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Originally posted by AnotherWay83 yes there's top deck and contiki and other such options but i'd rather spend that money on other stuff, so a friend suggested trying out youth hostels, saying it's fun and easy to meet other young people and travel with them. anyone have any positive experiences with travelling this way in europe?

IMO, the Contiki/etc. things are a bit of a waste. it's probably fun, and easy to meet people, but I like the idea of doing my own thing more than doing an organised tour thing. If you're in a big hurry to see a lot of stuff though, maybe they'd be ok. I can't say from personal experience.

I traveled around Europe for nearly 3 years, staying in hostels. It's amazing fun, I met tons of awesome people everywhere I went, and I highly recommend it.

What length of time are you looking to go for? 3 years was a long time for me, but I had the advantage of being able to work in the UK (since I'm Australian) for most of the time I was overseas, so I'd work/travel/work/travel/etc. You're probably not looking at spending that much time there, I'm guessing, and you would have troubles getting a work visa being American (unless you have an EU passport?)

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Wow 3 years....


BABE BABE BABE BABY I GOT TO RAMBLEEEE... i bet stu whistled that the whole time.

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Originally posted by Joss Weatherby Wow 3 years.... BABE BABE BABE BABY I GOT TO RAMBLEEEE... i bet stu whistled that the whole time.

I only whistle Haddaway - What is Love

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Originally posted by Sushipunk IMO, the Contiki/etc. things are a bit of a waste. it's probably fun, and easy to meet people, but I like the idea of doing my own thing more than doing an organised tour thing. If you're in a big hurry to see a lot of stuff though, maybe they'd be ok. I can't say from personal experience. I traveled around Europe for nearly 3 years, staying in hostels. It's amazing fun, I met tons of awesome people everywhere I went, and I highly recommend it. What length of time are you looking to go for? 3 years was a long time for me, but I had the advantage of being able to work in the UK (since I'm Australian) for most of the time I was overseas, so I'd work/travel/work/travel/etc. You're probably not looking at spending that much time there, I'm guessing, and you would have troubles getting a work visa being American (unless you have an EU passport?)

hey, thanks for the info. yeah, it'll just be a quick trip, 2 weeks to maybe 2.5 weeks tops. i'm definitely fascinated by the idea of actually living and working in europe but since i haven't been there (ever!) i can't make up my mind about that just yet.

definitely leaning towards the hostel thing tho, sounds like a blast. almost like re-living college dorm days, lol!

2 weeks in Europe? Are you just going to stick to one country?

Hostels are fun and generally really safe, they have private rooms but if you wanted to do it cheaper, they have dorm rooms with bunk beds of up to 10 people or so. Hostels are great for meeting new people and often get to exchange ideas/stories on what to see that isn't printed in the latest lonely planet.

Which countries did you plan on visiting?

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Hostels are awesome imo.

Always people there to talk to and go out with.

Where you going in Europe?

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Originally posted by teegee sometimes, i sit on my hand until its numb and then masturbate...i call that a stranger.

Hostels are awesome imo.

Always people there to talk to and go out with.

Where you going in Europe?

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Originally posted by teegee sometimes, i sit on my hand until its numb and then masturbate...i call that a stranger.

there are actually certain cities that i wanna visit, like: paris, prague, stockholm, berlin, and i also need to do more research on what other cool cities are must-visits.

@narcism: thats exactly what my friend that lived in germany for 3 yrs told me, she said you meet ppl in hostels and you can figure out where next you should go based on your exchanges with them.

unfortunately i can only spare 2 - 2.5 weeks, work calls

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Originally posted by AnotherWay83 there are actually certain cities that i wanna visit, like: paris, prague, stockholm, berlin, and i also need to do more research on what other cool cities are must-visits.

Because of the short time you are going, pick countries which are close together and easily accessible from all types of transport. I used the train system a lot in europe and if you get the night trains, you don't need to pay for a nights accommodation. My BF did the same with buses, but i cant be arsed spending 10+ hrs on a bus

I stayed in a hostel with a friend in Amsterdam like 2 years ago. It was only like 15 Euro per night. The conditions were obviously not ideal but during the 3 days that we were there it was a ton of fun.