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How To Pick a Backpacking Route

Annie Koop

Planning a normal holiday is difficult enough, but preparing for more complicated trips like backpacking journeys can be very stressful.

Backpacking isn’t exactly the kind of trip you can take spontaneously, and the more prepared you are, the better. If you’re looking to take a backpacking trip but don’t know where to start, you’re in luck! This guide will take you through the first step in planning your multi-city adventure: selecting a route.

Europe is massive, and with rich history and culture everywhere you look, it can feel overwhelming to narrow down a list of destinations for your itinerary. If you’re like me and your bucket list is higher than most, no need to worry! Here’s how to select the perfect European backpacking route.

Step 1: Make a wish-list

Creating a mini bucket list for a trip is my favourite part. Write down the cities in Europe that you want to visit. Don’t try to limit yourself or stick to one country/region — the point of this step is to figure out where you’d most like to go. Your list will probably scatter itself across the continent. Keep this list handy, because you’ll need it later!

Here are some popular cities for backpackers, for those who need a few suggestions.

Eastern Europe:

Western Europe:

Central Europe:

Northern Europe:

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Step 2: Pick your dates

Most people have work or school to consider when planning holidays, especially during the spring and autumn seasons. Can you take four days off? A week? A month? The amount of time you have will determine pretty much everything else on your journey, including the budget, transportation, etc. Figuring out the amount of time you have before doing anything specific will make the rest of the planning process much easier. 

Step 3: Write down your priorities

What are your priorities, dealbreakers, etc.? If you’re on a strict budget, Eastern Europe will seem much more appealing than Western cities like Madrid or Paris. However, I wouldn’t recommend traveling to countries with much lower tourist rates like Serbia or Kosovo if you’re a new traveller. For first time backpackers, stick to popular cities like Budapest or Vienna if Eastern Europe appeals to you. But if you’ve done quite a bit of travelling, the fewer crowds in Sarajevo and Varna are likely attractive. 

Your priority list could include things like less expensive hostels, fewer crowds, good public transportation, etc.

Image courtesy of Marcus Loke on Unsplash. No changes were made to this image. Image license found here.

Step 4: Compare your wish-list and priorities

Put your wish-list and the list of priorities side-by-side. Look for what they have in common. Say you have Barcelona, Valencia and Madrid on your wishlist, and locations with warmer weather are on your priority list. Great! These are a perfect match, and visiting Spain is a great option for you. But if cities like Paris and Rome are on your list and your number one priority is saving money, your lists are less of a match.

Don’t get me wrong; visiting Rome can be done on a strict budget, but you’ll probably need to compromise things like centrally-located accommodation, eating out, shopping, etc. The point of this step is to compromise between your lists, so make sure that you’re ending up with a list that you’re happy about but also meets your needs. 

Step 5: Plan your transportation

The saving grace for backpackers in Europe is called Eurail. Eurail passes allow European citizens to travel through Europe by train at much cheaper rates than normal. The pass is only worth it if you plan to travel through at least three or four cities, though; otherwise, just buy the tickets separately. Eurail’s website (linked above) also has a helpful trip planner which allows you to work out the specifics of your backpacking route.

The Eurail pass is great for Western and Central Europe routes, but if you’re traveling through Eastern or Northern Europe, make sure each city you plan to travel through is connected to the next by train or bus. The Eurail pass isn’t valid in some countries, including Kosovo and Albania. For instance, if you’re going to travel from Corfu, Greece to Sarande, Albania, you’ll have to do this by purchasing a ticket separate from your Eurail pass. 

Image courtesy of Calin Stan on Unsplash. No changes were made to this image. Image license found here.

Make sure your route makes sense. You shouldn’t be traveling from Paris to Lisbon and then to Nice, obviously. Here are some suggested routes:

Eastern Europe: 

Budapest, Hungary – Zagreb, Croatia – Split, Croatia – Mostar, Bosnia & Herzegovia – Dubrovnik, Croatia – Kotor, Montenegro – Tirana, Albania

Athens, Greece – Kalambaka, Greece – Thessaloniki, Greece – Plovdiv, Bulgaria – Sofia, Bulgaria – Bucharest, Romania

Western Europe:

Porto, Portugal – Lisbon, Portugal – Seville, Spain – Granada, Spain – Valencia, Spain – Madrid, Spain – Barcelona, Spain

Paris, France – Nantes, France – Bordeaux, France – Toulouse, France – Barcelona, Spain – Valencia, Spain

Central Europe:

Paris, France – Lyon, France – Geneva, Switzerland – Zurich, Switzerland – Munich, Germany – Salzburg, Austria – Vienna, Austria

Barcelona, Spain – Montpellier, France – Marseille, France – Nice, France – Genoa, Italy – Milan, Italy – Verona, Italy – Venice, Italy

Milan, Italy – Venice, Italy – Bologna, Italy – Florence, Italy – Rome, Italy – Naples, Italy – Matera, Italy – Bari, Italy

Northern Europe:

Tallinn, Estonia – Riga, Latvia – Vilnius, Lithuania – Warsaw, Poland – Poznan, Poland – Berlin, Germany

Copenhagen, Denmark – Hamburg, Germany – Amsterdam, Netherlands – Brussels, Belgium – Cologne, Germany

I’ll explain exactly how to plan for transportation in a separate article, since this step can be complex.

Image courtesy of Andreas Stutz on Unsplash. No changes were made to this image. Image license found here.

Step 6: Plan your time frames

Once you have a rough draft of the route you’d like to take (because trust me, this will probably need tweaking), settle on the amount of time you want to spend in each city. Obviously, the specifics are up to you, but it’s common knowledge that there are more things to see in some places than in others. For example, Paris needs at least four full days, but in Matera, Italy, two days will have you visiting every attraction in town. In summary, the more tourists the city gets, the longer you’ll want stay there in order to get the most out of your visit. Here are my recommendations for some of the more popular sites in Europe.

Four days:

Three days:

Two days:

One day:

Image courtesy of Alexandr Bormotin on Unsplash. No changes were made to this image. Image license found here.

Step 7: Check your route

Lastly, make sure the route works. Use the Eurail website/app to plan your travel between the cities. Be sure to confirm that travel is possible and safe. My recommendation is to choose travel that doesn’t take more than two or three transfers or eight hours, but if you’re happy with longer travel times, then set your own limits. Stay realistic, too — if you’re choosing a nine-hour train ride that arrives at 10:00 and then booking a ticket for a museum at 11:00, it’s likely that you’ll end up far too exhausted. Don’t make plans that would jeopardise your experience or health in any way. 

Student journalist based in London, specialising in entertainment and lifestyle journalism.

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