Hello Travelers,

I am very happy to have come across this community, just from reading the last 30 min, I have learned important information about traveling and things to think about. Here is my situation- I am 23 and I will be going to law school next year in August. I have not been out of California for the last 8-9 years, and I know after law school I will be thrown into a work drive of a few years until I am established at a firm or company--which means no trips.

So, I really have my eyes set on Europe (France, Spain) and maybe Amsterdam. I am planning on going sometime between March-May 2007.

Any suggestions on :
1.Where to go (I want to immerse myself into the culture-not just running around to museums)
2.Hostels or Hotels (How do you choose-and how do you know which Hostels are safe)
3.Nice things to do while your abroad (musuems, parks, etc.)
4.Any chance you will be somewhere around there (maybe we can meet up?)

Thanks in advance--

One Path...welcome!
You will find a wealth of information on Slow Travel. Use the find button to search and will find reviews on hotels and hostels. I know it is hard to know from reviews if it is a safe area. Believe me ...this site will let you know.
A friendly- but honest community!

Sounds like you might want to buy some guidebooks or at least spend some time at Borders taking notes. Let Go and Lonely Planet are good guides for the young and poor (i.e., they focus on hostels and cheaper places to stay). The guidebooks should help you find safe, decent hostels. If you stay in hostels, you should be able to meet a number of people from all over the world--that will be esp. nice if you are traveling alone. Be aware that most hostels don't take reservations far in advance (if at all).

In Spain, Seville is lovely, as is Barcelona and Madrid. Again, a guidebook can help you get a sense of things to do in a given area. In Spain, hotels can be just as good of a deal as hostels. In France (esp. Paris), things are much more expensive.

If you are traveling by train and bus, be aware that you won't always be able to get places (or, if you can, it takes a long time or the only train leaves at 6 am). Don't let that stop you (I traveled through remote NW mainland Greece without a car), but it's just something to be aware of.

Think about what you enjoy doing and go from there. Good luck!

Hola.

For trains across Europe look at www.seat61.com

for Spanish wildlife and adventure places to stay look at www.wildspain.com

General Spain wildlife info can be found at www.iberianature.com

Happy travelling

Clive and Sue

Welcome to Slow Travel, onepathtotake. The paths to take when you travel are many, but first, how much time do you plan to dedicate to this trip?

As you rightfully noticed, to immerse yourself in a culture requires more than a cursory glance.

You already received suggestion on how to start. Take also a look at our notes for Europe trip planning ; there are plenty of suggestions there, for a variety of travel goals, starting with bookings and continuing with how to travel. You will find there also notes on Your First Trip to Europe - Advice from Experienced Travelers , hostels and more.

Chart out your trip time, the budget, decide where you would like to be, when, for how long, try to figure out how to get from one point to another.

As your plan takes shape, more questions will come up. Ask us questions when you feel necessary. We will be happy to assist with any information available to us.

Many of us believe that the most exciting part of a trip is the planning. See if we're right...

Thank you for the quick responses and suggested e-mails. Just to be more specific:

I plan on having 2 weeks for this trip
I plan on spending no more than $3000 USD (let me know if this is wishful thinking)
I plan on staying in hotels over hostels if prices are close
I am leaning towards Spain, Amsterdam, and finish in London where I have family

I really want to go to 3-4 places and spend 4 days in 3 places, and 2 days in the 4th.


Suggestions with these specs would be appreciated...By the way, anyone going to be anywhere around these places in March, April,or May 2007???

In my opinion staying in a hotel by yourself for two weeks would be lonely. You'll have a (much) harder time meeting people that way, compared to staying in hostels. I personally don't mind eating meals alone, but having to do that for 2 weeks would be a bit much. It's not impossible to meet people when staying in hotels, you simply have a worse chance of doing so. You will have to meet them randomly, on the street, in bars etc. Hostels are full of people travelling solo, and with good reason - it's where you stay if you want to meet people, go out at night, etc.

My hostel notes are here. I just wrote those actually. Staying in hostels can be a total blast, and security is really nothing to worry about. At the least I'd try one hostel during your trip. If it isn't for you, you can always bounce after a night and grab a hotel room.

quote:

It's not impossible to meet people when staying in hotels, you simply have a worse chance of doing so. You will have to meet them randomly, on the street, in bars etc.

I always get people who start random conversations with me when I am in a museum alone. Is this just me???

Re: Hostels... They're not bad if you stick to the nice ones. However I recall getting stuck with the top bunk in a room full of creaky metal bunk beds... didn't get much sleep that night! Another time, however, my traveling companion and I got a whole room to ourselves with really nice beds. I think that's the thing with hostels-- it's a risk. But if you're willing to take it, and you're lucky, you'll have a great time!

And just because this IS the SlowTrav board, I would recommend cutting down on your destinations and spending more time in each place. Aside from all the other great reasons, you get more "bang for your buck" because in the short period of time you will be there, you won't be spending such a large percent of that time on the road.

I just returned from three weeks camping in Italy. It was a great experience. Many, if not most campgrounds in Europe offer chalets or tents already set up for a reasonable price. These offer a bit more privacy than a hostel.

It was nothing like US camping, I stayed in 4 star resorts with all the amenities. There was a great neighborhood feeling from the other campers, friendly and welcoming without being opressive.

As for your budget, I did three weeks for half what you are looking to spend, but that didn't include airfare. I did travel extensively by train, and that was my biggest expense. I also stayed in my own tent and that kept lodging to less than $20 per night.

I don't know if it's permited, but here is a link you kight want to explore, mods, delete if inapropriate.

Camping