Interailing

purple22

hi was thinking of going interailing around europe for the month of july. anybody got tips on where I should go and what places to stay? heard horribble stories about hostels:eek: so are there many places to stay like hotels that are not expensive-kinda like the holiday Inn??? really dont know where to start so any advice would be greatly appreciated..:) also how much money should you bring??

daisy123

I was interrailing a couple of summers ago, one of the best things I ever did! And stayed in hostels(mostly)along the way and had no problems whatsoever!! It helped that we had them all picked out and booked before departing, so was able to use reviews on sites such as hostelworld.com and tripadvisor to weed out the baddies!!!

I suggest buying a Europe travel guide, personally Rough Guide was my choice, read through the book before planning your route, picking out places you really want to see and work your way around that! The book is also good for finding cheap but good places to eat, drink etc...

Thirdly, as for how much money to bring...I can't remember how much I brought, but again, if you have accomodation booked beforehand, and your transport already taken care of, its only food/drink/recreation money you need! I think I budgeted for about 15euro a day... Credit card is a must, one of our lads ran outta money and couldn't get home, luckily someone else allowed him to use his credit card to change his flights!!!

Best of luck planning your journey, I think that was probably one of the highlights of my trip!!!

purple22

so the hostels were ok then?? what about security-did any of your stuff get robbed when you were away?? what kinda bag did you use?? I now iv got alot of questions but the best people to ask are the ones who have done it!!!:)

daisy123

Nothing of ours got robbed, although a friend of mine on a separate trip did have her money stolen in Naples...I didn't bring anything valuable really.

I brought two bags, one big packpack (although relatively small compared to the lads on the trips:D) and a 'day pack' which was just my old school bag. Anything remotely valuable stayed with me in my day pack whilst sightseeing during the day, and most places offer lockers anyway, invest in a good lock before you go (also handy for locking bags if you wanna have a snooze on the train!!). It was handy having the backpack instead of the suitcase, some train stations have an AWFUL lot of stairs!!! You get used to carrying it after a while, and I travelled light!

Happy to help, so jealous, wish I was going again, still might....

fletch...

A mate of mine while inter railing trough Poland got mugged, they took all he had after a good beating, a couple of days later he was mugged again, since he had nothing to "give" they kicked most of his front teeth in and broke his jaw. Not to put you off or anything, I say go for it but just try not to look like a tourist.
I know alot of people that have interrailed and they never want to come home, just plan ahead and enjoy!

daisy123

I actually skipped Poland because of all the horror "Prague-Krakow night-train" stories! But you're right, don't look like you have a load of cash, pick the places you go carefully, use a bit of common sense. It's like any holiday really, even if you go sit somewhere in the sun for a couple of weeks, you can still be robbed/bashed up etc. Also, travel with a minimum of four I'd say, that way it's easy to make sure nobody ever has to be left on their own!

CantGetNoSleep

Id definately recommend watching the film hostel before you go too

purple22

somehow I dojnt think im going to watch that film.... thanx though :mad:

Nullandvoid

I took the night train from krakow to prague the summer before last. you get a cabin for 6 which you can lock so its very safe i think. croatia is a must see. especially Hvar and Dubrovnik. No need to book any accommodation before you go to any main cities or destinations either. You'll have to fight off people trying to give you discounts in their hostels. If you're unlucky enough that this doesn't happen then tourist info people are very helpful. In Croatia you can stay in apartments which join onto people's houses. They are generally of a very high standard. Always heckle for room rates no matter where you are, they expect this!

mad meg

Has any1 got any idea of what the best route to get from croatia to bulgaria am interested in going to the spirit of burgas festival would appreciate your feedback!:)