When I purchased my first ticket across the pond, I didn’t even have a passport yet. Just a little bit of gumption and a general idea of what cities and country’s I could see with what time and money I thought I could come up with before take off. My first solo backpacking trip to Europe was the most eye opening experience I had up until that point and will always be a pleasure to replay in my mind.
I was looking for flights online and found a really good deal on a multi-city trip ticket from Chicago to Paris and from Amsterdam back to Chicago 3 weeks later. It was such a good deal after a few beers and a little debating with myself, I booked it that same night. It was kind of a crazy decision on my part being that I didn’t have a passport yet and that I really had no idea what I was doing. Just getting the ticket bought helped me not sleep right for several nights! A good amount of tossing and turning and dreams about things I didn’t know anything about. It was a good thing! I had succumbed to one of those ruts we often hear people falling into. A trip to Europe was exactly what the doctor ordered!
Planning my trip instantly changed the way I was going about my days around the house. I knew that I would be walking great distances so I started walking more and trying to learn a word or two of French. Paris being my first foreign city I would visit. I started to be more frugal in my spending on day to day things and also began buying things here and there that I thought might be useful on my trip. Items like guide books, a compass, small key chain flashlight, and my backpack.
I had 3 months to plan and pack for my trip. Booking hostels,trains, planes and buses took me a few days. I only booked the first week of accommodation and travel so I could have some freedom once I got out on the road. My first week consisted of 2 nights at a hostel in Paris and then a flight to Rome where I stayed in a hostel for 3 nights. From there I took a train to Pompeii to hike to the summit of Mt Vesuvius and see the Ruins Of Pompeii.
In conclusion, my first solo backpacking trip to Europe was a huge success and I hope to get to do it again real soon. So in the mean time I would like to help, teach and inspire anyone who would like to learn about backpacking Europe and the world to leave a comment below and we can talk about your plans and help you with any questions you may have about independent world travel.