Euro Trip after high school

Parent Cafe
1

My friends and I have all decided on planning a trip around Europe after graduation. We have approximately 12 months to save money and plan, which seems plenty enough. The places we plan to visit include: London, Paris, Rome, and Santorini, in 3 weeks or max of a month. We want to leave around the middle of June and return around the beginning/middle of July. Our budget that we plan to save is $3,000 or $4,000 max. We are willing to set a budget and use hostels if necessary, but are looking into airbnb’s instead of hotels. There are relatives in London who plan on letting as stay with them, which will be extremely helpful for saving money.

This will be all our first times in Europe, though two of us have traveled in other countries alone. My mother seems hesitant about letting me travel to the other cities except for London, since their we will stay with familiar people. What are ways I could help ease her worries and let me go without feeling too scared. I personally would prefer it to be a backpacking trip, though my other friends feel like it’s okay to be heavy on the amount of items they plan on carrying. Are their certain routes that are better than some, which will allow us to hit up all the planned cities. We want to save the most money on accommodations and transportation, so please give us some tips on that. I have done research on different Euro Trips, but its hard to find many of students who go right after high school graduation, stating personal experiences are greatly appreciated. Finally, what are other helpful resources for young new travelers?

We are all girls (total of four) and 18 yr. old, except for only one who is 17 yr. old.

2

Many years ago I went on such a trip with a company called contiki travel which specializes in tours for young people. I got to see and do a lot, met lots of people my age, and it was safe and affordable. There are probably other services similar. Consider them.

3

We used to travel to Europe with my daughters few times a year when they were growing up. They knew most of the major cities pretty well. But no, I would not let my kids travel around Europe by themselves when they were 18. They traveled by themselves when they were juniors in college, and I insisted on them staying at nice/safe hotels.

BTW - airfare to London in the summer will cost ~$800. If you want to travel around Europe, it may be another 500-1000, depending on how you travel. Dollar is almost at parity with Euro now, but it is still not cheap, especially London.

If your parents should decide to let you go, I would make sure you have phone/data service so you could stay in touch with your family. Make a copy of your passport. Don’t drink too much if you are not used to alcohol.

4

My daughter did something similar. My mom FREAKED out that I would let her and a friend go to Europe unchaperoned, until I pointed out that in 3 months she would be living in a sketchy neighborhood in a huge American city unchaperoned 24/7 for 9 months. In retrospect, it was one of my better parenting decisions as DD and her friend learned a LOT and matured more in a month than I ever could have expected.

Anyway, my daughter stayed in monasteries the whole time she was in Italy. They are all over the country. Check out monasterystays dot com. They were extremely reasonable. Private rooms, some with private bathrooms and VERY reasonably priced. They were frequented by a nice mix of college kids, families on a budget, and seniors. She said the accommodations were MUCH better than hostels would have been, very comfortable, and always felt really safe.

5

In italy, I’d suggest Airbnb or small, family run hotels (you can check reviews on TripAdvisor) over hostels. Hostels in Italy, in general, aren’t quite up to par with hostels in some other parts of the world.

I’d also suggest only packing one piece of luggage each (preferably a backpack) and a carryon. Tromping around with too much stuff gets old really fast and luggage on wheels doesn’t work well on cobblestone streets.

6

^bought DD new luggage before she left. Worked great until she got to Italy, then two wheels broke…on the cobblestone streets.

7

We’ve traveled all over Europe quite a bit as a family, with friends and kids have done study abroad.
Personally I would want my kids a couple years older to go by themselves to Europe unless it was with a larger travel group. I personally think they would just enjoy it more and get more out of the experience. Study abroad at 20 was fine. But it depends on how comfortable you are with travel.

( Hate to be sexist but got any guys to go with you?)

You will have more fun if you:
Research the places and customs of where you will be visiting. Dining customs vary quite a bit. Learn the terminology.

Look up Rick Steve’s site and get some books about where you are going. Lots of great travel trips about places and packing tips are very good.

Research the transportation. Standing in the middle of some busy train station trying to figure out what to do next is NOT fun. SO much can be figured out before you leave. Easier to hit the internet before you leave home. You’ll have enough adventures already awaiting you.

Figure out as much as possible BEFORE you go. That includes money (ATMs, credit cards, tickets to museums, hours of operation, phones). When you have a good list of what you want to do–start planning and getting tips off the internet.
Really think ahead as much as possible as to situations. Get tickets to museums while you are still in the states.

Walkie talkies can keep you in touch much easier than phones in a lot of cases. They can be worth it. Take extra batteries.

Be prepared. There is quite a bit of crime–not the violent type necessarily but pick pockets are prevalent. Keeping track of your passport, money etc. is essential. Just researching how they work and various scams can save you.
It’s not being an alarmist–it keeps you having fun instead of sitting in the police station in a foreign country.
Believe me. I know. Keep extra copy of passport, documents in a safe spot, Stay vigilant and watch out for one another.
WEAR a waist belt under your clothes (NO excuses!). And that includes EVERYBODY in your group. Don’t let anyone in your group blow you off with these concerns. One person pick pocketed will kill the joy for everyone.

Packing: Every time we’ve traveled the luggage gets smaller and more portable as we get smarter.
Last time we went each family member had THE smallest carry on available. and that was for a 3 week trip. Kids took a back pack only (their backs are better than mine) Think super light! A backpack (with lock is nice).
Wheels are nice but won’t save you. Be ready to CARRY whatever you bring. You WILL be carrying that luggage up many stairs and across cobble stones for quite a distance. And on crowded trains and metros. This is not the US with paved streets and ramps for the disabled.

Like Rick Steves says…“NOBODY ever wishes they had more to carry…”

And again…you will only be as fast as the slowest member in your group. The person who decided to bring the refrigerator while everyone else brought a single water bottle will not be at the top of the friend list…leave it at home!!!

Focus on fun, not fashion.
Find clothes that do double duty several times over. Easily washed and dried (microfiber, polyester including socks and underwear). Be prepared to just wear the same outfit several times. One pair of good walking shoes that fit most occasions (wear them and if needed take a pair of lightweight sandals). Layer.

8

As to your trip – We’ve been all those places. I would easily let my kids go.
But still I’d want you to be a couple years older (just think you’d have more fun all around–better bang for your dollar). I would personally wait…

The main thing if you go is to stay safe and watch out for one another. There are rules even (especially) when parents aren’t around.
How responsible are your friends? At this point YOU can suddenly turn into the parent and it’s not all fun and games.

Don’t have an outlier in the group–someone who wants to just go party by themselves or go off by themselves.
Have some solid rules.
If only one person wants to go somewhere–nobody goes. Period. Talk about it in advance. Everyone needs a buddy.
You decide on this as a group–but herding the lone sheep back into the fold destroys friendships and spoils trips very quickly.
Watching over irresponsible friends is stressful and time-consuming.

Pick your travel friends wisely.

9

This is not quite true. Even if the campus is at not quite safe neighborhood, the campus is usually safe with good security for dorms. Students usually do not need to worry about food the first year. Many urban campuses have campus security to escort students to places at night if requested. There is no comparison in having your kid living on campus and having her traveling around Europe unchaperoned.

10

Sounds like a fun trip! But take all those safety warnings seriously - my D and her friend were robbed in a hostel in Rome - BY THE HOSTEL OWNER - and left without cell phone, credit card, computer, camera, money etc. This was during a college study abroad trip, when they both had significant foreign travel experience. They had researched the hostel and it had good ratings online.

This could be a trip of a lifetime. It could also be the nightmare of a lifetime. Consider all the potential bad scenarios, have action plans, present your parents with safety information and backup plans, etc. Take a self defense class. Read up on everything from pickpocket strategies to what to do in the event of a terrorist attack taking place in your area. Reassure your parents that you are cognizant of the risks and know what to do.

All these locations are beautiful “bucket list” places! They are not all that close together, and you need to factor in travel time (and expense) to get there. While you can save a night’s accommodation cost by taking an overnight train and trying to take turns sleeping while one of you guards the luggage, getting to Santorini will be pricey.

The Euro is currently trading at $1.06, which is in your favor.

11

@oldfort…my daughter ONLY went to Italy unchaperoned and she only stayed in monasteries and convents the entire time, which I would argue were way safer than her freshman dorm. They had a curfew, as opposed to her dorm. I wanted her to worry about food and expenses while she was traveling so that was a good thing.

When she started college, I was WAY more worried about her walking around big city USA after dark, than I was when she visited Florence, or Venice, for example. There is very little violent crime in most cities in Europe compared to a lot of violent crime in her freshman neighborhood.

12

My daughter and I went to Europe last summer. We rode the trains and took backpacks. PacSafe has some backpacks that you can lock closed and the come with a mesh cover to deter cut through issues in hostels. Agree with other posters - you must be able to carry everything you bring. Go to Goodwill and look for some travel shirts that you can wash and dry in a hostel bathroom. Not cotton! Rick Steves has many, many other suggestions on his website. Agree that this trip will make or break friendships. That girl who won’t leave the house without perfect hair? Leave her at home