Hi, I am a 27 year old female from Montreal, Canada planning on backpacking alone this July. My plan is to fly to London and visit my sister in London, then fly to Milan. I plan on buying the Italy-Greece Eurail pass. From Milan I will backpack my way to Southern Italy (10 days), then catch the ferry to Greece. Does anyone know if the ferry ticket is covered by the train pass?? (I heard the only way to get to Greece is by boat) Then I will backpack through Greece for another 10 days. I did some research and it is cheaper to fly back to London from Italy, so I would go back to Italy and catch a flight there back to London. My whole trip will take about 4-5 weeks. I have a round-trip ticket for Montreal-London. These flights are not connecting flights. I am worried that I may miss a flight if the plane is delayed or I get lost somewhere. The cost for all the flights and the train pass would be about $1640 in canadian $. Should I book all the flights asap?? The sooner I book them, the cheaper the flights are.
As for hostels, do I reserve ahead of time? I still want to have flexibility on my trip. Does anyone know any hostels with reasonable rates in Italy and Greece? Also, does anyone have any suggestions of what cities/islands I should visit? I want to visit places that are fun, relatively safe, have beaches, restaurants, cafes, friendly people.
This is my first time travelling alone and any advice would be really appreciated!! Thanks!
Anna
i think you could do cheaper than that. have you looked at flyzoom or canadian affair for montreal-london. i was able to find one ways in july last year for $300. for london milan, have you taken a look at those cheap european flights on skyscanner? they can help you find a cheap ticket. I think for the rail passes it depends which one you get as to whether the ferry is covered. I remember traveling a few years ago and the ireland-france ferry was covered on ours. so i would double check with the eurail people. also have you looked into going over to croatia as well, thats what i did last year, and had a blast. and there are a number of cheap flights connecting back to london. (dont forget to check if you are arriving and leaving from the same airport in london, there are 4!) If you are scared of missing your flight back, maybe arrange to stay in london for an extra night on your way back. (this is what i did!) but beware that transport from the airport in london to the city can sometimes cost more than a flight to somewhere in europe.
The Eurail Italy and Greece pass does, I think, include Italy-Greece ferries run by Attica group, i.e. www.superfast.com and www.bluestarferries.com, also www.minoan.gr.<BR><BR>The main route is Bari-Patras run by www.superfast.com (jointly in fact with blue star), although there's also Ancona-Patras. It's a lovely way to reach Greece, cruisng across blue waters under blue skies, past the islands of Ithaca and Kefalonia. Beats yet more flights hands-down!
For Italy-London by train, see www.seat61.com/Italy.htm</a>, with direct sleeper trains Rome or Venice to Paris, the Eurostar through the Channel Tunnel to London, an experience in itself.
You can book the Rome/Florence/Venice to Paris train online at www.trenitalia.it (English button top right, first click 'international'), fares from just 35 euros including bunk for the night if you pre-book at least 14 days in advance (maximum 90 days ahead).
Then you can book Paris-London at www.eurostar.com
If I purchase my train ticket online, it says it needs to be delivered to an address in Italy. That is impossible since I will be travelling. Is there some way to pick it up when I go instead?
Hi anna,
I am 22year old female from Sydney and I'll be travelling through Italy in July (arrive in Milan 14 July) solo as well.
How have you gone with finding hostels throughout Italy? I am finding it ALOT more difficult than other areas in Europe like Spain, Prague and London.
Where in Italy do you want to go to? My plan so far is: Milan, Cinquaterra, Portofino, Santa Margherita, Florence, Siena, Lucca, San Gimignano and Rome.
Samantha
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