<p>My D wants to travel Eruope for a couple of weeks after graduation. She is familiar with the transport and layout as she did a study abroad in London and traveled into Scotland on her own. She has also traveled with us to other European countries by train and plane. My issue is that she would be traveling alone and I am concerned for her safety as there will be no room mate or school group to return to at the end of the day. I think her travels will be focused in Northern, Europe (Scotland, England, Ireland, Germany, maybe Prague, Amsterdam, Norway) . She has been to all these places except, Ireland, Germany and Norway. She is into museums, theatre, sights, great photo opportunities and food. </p>
<p>We are willing to give this to her as a graduation gift as long as she travels with a group. I have found Gadventures and Topdeck via Tripadvisor. While she is still not open to being part of a tour group, I think these might offer a little of both worlds with a safety net… Independence to go on her own but still be part of a group and they will take care of all the logistics. Pricey yes, which is why we would give it as as gift vs her own plan of using her own savings. She does not want to travel with any of her friends as they do not have the same agenda that she has when she travels.</p>
<p>Would like to hear about similar experiences or suggestions that your college graduate might have had and what worked best.</p>
<p>I traveled alone around Europe when I was in college, and my daughter traveled alone around Europe last summer as a college student. Safe as houses, especially now with cell phones and internet.</p>
<p>For what the travel company charges you could probably send her and a friend on a trip. Does she have anyone she would like to travel with? If she is smart and streetwise, there is no reason she shouldn’t be just fine on the trip. Have her watch the movie Taken before she goes though—but don’t YOU watch it :D.</p>
<p>My youngest took a 5 month trip after high school, abroad, she didn’t know anyone when she set out except for the people she stayed with in England during the last two weeks of her trip.
The rest of the time she was in southern India on a volunteer vacation where she met some people that she later traveled with. </p>
<p>Is she interested in a volunteer vacation?
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Not the group my D went through, but Ive heard good things.</p>
<p>Your daughter must be 21-22; she should be perfectly fine traveling around Northern Europe alone. Personally I would prefer going alone or with a friend or two over being in a tour group. If she stays in hostels she’ll meet other people her age. However, what about Australia? It has great “museums, theatre, sights, great photo opportunities and food”. And it’s quite safe. Or Japan, if you really want safe. Something different if she has already been all those places in Europe. I’ve always preferred to travel a bit off the beaten track.</p>
<p>Thank you everyone. It does make me feel a bit better. SteveMa, too late…I did watch Taken a while ago : o! which is why I have reservations. However, I do have to remember she has done this before and she is pretty smart. I will mention the volunteer vacation. It might be a a nice option. She has also mentioned Australia but I am afraid the cost of airfare alone might be too high. However, it is a dream vacation if we can get the right price for it.</p>
<p>S in 2011 and again in 2012 traveled solo (back packing) in Asia after living and working inTaiwan (Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Malayasia). He said that there were some females out there solo. It was really inexpensive on the ground.</p>
<p>I know many girls who have traveled in Northern Europe by themselves for some weeks or even months. Crime is not really a problem if you are somewhat cautious when walking by yourself at night. Do not worry about it, she will meet many other young people and have more fun that way.</p>
<p>I agree with the chorus. I traveled alone for 6 months at around her age (granted, that was in the stone age - it’s probably much easier now) and my daughter traveled alone for about 2 months after spending a semester in France. I don’t think your girl can possibly cover so much ground in “a couple of weeks”, but that’s another story. If she has time, and you want to give her some money, maybe she can stay longer?</p>
<p>I went to Europe alone in my 20’s and was not concerned about my safety. The 2 things I remember as being the things that required the most work was that when you travel alone, you bag (backpack) goes with you everywhere, even the bathroom. You cannot ask someone to watch your belongings while you change money or want to step inside a small store. So my suggestion is to pack as light as possible. </p>
<p>The other thing I found was to try and stay 2 nites in the same place or you always feel like you are looking for a place to stay. I stayed in youth hostels and they had a 2-4 nite limit as I recall. Otherwise, the usual watch your back advice you would give anyone in a big city applies anywhere.</p>
<p>You have to consider what function having a group to check in with will actually perform. And that is that someone would notice that she’s missing at the end of the day. They wouldn’t be able to do anything about it, other than notify the police. That is a function that you and a cell phone can perform equally easily - she can just text / call you every day to let you know she’s ok. The tours won’t give her the independence that she wants either, and she is never going to find a tour that fits in with what she wants to do exactly. </p>
<p>I’m sure that at her age she can negotiate the logistics. If she can’t, then it’s a very sorry show! As for safety, what you’re experiencing is largely fear of the unknown. If you look at the crime stats, then Europe is generally far safer in terms of murders (murders being the most reliable crime stats for comparison across time and space) than the USA. She’s 6x less likely to be murdered in the UK than the USA. Of course, she should still follow the basic safety precautions that she would take anywhere - like not walking down dark alleys alone - but in reality the chances of anything happening are minute, so long as she doesn’t act like an idiot. </p>
<p>With regards to the itinerary, that is a LOT of countries to see in two weeks, and if she tries to do it all then she will see far more of the transport than the cities. I’d suggest narrowing it down, mainly to places that she has never been before (though I always go somewhere new on holiday, as a matter of principle). Please also be aware of how expensive Norway is. To give you an idea, your cashier at the supermarket will be earning $30 per hour basic.</p>
<p>Yes, I think you are right about the tour groups. She is still not buying that and would rather do things her way. I wonder if the phone she bought in London 2 years ago is still good. Anyhow, she knows how it works so if she has to replace it, she knows where to go.</p>
<p>Norway might have to come off the list. I think she would definitely need a lot more time there and money, wow $30 an hour! She might want to stay there and get a job if only they would let her. lol.</p>
<p>Anyhow, I think we are tailoring it to London as a starting point, Ireland and Berlin and doing 2 1/2 weeks. Tossing out Amsterdam and Prague as she has been there. Switzerland might be a toss in if it works. She is already familiar with the train system there and wants to focus on the area near Italy as we have done other areas before. She can always return via Milan. If she gets an Eurail, she might be able to do it.</p>
<p>Her phone will still be fine (assuming she hasn’t dropped it in water or something) but she might need a new SIM card / to reactivate her old one, and she will need to go back to her old network (Orange, 3, Vodafone etc.) unless her phone is unlocked. </p>
<p>Berlin is absolutely lovely - I’ve been there before, and if I was going to emigrate to somewhere non-English speaking, then Berlin would be pretty high up my list.</p>