Graduating from law school in May, taking a bar review course for six weeks, then taking the SC Bar in the middle of July. I won't get my Bar results back until the very end of October. I want to do some heavy traveling abroad in that time between taking the Bar and getting my results back. I've been in school for about twenty years straight and I've never left the country except for a short stint in Canada and a cruise ship stop in Cozumel. I feel like this is my last chance to travel abroad as a young adult.

So maybe this can be the big "travel abroad-tip" thread. Where to go, when to go, how long to stay, where to stay, things to avoid, things you have to do, places you to see, etc.

As for my particular situation:

1) I'm looking at a month, maybe month and a half long trip.

2) I want to see as much as possible without rushing everything. I realize you could probably spend a month in each big city/region in Europe and have a blast, but that's just not feasible. I know I won't be able to see the whole continent, but I also don't want to be stuck in one region the whole time. I feel like this is going to be my toughest problem

3) Money isn't a big deal, but I don't want to blow all my savings. I've worked throughout undergrad and law school and have saved a decent chunk of change, but would like to still have most of it when I get back. I've never done this before, but disregarding plane tickets (might be able to get those paid for as a graduation present), I'd love to keep my costs around the $5,000 mark.

4) I'm trying to find someone to go with me for the whole trip, but I'm not against going by myself. I do have some friends that are living abroad that I can meet up with as well as a lot of friends that want to fly over and meet me in certain places for a week or two. So has anybody done this by themselves??

5) Probably the least important in this list...but I'm a big fan of wine and wouldn't mind hitting up a few good wine regions.

Everyone I talk to says a different country or a different region is there favorite place and a "must-see"...so I'm going to see if I can get see if there are reasons why people like certain places and then maybe I would like those places for the same reasons. So if anyone has a good itinerary for a trip like this, feel free to share. Any other tips and advice would be greatly appreciated.

1/17/2008 8:59:20 AM

what do you like to do: backpacking, bar-hopping, museums, etc? "sight-seeing" only gets you so far...

1/17/2008 9:10:49 AM

I like to do it all. I'm active...so back-packing is good.

I'm a bartender...so bar-hopping is definitely one of my favorite past-times.

I do want to sight-see...but I'm not the biggest "museum buff" if that makes any sense. I want to see some amazing things, but I don't want to spend all day in a museum looking at paintings (not that I don't want to browse around).

1/17/2008 9:19:53 AM

i think your best bet is to start in one corner, say reykjavik, and work your way towards a destination, athens maybe. decide roughly how many stopovers you want to make and which countries you most want to visit, then you can choose which particular cities you go through along the way. if you're using eurail, look up the transit times and try to pick them so that they're less than a days travel apart.

1/17/2008 9:41:19 AM

I did this around Europe for 5 weeks after I graduated. I spent right at 5k not including airfare. I started in Paris and ended in Madrid doing a big "U" throughout Europe. Cool trip. If you are Active you gotta stop for 3 days in Interlaken Switzerland. Also The Rail PAss is a must. Also Don't waste your money on buying reservations. Big cost saver there.

Get the Frommer's book on Europe from under $80 a day. I had that and its perfect for finding places to stay and cheap places to eat that are authentic. If you have any questions let me know.

1/17/2008 11:00:45 AM

Stay in hostels when possible.....be sociable and fun stuff will find you.

1/17/2008 11:23:58 AM

http://www.couchsurfing.com/

ftw!

1/17/2008 11:45:29 AM

rail passes are awesome

1/17/2008 11:57:31 AM

go to Namibia, Africa
I spent 3 weeks there in May of 06.

1/17/2008 12:52:51 PM

^Want to do Africa at some point...but want to get Europe out of the way first.

Quote :

"I did this around Europe for 5 weeks after I graduated. I spent right at 5k not including airfare. I started in Paris and ended in Madrid doing a big "U" throughout Europe. Cool trip. If you are Active you gotta stop for 3 days in Interlaken Switzerland. Also The Rail PAss is a must. Also Don't waste your money on buying reservations. Big cost saver there."

This "U" sounds great. For some reason I was thinking it might be difficult to fit Spain in there, but it would be awesome to end in Madrid. More details about this trip would be great.

I'd also love to hear from people who did this by themselves. Most of my fellow law school classmates will either be starting jobs or so in debt that they can't afford a trip like this. My friends from high school and college can't take a month off from their jobs. So although I'd really like a travel-mate, I won't be surprised if I'm going at this alone.

[Edited on January 17, 2008 at 3:53 PM. Reason : .]

1/17/2008 3:51:24 PM

I second the recommendations about staying in hostels.

if you're going at it alone, be extra careful about your safety - you should always be careful, but lonely tourists are a bit of an easy target.

have fun!

1/17/2008 5:32:54 PM

http://www.ryanair.com

1/17/2008 7:15:08 PM

I second a lot of recommendations already posted here.

Starting out in Iceland is a pretty interesting suggestion for a few reasons. It is obviously in one corner (and only arguably in Europe) and it is a country that MOST people have never been to. I'm really a big fan of visiting places that are off the beaten path. Another benefit to Iceland is Iceland Air. When I flew home from sweden for vacation in 2006 they had ridiculously low fares, as in half the price. The catch was that the nearest they flew to Raleigh was Baltimore and you had to make a stop at Keflavik. The transit time was a bit longer but well worth it if you intend to stay a night or two in Iceland.

Having a travel partner is generally a good thing but not entirely necessary when travelling in Europe during the summer. If you are even mildly sociable, you will have no trouble making friends and finding travel partners along the way. The best part about this strategy is that you get to see what you want to see and when you get tired of travelling with someone, you can easily go your seperate ways. Additionally, you will be able to get advice from fellow travellers and may go to places that you have never heard/thought of.

Hostels are great and generally dirt cheap but it is always smart to budget a night or two for staying in a hotel. For a lot of people, staying in spartan dorm style rooms with a bunch of strangers gets old after a few weeks and a night by yourself in the luxury of a cheap hotel is a nice way to recharge your batteries.

The ryan air suggestion is great as well. As you mentioned, you dont think that Spain would work into the 'U' very well but the low fare airlines can solve that for you. You can generally get flights for around $10 if you book in advance and its a good way to see areas that arent a short train ride away. Just beware that they will stick you with hefty fees for overweight bags. IE: Ryan Air allows for 15kg for the combined weight of all checked bags and any overage is 8€ per kg. There are a ton of other low cost airlines in addition to Ryan Air so if you want to know them or more about them, just let me know.

As far as destinations themselves, I can think of hundreds of routes and cities that I could suggest. It would be a lot easier if you came up with some regions/cities/countries that you think that you may be interested in and everyone in this thread can provide some feedback and suggest some cities/places nearby that you may not have considered.

1/18/2008 10:09:34 AM

Quote :

"Hostels are great and generally dirt cheap but it is always smart to budget a night or two for staying in a hotel. For a lot of people, staying in spartan dorm style rooms with a bunch of strangers gets old after a few weeks and a night by yourself in the luxury of a cheap hotel is a nice way to recharge your batteries. "

When I went, i spent a few nights in Paris, and the hostels there were generally the same, or more expensive than some of the lower level hotel rooms (I stayed in a small hotel in the jewish quarter), so if you're looking to "recharge" some, Paris would be a logical place to do it....but these rooms are by no means luxury.

1/18/2008 10:22:29 AM

The Famous "U" trip, in order (Warning: Words)

Flew into Paris - pleasantly surprised, so much to do, only there for 3 days. As long as you attempt to speak a little French you will be fine. People were nice as well for the most part.

Amsterdam - was there for 4 or 5 days. A very small city in comparison to the others. Very walkable. But very confusing. Great art museums. I stayed at the Flying Pig hostel right next to the central station and red light district. Pub inside the hostel great place. Meet lots of cool people.

Hannover, Germany - My buddy and I knew a girl there so we stayed there for a few days. Off the beaten path but we got to live with a German family there which was cool.

Nuremberg, Germany - saw the US get spanked by Ghana in the world cup. Enough said. Oh well.

Munich, Germany - One of the most underrated cities. Went to the Hoffbrau Haus 500 or older bar. Great place to go. Lots of fun things to do here. Olympic village etc. Nicest people on our Journey. Almost all Germans speak English. Would definitely recommend.

Interlaken, Switz - Small village in the alps. Breathtaking scenery. I mean unbelievable. Extreme sports capital of the world. We went white water rafting in 36 water. Straight from a glacier. The next day we went canyoning, This is a MUST if you stop here. 8 hours of cliff jumping, natural waterslides and repelling down waterfalls. Definitely do the most expensive one, its worth it. I spent more here in 3 days then anywhere else, but would do it again in a heartbeat.

Rome, Italy - Most disappointing part of our trip. DIRTY. But the history here is unbelievable. We actually went to the Vatican and were in the church for the Pope to say mass. I’m not very religious but that was awesome. Best city to go to a side cafe to eat dinner.

Nice, France - This was our relaxing and recharge stop. Found a hostel for 30 Euros a night on the water. Beach here was all rocks though but cool city. Broke up the long train ride. My other friends flew from Rome to Barcelona.

Barcelona - Awesome city. Stay on las Ramblas. Its where all the action is. Go to olympic village just because it overlooks the city. Picasso museum.

Madrid - It reminded me of a cheaper version of London. Very clean and cool architecture. HOTTER THEN HELL in the summer. Must check out the palace. 4,000 some rooms, Buckingham has 600 or something nuts. Flew home.

This is a brief summary. I still have all of my info at home for places that I stayed and such. If you have anymore questions let me know. If you are thinking of going anywhere i have pics up online too if you want to check them out. GOOD LUCK

1/18/2008 10:54:31 AM

Quote :

"It would be a lot easier if you came up with some regions/cities/countries that you think that you may be interested in and everyone in this thread can provide some feedback and suggest some cities/places nearby that you may not have considered."

Lets see......

I honestly have no idea. I guess that's why I was trying to get as many suggestions as possible. I'd really like to do Spain. I've heard good and bad things about Italy. My ex-gf was in Venice and Florence for a week this past fall break and loved it. So that made me want to spend a little bit of time in Italy. My roommate did a small vacation in the Greek Islands after he studied abroad last summer and had an amazing time. He also wants to meet me in Croatia for a week. I'd definitely like to do Germany too. My best friend from high school has a sister that lives there (who I'm also close with) that I know I could get some free room and board with. And that Interlaken place in Switzerland mentioned about sounds awesome. And I guess France too...just because its France??

1/18/2008 4:13:42 PM

if you don't mind spending more on the plane ticket up front, traveling africa and south asia is ridiculously cheap.

decent hostels in southern africa average around as $10/night
decent hotels in south asia average around $2/night
if you come to dhaka, bangladesh you can sleep on my couch (actually a double size mattress) for $free/night

1/19/2008 10:19:54 AM

bttt...

Just looking for more recommendations of places to go or routes to take. A friend mentioned yesterday that I don't need to be tied down to a specific route (I was thinking hard about the "U" mentioned earlier) because flights in Europe are so cheap that you don't have to make sure every stop is close to the Euro-rail.

1/21/2008 3:31:29 PM

I DEFINATLEY second getting a Eurail pass. I think you can get them online before you even leave the country.
I'm a fan of southern Germany (Munich!) and especially Austria. Vienna is a great city, and so is Saltzburg. Try to hit those if you can. Keep your eye open for some great wine gardens while you're there. Great traditional food and wines. Look for a Heurigen (meaning this year or the new wine). Although i'm biased, I've been speaking german for 6 years and studied abroad in Vienna and fell in love with the city. There is a great Heurigen in the Wienerwald (Vienna Forest) that we went to after a two hour intense hike with a great view! Also great museums, music festivals, Freud's famous apartment, etc.
If you can find a good deal, try to rent a car sometime with a GPS system. My mom and I did an impromptu trip to Munich and Salzburg and rented a car to drive from Munich to Salzburg, then took a day or two to drive around the countryside and see the small town of Hallstatt and Neuschwanstein castle. The gps system in the car made it a breeze. Also, this might not be your cup of tea, but going to the Dachau concentration camp (outside of Munich) was a great experience.
Try to go closer to October if you want to avoid tourism and high airfare to/from and within Europe.
Talk to locals in bars and restaurants to see where you should hit up.
Buy travel books

1/21/2008 4:28:40 PM

Quote :

"This is a brief summary. I still have all of my info at home for places that I stayed and such. If you have anymore questions let me know. If you are thinking of going anywhere i have pics up online too if you want to check them out. GOOD LUCK "

Alright...I think I've put together a list of places I want to go and a decent "plan of action" as far as what order I want to go to them. Its kind of similar to your "U" but takes out a few destinations and adds a few others.

I guess my main question to you is did you use a rail pass the whole time or did you fly any? My major concern is being able to spend a couple days in each place, but I feel like every time I hope on a train I'll be using a day of travel. Right now I've got about 11 destinations to cover in 40 days. I guess if I'm traveling for 10 of those days, then I've got 30 days...which in essence, isn't too bad.

Here's my order:

Paris
Amsterdam
Berlin (might substitute or add Munich)
Prague
Vienna (might substitute with Salzburg)
Interlaken (trying to decide whether or not to substitute with Geneva or just add Geneva...you made Interlaken sound great)
Venice
Florence
Nice
Barcelona
Madrid

Does that sound feasible?? I would like to spend at least 2 days in each place and 3 days in others. Might skip going to one place and add a couple days to others depending on what I'm hearing during the trip and if I'm having a great time in certain places. I've got a feeling I'm trying to go to too many places. I really want to go to Croatia, but looking at the map it seems a little too far out of the way (unless I go there by train and fly back to Switzerland or Italy).

Thoughts??

1/25/2008 2:42:52 PM

I spent two days in Prague and got to see most of the recommended sights. Definitely check out the Old Town Square, the Charles Bridge, and the Prague Castle.

1/25/2008 3:08:51 PM

is there an "Offical Traveling Europe" thread?

2/9/2008 7:59:52 PM

Lonley Travel Book
http://www.channels.nl/amsterdam/rookies.html

backpacking thru Europe- http://www.thewolfweb.com/message_topic.aspx?topic=455322
Ppls favorite places- http://www.thewolfweb.com/message_topic.aspx?topic=477143
Cheap travel places & Prauge- http://www.thewolfweb.com/message_topic.aspx?topic=483754
Booking travel- http://www.thewolfweb.com/message_topic.aspx?topic=434082
Traveling Abroad Advice- http://www.thewolfweb.com/message_topic.aspx?topic=510541

2/9/2008 8:41:07 PM

don't go to Europe now. The dollar has lost a lot of value compare to the euro. I would recommend going to Asia. It's cheap, and you don't see things that similar to the US.

2/9/2008 8:58:50 PM

^totally

2/10/2008 3:17:40 AM

^^ much of eastern europe is not on the euro and is pretty cheap, and is cool to visit.

i went to hungary and serbia in october and the exchange rate with their currencies has actually improved since then.

i was there for 10 days and spent about $1500, including everything (airfare, lodging, tons of food, train tickets, admission fees, souvenirs, and drinking constantly).

in serbia, a 2L of beer costs $2.25

but if you want to do western europe, yeah, it's kind of pricy right now.

[Edited on February 10, 2008 at 10:07 AM. Reason : dur]

2/10/2008 10:07:13 AM

Keep in mind Geneva is mostly an industrial town and there's not a whole lot to do there.


I recommend doing Munchen (munich) over Berlin, and doing whatever possible to take the cruise up the River Rhein to Mainz. It's not expensive, and it's a tour up the river to see all of the castles, plus stops in a couple of places.

If given the choice, I'd pick Salzburg over Vienna, but then again, I'm not much of a "big city" person.

That said, Strasbourg, and the Alsace region of France might be a good substitute for Nice, or a good way to kill a day or two on your way there.

Most important thing: BRING AN ALARM CLOCK. Bring it on your trains. Set it for 10 minutes before expected arrival time. This way, if you fall asleep, you won't miss your stop.

The exchange rate is going to kill you. 5,000 isn't much against the Euro anymore, but it's plenty. If you DO get the Eurail pass, make sure you get it for enough of the Countries that you wish to visit. This screwed over several Americans when I was there. I didn't like the restrictions of the Eurorail pass, so I just paid as I went.

On your way to Amsterdam, I recommend Belgium or Luxembourg. Small countries, but completely awesome. Both are very American friendly. Belgium has Ghent, Bruge, and Brussels... I recommend Ghent of those three, but none are bad. Luxembourg has a lot of World War 2 stuff (battle of the bulge).

I didn't care for Venice - place stank and there was nothing to eat but fish. I've heard Florence is nice. Lake Cuomo is gorgeous. Rome is trash. Stay away from Rome.

Didn't go to Spain, as I had enough of Southern Europe in Italy. The people are much different in the North.

2/10/2008 3:52:57 PM

Munich and Berlin are both very nice. There is so much history in both places. Berlin is one of the best museum cities in Europe, but you said that isn't one of you're biggest points. The nightlife in Berlin is crazy.

You wouldn't be able to do it with a rail pass, but at the end/beginning of your trip I'd recommend doing London and Edinburgh. There's a lot of cool stuff to do in London, and Edinburgh is absolutely beautiful.

I loved staying in hostels when I traveled. If you're a light sleeper, take ear plugs with you.

I also loved the Let's Go series of travel books. It is great to help you save money. It'll cost you 20 bucks and save you that your first day or two.

2/10/2008 5:17:38 PM

I went to Munich, Austria, and Paris this past fall, and Italy (Rome, Pompeii, Capri, Florence, Venice) the year before, and all were awesome.

I highly recommend Munich: lots of younger adults, great beer, great atmosphere, pretty city, and the Hofbrauhaus, and all the beer gardens outside were great. We took a bike tour of the city which was run by a group of younger adults, stopping at all the beer gardens, and it was awesome. Plus BMW and all the car museums are there if you are in to that.

I highly recommend Rome as well. It's probably my favorite city in all of Europe. It is big and crowded, but there is just so much to do there, and all of the history, plus the Vatican. Rome is really is a must see if you go to Italy. The food and wine in Italy were awesome.

Also, as far as Salzburg goes, it was really pretty and interesting to see, but there is not a whole lot to do there in the city in my opinion. We spent a day there exploring, seeing the views, castles, but I wouldnt really spent more than a day there. I haven't been to Vienna, but you may want to consider it instead.

Let me know if you have any specific questions about any of the places.

2/10/2008 6:17:11 PM