SamWood
Traveller
1 comments
Posted 16 years ago
Hi all, im going to buy an interail ticked for july/august time and was wondering how the experience has been for solo travelers and where the best places are to go to meet other travelers.
Im 18 years old and have been wanting to do this for a while. I have no set routes, my plan is to go around as many cities as possible in 2 weeks. I would like to meet up with other people along the way aswell (which i guess will be at Hostels). I was also wondering if travelers arrange to go with strangers on these journeys and what that experience has been like.
Thanks for all advice.
admin
Traveller
203 comments
Hi,
You have the right idea there. Interrailing and backpacking are social activities and, because you will always be with other backpackers, hostels are great for meeting people. Couchettes, on overnight trains, are great too because you are in a small compartment with other people and you can swap stories and advice etc as well as perhaps travel together.
You might meet people that you don't really get on with but you, or they, will be moving on soon. For me, maybe half of the enjoyment, apart from the new and interesting places, is the encounters with people along the way. You can also maybe pre-arrange travel companions through this website.
Don't forget that you can also talk to locals wherever you go. This can be great fun too so it's a good idea to learn some simple phrases and vocab for your intended destinations, even just to be polite and not expect everyone else to speak or understand English. I have phrase books and dictionaries and also have key words and phrases on my mobile phone for easy reference in train stations etc. Hope this is helpful. Have a most excellent trip.
iaink
[quote]Hi all, im going to buy an interail ticked for july/august time and was wondering how the experience has been for solo travelers and where the best places are to go to meet other travelers.
Im 18 years old and have been wanting to do this for a while. I have no set routes, my plan is to go around as many cities as possible in 2 weeks. I would like to meet up with other people along the way aswell (which i guess will be at Hostels). I was also wondering if travelers arrange to go with strangers on these journeys and what that experience has been like.
Thanks for all advice.[/quote]
SamWood
Traveller
1 comments
Thanks for the advice! It all sounds what i want to do, and im now leaving early april for 2 weeks :) Im planning to head to France first, the venture forth as many places as i can get too. The good thing about the ticket is the sheer amount of freedom that you get to explore with. I agree with you about the phrase books, was looking today in a bookshop (you need 3 to cover the entire of Europe :O ). I would like to meet people through a web site but unfortunatly this one is a bit inactive, do you happen to know of a more active websites which organise traveling companions? I might be going with a friend so just meeting up with people for a pint or something would still be pretty great!
admin
Traveller
203 comments
Hi,
Fraid I don't know of any other more useful sites for arranging travel mates. I always go on my own, but meet people everywhere. Maybe you can put a post here asking anyone if they want to go or rendevouz. France is my favourite destination and after Paris, of course, I'd recommend Nice for a few days: you can take an overnight train with a couchette so that you don't waste a day on the train. There is an excellent long beach, loads of backpackers, day trip to Monaco and Monte Carlo is easy, heaps of hostels you can book through [ux]https://rail.shop/hostelworld[/ux] or other. All the best and bon journee.
iaink