I turned 18 in April and took a two week EF Tour of Western Europe this summer. It gave me a taste of Europe and got all the touristy stuff out of the way, but the whole time I kept thinking how much more fun i would be having if I were just there with a few friends instead of 30 people on such a structured trip. I have saved up about another $4000 so far and I am planning on going backpacking summer 2006 for a month with one or two friends. Wish me luck!