I decided to start a blog about our two month backpacking and camping trip across Europe this summer after speaking to James from the savvy backpacker website. This is our second backpacking/camping trip across Europe (our first having occurred six years ago), and while preparing for that first trip I was unable to find much in the way of reliable information or recommendations for camping your way across Europe while using a rail pass or whether that was even possible. All I found was vague references about camping to save money, but no real instructions. So consequently we had to set off on our own and hope for the best. Well of course camping our way across Europe was indeed possible and we had a very successful six week trip that traversed 11 countries. So this time as we prepared to leave I promised myself that I would help others to follow in our footsteps by sharing a blog about our journey and what we have learned in the process. In this blog you will get to follow along with our daily progress and see all of the campsites we stay at. In addition, each day I will share some key tips that we have learned along the way about saving money, and what you can do for free in many cities in Europe. I will also piece by piece show you the equipment we use, why we have chosen specific brands, and where you can get away with a cheaper version on some items. I will also try and create a few YouTube videos where I give you a tour of our camping set up and more detail on several pieces of equipment. A map of our European trip six years ago (2013) The first time we travelled Europe by tent was six years ago. For that 6 week adventure we had a very structured itinerary that was booked months in advance. Our stops are marked on the map above. On that trip we saw all the major sites and saved a lot of money by booking and planning in advance. For example: Vatican tour tickets in advance $17.00 and no waiting in line. Walk up price can be up to $100 per person and hours of waiting in line. I think for a first trip for Europe, a pre-planned itinerary is the best bet. This time around we have a loose idea of where we want to go and what we want to see, but we are going to take it as it comes and book sites along the way. With the amount of time we have for our trip (two months), the fact that we are not doing the main tourist sites, the experience we have in tenting and the fact that our budget is more flexible, we are able to approach our trip this way, this time around. Our planned countries for this trip are: England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Croatia and perhaps a short stop in Barcelona. So hang on to your hats... we are off to backpack and camp our way across Europe! Keys to successful itinerary planningKey #1 Travel by train with a Eurail continuous Global Pass -Buy a Eurail pass to have the most flexibility in visiting many places in Europe. You can purchase your Eurail pass here: www.eurail.com The roller-bag and backpack you will use to tent camp will be easiest to travel with by train and you won’t be charged extra for it on the trains as you would if you used the budget airlines that many tourists use. Plus you will see, and experience much more by train, and have much more flexibility in your scheduled departures. We have purchased the Eurail Global Pass for both our trips, for the full time frame we will be in transit rather than a limited trip or limited number of days pass. We have found this allows more flexibility for multiple trips in and out of towns or side stops without worrying about budget. You have paid for unlimited travel upfront and you don’t need to consider it again. We also purchase first class passes as they are only a few hundred dollars more than second class passes and the free meals provided, comfortable seats, and air conditioning more than make up for the extra cost. We have also found that first class often has more available open seats as more people travel second class. The photo below shows you what a Eurail global pass looks like. (I’ve blocked my personal details). Total cost for two months of unlimited first class rail travel anywhere in Europe (includes the UK) approximately $1100 U.S. or $1500 Canadian. . I will do a full blog on how to use the Eurail app, later in our trip. Key #2 Use Rick Steeves, savvybackpacker and other online resources to plan your destinations well in advance I recommend using sites like Rick Steve’s Europe through the back door, www.ricksteeves.com and the Savvy Backpacker: https://thesavvybackpacker.com/ to find places you would like to visit. Rick Steeves even has travel shows for free on YouTube and amazon prime video which will inspire you to explore the hidden places in Europe rather than just the main tourist sites. You can start this part of your trip planning months or even years in advance. Key #3 Find campgrounds in cities and near train tracks. There are many European campground apps that will help you find campsites but it is a bit of an art form to find campsites that are also easily accessible by train. We have found two approaches to be the most successful. The first one is to simply find campsites within cities and large towns. Since most cities in Europe have train service, if you can find a campground within a city, you will have no trouble getting there with a combination of rail, tube, buses, and a bit of walking, The second way that we have found to locate campgrounds close to train tracks is by using the ACSI camping App : www.acsi.eu . With this app we are able to to find campgrounds even in remote places within walking distance of rail stations. This is because the ACSI app allows you to zoom in on a map and see where the campsite is in comparison to the train routes. It also has a route planner button that will layout travel directions including walking distances for you. Here is a screen shot of our first campground site on a map in the London area. It is marked as a heart of the ACSI campground map. The first screenshot shows the general region of London with many campsites. The second screenshot shows that I have zoomed in and found a campsite close to the rail tracks and also close to London. Rail tracks show as thin grey lines with dots along them. You can see the rail tracks and how close they are to the campground. This will be the primary reason I choose a campground (location), amenities come next. You don’t want to choose a campground that’s pretty, only to find yourself walking for two hours to get there. Screenshot #1. Campgrounds around London. The one I chose is marked with a heart. Screenshot #2 Zoomed in to show Abby Woods campground very close to London. Note the rail tracks are grey lines with dots. Screenshot #3 Once you choose a campsite, a separate page comes up that has a route planner link. The route planner button showed me that the walk from the rail station was .09 Kilometres which is an easy ten minute walk for my husband and I. There was also a bus if we needed it. Screenshot #4 This is what you will see when you click on the route planner. There are several choices and the times shown are actually longer than it takes. Our total trip was 35 minutes but they include walking times for all people including those who walk really slow, so it looks to take longer than it does in real time. - Plan some rest days. These days allow you to catch up on laundry, emails, and perhaps eat and shop in the local village where you are staying. You will also need some rest if your days are packed full of sight seeing. It has been our experience that some of most memorable meals, friends made and joyful experiences have happened by visiting the local places we are staying. People have almost always been super friendly and kind to us, inviting us for meals, giving directions and of course the locals always know where to shop and eat! - Plan to stay at least three days in a campground and do day trips from that hub of up to two hours away. Camping takes about an hour to set up, and another to take down. You don’t want to have to do that every single day. Your unlimited Eurail Global pass will allow you to take multiple day trips while staying in one campground that will be your “hub” in that region. - Plan to stay at an occasional hotel or bed and breakfast as needed. There may be times where your itinerary takes you somewhere that is beyond two hours by train but does not have three days of activities. By staying in a bed and breakfast overnight you can see that city and move on the next day without having to set up and take down camp. We have found that www.booking.com has been a reliable site for finding great deals on inexpensive accommodations across Europe. We tend to use our “hotel days” for when we get too many days of rain and simply need a warm, clean place to dry everything out, and take a day off from camping. - Allow extra time between train connections and ticket entrance times etc. Not only are you traveling with a backpack and bag in tow, you are unfamiliar with the locations and languages. We generally choose the later connection time on our list or a later ticket time which gives us wiggle room for getting lost, or bogged down while packing up. Hungry, cranky tired and frazzled are not a good combination when camping as camping will have enough of it’s own challenges. Give yourself the gift of extra time and patience for a better trip over all. Coming up in my next post - Abbey Woods campground, London and how to choose a tent for this type of trip.
3 Comments
Lisa Degenhardt
7/10/2019 01:45:43 pm
Hi Wendy and Murray!! I look forward to following your journey! Have fun and stay safe!! ♥️🙏🏻
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Karen Zushman
8/7/2019 08:24:43 pm
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Wendy Peter
8/8/2019 12:01:07 am
Hi you can view all the blog posts here. The footwear post is with my Switzerland blog at the top. Leave a Reply. |
Wendy Peter is the North American Director of Events for the Women on the Frontlines Organization.
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