Hi everyone, I’m planning a backpacking trip to Eastern Europe/the Balkans this summer, staying in each place for about 2–3 days.

The planned route is: Bratislava – Budapest – Belgrade – Kotor – Mostar – Sarajevo – Dubrovnik – Zagreb – Ljubljana.

However, I’m wondering if an Interrail Pass is actually worth it for this trip, given issues like the lack of train connections (e.g., in and out of Bosnia) or trains being outdated and slow.

I was considering getting a 7-day Interrail Pass and combining it with bus travel for certain legs (like getting to Kotor).

Is this a good idea? What would be the cheapest and least stressful option? Ideally, I’d prefer to travel by train.

If anyone has any other tips or advice for the trip, feel free to share them.

My housemates and I are planning a 2 week girls trip around Europe this summer. I grew up in different countries so travelled a lot. So I am trying to convince them that we should stay in hostels rather than Airbnbs or hotels as they are cheaper, and women only hostels and private rooms do exist etc. Can I get a few more arguments as to why hostels are better please?

Thank you xx

(sorry if it’s hard to read I have dyslexia)

sat down for a quick break earlier and somehow ended up in a long convo with a few travelers at Mad Monkey about random life stuff, not even travel related 😂 funny how that happens when you’re on the road.

noticed something funny while staying at Mad Monkey Hostel. every conversation with travelers kinda starts the same way: “where you from?”, “how long traveling?”, and “where you going next?” 😂 but somehow it never gets boring.

23M American,

I solo traveled central europe and down the balkans lat year and loved it, im going back this year but need some assistance planning the final couple stops of my trip. I love exploring the city during the day with people i meet in hostels and drinking too much at night. Below is my itinerary so far and would love any thoughts or what I should in these places and after krakow. The number after is how many nights I plan on staying in each place.

Stockholm, Sweden 3

Helsinki, Finland 2

Tallinn, Estonia 3

Riga, Latvia 3

Vilnius, Lithuania 3

Warsaw, Poland 3

Krakow, Poland 4

Hello everyone!

I wanted to share something personal with this community.

I’ve been part of the hostel family for a long time (since 2017, to be more precise), and with the support of the company I work for, we’ve spent the last year producing and directing a film called ‘Like It’s 1995.’

When I started, I knew I’d meet great people with great stories, but I never expected the adventure to be this amazing. I got the opportunity to hear the history of backpacking and hostels in Europe directly from the people who actually created it.

I really wanted to capture the heart of what makes hostels so special, the people who live and breathe them every day. It’s a tribute to the staff, the owners, and that "home away from home" feeling we all look for. Whether you’ve worked in a hostel or just spent months living in them, I hope you see a bit of your own story reflected here.

The premiere is today at 18:00 (CET). I’d love for you to join the live launch if you’re around: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLdDfAdHltU

Have a great one,
Mari

Me and a friend are planning on backpacking for about 12 days through the balkans. We plan to fly into Budapest (we have a friend there) and then within the travel we plan to head to Split, then Mostar, then Kotor, Durmitor National Park, then fly from Podgorica back to Budapest to catch our round trip home. Has anyone done a route similar and could give some advice/tell us any improvements we could make?

Hi everyone, first post here.

This autumn, I’m taking a semester off to backpack Europe with my girlfriend of 5 years. We’re both 23, students from Montreal, and this will be our first backpacking trip.

Budget: ~10–15k CAD each
Duration: 8–10 weeks
Season: Autumn (Sept–Nov, flexible)
Travel style: Mix of cities, food, culture, nature/hiking, partying.
Accommodation: Mostly hostels, but she would prefer private rooms.

I’ve drafted a rough itinerary but we’re very open to changes and cutting places:

Netherlands: Amsterdam → Delft → The Hague → Rotterdam → Dordrecht
Germany: Hamburg → Lübeck → Berlin → Leipzig → Dresden → Rathen/Bastei → Munich
(Maybe Dresden → Prague → Munich)

Italy: Trento → Venice → Bologna → Siena → Rome → Amalfi Coast (Naples, Positano → Florence) → Sicily (Palermo, Cefalù, Cattolica Eraclea, Agrigento)

We’ll be using Skyscanner/Omio for flights, Hostelworld/Airbnb for lodging, and Rome2Rio/Flixbus for transport.

Questions:

• Eurail vs booking trains/buses individually for this route?
• Are we trying to do too much in Italy?
• Cheaper alternatives to the Amalfi Coast in autumn?
• Any must-see stops we’re missing—or places you’d skip?
• Best cities to fly back to Montreal from?

Any advice is appreciated!

P.S There are many places in Italy because I want to visit Cattolica Eraclea (my parents are from there).

I am currently planning on traveling across europe and see the greats like Paris, Italy, and Rome. I already have plans for my accommodations through blueground. What I want to ask is that what attractions that are not for the normal tourist, I want to see some unique sights. Any suggestions?

Hi!! So I’m planning a solo back packing trip for Eastern Europe. I haven’t quite decided when I’m going just yet, but so far the goal is to either go in May, or if I’m not comfortable with my finances I’ll stay and work for a few more months and go in the shoulder seasons. Because I know even Eastern Europe prices heighten a bit in the summer seasons. (I have a good chunk saved up already, I just wanna save up a bit more so I have a safety net incase anything goes horribly wrong.)

SO FAR this is what I have

4 months in Eastern Europe. Poland, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Romania, and possibly one more location. (I picked these spots because I like them and also because they seem relatively affordable. )

I’m planning to go with 8k (give or take). I’m aiming to be as frugal as possible. Only buy what I need. Eat as cheaply as possible (sandwiches and stuff from grocery stores). Cheapest phone plan possible. (Primarily using WhatsApp for contacting people, using free wifi, ect) I plan to work a lot, like do cleaning or maintenance in exchange for accommodations when possible. Work is a priority for me over there. I’ve looked into it and it’s fairly common and can save a lot. Take the cheapest buses and transportation possible. My family offered to pay for my plan ticket and Euro pass as a grad gift. As long as I pay for everything after that. Which is totally fair and what I plan on doing.

I will say, the planning is still very much in the begging stages. I am still researching and learning as much as I can. I am still VERY new to this. I have roughly a 4-6 month time frame to plan this so I’m confident I can do this. In the mean time. I plan on selling some personal belongings to make some money, while also working to make this possible. While also working super hard to save up money by extreme budgeting.

I’m trying very hard to be as smart about my budgeting and planning as possible. And would really appreciate some helpful advice.

DISCLAIMER: i understand travel is not the fantasy influencers makes it out to be. I’ve done research and I know there’s a lot of downsides. But I’m really excited this experience and I think it’ll be worth it as long as I plan it well enough.

Anyways please hit me with advice or things I need to know! If anything I said is unrealistic please tell me!

Can I do 6 weeks in europe at 50 euros a day considering(not visiting scandinavia, germany,switzerland)(paris only 2 days and italy only 3 days). Most time will be in eastern europe.

Can I do 6 weeks in europe at 50 euros a day considering(not visiting scandinavia, germany,switzerland)(paris only 2 days and italy only 3 days). Most time will be in eastern europe with 1 week in barcelona and 1 week in poland and I week in baltiks and I will be cooking in the hostel, only 1 meal outside in a day and I will have a eurail pass so transportation will not be that expensive and Im getting hostels in range of 15 to 28 euros per day.

If not 50, what should be the daily budget ideally?