Here at Stoke Travel we’ve been carrying our backpacks across Europe for well over a decade now. From Spain and the Mediterranean, up to London and Scandinavia, from the west coast of France, all the way to Munich, Prague and beyond. We’ve done it all, and we’ve done it for next to nothing, making the most in the time between festivals by travelling on the cheap and making the most of our free time. The best backpacking across Europe.
It’s time that we shared our European backpacking knowledge with you, our Stoke Travel family from the past, present or future. Of course, we still operate the craziest camps at Europe’s wildest parties and destinations, but this guide is more about how to prepare for your trip, how you can get around when you’re not with us, and how to successfully navigate the post-Europe comedown.
We think that backpacking Europe isn’t just something you should do as a one off. It’s a delightful and important part of every traveller’s life and a trip so varied you can do it as often as you want and not get bored, not even one bit.
Before You Go: How To Plan Your European Backpacking Trip
Saving your pennies isn’t easy – everything is so fun, and seemingly expensive, but it’s not impossible, and if you follow our tips you’ll come in hot with a pocket full of change.
So you saved your pennies, but you don’t want to blow them all on the first part of your trip. Well, lucky for you we’ve booked thousands, and we’re going to show you how to do it.
Print it out and put it on your wall. Cross it off as you go. Don’t go until it’s all crossed off, or at least make sure you have a good go at it. This is your guide to packing your backpack before you go backpacking.
Your European summer has finally arrived. Like the absolute sesh savage you are, you’ve booked a few of Stoke’s epic summer packages. Your suitcase is already stuffed with your cheekiest…
First you have to get to Europe, and for most of us that means a long journey. Well, take the sting out of international travel with our tips about how to prepare for a long haul flight.
It might not be what you’re used to. Maybe because of the noise, the grossness, the lack of privacy. Well, hostel life is an inevitability of backpacking life, but we’re…
How to get the best mobile plan. One with lots of data because Google Maps and Tinder are more important than mumsy’s twice-daily checkup calls. Also, Europe has no roaming charges as of 2018, so you can travel the continent and swipe right like a legend.
You’ve done all the saving and you’re enjoying backpacker life, but with these tried and tested techniques you can make those euros go a little further. Spend the money on fun stuff, by saving on these essentials.
While relatively free of violent crime, some cities are often seen as being a haven for pickpockets, thieves and other petty criminals. Don’t let them ruin your trip, know their tricks and how to avoid being robbed.
Oh the freedom! If you’re above a certain age and have a valid credit card and an international driver’s license and… but if you can tick the boxes this is the only way to roll.
Live like a turtle! Moving slowly with your house on your back. Pooping in bushes. Going wherever you want. Making friends with grey nomads in a similar situation. Campervan life is the life for us, here’s how to get it done.
Planes, trains, automobiles… Europe has them all! But how are you going to move around the continent during your ultimate backpacking superduper trip-of-a-lifetime? The answer is: a little bit of everything.
It’s totally easy, but maybe a little intimidating. You can do it, we have faith in you, just remember which side of the road we drive on, and get ready for some pretty big tolls.
The nature of the European Union means that flying between countries is as big a hassle, and a similar price, to flying interstate at home. Sometimes you’ve got to jump in that big bird and get somewhere in a matter of hours, not days, and you’re going to need to do that on the cheap.
Is it worth your while getting a Eurail Pass? There’s no more romantic way to travel across Europe than by train. They go everywhere, and they do so at a frighteningly rapid rate. They stop in the city centre. You can walk about and cavort with cute strangers. But sometimes the passes are expensive.
It’s not ideal, but it is cheap, and that’s sometimes all that matters. The highways in Europe are spectacular and so the buses get to where they’re going with ease. Sometimes you’ve got to suck it up and save some cash.
The evening meal might be the most important to backpackers, a time to chat, pre-drink and, obviously, fill the belly with fuel. Across the continent meal times can vary greatly, so here’s a guide to average dinner times in Europe, so you don’t get caught hungry.
Eating and drinking is one of the most pleasurable things we can do while backpacking – and also one of the most expensive. Learn how to lessen the blow with our guide to eating cheap meals while travelling.
One of the best things about travelling is discovering new places and then eating all their food. Make sure you eat the right things in each place, with our guide to best European food, a country by country guide to the continent’s weird, delicious and typical dishes.
Europe is home to some delicious food, delicious, fatty, salty food. Eating well while backpacking is difficult, but not impossible if you follow our simple guide to eating healthy on a budget.
Edinburgh is the Scottish capital and as such it’s the perfect place to explore all the Hibernian stereotypes, like what haggis actually tastes like, is whisky drinkable and whatever do…
The first thing that strikes the first-time visitor to Spain is just how little it is like anything you expected. Sure, there are beaches and flamenco dancers and so, but…
Located not far from Barcelona, along the road to Valencia, lies Sitges, a stunning seaside resort and the gay capital of Europe. Sitges is the perfect mix of country Catalunya,…
This little-known principality is tucked into the Pyrenees Mountains between Spain and France. It’s known for its mountains and valleys, skiing slopes and tax-free haven status – including cheap cigarettes…
All who visit Barcelona will fall in love with the city for life, and half of them were probably robbed while here. The Catalan capital, sparkling on the shores of…
Valencia is Spain’s third largest city and the second on the Mediterranean, so can sometimes fall under the tourist radar, but it shouldn’t! It’s a city of good times, world-famous…
San Sebastian, or Donostia in the local tongue, is the jewel of the Basque Country, a beautiful, mountain fringed, double-beached resort town in the deep northwest corner of Spain. Famed…
From hippie hangout to party paradise, wellness mecca and ostentatious arena of opulence, Ibiza is an island that has for a long time been in the world’s imaginations. Now it’s…
There is no greater experience in this travelling life than taking a solo trip across Europe. Free from the restrictions of having travel buddies with different ideas, open to changing…
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