Hi,

many monasteries/churches will require women to wear long skirts and have their shoulders/arms covered if you’re going to tour them.

Read this short essay that I make all of my first-time-a-bit-nervous-to-travel friends read:

http://www.janhaag.com/TRter.html

Oh, also worth picking up or checking out of your library is Rick Steve’s Europe Through the Back Door. Now, some people don’t care for Rick, and admittedly I find him a bit condescending and my-way-is-the-right-way at times, but this book is a GREAT help for first timers, how to go about planning, things to expect, budget tips, etc… A sort of "how-to" book on European travel.

Good luck!

Can you give more info?
What kind of things do you want to do, how long do you have, are you traveling solo, etc.

Also, as Tanne mentioned about not caring for Rick…. I really don’t like the Rick Steve’s books. I prefer Lonely Planet (for the maps and general info) and pointers from a variety of people in the forum and on other websites. Whatever you do, remember that it is only a guide and not the grail. If you are in Rome and find out about something in another city not on your itinerary that sounds interesting…. go!

Good luck!

hi its me
ok i think i have a VERY FAINT! idea.
fly from my city (stjohns,canada) on some plane(air canada…?) to london heathrow, then on another plane(once again…?) to italy.
ive graduated.i have all the time in th eworld.i really need to do this so much has happened and as cliched as it sounds…i need it.
i really dont have a plan as of yet when i get there.rome is the first stop….any ideas where to go?
im trying to focus on GETTING there first.
OH! AND ANOTHERE THING! do you know of any organizations that help young people plan or help then save and or get money?im not rich
.how much time should i allot to save?how much (canadian) should i save?
hoping to hear from you all SOON!
desiree
ive started planning now….firmly. i just need help

Wow 19 and right out of hs! You are SO lucky! I started backpacking after I graduated from college and wish I had done a Eurotrip sooner! In regards to transportation, I HIGHLY recommend Ryanair or Easyjet! I mean it will save you time and money! They are budget airlines, no frills…meaning they dont serve food, but do you really need food when you are in the air for an hour or two? It’s cheaper than taking the train from country to country. I love Lets Go! I feel like it’s more geared towards the younger crowd or people that are on a tight budget and if you are doing Europe get the "let’s go! Europe 2005. I just got mine a few weeks ago and it just gives you an idea of what to expect in each of the countries. I went to Paris twice last year and LOVED it! The food, the accent, the yummy men, the beauty of the city, the art, etc. It’s my favorite city in the whole wide world! So you really should go there. London is nice too, but pick carefully what you want to do since it’s uber expensive. Italy is totally great and so is Spain you’ve gotta go to Madrid and Barcelona! Anyways, I have so many places that I can recommend to you…and I am sure people on here do too! Just give us a better idea of when you are going, what your budget is, how many days, do you want to stick to WEstern Europe or try Eastern (it’s cheaper there), etc. Ciao!

thanks for the advice.im planning on backpacking only italy. and experiance in that?

quote:
Hi,

many monasteries/churches will require women to wear long skirts and have their shoulders/arms covered if you’re going to tour them.

I’ve never met a church in Europe that required women to wear skirts. Women do need to have their knees and shoulders covered, but trousers or Capris and a top with sleeves work fine.

Hey,

Oh good, I always though you had to wear long skirts and I read about it before, But you have the first hand experience and I hate wearing skirts!

I took my first trip around Europe in 2004 for a month and it was great. # 1 and most important – PACK LIGHT!!!!!! I learned a hard lesson by packing too much and ended up dumping a lot of stuff along the way. Me and my sister flew into ROME (HOT AND HUMID), took a day trip to Capri (WONDERFUL), then off to Florence (BEAUTIFUL), then to Venice(GORGEOUS and ROMANTIC), then to Montreux Switzerland(OUT OF A MOVIE GORGEOUS), then to Paris (VERY DIVERSIFIED AND RELAXING) and ended in Amsterdam (CRAZY!!) for the North Sea Jazz Festival. In the summer Rome is extremely HOT and HUMID. Some of the cathedrals do require long sleeves, but I wore pants so thats okay. The vatican coty was amazing, if you go there please go with a tour group or you will wait several hours just to get in!!! We barely made it in because we got in the tour group (by mistake) and were able to sneak in. Make sure you see the Trevi Fountain, and the Vatican City. The best thing about italy is the ICE CREAM, the CAFES and the Pastries. MOst Cafes stay open all night. We opted not to stay in hostels and stayed in 4-5 star hotels instead which was worth every penny. Also I would highly recommedn traveling by train, and if you do make sure it is 1st class with reervations. Eurail passes are great and very reasonable. Most attractions in Europe can be bought before you go, www.viator.com – We found it very helpful to pay for everything before we went. We have already made plans for this June for another month.

Hey
I’m from Canada as well actually Calgary. I’m just finishing high school this year and going backpacking all around Europe. I figure i will travel cheap..i have some relatives all over England and a few in Denmark. So are you going to bring a lot of money?? How much do you figure would be good for the summer?? Because i have no clue.
Sara

Hi, I’m also 19, from Canada, taking my first backpacking trip, going by myself, to Europe I know what you mean about just needing to GO- i feel this way too and that;s why I planned my trip so spontaneously (about a month before my plane leaves!)

I have a friend who went last summer, she said she only needed around $40 a day (she had a railpass). She stayed in cheap hostels (8-12 euros), ate mostly bread, drank wine and water, and visited only a few attractions that required $$. My trip will very likely cost a bit more. I want to stay in decent hostels, see a couple of museums and maybe even take one or two tours, and of course indulge in yummy foods! Still, I don’t think I’ll need more than $50-$60 per day.. well, if someone wants to tell me I’m completely off, please do!

As for planning, I had to really get it together quickly in the first stages.. mainly flights and figuring out some kind of route. Flying to London and then taking a cheap flight to your destination is probably best.. There are flights for 5 Euros to some places! Like Fresa4mi said, try Ryanair and Easyjet. I also found a cheap flight from Amsterdam to Prague on smartwings.com – a 2 hr flight was way cheaper than buying a 12 to 14hr train ride!

I havent actually been to europe yet.. but I am so so excited. My friends have told me to definately go to Florence, and take a day trip to Siena. Also, Venice. Other places in Italy that are supposed to be really nice are the Cinque Terre region, and the Amalfi coast (pompeii, etc) I’m going to Vienna, Prague, Amsterdam, some smaller cities in the Netherlands, Paris, Barcelona, the French Riviera. I’m also trying to fit in a Swiss city (maybe Geneva, or Interlaken?)

Just make a list. Then get a map and mark off all the cities and try to draw a line from city to city! Then I went on raileurope.com to figure out how long/if it was even possible to travel between the two cities – if there were changeovers in other cities, etc. It’s kind of an anal thing to do but I found it helpful and reassuring. After I had my route down I tried to estimate how many days i wanted to spend in each city so that I could make sure that my route would be possible to do in 36 days. Its not carved in stone – I dont want it to be.. but its a good idea to at least have an idea of where you will be and when! That way you can check out festivals or events happening around those times (either that or plan the route around the events which I also did!)

Well, good luck kelly

I found the Lonely Planet Guide "Europe on a Shoestring" an excellent guide. Not sure whether you would have access to it in USA? I am also purchasing a Busabout unlimited pass.