Need Advise on a long trip

[crious]

Ok I know this seem insane for most people but I am planning out a 2 year trip over seas. I have been over seas more times than I can count but I always find advise from other travelers to be invaluable. I am leaving July 2005 for New Zealand where I got a Working Holiday permit. After 6-9 months I am off to Australia to see the out back. On to South Africa and Egypt after that. Then a zigzag backpacking trip of all of Eastern and Western Europe. This trip has been in the making for 12 years and is finally in the not so far future. Any advice will be greatly appreciated on the backpacking portion of Europe and living in New Zealand. Oh and if any one knows of where to get decent temporary housing in New Zealand I would appreciate it!!

[skidrage]

Sounds like a great trip, but here is some advice on the European version. Some of this is pretty basic stuff, but since you asked for any advice, here is some:

-Western Europe is more expensive, but some countries such as Spain, Portugal, and Italy are still relatively cheap. Scandanavia and Switzerland are very expensive.

-Some countries lack hostels. Italy seems to have a lot less than it should. Outside of Prague and Budapest, hostels can be tough to find in Eastern Europe, even in major cities of countries like Poland, Slovenia, Croatia

-A Eurail pass is usually your best bet to move around Western Europe. You can hop on and off any train for a certain time period. Also check cheap airline companies like Easyjet and Ryanair. If you book far ahead enough, you can fly for unbelievable prices. Don't buy an Eastern Europe rail pass as train fare is very cheap there.

-Be sure to check out some of the smaller towns during your visits. A lot of times these will be better than the more popular towns and always are cheaper.

-Don't feel the need to go to every major city. Look in some tour books. See what cities match up your interests. Some towns I went to just because they were famous, but then realized that they did not really offer anything that interested me.

[crious]

Skid,

Thanks for your help. Every time I go to europe I normally hitch hike it but my buddy wants to use the rails. Any advise on where to pick up the Eurail passes. some one told me they are cheaper to buy here in the states. Is that true????

[U2fan]

I could maybe help with Egypt; I was just there in March but only for 11 days. Let me know.

[skidrage]

Check the web for rail passes. The home page here has a link about them. You can't actually buy Eurail passes in Europe so you will have to buy one here in the States.

[crious]

U2Fan,

Any advise you can give me on Egypt would be greatly appreciated. I have never been to Africa and have not read much on that area. All help would be appreciated.