Trying to plan a once in a lifetime trip can be daunting especially for someone who would probably struggle to say five countries in Europe if they had a gun to their head…*cough cough*. Thankfully Ive got a bit better with geography and with all the resources out there today it wasn’t too hard to get caught up to speed. Hearing stories from ten to twenty years ago it seems the landscape for European travel has changed. Back in the day your main choice of transport was to get a rail pass and go from city to city and see where the wind takes you. Now with the rise of budget airlines the planning process can be a bit more complicated. We will cover more in depth planning as I get a better grasp of things so for now we will go over some resources I have found to be helpful so far.
Books
Lonely Planet – These lonely planet books are great and provide some good quality maps. Europe on a shoestring provides lots of information jammed into one book. Each country and city have a lot of info on sights, transport and maps as well as travel tips . There discover Europe book for me is mainly a source of inspiration because it contains high quality photos of various sights unlike the shoestring book. Ive heard nothing but good from there travel guides so check out there inventory on their website or go to local Barnes n noble.
Ricks Steve’s – Ricks Steve’s has a large variety of books and is a well known name in this market. I purchased Europe through the backdoor and it serves as a guide for European travel basic tips. When I say basic I mean it goes over things like how to book a train/plane ticket, how to pack, transportation options and all of the things you might think of for a first time traveler. I think this book is definitely something to consider if you are a first time traveler. I also here there guide books for individual countries are great however I have not purchased any yet.
Apps
Google Maps – Obviously google maps is a must and I’m sure it will be used generously on the trip.
City Maps 2 Go -Another app I found to be interesting is one called City Maps 2 Go. This app doesn’t give directions but it is nice because it stores places you want to go into a nice list and plots them on the map. It will allow you to create multiple list as well so you can bookmark specific places in specific countries. Another plus is it can download maps locally to your phone so internet will not be needed if you get lost and need to find your way.
Websites
Lonely Planet – One of the biggest names for travel resources.
Hostel World – If you are young and want to strecht your money as far as possible then hostels are the way to go. Hostel World provides great reviews for hostels all around Europe.
Rick Steve’s – They do provide some tips on their website as well so there worth checking out at least.
Youtube
Wolter’s World – I really like this channel because it gives honest feedback of cites and countries and they give hours of advice and tips for traveling the world.
Rick Steve’s – deserves a mention because they has some nice 30 min episodes for different locations that might help inspire your trip.
These are just some of the resources I have found so far but I think they will carry a lot of weight in knowledge to help you plan your trip. As always Ill see you in the next post.
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