First Time Traveling!! Advice on Bookings

Welcome to traveling and the forum.

I haven't used hostels in decades since my first trip to Europe with friends in the early 1990s. I think I lot more people are travelling these days so advance booking of a space in hostels or trains is needed more than likely. Do research about holidays and other events during your travel time that may impact your plans and ability to get a hostel bed.

During that first trip we had to back track and get a bed in a town (Dusselfdorf?) instead of Cologne, I think, as all beds were booked because there was some sort of school-related event/trip in Cologne.

I'm sure others will give more advice about train travel. etc.

Start thinking about your packing and what is essential and what isn't. Are you using a back pack or suitcase? - read the packing topics.

Welcome sunny_jay. I haven't stayed in a hostel for many years, but there are definitely things to think about for that type of lodging, safety of you and your belongings being up there on the list. There are likely other internet resources that can help you plan that part of the trip.

You might get more helpful responses if you laid out a few more details - your rough itinerary with dates and tentative amount of time in each place. That will help people give you better advice especially if there are holidays that could affect your travel plans (e.g. Easter in April).

For some modes of transit, buying tickets ahead of time is the most cost effective method especially if you plan to use Eurostar between cities like Paris and Brussels or if you're traveling on a busy holiday weekend. That does make your trip less free flowing, but it will make it more affordable. Flying may actually be cheaper and more efficient than trains so don't rule that out as an option. What airport is your return flight to the USA? You could potentially be backtracking a lot.

Thank you!
I'm flying both out of and into Newark, I'll be flying Newark->Madrid April 18th and then Nice->Newark June 13th.
I'm staying with a friend in Madrid, and Bordeaux is booked.
Paris would be about April 28-May 6
Brussels May 6-11
Berlin May 11-18
Prague May 18-25
Vienna May 25-June 2
Traveling to Nice from Vienna June 2-5 (I think I have to go to a couple stops and I'll spread it out over a few days)

I've ruled out flying because of bag restrictions, I plan on bigging a big backpack to fit everything and a side bag for souvenirs and whatnot. I believe that flights usually are very picky about bag size and can be much more expensive?

Thanks!!

Welcome to the forums. Although I'm decades older than you, it was only 9 years ago that I made my first international trip. Now I have spent nearly 100 nights in European hostels.

I would not want to go without reservations for lodging and transportation between cities, partly because Europe is very popular, as you are discovering. The best hostels do tend to book up before the others. If you make reservations, do it at home before you leave because you never know how secure your internet will be in Europe. If nonrefundable makes you nervous, don't do it. I might have a little more leeway for risk than you do at your age, but I have made a number of nonrefundable reservations when the price difference was great. But you have to decide on that part of it.

For Vienna, I stayed at Jo & Joe's right outside the westbahnhof and actually kind of embedded on the 6th and 7th floors of an IKEA store. They were outstanding in terms of meeting my needs, answering questions, and fostering a fun atmosphere without being rowdy (there were families with kids in there). I recommend this one highly. (They also have hostels in other cities.) For Berlin, in 2017 I had a great stay at what is now Generator Berlin Alexanderplatz, a convenient location, good breakfast (although now I think they charge), and laundry in the building. (Generator is a chain too, and I haven't had any bad experiences with them.) In 2023 in Berlin I stayed at Heart of Gold Hostel, which was OK; there is also a MEININGER very near Heart of Gold, and MEININGER has a good reputation and I stayed with them in Dresden. For Prague I stayed at Czech Inn; I would not repeat that one, even though the accommodations were OK. It's located on an important tram line, but the walking neighborhood around it doesn't offer much at all that would appeal to a young adult. I've been to Paris twice and can't recommend either of my two choices.

I plan on bigging a big backpack to fit everything and a side bag for souvenirs and whatnot.

I guarantee by the end of your trip you're going to hate your "big" backpack. Check out the Packing forum on this site to get an idea how to pack for a long trip without getting weighed down.

I've ruled out flying because of bag restrictions, I plan on bigging a
big backpack to fit everything and a side bag for souvenirs and
whatnot. I believe that flights usually are very picky about bag size
and can be much more expensive?

You can check your backpack on a flight. Be sure your backpack straps can be stowed away or bring a lightweight zippered cover for it. Just keep the side bag as a carry on with essentials (e.g., meds, passport, anything you can't live without).

Some budget airlines may charge to check a bag (Ryanair) but whether it is "much more" expensive than taking the train or bus requires some math comparing the fares, as well as consideration of your time. For example, taking three likely VERY long travel days to get from Vienna to Nice on the train or bus sounds like zero fun to me. Even if you stop that means you're unpacking/repacking every day and won't have any time to see the sights at any of those short stops. But that is my preference, so YMMV.

Hopefully some of our forum experts will weigh in on your specific locations, but if not you can post individual questions in the relevant country forum section. You are going to some very expensive big cities, so I hope you do find some reasonably priced accommodations but know that everything else is going to be on par with places like NYC (food, entertainment, etc.).

Lastly, I recommend reading up on the routes you plan to use the train, this site is a treasure trove of helpful information: https://www.seat61.com/

Yeah, I agree about the big backpack being more hassle than it's worth. You can always buy a second hand suitcase at a flea market and use it for souvenirs if it comes to that, but honestly a single small pack is so liberating; especially how you intend to travel. If you need something, you can always buy it.

I would try to keep as much as possible flexible. This is the one time in your life where you can be flexible and spontaneous so mix in some unstructured time with your schedule. You may run into some cool people or really like/hate the vibe of a particular place.

Just racing out the door but just quickly, your best transport between Paris and Brussels is the Eurostar, but it's also the most expensive. There are cheaper French trains (particularly Ouigo), but they are slower. It depends a little on your budget. Don't fly, it's a very short journey to Brussels by train.

I would be happy to help you find accommodation also. Don't stay near Bruxelles-Midi train station. It's a run down area and there is crime there, and so even if you find reasonably priced accommodation (there are cheap hostels near there), don't do it. Likewise Molenbeek, which is lovely in parts, unpleasant in others. It is also harder to get into the city because of the canal, so think twice with that.

Many years ago I stayed at the Sleep Well Hostel. It is down an alleyway just off Rue Neuve in the middle of the city. Since that time there was a fire and it was rebuilt and I think I heard that it might have been opened to social housing as well as its hostel role since that time. The location was very good even if it was down that alley, and I met quite a few people who became friends over the time that I lived there. They also cooked simple meals and served beer. That is somewhere you could consider, if you are OK with the social housing (which you might not be, I guess it is a different type of demographic). If you have a bigger budget then there are lots of hotels in lots of different areas at a range of pricepoints and I would not hesitate to explore that. Perhaps you can pick out some accommodation and we can vet it for location, etc. ??? I assume your budget is US$60/night, I am Australian and we have dollars too.

Lavandula

Our daughter treated herself to a trip to Paris and Florence in 2024; yes, she was in Paris a week before the Olympics. She was 24 then and had a wonderful time. In Paris, she stayed at Le Village Montmartre (a hostel). She loved it, felt safe, and met people her age with whom she enjoyed the sites of Paris; she found Australians to be particularly engaging.

She has also stayed at hostels in Florence, Madrid and (possibly) Portugal. In researching hostels she reads the reviews on various platforms but pays particular attention to what females have to say.

I would agree with others who have advised to book your accommodations ahead of time unless you are comfortable with paying a lot of money for accommodations for a night (or several nights) due to a last minute booking.

Regarding luggage, she used her TravelPro Maxlight 5 softside carry-on - 2 wheels. Our entire family has used this particular suitcase as a “large” carry on when we flew Easy Jet- for at least 2 or 3 flights. She also packs a back pack as her personal item and has a small secure (slash resistant straps and bag/rfid protection) sling bag in the backpack. We have used this model of travel as a family and easily navigated trains and public transit.

In 2022, we bought eurail passes and I would not do that again. You are too restricted on the trains and seats available on which to use the passes. You can get last minute train tickets but they will cost more (like airline tickets) and if you have your accommodations booked, you know what days you need to travel; so…I would advise to book those trips ahead.

Planning is part of the fun and I hope you have a wonderful trip.

Just to add to salbeachbum, train tickets are cheapest 3 months out, which is normally when they come on the market. Use www.bahn.com for timetables. It's the German national site but has timetables for the whole of Europe. www.seat61.com has a lot of information for first-time train travellers also.

Lavandula

Back in the 1990s and armed with my “Let’s Go Europe” book I’d ask the hostel to call ahead and book me a place at the next hostel the day before I was set to leave. This gave me some flexibility in terms of where and when to go. This was back when they were all part of “hosteling international”, which I still think exists.

I did end up in Paris with no place to stay but teamed up with an Australian fellow traveler for an epic journey to the outskirts of Paris to some sketchy place.

Personally for a trip like you are doing I would try to stay semi flexible instead of being tied down to reservations the entire time, especially considering that you have some flexibility in terms of where to go.

Staying in hostels as opposed to hotels is good as a solo traveler because you will likely meet people. I met a lot of people on that trip and I was hardly ever alone for any length of time.

Don’t rule out flying within Europe if it’s more convenient. The airlines will just charge you extra if your backpack is over sized.