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Help a newbie traveler?
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Starlightsun
United States1405 Posts
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micronesia
United States24772 Posts
Regarding language, there are at least a couple of places you can go in Europe where English (or a bastardized version of english!) is the primary language. There are many other places where English isn't the primary language but at least most people know it to some extent. | ||
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Naugrim
Sweden57 Posts
Other than that, make a list with things you'll need. If you are gonna do a backpacker trip, my recommendation is that you pack as light as possible, and buy other things you forgot or see the need to have later. Don't worry about asking for help or just interracting with people in general. It will be a great learning experience for you, and you'll grow a lot as a person. Fellow travelers, atleast in my experience, are usually quite relaxed and easy going. So you'll get along well. Also, have fun with it. Just think that you won't see those persons again so you can try to act differently than what you do with your friends and family at home. My final and most important point is to have fun and DO NOT LET FEAR HOLD YOU BACK. Things work out when you travel if you ask for help. Sometimes it's hard and you might wanna go home. But really, do get out there and try all the things you want to but feel resistance against. Good luck! | ||
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Starlightsun
United States1405 Posts
On January 23 2017 05:01 micronesia wrote: How long of a trip? 1 week? Several weeks? 5k is more than enough for many parts of Europe unless you want to stay for quite a while. However, I think you needed to decide, generally speaking, what you want to do when on travel before you can get particularly helpful and targeted advice. Also, I'd be hesitant to shell out that much money for what is essentially the first trip I am planning on my own. Ideally I'm thinking two weeks. For countries I was thinking Germany (leaning towards this), France, UK or Italy, just because they're such major players in history and I like things that have roots far in the past. So I'd love to check out all the great art and architecture in those places. I also enjoy hiking and being out in nature too, so was thinking about "backpacking", although I have no idea what that entails practically. What would rough estimates be for plane fare and a week of room and board? I may be overestimating because I live in a tourist trap where costs are very high. | ||
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Starlightsun
United States1405 Posts
On January 23 2017 05:02 Naugrim wrote: First of all, I suggest reading about the country(s) culture a bit before you go. Also, lonely planet travel guide is a good book to have with you. Other than that, make a list with things you'll need. If you are gonna do a backpacker trip, my recommendation is that you pack as light as possible, and buy other things you forgot or see the need to have later. Don't worry about asking for help or just interracting with people in general. It will be a great learning experience for you, and you'll grow a lot as a person. Fellow travelers, atleast in my experience, are usually quite relaxed and easy going. So you'll get along well. Also, have fun with it. Just think that you won't see those persons again so you can try to act differently than what you do with your friends and family at home. My final and most important point is to have fun and DO NOT LET FEAR HOLD YOU BACK. Things work out when you travel if you ask for help. Sometimes it's hard and you might wanna go home. But really, do get out there and try all the things you want to but feel resistance against. Good luck! Thank you for the good advice and encouragement. Yeah I'll definitely read up beforehand on culture since books are my main hobby. | ||
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fluidrone
France1478 Posts
in france we have le guide du petitfute.. it isn't great on everything but quite good to find cheap housing all through europe (do check beforehand that its info is up to date (phoning ahead)). Most places offering services you will be looking to use will have someone who understand english. if you choose to visit frogland i would argue just spending a few days in paris is a great experience (there are other places to go but paris is the best place to start if you only have a few days for it) .. however i'd suggest finding accommodations further outside of the ring surrounding the capital (the "périphérique": highway that circles around paris), and spend a half hour commute everyday because of the ridiculously high costs near center. If you go to italy, same thing (find places half hour in bus out of the cities) only i'd suggest to do florence/venice/rome, they are all awesome and going from one to the other is quite easy/quick. Rome is quite big so if you are on foot i'd suggest sticking to the center mostly and venice is only for pedestrians :D . Do get a few key sentences down beforehand though because italians are maybe not the best with english (this for cheap accomodations and transport people i mean). London is awesome and awful all at once, so expensive and "new/sh*it" and at the same time one of the jewels of europe with more to do/see than you can in a month BUT without people there to get you into the right places at the right time, many people are disappointed by it... Amsterdam (and dutch cities around, all quite close) are awesome, i highly recommend visiting them, while dutch people are less "seduced" by traveling folk, they are also very savvy about how to "treat" them because many people do travel there (accommodations/traveling can be super cheap/efficient, again getting a few key sentences is a good thing to not get stuck needlessly in bus stations or what not).. also f ck me the museums are expensive/awesome! Choosing europe for a first timer seems quite good because you wont feel lost at all, and again you just pop into a capital and then can quickly get to the others without any hassle (apart from strikes/other) and you can really feel the "changes" in "culture" from one to the next in a rather short time. But then again, if you decided on more "exotic/different" that could/would be just as much interesting if not more.. because of the difference you would feel.. but again that might be a little "too much" for you.. that's not for me to say  General advice: Choosing cheaper travel methods almost always cuts on the time you will have to spend visiting so you have to weigh the pros and cons every time (travel time versus costs and arrival/departure times versus museums (for instance) open hours). If you fix every thing up to a t beforehand you might save money but you will feel obliged to keep up and might miss the whole adventure part... the best thing about western europe capitals/places is that places aren't so far apart and transportation is quite reliable. So if you plan 3 days somewhere and meet people on the last day .. you can change your plans..  meeting "local" people that will show you around is the best thing about traveling.Backpacking has its ups and downs and walking all day takes its toll. This has not been made easier with massive disappearance of "lockers" available for travelers.. you used to be able to drop your bag in any bus station but that's not the case anymore. i visited europe sleeping in buses/trains with friends to cut costs but we always crashed in a proper hotel once every 3 days max so as to not become zombies.. and it did cut down on our energy every day. obviously if you are alone, i would say that sleeping alone with your gear isn't a good idea. Come to think of it, i'd advise on traveling with a friend(s) but obviously that's not only up to you :D . Visit europe before the summer (less crowds) but not in winter! (f cking cold dude!). Eat local, one of the best thing about traveling is discovering food! particularly simple stuff like a tomato in italy, a croissant in france, a beer in germany etc... Don't try to see it all, choose awesome for sure stuff and then visit at your pace (for instance going up the "campaniles" in any italian city is awesome and worth the queues (campaniles are towers from which you can see the whole city from their center = awesome). Whichever country you do choose to visit, do get a small dictionary for them, all euros love it when you take the time / make the effort to speak their language! (as i assume all countries should). Use a small notebook that houses all your language stuff before hand and on site .. you can wip it out without trouble and note any info on site (for the next day or other). The whole point of your adventure should be that .. meeting people there. To this end you should try and find them beforehand by networking/what you are doing now (but not just on tl obviously, through people you know/other sites dedicated to what you are doing: traveling to visit/discover). Having a local pilot you is the best because they will tell you what NOT to do for one, but furthermore they will make your stay unique and possibly awesome (beware of crooks though, they do exists no point in being in denial about it, just trust yourself .. i trust you  you will not get into what you called rightfully "tourists traps or other).You are right, to some spending 5000 would seem stupid, but please add my vote (i know u don't know me but still trust me) to the "it is an awesome way to spend it, perhaps the best way".As for cost, like micro said 5000 that's more like a month's of traveling: off the top of my head (if you look for cheaper stuff), id say 1 to 2000 for accommodations and 1 to /2000 for travels if you do london/paris/amsterdam/venice/florence/rome over a month .. the real "surprising" expensive things are museums and bus/train passes once on site and of course "getting there" (plane ticket usa to europe and back). i'm not saying that's what you should do (could feel like too quick too much) .. just saying what it would cost. As for planning i would say that is the best part because it is free! (besides time online/on phone checking if stuff is available/still as advertised). You make a trail from your house to somewhere in europe (for instance) and then make stops every "x" days and (since you have your return ticket) when you run out of money in your budget you remake it from scratch.. incorporating the return to where your return plane is.. rinse and repeat a couple of times just to see what's what (both money wise and to better see what you want/care about). Now that's not to say that western europe is the best place to visit, i do mean visiting/discovering alien places (alien to you that is)!Be safe! This might be your best adventure, but do be careful, travelers are the people thieves/crooks choose above locals, that is true everywhere in the world. Traveling should be an integral part of one's upbringing. good luck, have fun ps: + Show Spoiler + (if you ever get into trouble, do hit the tl button, i'm sure someone local will save you  ) | ||
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awerti
227 Posts
I suggest getting some map app to your phone that allows downloading maps to use in offline mode. Then you could enable GPS and always know where you are. Some people are good at remembering routes etc. I travel rarely, and I would be lost without a phone. You can mark points of interest on the map. But that's me. I have used www.booking.com to find reasonably priced hotels. Not sure if it's the best, but it has offered tons of options. Ratings seem to be somewhat precise. Also, research public transportation prices and options. Pass for 3 days or a week? Or pay for every use separately? My last big trip was to London and I was surprised at how cheap it ended up being. You can also buy passes that give you entrance to dozens of museums and other places. I had one for London, visited like 20% of what was on the list, and I was still satisfied. And - don't plan every day and every hour. Leave some time to walking around. Good luck, and have fun P.S. I think I could use some traveling too. | ||
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Starlightsun
United States1405 Posts
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opisska
Poland8852 Posts
So basically pick some things that you'd like to see and go see them. If you read too much stuff online, or even guidebooks, you might become of the impression that traveling is some kind of rocket science, but it really isn't, when you travel to reasonably safe places (which most of Europe belongs to) and are not aiming for large money savings. For Thailand, I'd recommend to first read up a Lonely Planet or whatever to have a more specific idea of what you want to see and if it is actually there. It is likely to be much cheaper then Europe and if you stick with the touristy areas then almost similarly easy, but due to the language barrier and general unfamiliarity of the area, it's worth knowing where exactly do you want to go, at least some places. | ||
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GeckoXp
Germany2016 Posts
On January 23 2017 05:01 micronesia wrote: There are many other places where English isn't the primary language but at least most people know it to some extent. Speaking from experience with US American toursits, I can say the harder part is to understand what those perceive as English. Bam. | ||
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opisska
Poland8852 Posts
On January 25 2017 03:06 GeckoXp wrote: Speaking from experience with US American toursits, I can say the harder part is to understand what those perceive as English. Bam. This observation is valid both ways. In particular people working in services like bus drivers and fast food clerks have typically the most southern US accent possible. | ||
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GeckoXp
Germany2016 Posts
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dravernor
Netherlands6192 Posts
I'm excited for an adventure! | ||
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fordangele
1 Post
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