<p>My friend and I (a male and a female) are planning to backpack through some major cities Western Europe for about two weeks in Europe. Our plan is to get Eurail passes and travel by night and sleep in youth hostels. We’d start in Milan, then go to Bern, then go to Paris, then go to Brussels, then go to Amsterdam, then go to Berlin, then go to Prague, then go to Munich, then back to Milan. This is all subject to change, if we figure out that we don’t want to go to a certain place.</p>
<p>This would be during the summer after graduating from high school, so we will both be 18 at the time. My mother’s concern is safety. She has heard from many co-workers and family members about stories of strangers trying to lure them to those of pickpocketers who have taken valuables such as passports to thos of friends who have gotten sick and so forth. </p>
<p>I can’t answer the question, because I’ve never been to Europe, and have never traveled between countries as you are describing. But here are some questions to ask yourself:</p>
<p>What are you going to do if one of you is sick or injured? (Before you make the trip make sure you have purchased travelers insurance, which would cover medical care, medical evacuation, evacuation in the event of a natural disaster, etc.)
What is your plan if your passports are stolen? (I’m not sure on this one, but a good start is leaving photocopies at home so that someone could help by contacting the proper agency.)
What will you do if your money is stolen? (Before the trip, have multiple options. Cash in different places, credit cards, etc.)
Have either of you traveled independently before this? If not, you should try it out in the U.S. for a few days as a test run.</p>
<p>Overall, before you and your parents can decide if its “safe enough,” you need to seriously consider how you will handle each type of emergency situation, and better yet, how you will prevent each one from happening.</p>
<p>You don’t say how much traveling experience you have, so it’s a bit hard to say. But I wouldn’t worry too much about safety of traveling by rail and going into major european cities. Use common sense, prepare yourself (read about each city and what to avoid) and you should be fine. Don’t forget that millions of young people do/have done what you’re planning to, so it’s not like you’d be a pioneer of any kind. To alleviate your parents’ concerns, communicate with them often by email - it’s easy to do in this day and age. You also might consider making reservations ahead of time. These are popular destinations and affordable accommodations are quickly snapped up. </p>
<p>There are some parents who wouldn’t let their kid go backpacking overseas at age 18 ever. They’d be screaming, “Not over my dead body.”</p>
<p>And other parents are OK with it. I’ve known 18 year olds who have carried out your plan successfully.</p>
<p>The question to me is: how are your street smarts? Do you live in a suburb or rural area and have never wandered around a city by yourself? Or do you live in NYC and have been taking the subway alone since you were 12? </p>
<p>If you know how to handle yourself in a big city, know to walk purposefully, stash your passport and money out of sight, avoid dodgy neighborhoods, be wary of strangers, etc. – you are no more at risk at 18 than you would be at 25 or 45. I’ve visited many US and European cities, been careful, and nothing bad has ever happened to me. (The funny thing is that Europeans are as nervous about visiting US cities as we are about going overseas. The bottom-line is there are pickpockets everywhere.)</p>
<p>I would do lots of research about how to be safe. Be able to answer all of your mom’s questions with a plan. That will go a long way in convincing her that you’ll be OK. I’d let my kid go. But also recognize that some parents would not allow their child to do this under any circumstances.</p>
<p>Just be careful, take extra caution and you will be ok. Mine didn’t go to Europe with her friends after high school because she was not 18 yet. She is meeting up with friends this summer and might do some backpacking after her study abroad programs end. She has not decided where to go yet.</p>
<p>I did this a million years ago at 17 and I know things have changed but the main safety issues that I see are the following:
Yes, there will be pickpockets at tourist destinations. Read up on methods and do your best not to fall into the most obvious (I hadn’t). I was robbed by gypsy kids in the square in front of Notre Dame - swarmed by short people and they had a tag board sign or something that one held up. They got my day money in my waist pouch but only my day money. Try to minimize the damage if you do get robbed - have backups.</p>
<p>My companion and I did have a scary night in a train station waiting for a connection (we were 2 young women). A guy attempted to lure us outside pretty forcefully. We stood right by the lighted, manned ticket booth and a friends American service man noticed and stood with us until our train came. I had the feeling that it would have ended very badly had we gone outside for any reason. </p>
<p>Be sure not to get carried away with the freedoms of movement and imbibing that are possible in a place with no parents, a lower drinking age and other available substances. Don’t see it as a chance to cut loose. Again, we had a couple times where looking back we were very fortunate to have landed safely back at our hostel or hotel.</p>
<p>I don’t think that it is inherently unsafe at all. Planning and maturity go a long way, though.</p>
<p>I would have let my kids do this, but yes, basic safety precautions which are the same whether you are in urban areas in the US or in Europe would apply. I was pick-pocketed on the subway in Boston at 19 but never pick-pocketed in Europe at 20 for what it’s worth. One son of mine was pick-pocketed at Union Station in Chicago at 19.but never in his outside of US travels. </p>
<p>Having lived in Europe for decades I have met many American youngsters travelling by train. Some did just fine experiencing the culture, making contact with local people and having a good time. Some also had a good time, but behaved in a very inappropriate and embarrassing manner.</p>
<p>In some cases that I have watched they were clearly overwhelmed by their new impressions and got into situations that may turn risky.
My own daughter travelled in other countries at that age, but she knew the languages and had travelled independently in our area before.</p>
<p>I would advise to read some travel books and prepare the trip thoroughly. Of course, that involves booking hostels ahead and knowing where to go. Petty crime such as pickpocketing is frequent in southern Europe in the tourist areas and criminals can spot Americans. So make sure to dress and behave like European teenagers. That involves not speaking English very loudly and learning a few words of French/German or Italian. Other crime is rare, European cities are usually pretty safe unless you enter the red-light districts or some parks where drug dealing is known to take place.</p>
<p>As an American parent my concern would be the drinking age. Some young Europeans find it very entertaining to provide others with cheap alcohol and then watch them get into a truly helpless condition. So, unless you know how to say “no” or handle such a situation. and unless you have travelled on your own before in the USA it might be better to wait . </p>
<p>This made me chuckle, because that is EXACTLY what my sister said when my niece asked if she could study abroad as a 16-year-old. My daughter is the same age as her cousin, and we let her go abroad this semester. She’s having an incredible experience in Spain, and it was the right decision in her case. I think every kid is different - I’m not sure I would have let either of my sons go at 16! They were just too flighty and disorganized.</p>
<p>The advice above, “avoid dodgy neighborhoods”, will be impossible to follow if you are on the kind of budget where you are staying in hostels. </p>
<p>In terms of how to spend money, I think going abroad for a semester of study is a much more meaningful experience of another country and culture than a low-budget vacation tour, and you have something to show for it academically when it’s over. The vacation money could be used toward that.</p>
<p>In terms of your safety and preparedness, I would ask myself first if these were two people who were ready to tour DC, NY and Boston (or San Diego, LA, SF) by themselves, staying in hostels. If so, and if they haven’t seen those cities, maybe start with that first. There’s a lot to see in those cities, too. Western Europe has a reputation for somewhat lower levels of violent crime than American cities, but I’m not sure the American cities are really any worse for tourists. A lot of the American urban violent crime victims are local people. It would be a lot easier for a parent to help fix what might go wrong in the US, than to try to fix something overseas.</p>
<p>These are meant as a few thoughts. There is no one right answer, and no way to tell what will happen, ultimately.</p>
<p>Both of our kids traveled extensively with us growing up, from Asia to Europe and South America. They knew who to call in case of emergency, how to get extra cash, what to do if luggages didn’t show up…No, I wouldn’t have them travel to Europe on a tight budget at age 18. It is different if your kid staying with a host family because at least you know someone over there is responsible for your kid. I personally wouldn’t even let me kid stay with people I’ve never met, but that’s me.</p>
<p>American kids are not used to drinking at age 18. I would worry about sending them overseas with no supervision when it comes to alcohol. Inexperienced drinker could easily get into trouble.</p>
<p>I’d start out in a country where I knew the language–if you took French, start there. I also would make reservations for at least the first two hostels. With especially the first city, you may have some jet lag, and too exhausted to make smart decisions. Give yourself 2-3 days at least at that first city. You won’t see much at all the first day you arrive and maybe minimal on the second.</p>
<p>Read up on Lonely Planet or Let’s Go’s website, both geared to younger travelers. Two weeks is not that long–I’d have the cities I want to see nailed down. And that could be a compromise for a parent, to pick out the hostels and book them. </p>
<p>You need to work out the cell phone question too (ie use an unlocked phone and put a SIM card in when you get there or pay for some international plan) etc.</p>
<p>There are some European mapping sites that may still be better than Google, although I’ve heard it’s improved a lot. I’d definitely do the transit maps to the first couple of hostels and actually print out the paper in case whatever phones you do don’t immediately work.</p>
<p>S1 did what you’re planning to do when he was ~26 or so. He had a great experience but had his primary backpack – the one with the passport, EuroRail pass, credit cards and cash – stolen at the railroad station in Barcelona. A small group of bad guys distracted him by squirting catsup onto him and then ran off with the backpack. We had bought him one of those belly packs that you wear under your clothes but he didn’t use it. He should have. Ultimately he got everything back but the cash, his camera with the memory card containing all of his photos, and his journal.</p>
<p>My take on this is: “all that in only two weeks!? are you crazy?” Save the Eurail pass money, pick one city, at most two, find a good youth hostel, and get to know that one city (or two). You won’t need to carry the backpack around, you’ll have a better time, and it will be cheaper and easier. My recommendation for the city? Rome or Amsterdam. </p>
<p>And yes, I’d let my kids go. My daughter went to Paris alone for ten days at age 17, while still in high school, and she’s also biked across the US, mostly alone, camping, at age 24. My son traveled to Europe at age 18 or 19, I forget which, and went to some of the eastern European countries I’ve never been to. I think he was traveling with friends some of the time. (We were in Italy at the same time and met up with him in Florence, but I’ve forgotten just how long ago it was. Five or six years? Maybe more?)</p>
<p>How much traveling experience do you have? Airports, hotels, taxis etc? Foreign language? Knowing customs?
I MIGHT have considered letting my kids go because of the extensive travel they’ve done on their own over the years both on their own and in groups. But I’d still be hesitant. Personally, I’d wait.
Son went to Brussels as part of travel abroad last year and went everywhere you’re planning. We joined him afterwards and had a fabulous time. I saw quite a few younger people traveling as couples. They looked pretty worn out to tell the truth. It’s quite a learning experience and not always fun to travel and navigate unknown waters.</p>
<p>Do you have a chance to take this trip again in a couple years maybe as part of travel abroad? It would be with a bigger group, safer, longer, and less angst-ridden. You won’t miss anything. Consider that as an option if it seems viable. And you’ll get more out of it in my opinion.
Overall, most places we went seemed very safe but you HAVE to be wary at all times. Even the most informed travelers can find themselves pick-pocketed (and without passports, credit cards, phone, their computer) in a flash.
Nobody plans on landing in this situation and no matter how well you think you got life covered it still happens. You HAVE to know what to do in those situations. Don’t depend on local police–they’re sort of bored with it. I never heard or saw anyone being physically.hurt but again, you just have to do the research and look for situations.</p>
<p>I would do like suggested above–pick a good spot and travel from there as day trips–don’t be changing hostels. Take little with you.</p>
<p>I consider myself a fairly open minded and progressive parent but there is NO CHANCE IN HELL my kids are traveling around Europe by themselves after high school. Study abroad after sophomore year? Sure.</p>
<p>I did a trip like this with my high school girlfriend the summer after we graduated. We went Munich - Vienna - Prague - Berlin - Amsterdam - Brussels - Paris - Rome. We mostly hitchhiked, but took public transportation when no one would pick us up. We both had family members in some of those places whom we stayed with, and when we didn’t, we alternated between hostels, the beach, and camping in fields near the side of the road. We had over six weeks, but a relatively small budget (about $1500 each, i.e. not enough to stay in hotels or pay for trains everywhere). </p>
<p>Overall, it was a great experience, both as a way for us to expose ourselves to other places and getting to know people, and as a way of becoming more independent/feeling grown up before starting college. It was VERY different from the experience I had studying abroad for a summer, and although both sorts of trips have their benefits, I enjoyed myself a lot more on the hitchhiking trip, where I was able to explore on my own with someone I knew well, than on the “cultural exploration” trips organized as part of the study abroad program, where we were in a large group, mostly with people we didn’t know, and usually had a fixed itinerary and a tour guide who planned what we were going to do. </p>
<p>A couple of things:
I got tired of touring cities part way through. These are all beautiful cities, but all the churches start to look the same. I enjoyed myself most when we were in smaller towns in the Alps, where we stayed and did some hiking, than in the cities, which got repetitive.
I don’t particularly mind not having a shower for a couple of days, not having a place to brush my teeth in the morning, eating mostly packed sandwiches, etc., and I was perfectly comfortable. My girlfriend, not so much. If you like to be clean all the time, you might be uncomfortable.
Especially when you’re hitchhiking, it can take a really long time to get from one city to the next. If I did it again, I would do half as many cities and spend less time traveling from place to place. Actually, just sitting in coffee shops and watching people can be much more fun than sitting in a car/train for a long time. If you do all those places in 2 weeks, you WILL be tired and stressed out most of the time.
I speak German and Italian, and my girlfriend spoke French, which was definitely helpful for hitchhiking, but honestly almost everyone under 30 in Europe can communicate in English. I wouldn’t sweat it.
Maybe we were just lucky, but I think all the concerns about safety here are overblown. Don’t be stupid, don’t walk around with an Iphone visible at night, keep your valuables on your person at all times, and you’ll be fine. Even hitchhiking, which is generally considered much more dangerous, I never felt I was in danger (except when riding with reckless drivers). </p>
<p>Maybe it’s just because my parents are aging hippies, but the concept of a parent forbidding their adult child, who is presumably about to start college, from traveling is bizarre to me. I wonder how many of the parents of people who say they wouldn’t let their kids do this would have forbidden them (the parents) from traveling when they were graduated. (Of course, if your parents are footing the bill, it’s a different story). </p>