Tips for Backpacking around Europe
- Eva Raye
- 17 hours ago
- 7 min read
Backpacking can be super fun, but it can also come along with some headaches. Here is what I have learned over the course of my two weeks of backpacking around Europe — one week through Germany, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, and Hungary, and another through Germany and the Czech Republic!
WHAT TO PACK:
When packing, bring lots of options that can be mix-matched and layered. My most worn item of clothing was a white turtleneck. It is wild how many outfits I can make with it.
Brush: I thought a comb was enough, but it was not when trying to slick back my hair for updos. Get a small, compactable one so it doesn't take up much space. Shampoo, Conditioner & Body Wash: I only mention this because I completely forgot on my first trip and had to borrow my friend's. Do not forget it!
Shower shoes: I could only bring two pairs of shoes because I had one shoe compartment in my backpack, so I decided to leave the shower shoes at home — but trust me, the showers in hostels are not the cleanest. If you stay in hotels, then you’ll be fine without!
Towel: Most hostels had them, but we did have to pay 1–3 Euros. If you are staying in hostels and it’s possible to bring your own, either a thin or small one, I would!
Winter coat: Even in March, trust me — you'll need it! Growing up, my dad always told me to bring a jacket everywhere I go just in case, but I let the promising weather app change my mind this time. The first part of my first backpacking trip had amazing weather (in the 70s Fahrenheit), but in the last three cities, it was 40 degrees Fahrenheit with rain and wind. My friend and I were wearing like four layers of shirts and leggings under our jeans because it felt so cold. Don’t worry, I learned my lesson and brought the coat on my next trip a month later, and guess what… even in April, I was thankful I had brought it!
Portable charger: I had one, but it was really cheap and stopped working on me. Having a nice portable charger is a lifesaver.
Umbrella: You never know when it will rain. It did on both trips I went on.
Reusable water bottle: In most European countries, you have to pay for water. I really appreciated having my own water bottle everywhere I went. Depending on the country, tap water is perfectly safe to drink, but if not, grocery store water is fairly cheap and you can just fill up your bottle.
Cash: Be prepared to have the local currency on you because some places, especially flea markets and more local shops are cash only. I have gotten in the habit of asking at restaurants before I order just in case.
An extra tote bag: This came in handy whenever I was walking around with my full backpack and needed somewhere to store food that we bought from the grocery store. In order to save money, we would frequently buy meals and snacks from the supermarkets. In case you didn't know, all around Europe, they don’t give you plastic bags for your groceries. You must bring your own, so naturally, this has become a habit for me.
PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION:
If you plan to stay within one country for the entire trip, I would invest in the best pass they have for their local public transportation. Specifically in Germany, I bought the Deutschland Ticket, which is a monthly subscription that gives you access to all regional trains in the entire country. I pay around 30 Euros a month because I have a subscription, but if you just want it for one month, it is around 60. Of course, this only makes sense if you want to explore a ton of cities in one country. One thing to note specifically about Germany is that the regional trains are much slower than the ICE (Intercity Express) trains, but it saves you a lot of money.
Book in advance! Saves you money — that is all.
Rome2Rio is a good website/app to see all the options for transportation between where you are starting and your destination. Sometimes, a bus will surprise you with how cheap or fast it can be compared to other options.
Some websites require you to print your tickets out in advance (which I do not understand in 2025), but regardless, definitely check beforehand.
The 12-hour night train from Budapest, Hungary to Stuttgart, Germany was a complete NIGHTMARE. And I do not mean just a train at night — I mean a night train with a bed and everything. By all means, if you are up for the adventure, go for it, but I think that was a one-and-done for me. To sum it up, here is what happened: 12 hours, no Wi-Fi, ladies’ compartment was full, three beds stacked on top of each other and six per tiny room, our door was broken and would not lock, it was hot, it smelled bad, someone came in during the middle of the night trying to steal our stuff, border control also came in during the middle of the night to check our passports, breakfast was just tea and a Belvita packet after 12 hours of not eating, we had lots of pressure in our ears that hurt, and I was so motion sick that I threw up.
Be early! Luckily, I never missed an important train, but especially if you pay for a specific train ticket, it is more of a hassle if you miss it.
Bring card games and have music, shows, and podcasts downloaded to pass the time. Most trains have Wi-Fi, but a fair share of them do not (like the 12-hour night train), so I would be prepared.
I did not fly on either backpacking trip, but if you do, definitely look into the size requirements for the backpack and have travel-sized toiletries.
ITINERARIES IN EACH CITY:
One of my favorite things about traveling is showing up and being blown away by what there is to see and do — because I didn't have expectations. So, I'd say I am a day-before or day-of travel planner. I quite literally would plan what we do in each city on the train ride there. I do not know if I would recommend it, but it has worked great for me so far. I think if I were not budget traveling and wanted to do more group tours, I would definitely plan more ahead, but in this stage of my life, I like walking through all the old towns, seeing the main tourist attractions and buildings, and trying the local food, with a couple of museums and churches in the mix!
TripAdvisor is a pretty famous website to see the main sightseeing attractions for each city.
ChatGPT is epic. As I kept traveling, I decided to ask Chat what they would recommend. Here is my process: I first research on my own from social media, Google, and TripAdvisor, and then I ask it to make me an itinerary based on the location of our hostel and how much time we have. It is SO convenient.
Beware of being ripped off for what looks like a local activity but is really just for tourists. The only place that this was true for us was in Budapest. I had always heard that going to the Budapest baths was a must-do. Unfortunately, we paid almost fifty Euros and the place was under construction and not that great of an experience. It has for sure been romanticized on social media, and we realized, after talking to a local, that only tourists really go.
Look up whether there are holidays during the days you will be in each city. My friend and I had absolutely no idea that the day we arrived in Hungary, it was their National Day (like America’s Independence Day!). The streets were packed, spirit was high, and museums were free the entire day for everyone! Looking this up will either help you or make you realize you might not get the experience you wanted… like traveling on a Sunday and everything being closed. My second backpack trip fell during Easter, so we had to plan our grocery store trips and meals very carefully since lots of places would be closed.
Take advantage of the free beautiful churches and buildings you come across!
Try to have something a little different in each city so you do not get bored of walking and seeing buildings all day. I tried to switch up the type of museums or activities we were doing. For example, twice on my second backpacking trip we played padel to switch it up. Also, we planned a beach day midway through the trip just to relax since we had been on trains and walking around so much.
HOSTELS VS. HOTELS/APARTMENTS:
In my experience, if you’re trying to save money and only have two people, stay in hostels, but if you have a group of 3–4, it is basically the same price to just get an apartment. I will 100% say the experience was so much better having our own bathroom and sometimes kitchen than having to share with a bunch of strangers. Funny enough, on the second trip I brought the shower shoes, but since we stayed in apartments, the showers turned out to be perfectly fine!
Research check-in and check-out times in detail. It is inevitable that on a backpack trip you will have to carry your backpack some, but try to coordinate it so that you can at least drop off your stuff when you arrive in each city. It makes a world of difference. Sometimes it doesn't work out, but it is always nice if you can.
PHOTOS/VIDEOS:
It can be overwhelming trying to live in the moment and also capture your travels. I would suggest creating a shared album or Photocircle where you can share all the photos with the people you are traveling with. One thing we did was have one person taking lots of pics and the other capturing short videos from each city! It was so cool to look back on.
WHERE I TRAVELED: (+4 adjectives to describe them!)
Backpack Trip #1:
Trier, Germany – old, nostalgic, Romanesque, small-town
Zurich, Switzerland – bougie, walkable, beautiful, rich
Vaduz, Liechtenstein – peaceful, touristy, compact, fairy-tale like
Feldkirch, Austria – quaint, hospitable, quiet, rainy
Salzburg, Austria – magical, authentic, stunning, vast
Vienna, Austria – historic, grand, majestic, lovely
Budapest, Hungary – cultural, magnificent, lively, busy
Backpack Trip #2:
Koblenz, Germany – community-oriented, cute, sunny, packed
Dusseldorf, Germany – simple, realistic, fun, homey
Munster, Germany (without the umlaut ahah) – bland, tiny, boring, funny
Bremen, Germany – random, celebratory, traditional, quick
Hamburg, Germany – elegant, family-oriented, chill, fantastic
Bremen, Germany – coastal, windy, cool, small
Berlin, Germany – international, vast, historic, diverse
Wittenberg, Germany – historic, amazing, eye-opening, little
Dresden, Germany – breathtaking, cold, insightful, fascinating
Prague, Czech Republic – unique, interesting, picturesque, different
Of course, this isn't every single thing you need to know about backpacking in Europe, but I hope this was helpful and happy backpacking:)
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