3 Months in Winter
Howdy all,This December I'll be graduating and heading on a 90 day European backpacking trip immediately after Christmas. My first draft of destinations seemed a bit too ambitious after a couple hours perusing forums, so I’m now trying to reign things in a bit.
Right now my trip starts in Paris for NYE (which I realize is expensive )→ Madrid → Barcelona → Marseille → Geneva → Prague → Berlin → Copenhagen (maybe) → Amsterdam → London → Edinburgh → and ending in Cork where I’ll be staying with family.
Is this too much for 90 days or not ambitious enough? I picked major cities hoping they would have more open during the winter months as well as a younger (I’ll be 21) and maybe a more gay-friendly crowd. I’m also looking for a couple suggestions for smaller destinations to maybe replace a couple of the destinations above.
I was originally planning on getting a Global Eurorail pass, but am considering saving money by buying point-to-point tickets after reading some of the suggestions on here. Shooting for a daily budget 65 euros/ $80, staying in hostels and keeping expenses moderately frugal.
Would any of these spots not be very ideal during the winter?
Finally, I’m a dual-citizen of the US and Ireland -- but I assume I’ll still be limited by the 3 month limit if I’m travelling in and out of the EU on my US passport
Cheers,
Sean
1
I think you will want to budget a bit higher. First, I like your itinerary and in my opinion, it's neither too ambitious nor not ambitious enough. Roughly a week for each city will be a nice to chance to get a feel for where you are. If you get bored you can make day trips without disturbing your advance purchase point-to-point plans (advance purchase to get cheaper prices.) But this is going to increase your costs some since you will need transportation for these side trips. Plus, tightening the belt for a few weeks is ok for some, but may become annoying by the third month.Second, exploring the gay scene often means bars or clubs which will raise your costs (unless you can manage to nurse one beer all night). Larger communities also offer non-bar oriented activities, but you'll need to research dates and see if they line up with when you're there. Also, you may wish to consider gay-firendly or exclusively gay accommodation, where available. It's a great way to meet people. In places like Berlin, there are hostels so you should be able to maintain your budget. In other cities this may mean a low-end hotel which will again up your costs but you may find it worth it for the social angle.
You presently have one city on the list in "Eastern Europe" (by the obsolete pre-1989 definition that Thorn Tree uses). Your budget would go farther in a place like Poland or the Baltics, although you'll have to factor in transportation to get there. Could be a nice experience to visit the fledgling gay scenes which almost certainly will be more youth oriented than some places. Some budget flights could make sense. Plus, these places are beautiful if there is sill snow.
Finally, cold weather is a personal preference. I happen to love it, and could happily go to any of the places you list in winter. Others may disagree. By the time you get to March, you may have some temps just above freezing with rain. It's times like those that I wish it were colder. Hope that helps a little.
