. I was SHOCKED. I am not an olive person. Never have been. These green olives…were AMAZING. Refreshing, not too salty, a nice texture…wow! This is probably because they were just that—very local, very fresh. We later learned on our road trip to Granada that this is probably because most of the Spanish country side (at least from our vantage point) really is just 100% olive trees.
Another cool sight from our first day explorations.
The Search for Lightweight Pants…
The rest of the evening we spent walking around the city, not really knowing what impressive buildings and statues we were looking at as we went (thank goodness for the walking tour the next day!) We also did a lot of hopping in and our of the various clothing shops. I quickly realized that I did not pack right for the weather. Spain. Was. Hot. And also in a heat wave. The fabric of my maxi dresses and the majority of my pants just weren’t going to cut it. I should have tested them out in Atlanta…but I guess I don’t get outside in non-exercise clothes much in ATL.
I found the perfect pair of very lightweight flowy pants at a reasonable 20 euros after multiple stops, and by around 7 we were again hungry for dinner. We stopped at a Tapas restaurant where we sat at a table inside a large open window/doorway. Which was excellent because it provided us a nice view of the street and a cool breeze from a fan. But also not excellent because multiple times we were approached by Roma trying various ways to get our money.
A little wine to celebrate our first day.
One man went so far as placing a lighter on our table after saying something we didn’t understand, then coming back 5 minutes later and demanding money for the lighter we hadn’t touched. Another man, also seeking money, just started talking to me, first in Spanish (which I don’t speak). I then, (UNABLE TO NOT ENGAGE, it’s a serious issue), told him that I “didn’t understand” in French (which I do speak). I chose French because I’d noticed most everyone in Spain also speaks pretty good English. AND THEN he started speaking in French!
The natural solution in my head was to start speaking in some kind of gibberish. It was like that scene in the recent Wonder Woman where the two characters keep changing their speaking language, only I was not, in fact, fluent in Ancient Greek, or really anything. It wasn’t until Remy pointed out “Celia. Just ignore them.” that he went away. This was a tip I had to be reminded of constantly.
Can you say fried dough covered in chocolate?!
Omg. Huge Tapas & Chocolate Churros
The food was very good. And also way more food than I expected for the price/th
e name “tapas.” I ordered a gazpacho and a brie/steak toasta. The gazpacho was an enormous bowl. The Toasta FAR BIGGER than the other’s I’d seen earlier. (Although, I supposed those had all been “panepinno” tostas…. i.e. much smaller toastas.) On top of these, I indulged in the bread basket, the wine, and some of Remy’s patatas bravas. Her Patatas Bravas order was literally a dinner sized plate stacked high with fried potatos! Living the dream! Needless to say, I was quite full. I saved half of my brie-steak toasta to have at a later time at the hostel. Because I still had to reserve room for the chocolate churros we wanted to have for dessert!
Not far from the restaurant was a Chocolate Churros shop (that seemed to likely be a type of chain) with all variety and shapes of Churros dipped in all variety of chocolate. Quite full already, I opted for the thin pretzel-shaped churro covered in cooled dark chocolate. A few days later in Madrid, we learned that Chocolate Churros were actually a breakfast item and that we weren’t eating them the traditional way anyways. Nevertheless, these were super yummy.
From there, we returned to the hostel to sleep. Though in bed by 10 (despite the sun still being down), I did not fall asleep until roughly 2am. Curse you, jet lag!
Madrid’s pride game was still going strong!
Even the churros were celebrating!
The Ale-Hop Cow was into it!
What I learned on my first day in Madrid:
I should have packed shorts, or even more lightweight clothing than what I did.
“Tapas” are WAY BIGGER than what I’m used to in the States.
A sleep mask is very helpful to bring for afternoon naps/early turn ins, because the sun is downright on a different LEVEL in Spain
Having a hostel with your own adjustable AC is amazing.
I carried a 40oz water bottle with me around all day, and it was the best decision ever.
Madrid gets really into Pride. I forgot to mention—the “Pride” events technically wouldn’t officially start until four or five days later. BUT there were more rainbows in Madrid than on Facebook in June 2017, and it was amazing.
Just do. Not. Engage. Otherwise you’ll lose money you didn’t intend to, or get swindled, or both. A lesson I would have to learn many times over.
If you don’t want to miss a post about my adventures abroad, trying new things, and generally trying to make the most of my 20s, be sure to follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest!
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