1st tiem traveling our of US, going it alone

I suggest you select your countries to visit carefully unless you find a travel companian along the way perhaps in a youth hostel(cheap way to go). Generally hostelling is a gd way to make friends while traveling and a nice way to socialize safely. Communal kitchens are avail as are non coed dorm-like facilities. Remeber tho not all hostels are created equal.You may find yourself lonely if you decide to travel Europe alone. A day or two is OK but more can make for homesick feelings. ck this graffitii wall for hostels that others have raved about. I loved Lausanne Switzerland guesthouse hostel. Planning is imp.

Step One: Go buy a copy of "Europe Through the Back Door." It will answer so many of your questions and tell you just what you need to know.

Second step: Look into either Lonely Planet, The Rough Guide or the Let's Go series for further recommendations. These are more suited to younger, more budget oriented travelers (most of Rick Steves' recommendations are a little more expensive than a typical college budget would allow).

Jaiden,

As Frank II mentioned, the first step is to pick up a copy of Europe Through The Back Door, as that will provide the information you need to plan your trip. It also covers things like "rail skills" (very important!), money and language issues.

You might also want to have a look at some of Rick's shows on PBS (OPB or KCTS Seattle in your area?) as that might give you some ideas on places to visit.

You didn't say how long this trip would be, what type of budget you're working with or what time of year you'd be going? Travelling with a group is certainly one option, but would undoubtedly be more expensive than going on your own. However, tours are a good way to get an introduction to travelling in Europe, and can provide the skills and confidence to go solo on the next trip. My travel method for the last few years has been to take an ETBD tour and then travel for an equal length of time on my own (the best of both worlds!).

If you want to have a look at Rick's tours, click the "Tours" tab at the top of this page. You'll probably find that you meet people along the way (especially if you're staying in Hostels) and you could also take the occasional day tour in various locations, which would give you some time with a group.

The topic of young women travelling alone has been raised here on the HelpLine several times before, and the recommendations have been somewhat "mixed". From a parent's perspective, I'd probably be a bit concerned, but with adequate preparation you should be fine. I'd suggest travelling with a Cell Phone though (use text as much as possible as it's cheaper).

When I'm not with a tour, I travel solo and find that I like the freedom to explore places that interest me, without any time constraints. The aspect of "loneliness" is certainly one aspect of solo travel, but I find I'm usually so busy touring and visiting that I don't have much time to dwell on it.

Good luck with your planning!

Good for you for venturing out! You'll be fine with only speaking English, but it's always a good idea to learn a few phrases in the language of where you'll be. Please, thank you, things like that are good. Get a phrase book, that'll help with finding a room and ordering food. The language barrier can be part of the adventure. You typically won't have a problem with finding people who speak English in western Europe, especially younger people.

Jaiden,

All good advice so far. Regarding "going alone", while anyone can get through their first foreign trip alone, and most would find at least some (most?) of the time enjoyable, I think for your first trip it might be best to try and find a close friend who would also enjoy going and do the trip with them. There are some real advantages of traveling alone - you get to decide everything and don't have to negotiate anything. But for every advantage there's a disadvantage: you won't have anyone to watch you bags while you use the bathroom, nobody to provide a second opinion on choices, nobody to share a special moment with. I've gone "solo" and also have traveled with a partner and while I enjoyed both, I prefer going with someone close to me. For my first overseas trip, I'm glad I didn't go solo. Then again, if you don't have a friend who wants to go, then solo is an option worth investigating....it beats not going at all.

Don't worry about the language barrier, because there rarely is one in Europe (unless you get FAR off the beaten path). Everyone in the tourist industry will speak English. English is widely spoken in Greece, by the way--tourism is Greece's #1 industry, and all those tourists sure don't know Greek! Don't fret about traveling solo--it's incredibly easy to meet people in hostels and become travel partners. You may make some very good friends that way.

And like others said, go get "Europe through the Back Door." The answers to the questiosn you ask could fill a guidebook...and they do. That one.

Don't be too concerned about traveling solo. As long as you use the same common sense that you use back home you will be fine. Hostels are a great way to meet people. Check out hostelworld or hostelz.com for hostel reviews. THere are some really good hostels, and some really bad ones. Use Let's Go guidebook as it is more directed to the college aged budget traveler. Lonely Planet is also very good as well.

I have traveled by myself many times before and never had any issues. I have met countless other solo female travlers as well, and it is by no means a rarity in Europe!

Jaiden - Get a copy of Let's Go(s) books for the countries or areas you want to visit. They are written by college students, for college students, and in my experience are the most accurate college age books. They approach the whole idea form the view point of a college student going on the cheap, and are great. Have used them for a couple summer long trips.

As others have said, re traveling alone - most places yes, but read up, some places can give you trouble. There's a great line from the Let's Go Books "You only as alone as you want to be." It's super easy in most hostels to just grab another group of young folks and say, "Anybody wanna to go Greece tomorrow?" and have some companions to travel with.