Why Italy

Backpack Europe with idiot in tow need ideas and guidance...?

Right so the plan is I'm going on an odyssey around Europe and ultimately beyond for an indeterminate amount of time (budget roughly £10K) with a brainless companion. I'm going to go via rail, that much is certain, and stay in hostels in order to travel frugally. We're both under 25 so we could pick up some discounts... What are the best travel books to bring, Lonely Planet, Work Your way around the world? I'm from Jersey Channel Islands so the best and cheapest thing to do would be to catch a ferry to St Malo and then train down through France and I want to go roughly in a southernly direction to see Germany, Switzerland, Italy and then Greece. I'm debating the next step because myself and my buddy want to go to Morocco and/or Egypt so we thought we get a round the world ticket but catch a first flight from Southern Europe, ie Greece, and then continue onto Asia, Far East. etc What is the best and most enjoyable way of doing roughly what I have described?

Public Comments

1. The most enjoyable way is to have detailed planning ahead of time and then be prepared to go in a completely different direction at short notice. You may get somewhere and love it or hate it, changign your ideas on how long to stay, or hear of a 'must visit' place that wasn't on your agenda. £10k sounds a lot but will soon get eaten up in 'Western' countries. The Money section for each country on Lonely Planet's website tells you approx costs to budget for. Asia will be cheap but the European countries that you mention, the Far East & Oz won't be. I swear by Lonely Planet but if you plan to work, you may want to take a look at The Work Your Way range and see if you perhaps want to take one of those too. At least flick through one in a book shop and make mental notes of any handy hints. You might want to talk to a specialist agent such as STA or Trailfinders about your RTW options. Consider climate - you don't want to be in Asia during the monoon/typhoon season or the west coast of the Americas during huricane season, if you can avoid it. Also consider that you'll have to fix dates for your flights and may have to pay a charge if you want to change. they alos have a 12-month limit on them. Equally, some border crossings require you to have proof of an onward ticket. If you can do it...Europe, incl Spain, Portugal, Hungary, Czech, Croatia etc (all of which will be cheaper than France, Switz, Italy etc) then fly to India for a while. Over to Thailand, loop Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos, then go down through Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia and cross to Oz. Over to NZ. Fly to Latin America if you can get a RTW that goes there, otherwise USA or Africa and home. And, good luck with your travel companion. You may find that you don't stay together for the whole duration, particularly if you have such a high opinion of him/her before you even start ;-)