Post: #1

Hey what's happening everybody! So me and a few friends including a member here Co22wen, are planning to do a month long train trip throughout Europe after senior year (we're juniors right now). We wanna go for obvious reasons, being able to drink, get in to clubs, better women So does anybody have any experience taking the train throughout Europe (it's a pretty good deal about $500 to go wherever for a month)

We've made a lot of exchange student friends, so in most countries we'll have a place to stay, if not we'll just stay in a hostel. The biggest thing I'm worried about is if what we're trying to do in a month is a little ambitious. Ideally we will fly to Spain, then take the train through France, Italy, Slovenia, Czech, Germany, and probably fly out of Amsterdam, staying a few days in each place. Is this to much for the amount of time we'll be going? I'd love to spend longer but due to $ and other factors it's probably not happening. Thanks for any tips!

-Alexander

Post: #2

taking the train is fine, it can just be a pain in the ass sometimes. List every single city you are going to and I'll tell you ones worth skipping if extra time is what you're looking for.

Post: #3

(05-05-2013 03:26 PM)chexmix Wrote:  taking the train is fine, it can just be a pain in the ass sometimes. List every single city you are going to and I'll tell you ones worth skipping if extra time is what you're looking for.

Thanks man. So we'll probably go to madrid, maybe marselle, milan, ljubjana, vienna, prague, munich, amsterdam, maybe paris, then home.

Post: #4

(05-05-2013 06:08 PM)xolisi Wrote:  

(05-05-2013 03:26 PM)chexmix Wrote:  taking the train is fine, it can just be a pain in the ass sometimes. List every single city you are going to and I'll tell you ones worth skipping if extra time is what you're looking for.

Thanks man. So we'll probably go to madrid, maybe marselle, milan, ljubjana, vienna, prague, munich, amsterdam, maybe paris, then home.

Madrid- Have not been there.
Marselle- Have not been there.
Milan- I like Milan, the locals are much nicer then the Italians I'm used to in my area (venice) Hostel Ostello Bello is fantastic. I'd say Florence or Rome would be better worth your time sightseeing wise but it's a longer distance on the train. http://www.hostelworld.com/hosteldetails...pNum=54097

Ljubjana- Fucking LOVE this city but that's because I get along very well with the locals. Hostel Celica is great and the best option for backpackers imo. http://www.hostelworld.com/hosteldetails...0+May+2013

Vienna- Beautiful city, lots of history, boring as fuck. I'd sub with city with Budapest!
Prague- great party city, amazing food, even better beer but there is tons of tourist, lots of stag party style stuff.

Munich- Have not been there but I've only heard good things. Party city.

Amsterdam- Very fun city, I'll throw up a bunch of info on this city on my lunch break so give me a few hours.

Paris- Have not been.


If you have any questions hit me up.

Post: #5

(05-05-2013 06:08 PM)xolisi Wrote:  

(05-05-2013 03:26 PM)chexmix Wrote:  taking the train is fine, it can just be a pain in the ass sometimes. List every single city you are going to and I'll tell you ones worth skipping if extra time is what you're looking for.

Thanks man. So we'll probably go to madrid, maybe marselle, milan, ljubjana, vienna, prague, munich, amsterdam, maybe paris, then home.

Eight cities, huh? - over about 30 days? With Munich and Eastbound the longest leg - right? So you might have three days in each city on average.

RickSteves.com website has got the Europe by rail trip down to a science, replete with all the overview/maps/passes/details you need to get her done! (Skip the book - the "Best of Europe" cities video overviews should be online; use this to prioritize your cultural targets.

Here is RickSteves very useful Europe-by-rail time-cost map.

For bed planning, you can start HERE to check your base costs. Then go to hostelworld.com
or similar sites to nail down desirable alternatives. Blend Roosh' guides with Naughtynomad and "Let's Go" for entertainment and girl chasing target setting.

Vienna to Prague looks like your shortest trip (under 90min), and therefore the least time-costly travel day.

Personally, I'd skip Marselle and add Barcelona instead (an Olympic host city and Spain's cultural rival to Paris, yet also the least "Spanish" - SEE Robert Hughes book at amazon for a quick gloss of all you don't know, plus it's on the beach!).

Rather than fill-up your itinerary with lots of must-do's - PRIORITIZE the destination sights to see in your cities. If you and your buddy can agree on these, that's half your decision-making done and ready. Make the list adaptive to the party/play/poosy chasing time you want to have.

DO realize that sometimes social opps just develop (just as you've learned from life and Roosh)! Ideally, you'll meet one or more females interested in bending their plans to join in for sharing part of yours - if you wish. Live for the adventures.

My 'foreign affairs' have been among the highlights of my entire life. Have more than one! You won't regret it.

Post: #6

I have done 3 inter-rails when I was younger, and at least seven years ago, the places where you could have more fun were some of the main cities in Eastern Europe: Krakaw, Budapest, Prague, in this order. They also happen to be very beatiful and full of interest.

In terms of touristic interest, it's difficult to give you advices, there is so much stuff to be seen... If I would be in your place, I would prefer small cities with a relevant historical center, since you won't be using a car and you want your costs to be limited to train (for which you already have the ticket).

For example, in Spain I would not recommend you Madrid, which is huge. Perhaps Barcelona, which is slightly smaller and has good transport system. Netherlands and Belgium are also cool spots, in that the cities are very close to each other: Brussels, Brugges, Amsterdam, Gent...

In relation to hostels, they are amazing and really cheap, but remember that you won't be able to take any girls there... In the best cities in terms of action, I would recommend you to rent an apartment or cheap hotel. If you go with three friends, you can for example rent tto double bedrooms. If there's only one lucky guy, his partner in the room will have to sleep in the floor in the other room

When I did these trips I I did not have access to couchsurfing, baddoo, etc. But I think you should try to pipeline a lot through these sites, specially when you're in these boring trips in the train!

Post: #7

edit

Post: #8

(05-05-2013 06:08 PM)xolisi Wrote:  Thanks man. So we'll probably go to madrid, maybe marselle, milan, ljubjana, vienna, prague, munich, amsterdam, maybe paris, then home.

Maybe instead of Marseille you should try Nice, Montpellier or the south West (Biarritz or Hossegor for example). Marseille is a bit of a ghetto right now...

Post: #9

And if you come to Madrid, don't come in August as the city is half empty. The weather is quite hot too (36-40 degrees). You should better go to Barcleona

Post: #10

Hey xolisi, sounds like a great trip. I took a solo Eurotrip like this after college, was a great time, and opened the door to traveling to more exotic destinations later on.

Did one of those open-ended Eurorail trips, though to be honest, flights in Europe on Ryanair and EZJet can be cheaper and faster. But I did meet more than one fly girl on the train.

http://www.eurail.com/

Good call on staying with local friends - it makes the experience much more fun. Also, hostels can be real cheap and fun. A lot of guys on the forum knock them, but when you're young and don't have too much cash, they can be great. Try to find ones that let you bring guests, for when you pick up a local girl.

Regarding destinations, leave yourself some flexibility, don't plan the entire trip ahead of time. You might be having a lot of fun in one place, and not want to leave, or hate another city and be dying to get out after one day. Also, if it seems like the right choice, you can let your friends go ahead and stay by yourself in a place - don't be afraid to travel on your own, as you meet a lot more people from all over the world this way.

So, a few of my favorite spots in Europe:

London - great city, there's an excellent datasheet by dk902 here. British girls don't get much love on this forum, but its an amazing city and a good way to 'ease' into your trip, since they speak English.

Barcelona - Agree with some other posters that it's a better destination than Madrid. If you do end up in western/southern Spain, think about hitting Costa del Sol, maybe Cadiz - it's a lot of fun in the summer and quite cheap. I got an Argentinian flag here, which is just about impossible to get in Argentina. Lots of good datasheets on the forum, check out the GManifesto's data.

Germany - Berlin and Munich are both lots of fun. Check out the beer gardens, and Octoberfest if you're there in September. If you like to see sites as well as just women, do the free walking tours - they have these in lots of European cities, and they're real nice, and usually a few fly tourists on them. You can easily game them while walking around and set something up for later - met a beautiful Brazilian girl this way a few years ago in Berlin. Pacesetter just posted a good Berlin datasheet.

Italy - Florence and Rome can't be missed. Difficult local women though, and far too many annoying American tourists chicks.

Greece - great summer destination. All the islands are fun and packed with fly tourist girls. If you want to extend your trip, take a job at a hostel or bar on one of the islands and make a little coin while partying your ass off every night. I liked Santorini the best for all the fly little Euro chicks topless at the beach.

Have fun, pick up some flags, and don't forget to post some data on the forum when you come back.

Post: #11

Like Julio26, I wouldn't recommend Marseille, the city is huge, the transports are bad and it's very unsafe. Go to Montpellier instead, it's a student city so very good to party.

You should stop to Barcelona too, it's a great city and it will be on your way if you take the train from Madrid to the east cost of France.

Post: #12

This is a good idea, a friend and mine did this 2 years ago using InterRail. For 22 days we could visit an unlimited amount of countries but with 10 days of actual train travelling (so over the course of 10 days on train). Looking at the website now, its at 265eur.

However, note that we had to pay for tickets to leave from the United Kingdom (Eurostar, 80gbp) but I reckon you'll be safe if you land in Spain, you may wanna double check if you go down this route.

Our route was London, Amsterdam, Munich, Budapest, Prague, Berlin and back to London after 21 days in September.

Highlights:

Amsterdam: Main attractions are the coffee shops and the red light district, which are pretty self explanatory. Lots of museums- sex museum, Van Gogh and Heineken were the ones I went to. Lots of coffeeshop action as well. Expect to see lots of Italians as well, for unknown reasons. Lots of great clubs which I didn't go to -my mistake- but I am sure someone else can fill you in on this.

Munich: Oktoberfest is quite an experience- friendliest atmosphere, lots of beer, great food and of course gorgeous blonde Bavarian women wearing dirndls. Expensive too. Went to a techno club, got in thanks to the two German girls I was with- don't make that mistake because they are selective, even more so in Berlin.

Berlin: This city made the biggest impression on me, especially since I am big on my house/techno. Lots of sick clubs, parks and restaurants. Cheaper than Munich. I took a free walking tour from Brandenburg Gate, lasted 3 hours and saw a lot of sights in a little time frame. Can make connections for the night as well as you're in a group for a while. Went to Tresor and flirted with some girls outside to get in (we were two 20y/os). It was an old power station which was turned into a club, the bar looks like a prison cell as does the DJ 'area'. Lots of drugs, good ratio of women but everyone looking fashionable, sometimes too fashionable.

Prague: Cheap, best beer I tried on my trip, great food. Women are beautiful and easy to approach, depending on the venue. Weed is decriminalized and you can smoke it in specific clubs, if you are in to that; it's easy to invite girls over for a j afterwards. Free tour here is good too and they offer a bar crawl but I recommend making your own plans for bars through the hostel or whatever crowd you meet.

Budapest: I expected Hungarian girls to be better looking, they all were in shape but their beauty was hit and miss. Hungarian guys are pretty alpha and intimidating, be careful. Only time we encountered trouble. Other than that, most of the students head to Szimpla, a bar in the Jewish district, with a good ratio of both foreign and Hungarian girls. You should definitely check out a medieval tavern called Sir Lancelot, you eat like a feudal king and there's jesters and whatnot. Hollywood shit. Budapest is also super cheap, if you're a smoker, you're in luck.

Budget: 3000eur, came back with 400eur after 3 weeks. This includes accommodation (hostels, I would recommend hotel apts), InterRail tickets and spending money. I lived easily as well, didn't require to be thrifty.

It was the one of the best experiences I've had and I met lots of cool people from all over the world and needless to say there are countless flags to be taken as well. Don't forget to wrap that shit up.

Post: #13

That would be an awesome trip. Definitely make it happen!

There's an abundance of information around to help you choose destinations. As well as cities, don't overlook beach towns and smaller villages. Sometimes a village where you can walk everywhere is perfect.

Group dynamics is a big element in the success of your trip. Every group is unique. It's just a process of discovery. You really see different sides of people once you travel with them 24/7. Some guys are high energy, other guys are low energy.

Because you have a shitload of free time and so many options, every single day there are a lot of decisions to make. Some groups will have a natural leader making most decisions, or it might be the guy who's done the most reading about where you're going.

Keep plans flexible. Guys may want to split into two groups for a few days to pursue different interests. Or one guy may stay behind a couple extra days if he's hooked up with some local tail and feeling good in that place, then catch you up later.

Some thoughts about organizing:
- Travel time on the intercity train is a good moment to read up about upcoming destinations and agree on a loose plan
- If your group is always together, ante up some money into a kitty for the whole group. Shit gets done a lot faster if you pay once as a group and not individually.
- In advance of your trip, check out any can't-miss events that will be happening near where you're traveling. Ping local contacts for info. Pencil in those events and schedule around them.

Start some kind of contest or rivalry just for fun. This is one example. Make it so the group rewards guys who capture new flags.

Post: #14

Thanks again everybody I appreciate all the solid info you guys are dropping!

(05-06-2013 01:40 AM)chexmix Wrote:  Vienna- Beautiful city, lots of history, boring as fuck. I'd sub with city with Budapest!

Oh really? I don't know where I heard that vienna had a good party scene but I'll definitely look into Budapest instead. And thanks if I have any questions I'll let you know!

(05-06-2013 01:53 AM)Orson Wrote:  Eight cities, huh? - over about 30 days? With Munich and Eastbound the longest leg - right? So you might have three days in each city on average.

Rather than fill-up your itinerary with lots of must-do's - PRIORITIZE the destination sights to see in your cities. If you and your buddy can agree on these, that's half your decision-making done and ready. Make the list adaptive to the party/play/poosy chasing time you want to have.

DO realize that sometimes social opps just develop (just as you've learned from life and Roosh)! Ideally, you'll meet one or more females interested in bending their plans to join in for sharing part of yours - if you wish. Live for the adventures.

My 'foreign affairs' have been among the highlights of my entire life. Have more than one! You won't regret it.

Thanks I appreciate all the links and yeah.. I'll cut down at least two cities. I want to be able to really enjoy the places I go to. I'm sure I won't regret it! I can't wait to really get out and see the world.

(05-06-2013 03:54 AM)Frank Mackey Wrote:  In relation to hostels, they are amazing and really cheap, but remember that you won't be able to take any girls there... In the best cities in terms of action, I would recommend you to rent an apartment or cheap hotel. If you go with three friends, you can for example rent tto double bedrooms. If there's only one lucky guy, his partner in the room will have to sleep in the floor in the other room

Haha alright good idea, with three or four people a small hotel will probably cost as much as a hostel anyways.

(05-06-2013 06:48 AM)julio26 Wrote:  Maybe instead of Marseille you should try Nice, Montpellier or the south West (Biarritz or Hossegor for example). Marseille is a bit of a ghetto right now...

Yeah I've heard it isn't the best, the main reason I was gonna go there is a friend lives there part of the time. I think I could get her to go over to Paris instead though.

(05-06-2013 02:28 PM)Sabra Wrote:  Regarding destinations, leave yourself some flexibility, don't plan the entire trip ahead of time. You might be having a lot of fun in one place, and not want to leave, or hate another city and be dying to get out after one day. Also, if it seems like the right choice, you can let your friends go ahead and stay by yourself in a place - don't be afraid to travel on your own, as you meet a lot more people from all over the world this way.

Have fun, pick up some flags, and don't forget to post some data on the forum when you come back.

Ok I'll definitely try not to create too rigid of a schedule. I'll keep in mind traveling on my own, maybe for a few days too really be immersed in the place and meet some new people. I will definitely make a Euro Train datasheet! The trip won't be for a while but I'll make sure to.

(05-06-2013 03:31 PM)Kikz Wrote:  Budget: 3000eur, came back with 400eur after 3 weeks. This includes accommodation (hostels, I would recommend hotel apts), InterRail tickets and spending money. I lived easily as well, didn't require to be thrifty.

It was the one of the best experiences I've had and I met lots of cool people from all over the world and needless to say there are countless flags to be taken as well. Don't forget to wrap that shit up.

Thanks Kikz for the info! Yeah I can't wait it's all I've been thinking about for awhile haha. And ya I'll definitely make sure to

(05-06-2013 08:21 PM)Tigre Wrote:  Start some kind of contest or rivalry just for fun. This is one example. Make it so the group rewards guys who capture new flags.

I like that idea haha it'll be good motivation

Post: #15

GENTLEMEN and young studs! I do believe xolisi has heard us loud and clear, and knows how to take his invasion of Europe forward and make the adventure his (and their) own.

Bon Chance!