<p>There was a recent thread regarding HS grads traveling in Europe which became more about whether or not they should do it rather than about where to go and what to go.</p>
<p>What about our college grads? If a student wants to do Europe for 3-6 weeks, on their own small budget, what are the suggestions from our well traveled group? Places to go? Best ways to save money? Don’t miss it activities?</p>
<p>I highly suggest reading / buying Rick Steve’s book “Europe through the Back Door”. It would be a great way to start planning the trip.</p>
<p>I would suggest for the college students is to find out where their international friends live/ or friends studying abroad and crash at their places to save on hotels. Great to use those cities as jumping points/hub for other places of interest.</p>
<p>Bulgaria. Czechoslavkia. The old soviet bloc countries are cheap and fun, according to my son, who went for six weeks in 2007 (after he graduated). His sister did two months in western Europe around the same time (after she graduated)–France, England, Spain–and also had a good time. I got the impression from her that Spain was the most fun and the least expensive.</p>
<p>D has traveled extensively through asia, southeast asia, eastern and western europe- her best luck has been in hostels and some couch surfing, she LOVES the book Loney Planet</p>
<p>TONS of recent college grads (and current college students studying abroad) go backpacking around Europe. Generally you stay in hostels which have various sized rooms, from 2 person up to 40 people. Most of the rooms you will find are on the 8-12 people size. Some rooms are coed, some are single sex. I booked all my hostels on [Hostels</a> & Youth Hostels Worldwide - Online Bookings](<a href=“http://www.hostelworld.com%5DHostels”>http://www.hostelworld.com) and met some other people who used [Hostels</a>, Youth Hostels & Cheap Hotel Accommodation at HostelBookers](<a href=“http://www.hostelbookers.com%5DHostels”>http://www.hostelbookers.com) Generally the more people in the room, the cheaper the bed is. The hostels range from frat house atmosphere to very quiet.</p>
<p>I would highly recommend Rick Steves and Lonely Planet books. Obviously Eastern Europe is cheaper than Western Europe. England is expensive, and Switzerland is pretty pricey, especially if you want to start riding gondolas up various mountains.</p>
<p>I did a circle from London through southern Europe going as far east as Krakow, and then back through northern Europe to London. There are tons of “don’t miss sites” so it depends on what cities are in the plans to visit. A big decision you will have to make is whether to go in a circle like I did or go in a line. The circle allows for the purchase of a round trip plane ticket. A line allows for more flexibility.</p>
<p>You also need to decide if you are going to try to hit as many places as possible, sometimes staying very shortly in one place, or just go to a few places and spend like a week in each. Obviously there are advantages and disadvantages to both.</p>
<p>I went when the dollar was really weak, near $1.60 to the Euro, and I made my trip on $75/day. This $75/day did not include my round trip plane ticket from DC to London or my Eurail pass, but did include Eurostar tickets, hostels, and train reservations (you still need to make train reservations sometimes, especially at night, even if you have the Eurail… on a lot of day trains you can just jump on/off though).</p>
<p>Saw some people traveling alone, but most people were in groups of 2 or 3. A lot of hostels have communal areas where you can hang out and meet other travelers.</p>
<p>[CouchSurfing</a> - Participate in Creating a Better World, One Couch At A Time](<a href=“http://www.couchsurfing.com%5DCouchSurfing”>http://www.couchsurfing.com) is an alternative to hostels. I have a friend who traveled for a few months and always had a couch to stay on.</p>
<p>OP: I think I may have started the thread you’re referring to. Last summer, my DD and her BF went to Europe for a couple of weeks. We the parents bought the plane tickets and the kids used their saved $$ for travel. They carried backpacks around and stayed mostly in hostels. Some of their hostel stays were pre-booked (Paris) and some were booked as they travelled. They bought Eurail passes and travelled from Paris down to Rome and back. One highlight was spending a night or two in Chamonix and taking the gondola over Mont Blanc, crossing from France into Italy. Her pictures are stunning. Obviously there are more sights than one can see in two weeks, but that is an example of something she found in a guidebook and pursued on her own.</p>
<p>She did comment that she and her BF were always the youngest ones in the hostels. A couple of places had late-night partiers coming in and waking her up. They didn’t really connect with any groups they met in the hostels, but did get advice and share maps/info with some of the more seasoned travellers. While I wouldn’t have made some of the decisions they did (Rome in July, yuck), overall I believe it was a great experience. She had to learn to read train schedules, plan ahead, budget her $$ and manage language limitations. We guided and made suggestions ahead of time, but ultimately it was her responsibility to book some of the outings and show up. There were a couple of small glitches, but nothing like being pick-pocketed or losing her passport, etc. </p>
<p>I did a bit of research myself on hostel rankings and tried to steer her away from some that were in shady parts of town. The Rick Steves’ Europe Through the Back Door book is good, too. </p>
<p>If you have specific questions or want to inquire about the hostels they booked, feel free to PM me.</p>