Interrailing alone
Images are sometimes not shown due to bandwidth/network limitations. Refreshing the page usually helps.
You are currently reading a thread in /trv/ - Travel
You are currently reading a thread in /trv/ - Travel
Hey trv!
I recently graduated from school and I'm on a gap year until January. I thought that this is a rare oppurtunity for me and I'm thinking of buying an interrail pass to travel around Europe for about a month.
Since I've been to western/mid European countries (swe, ger, ita, sui, fr, spain etc.) multiple times before, I feel like heading towards Eastern Europe to explore the countries I've never been before and know very little about.
Many of my friends are busy studying, working or don't have enough money so I would be doing this trip alone. I have experience with traveling with my family since I was little and as a freeskier I've traveled around Europe chasing the snow and mountains. I know traveling alone has it's challenges but I'm determined and I feel like I have the confidence to do this trip.
Pic related, It's the area that I feel like going to. Nothing specific yet. An alternative return route could be through sweden.
about me
>Male 18 yr old (19 in july)
>Helsinki, Finland
>fairly experienced with traveling despite my age
>Freeskier
>Speak fluent English
>extrovert, making new friends is fairly easy for me.
interests
>meeting cool people
>beer, partying, nightlife
>girls
>architecture and arts
>sports
>outdoor things like beautiful scenery and hiking
>music
not that interested in
>history
>old stuff
>ww2 stuff
Questions:
>How's traveling alone comapred to traveling with friends?
>Where to go? Where not? which countries, which cities?
>I've never stayed in a hostel. How's the hostel life and any tips worth mentioning?
>What kind of a budget would I need approximately?
>Do people speak English well in Eastern Europe?
>When to go? I could go from august to december
>Any safety tips worth mentioning? excluding using common sense
>What to pack? Any useful equipment?
All kinds of advice regarding interrailing would be appreciated, travel stories also welcome!
>Do people speak English well in Eastern Europe?
I'd say as in the rest of European countries where English is not a native language. You can get by somehow.
>When to go? I could go from august to december
Do you seriously need an answer for this? You are from Europe yourself, you know the best how the weather looks like in different seasons over here. Gosh...
>What to pack?
Clean socks, underpants, few shirts, phone, charger, some pills if you start feeling sick, a bottle for water, documents, tickets, money
Your interests and history sound a lot like mine, also 18 hailing from Tallinn. No advice for u my moose friend, just make sure to visit our Hungarian cousins
>fairly experienced with travelling
>Never stayed in hostel before
Anyhow, I recommend to ditch interrail and take buses instead, they're so much cheaper, especially in the baltics and east-europe, but in the west there is cheap buslines too. You save heaps and maybe meet some more genuine travellers and locals besides from sharing a train with every other 18 year old european with the same idea as you, or even worse, 18 year old american kids going crazy because they're allowed to drink.
Staying in hostels, don't book in advance, nothing sucks more than meeting a cute girl on a bus on the way to the same town and she asks if you should look for a room together and you've already booked something. Also adds for the sense of exploration and adventure having to look for a spot to sleep.
(Of course good to book maybe in big cities on weekends or if there is a festival going on etc)
Go to other cities than the capitals too, you'll meet more locals that are maybe interested in you rather than being annoyed by just another tourist.
Käy suihkussa, ole oma itsesi, kannattaa myös liftata ja mennä baareihin yksinään, silloin päätyy useimmiten tapaamaan mielenkiintosimpia tyyppejä.
>>1115486
Not OP but there are differences in climate inside Europe. OP could also get an answer to this question with any search engine.
>>1116443
you seriously gave up getting a room with a girl because you made a reservation at another hostel? i don't know what hostels you've been booking, but the reservation fee is basically nothing
>>1117165
>but there are differences in climate inside Europe
thank you mr. obvious
i meant generally, summer is hot and sunny, winter is grey and colder, everywhere in europe
>>1116443
>especially in the baltics
in the Baltics you won't be able to travel in between countries (if you don't want to cross the EU border to Belarus or Russia) by train so the bus is basically the only option.
Anyway in Czechia, Slovakia and Hungary I highly recommend taking a train.
