My first big backpacking trip was the iconic and classic Western Europe trip – taken a week after my University graduation. Why Western Europe? I knew lots of new grads who had travelled to Western Europe for their first big trip so I figured it would be the safest and easiest way to start trying out the backpacking life and exploring new cultures.
So, I started to read and research a ton – every waking minute was spent trying to decide what to do, how long to do it for, where to go and how to actually make it happen. I didn’t want to screw up my first adventure so I really tried my best to maximize the time I had and visit as many places as possible. My mentality was really to just to get the highlights of each city/country I visited, and not stay too long in any one place. I figured if I loved somewhere, I would go back one day. I know most backpackers I met along the way in hostels had a different thought process where they wouldn’t give any city a time limit so they can decide what their route and schedule was as they went. I know myself too well, and would have regretted running out of time at the end of my journey if I didn’t make it to certain places. I’m a planner by nature, so I know that’s how I have to tackle my trips.
It took about 3 months of planning during any free time I had (don’t forget, I was new to this whole thing!) and luckily, I had a friend on board to help me along the way, who then decided to join me on the trip.
We planned on leaving at the end of May trip so we could leave right after graduation and of course, get nice hot summer weather. Considering neither of us had ever done a backpacking trip, just some canoe trips at summer camps when we were growing up, we needed a lot of stuff. Now to those first-timers out there, I will warn you that this stuff can be expensive.
I already knew going into the trip that I would love this sort of thing – the whole hostel experience, living out of your backpack, wearing the same clothes over and over again… so I made the choice to buy a brand new backpack and gear. It’s definitely not for everyone, and you don’t want to be stuck with hundreds of dollars of expensive stuff that will just sit in your storage. In retrospect, and if you aren’t sure, I strongly recommend borrowing someone else’s gear for your first time so you can decide if it’s for you, or even buying used equipment. If you come home and think “OK, this is my destiny”, then go buy yourself some new swag. But for a first-timer, I really didn’t need to invest so much so early on. Especially going to Western Europe (aka NOT ROUGHING IT), you don’t need top of the line equipment – just a bag that makes it easy enough to be on the move every couple of days.
Are you an over-packer? I for sure was for my first trip. I would bring every possible shirt I *might* have wanted to wear, just for the sake of having options. We all know having options is awesome but realistically, we wear the same 2 or 3 shirts and pants all the time. Unfortunately, for this first trip, I had not yet learned the art of downsizing to what I actually needed. I bought a 70 litre backpack for my 2 month trip (YES, 70! As if I was moving across the world forever with all of my stuff). It was filled to the brim before I even got to the airport – and I thought this was totally normal. Considering I am barely 5’1, the bag was almost as tall as I was. So that was mistake 1 with my packing. I groaned with all the weight I would have to carry from train to train, city to city during my journeys.
Me and my too-large backpack (pre-flight)
All my stuff…before the shopping even began…
Mistake 2? I was in Western Europe where shopping is out of this world. Every city we were in, we shopped. Good prices, good styles, good fabrics, how could you not? I’m ALL for experiencing the culture you’re in, and as a nostalgic hoarder, everything is a memory – so everything I bought, I never regretted. What I did regret though was packing my bag so freaking full before I left, that there was no room for new knick-knacks. So what did we do? The worst backpacker move in history – we bought rolling suitcases to accompany our big, bulging backpacks. #facepalm. So the lesson here – plan for about 5-7 days of clothing (check out my city packing list here). You will be able to wash frequently (+ it’s only a couple dollars in the hostels for washers and dryers) and you will definitely be buying stuff if you are in Western Europe. If you ever really wish you brought something that you didn’t pack, you will find it there. You are in civilized countries, not the moon. But I promise, you will survive with minimal stuff – it’s the backpacking way.
Now, on to the good stuff. The route. When planning your route, and as silly as this sounds, look at a map. It may make more sense to hop back and forth between countries versus visit each country one at a time – at least if you’re trying to plan an efficient trip with a timeline. If the world is your oyster and time is of no question then a sensible route may not be as necessary, but I warn that you will be sacrificing some “trip days” to lost “travel days”.
Once we decided on which cities/countries we wanted to hit and in what order, we double checked that we had the ability to take a train/bus/plane to get there. Western Europe is pretty awesome for transportation but even in some major cities and hubs, they may not go to the next city/country you are looking to go to next. I know this sounds like common sense, but in foreign countries, it’s beneficial to research beforehand on what major transit lines exist. We ended up crossing quite a few cities off our our list before we even left as we learned it was either super complicated to get there (changing trains constantly through different countries) and would count as travel day write-offs, or these cities just didn’t receive transit from the major cities we were planning to go to.
For the 2 months of the trip, below was the route in order. We typically stayed in each city about 2-3 nights, allowing us to really get the major highlights out of each place. I backpacked alone in Israel, and then met up with my friend in Athens who did the Greece to Portugal journey with me. Once she flew home from Portugal, another fried of mine met me for a weekend in Italy (where we did one city per day) before ending my first big backpacking adventure.
- Israel – Tel Aviv > Haifa > Tel Aviv > Eilat > Tel Aviv
- Greece – Athens > Mykanos > Ios > Athens
- Italy – Rome > Florence > Pisa > Cinque Terre
- Switzerland – Interlaken
- Germany – Munich
- Austria – Salzberg
- Czech Republic – Prague
- Germany – Berlin
- Belgium – Brussels > Brugge
- Netherlands – Amsterdam
- France – Paris
- Spain – Barcelona > Madrid
- Portugal – Lisbon > Lagos > Lisbon
- Italy – Rome > Florence > Venice
If you’re looking for some hostel recommendations and favourite things to do, obviously check out the very accurate reviews on hostelbookers.com or hostelworld.com, but from my experience, here are the ones I absolutely LOVED – and encourage you to book early enough so you can ensure you get into the best place in the city (in my opinion).
Ios, Greece – Francescos (http://francescos.net/) – be prepared to party all night (well, you already are if you’re going to Ios anyways) and hang out by the pool all day. Its family owned and they really run the town. You’ll meet a ton of awesome people that you can take an ATV road trip with at some point and then get ‘smashed’ at the slammer bar. Make sure you go to Porky’s for a late night Nutella snack.
Interlaken, Switzerland – Balmers (http://www.balmers.com/) – this is a must. It’s a very big hostel/community space and has a nightclub. It’s a blast after a day of canyoning with your new friends or hiking up the Jungfrau mountain – drink and dance to 90s music in your sneakers and pajamas.. because, who cares, you’re backpacking.
Munich, Germany – Wombats (https://www.wombats-hostels.com/munich/) – this is a chain but don’t let that stop you. They are super well recognized by the hostel industry as they are always clean, accommodating and have various room options for every need. The one in Munich is quite big and very central so it’s a good place to meet others before visiting a Bier Garten.
Amsterdam, Netherlands – Flying Pig Downtown (http://www.flyingpig.nl/) – my favourite hostel of all time…and we were in a “32 person” room (really it was like 4 rooms of 8). It feels a bit like a commune as nobody really leaves the hostel, well because, there’s a smoking room. But the vibe there is amazing – it’s a really good location in the central part of town and all the staff know the city very well. Just make sure you book space here early.
Lagos, Portugal – Rising Cock (http://www.risingcock.com/) – this place has almost become a cult. People who stay here can only speak of how much fun they had but will not divulge any of the shenanigans that went on during the booze cruise. “Mama”, who runs the hostel, literally plays the part and cooks everyone breakfast crepes every morning. It’s one of the best party hostels in the world so don’t expect to get much sleep here.
Want to know more about this epic first-timer trip? Write me in the comments.
Bahai Gardens – Haifa, Israel
Morning Sunrise – Ios, Greece
ATV mountain rides – Ios, Greece
Pantheon – Rome, Italy
The Pope! – Vatican City, Italy
The Duomo – Florence, Italy
The classic Leaning Tower of Pisa – Pisa, Italy
Rome, Italy
Getting ready for a rainy hike – Interlaken, Switzerland
The Von Trapp land – Salzberg, Austria
Interlaken, Switzerland
Ancient Roman Ruins – Rome, Italy
Cinque-Terre, Italy
Unreal view hiking up the JungFrau Mountain – Interlaken, Switzerland
The world’s best apple strudel – Salzberg, Austria
The Great Synagogue of Florence – Florence, Italy
Salzberg, Austria
Sistine Chapel – Vatican City, Rome
Colosseum – Rome, Italy
The “John Lennon” Wall – Prague, Czech Republic
Lagos, Portugal
Just a regular beer at the Augustiner Bier Garten – Munich, Germany
Salzberg, Austria
Brugge, Belgium
Gondola Ride – Venice, Italy
East Side Gallery (Berlin Wall) – Berlin, Germany
Amsterdam’s Museumplein – Amsterdam, Netherlands
Sidewalk art – Berlin, Germany
The classic pup – Brugge, Belgium
Love Locks – Paris, France
Endless canals with swimming swans – Brugge, Belgium
Park Guell – Barcelona, Spain
Canals of the city – Amsterdam, Netherlands
Paris in 1 photo: view from The Louvre – Paris, France
Venice, Italy
Gondola Ride – Venice, Italy
Eiffel Tower – Paris, France
Berlin, Germany
Funky Gaudi Houses – Barcelona, Spain
Trevi Fountain – Rome, Italy
Gingerbread Houses at Park Guell – Barcelona, Spain
View from Giotto’s Bell Tower – Florence, Italy
Backpacking with blisters 