Explore Europe

Choosing the Right Backpack… or a Suitcase If you are thinking about going traveling and being on the road a lot (ie: not just staying at the same hotel the whole time) it’s probably worth it for you to read below what happened to me when I backpacked through Europe before you decide to buy [...]

When you are travelling, there are some places you go to party, there are some places you go to sit on the beach, there are some places you go to see the museums and art galleries, and then there are the places you go to get great service and to relax and recover to be [...]

Venice had a strange effect on me. I’m usually not into shopping for souvenirs but I became completely and utterly obsessed with finding the perfect Venetian theatre mask. Upon walking into the city you are bombarded with tourist shops selling an assortment of gifts and crafts including theatre masks (the ballroom kind), joker masks, capes, [...]

Gryon, Switzerland. Swiss Alps Retreat, Chalet Martin This was a really neat hostel in Gryon, Swtizerland. It was right up on a mountain and is a gorgeous place with a ton of activities you can do, like taking a gondola to the top of the mountain. Pros: It was cheap (about $25/night), they had a [...]

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Smart Backpacking on a Budget Here’s some smart ways to plan your trip. You can save money by getting clean but affordable accommodation, choosing the most economical railpass for your trip and packing just the right stuff so you don’t have to waste money on more expensive gear on the road. If you want to [...]

The only reason I went to Nice instead of staying in Menton is because there was absolutely, positively, not a single locker in Menton where they would let me lock up my passport and credit cards so I could go swimming. That being said Nice is a very beautiful place and a big city. Nice [...]

  I just spent my first week in England. The flight was not as bad as I thought it would be. The person in the seat next to me was a no-show so I had two seats to sleep on for the 9 hour trans-Atlantic flight from Edmonton to London. What a good start to [...]

As a recap from part 1 you should have the following so far a list of places you want to visit your travel gear with checklist your rail pass a current passport In part two we’ll cover accommodation, the flight and considering writing a travel blog. It’s best to only book accommodation for the first [...]

Europe is the ultimate destination for people looking to do some independent travel. You’ve come to the right place for what’ll you’ll need for how to backpack through Europe. It caters to backpackers with it’s extensive rail system that will take you to almost every country, hostels in nearly every city and town, so much [...]

Hallstatt is a very quiet place that can only be accessed by car or by taking a combination of a train and boat (2€) to the town. Be careful on the trains getting there. I had to make three train changes to get there and because most people only spoke German it was difficult to [...]

Gimmelwald Switzerland is one of those rare places that you stumble upon that just has everything. It’s hard to describe in words what is so special about it, but it seems to be the combination of one of the best views in Switzerland, the clean mountain air, the endless hiking opportunities, the cozy dining area [...]

You might not want to bring everything on this list, or you might want to bring more. But this gives a good idea of the essentials of what to pack for Europe. Decide what you really need, if you can get away without it you’ll probably be glad you didn’t bring it. Be sure to [...]

Croatia is a fairly small country but it is completely worth the extra money to take a plane into Dubrovnik. On my way in, I took an 8 hour overnight sleeper car from Zagreb to Split, then a 5 hour bus, as there are no trains directly into Dubrovnik. The reservation for the sleeper car [...]

First let’s define the term flashpacker for the meaning we’ll be using today Definition: Flashpacker. The independent traveler who is visiting destinations once more commonly reserved for the more adventurous budget traveler; traveling with more affluence and enjoying the conveniences of their lifestyle usually reserved for being at home by bringing their gear including a [...]

Bled was just about one of the most entertaining little places I visited along my trip so far, mostly because of the Jahela backpacker hostel I decided to stay at. It was only 15€ a night including breakfast and pick-up/drop-off at the train station. I though “Wow, either this is an amazing deal or this [...]

Here’s a list of the best travel gear to buy for the road. They’re smart to bring along and will prove practical and useful in many situations. Any of these items would make a gift for travel especially for someone is planning an upcoming trip.   Buy Compression Bags For Your Clothing These bags will [...]

When most people think of Switzerland they immediately go in to how expensive it is to travel there and will tell you all about it… usually right before you’re about to go there anyways. But is that necessarily true? Only for the regular tourist types staying at hotels and dining out, also this reputation comes [...]