First Backpacking Trip.

Hey, So this seems like a good place to start off. Well hopefully i can break it down. My girlfriend and i are planning a trip to Europe, backpacking of coarse. We're planning on going to France, Italy, Greece and maybe Germany. We are planning to go for 30 days. which to me doesn't seem like enough but it might be. im not sure.. and thats why im here, so i guess my first question is is 30 days enough? By the way we are coming from Canada. I have many questions in regards to where to stay and what not. I've heard of this euro train thing but not sure if we want to to do that. Where is a good place to start? and approximately how much is an average 30 day backpacking trip going to cost?

What is that saying, if you have to ask the price, you can't afford it.

Well seeing how I'm a just beginning to look into this i think that is a honest question to ask from the get go. If you have nothing to say that can benefit and help me with my trip please keep it to yourself.

Leok,
You might try using the search feature on this forum and use the word EUROPE in your search. Set the time frame to go back at 1 year. I found several threads that way and many had good information and links to other information. Some of the people might still be around here and you can try sending them a private message to get more input.

I have traveled to Europe quite a bit but never backpacked any of it, so that's the best I have to offer. Personally, I think a Eurorail (sp?) pass would be the easiest, least expensive way to get between locations where you want to hike/backpack.

Like Duane, I have no idea how much it would cost but for me it would be expensive right now due to the valuation of the dollar. For you, in Canada, it might be different.

By the way, have you googled BACKPACK EUROPE? I am assuming so, but if not, give it a try. There appears to be a lot of information, I just don't have the inclination to wade through it all right now. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

One last thing, HikerDuane was joking. Lighten up. He meant no disrespect.

Tango

I think the definition of "backpacking" for most folks here is hiking and camping in the wilderness. Is that your plan or are you simply touring Europe with a backpack via public transportation?

If the latter is true there are probably other sources that can provide you with better information than a lightweight backpacking board.

How much time is "enough" is a pretty subjective question. I think only you can answer that.

For a start, you could look:
there for general info , there for train and passes , and there for hostels
Camping is a bit different here than in Canada (at least in France, The UK, Germany; Italy and Greece I don't know)
Most villages will have a campsite, some big cities too (Paris and Rome are good ones, London forget it!) Some can be as well equipped as hotels, with restaurant, fun parks, swimming pools, launderettes and shop, like small holiday villages, or be very basic. Always decent shower/toilet blocks. Tents are often put on "tent-fields", not individual spots, and competition for a nice place can be fierce. Usually you will find no kitchen, picnic tables or even shelters, no fire pits, and open fires are always forbidden. Bring, or buy here, your own gear. Price is usually moderate for the site, plus per person, car, campervan, dog etc...but it's still cheaper than in Canada (I camped a lot there, and solo, and the price "per site only" was extortionate!). On the coasts for instance, campsites will most likely be cramped (that is, you can very well use one tent peg for two neighbouring guylines...), hell, or good fun, depends on your tastes!, and booking in some places is advisable...
Wild camping is most of the time illegal; occasionnally tolerated, if you are discreet and ask permission. And NO camping on the beach (well, I did, but off season...)
If you camp or stay in hostels you have the big advantage of cooking your own food and save a lot, restaurant or fast food joints daily would eat your budget away in a pinch. But foodstuff is not dirt cheap, at least in France or Germany.
Voilà...If I can be of more help PM me.

Leok, you are not the first person to be confused by the title of this forum. The term "backpacking" in the USA means wilderness trekking, not the European definition of budget traveling with a backpack. A lot of us have done the latter, but that's not the real purpose of this site.

A better forum for you than this one would be Lonely Planet's Thorn Tree. It's not quite what it used to be since the BBC took it over, but there are still a lot of regulars there who give good advice. I would suggest, though, that first you do some research, as in going to the library and reading a few guidebooks, so that you can ask more specific questions.

Only you can decide if you want to spend a lot of time traveling from place to place, trying to see everything but not able to do more than glance at a few famous sites in each place, or to spend most of your time in just a few places exploring them more thoroughly. (I've done it both ways and far prefer the latter, but I can speak only for me, not for you!) And only you can decide how much or how little you want to spend. These are not questions that others are qualified to answer, simply because we don't know you, your likes and dislikes, or your budget.

As OM said, this is not a site for people looking for information on touring in Europe. There are dozens, if not hundreds of other sites as well as dozens of guidebooks for all budgets about traveling in Europe. Lonely Planet publishes good books on touring on the cheap, Insight and Rough Guides are also good for budget travelers.

We don't mean to chase you away, but there are better places to find out what you want to know.

If you don't even know what a Eurail pass is, that alone tells me you haven't done any basic research before coming here, so I suggest you start there and do a lot of book reading.

I planned trips to New Zealand and Australia using just Lonely Planet and Insight books, with some info from other sources-before the Internet was around, so it isn't all that hard to do.