How I did it: Bought a backpack, and a plane ticket, saved approximately $3,000, decided where and what we wanted to do and then went over and did it. We didn't really book anything beforehand to make sure if something came up, we could just add it in. We pretty much stuck to our plan though.

Lessons & tips: 14 days, 6 countries. It is definitely worth doing. I would advise not doing as much as we did in such a short amount of time. Try to spend at least 4 days in each country.

Tips:
1. I had nothing stolen, but several people we rode on planes with did. Always keep your bag/purse on your person! If you have to put it down, keep it between your legs and wrap it around something if possible.
2. I used 2 in one shampoo. My hair hates me now, but it was great not carrying a bunch of crap to the shared bathrooms and lugging it around in my pack.
3. If you’re going to do laundry, the cheap way is probably a laundry mat or washing your stuff in sinks. I took my stuff to a dry cleaner/ laundry place. It was slightly more expensive, but I dropped it off in the morning and picked it up at night. I didn’t have to waste time sitting and washing.
4. If you’re going in off season, BOOK YOUR HOSTEL AHEAD OF TIME! We went in April and everything was either booked or closed. Everytime we got to a city we had to go to about 3 places trying to find a place to stay.
5. I used Shamwow’s as towels. I just put them in a plastic bag. They take up a way less room than a towel.
6. Greece is amazing.
7. I brought 2 pairs of shoes for the whole trip. One pair of heels and a pair of cute flat boots. I only needed one pair of shoes, the boots. Heels were a waste, almost anywhere you go you have to walk pretty far.
8. We decided to rent a car in Dublin and then drive to the Cliffs of Moher and Blarney. I reccomend taking a bus tour. It's cheaper. I don't know if you get to see both things though. I know for sure you get to see the Cliffs though.
9. We were debating between flying from Dublin to London or taking a ferry. We decided to ferry for the experience. Flying would have been cheaper and taken less time. Because once we ferried across, we were in Holy Head, Wales and had to take a train across GB to get to London.
10. Remember to call your credit card company and bank to let them know you're going. We took 4 cards. 2 credit and 2 check cards to take out cash. 2 of the 4 were frozen because of overseas transactions and one credit card just wouldn't work. It was dicey for a bit!
11. Downy Spray and Pull can be your best friend.

Resources: hostelworld.com
citydiscovery.com
Great hostel in Greece in an absolute perfect location -studenttravelersinn.com

Apr 20, 2010, 06:46AM PDT | 0 comments | 5 cheers