Backpacking in Europe

11 cities in 26 days.

Rome, Italy. Sorrento, Italy. Positano, Italy. Capri Island, Italy. Pompeii, Italy. Corfu, Greece. Athens, Greece. Belgrade, Serbia. Split, Croatia. Hvar. Budapest, Hungary. 

Planning

Make a list of all the places in Europe you want to visit. Now prioritize them, figure out which ones you want to visit the most. Take into consideration when making the final list, your budget, time allocated, and location of countries. This type of trip is perfect for students, college grads, or if you are in between jobs and have the time before starting the next one. Ideally, if you are from the U.S you would want at least 2 weeks and you can expand to months long. I did this trip in the summer in between semesters in College with my best friend and sister.

95% of the trip was planned. But that 5% we decided to just wing and figure out when we arrived. The trip started off very smoothly. We flew into Rome, Italy and stayed there for a week. Trained down south to the Amalfi Coast for a few days, spent the day in Pompeii then flew to Corfu, Greece. Later in the week traveled to Athens. After Athens, the ride got bumpy. That 5% we were going to wing was approaching. The train information wasn’t available for Greece to Croatia at the time of planning so we left the information up in the air. After a 6 hour bus ride to Thessaloniki we realized it would take over 3 days to get to Split. So we spent the next 24 hours on a train and a bus getting to the middle destination, Belgrade, Serbia. Where we booked an Airbnb for the night then booked a flight to Split, Croatia. Then the rest of the trip went as planned. While in Split, we did a day trip to the island of Hvar. After Split, Croatia, we spent the remainder of the trip in Budapest, Hungary.

Budget

Just like any trip there is a few ways to go about paying for it. I like to book and pay for the majority of the trip before the trip, some people like to pay as they go as plans change and you never know where you end up. Another option, is to book with a travel company who will plan everything for you and most of the time allow you to set up payment options with them.

I took this trip a few years ago so prices have gone up since but are still relative. Hotel and excursion prices are still relatively around the same but flights have gone up. You can definitely do this trip cheaper than I did as hostels are an option but you can do it more expensive too, just depends on the type of trip you are planning to take. So here is an estimate on what I spent for 26 days excluding food and anything I purchased during the trip:

Transportation:

• $743 Flight – Newark to Rome
• $485 Flight – Budapest to Baltimore
• $420 Eurrail pass (Valid for 28 countries – 7 days within 1 month)
• $130 Flight from Naples, Italy to Corfu, Greece

Accommodations:

• $209 Rome Hotel
• $150 Sorrento Hotel
• $127 Corfu Hotel/Hostel
• $54 Athens Airbnb
• $93 Split Airbnb
• $90 Hungary Airbnb

Excursions:

• $40 Vatican Tour
• $22 Colosseum Tour
• $132 Capri Island Tour
• $150 Blue Cave/Hvar Boat Tour
• $53 Budapest Thermal Bath

Recommendations:

I don’t always recommend the touristy stuff, but for Rome its a must.

Rome, Italy

Sorrento, Italy 

We made Sorrento our home base so its easier to take day trips to the Amalfi Coast. While you are there make sure to visit the famous Blue Grotto, Positano and Capri Island.

Pompeii, Italy

On the way from Sorrento to the Amalfi Coast take the day or just half the day and stop through Pompeii.

Corfu, Greece

We stayed at the pink palace. Essentially a hostel resort. They had many activities for us to do just around the resort.

Athens, Greece

We stayed in the heart of Athens so all of the historical sites were within walking distance.

• The Acropolis Museum
• The Acropolis

Split, Croatia

The three of us stayed in the cutest tiny home airbnb in Split. Croatia is one of those place that isn’t talked about as much as Italy, or France but is just as beautiful and has so much to offer.

• Hvar 

Take a day trip to the island of Hvar and on the way you can visit the blue caves.

Budapest, Hungary 

• Dinner cruise along the Danube river

Dinner cruises are always a must. I have done the dinner cruise in Budapest twice and both times were amazing. Scenery, food, drinks and on a boat. Could you ask for more?

• Széchenyi Baths

This thermal bath in Budapest is the largest in Europe. Not only could you spend the entire day here in the bath but there’s other things to enjoy, the gym, a massage, or the sauna.

Tips

• Backpacks aren’t a necessity just use a suitcase you feel comfortable lugging around
• Its common to pay to use public bathrooms
• Notify your bank beforehand to avoid them freezing your account
• Keep in mind when using some debit/credit cards there are foreign transactions fees and ATM fees
• Bring an adapter
• Flights can be cheaper than a train so do comparisons