Big news... my dream to try out backpacking finally became a reality this year! Wooooo!
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| The view from the plane as we got to Amsterdam (our first stop!) it didn't feel real |
For years I have wanted to travel around the world with just a backpack, some essentials, and no plan. I used to fondly call it my 'backpack challenge' which in my head kind of felt like a Race Around the World style trip - the limits being you'd only have a certain amount of time, money AND you'd have to visit a certain amount of places (while completely freeballing the whole thing.) It was the craziest, most fun - and I'm sure not original - idea I'd ever really wanted to do, all with the hope of seeing the world a bit little more.
Now, I could've done this alone, but getting a friend (or best friend) to come with me was always going to be far more fun. Mentioning this many, many times and over multiple years, I finally cracked my best friend at the end of 2024 when she said she'd do it with me, with a few tweaks to the rules!
The main being we had to have a plan which, if it meant she could come with me, I could totally be on board with. I just wanted to see some more countries! So it was settled, backpacking was happening THIS YEAR.
In January, we set out times to sit together and start solidifying a plan. We picked a date (end of March/beginning of April), booked the time off work, and between us made a Notion board. Or two. Or three. In between this we had plenty of Whatsapp texts and calls (which I would like to say was also organised around both of us being in full-time work and other commitments!) researching, and standard best friend bickering, for the most exciting bit... where we wanted to go!
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| Arriving at the airport, always the best feeling |
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| Treating ourselves to a big breakfast before we left |
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| Little celebratory bevs on the plane (which I spilt EVERYWHERE, ending in a laughing fit) |
The criteria had to be the following:
1. We had to try to go to countries we hadn't been to before
2. It had to be at least five countries we visited!
3. The hotels/hostels couldn't be absolutely minging, so budget had to cover decent places (this was my request... if we're going to plan it, let's plan it RIGHT. And avoid the stress of somewhere not very nice!)
We got lots of recommendations from friends, but ultimately sat with our maps app open on one phone, and Easyjet on the other, trying to figure out where we could start and end with. The route changed multiple times, but once we'd worked out methods of transport, timings, and even scheduling meeting up with some friends in some of the countries, we were set.
Big breathes, we booked our first flight, the one out there... to then quickly cancel and rebooked it, as we were idiots and picked the wrong date. Ffs! Sorting out flights and making sure they hadn't all been fully booked up was key, so keeping an eye on those bits and getting them done quite quickly together was important.
Below is our route & where we decided on going:
First leg: A flight Gatwick - Amsterdam, three days there to explore, get adjusted, AND see friends (how cool to be able to say that?!)
Second leg: Then an overnight bus to take us to Berlin, to be welcomed another friend (who lives in Munich, but came up to see us!)
Third leg: Another overnight bus to our next stop, Budapest! Stunning stunning stunning
Fourth leg: Then an afternoon/evening bus for a couple hours to take us to Vienna
Fifth leg: And finally a bus to our last stop... Prague! Followed by three days here and a flight from Prague - Gatwick
So, how did we do it?
Used a lot of Flixbuses (however not sponsored, lol)
To get around it was so much cheaper to bus it than flying, which helped on budget. The next issue was then time management... trying to utilise out time as best we could meant that choosing places that needed an overnight bus meant we could sleep on the bus, saving us time AND cost on accommodation - helping us get in all 5 countries in the time we had!
Sorted out accommodation before we went
Even though it wasn't part of my original plan, it worked out better as it meant we could focus using our limited time on exploring the places we went to, rather than working out where we were going to sleep for the night. We had 2-3 days per place, making sure to jam pack our time with activities in the centres of the countries we visited and what they had to offer.
Pre-booked activities!
Using Get Your Guide (a really good activities app for home and abroad... again not sponsored) to pre-book some things we wanted to do, like a cruise for a couple hours in Amsterdam or an ice bar experience in Prague gave us structure to our days, helped us know where we had to be rather than aimlessly roaming - which we still did, might I add - and helped us save on time by determining what we wanted to do/give us a general idea of the area too!
The essentials kit!
Note - this was great for leaving Gatwick, but coming back from Prague we did get charged extra, probably as the bags were SO full from rubbish packing on the way home and little bits we bought across the different countries! It was only £50pp - in my eyes so worth it!
These bags have tons of room, and do fit under the Easyjet seats (when not jammed with lots of crap hahaha) so were perfect!
These had such good charge and were so thin they fit perfectly in smaller bags, which was the main reason we got them!
I don't think we needed these in the end, but it was nice comfort knowing we could charge when needed and had the right adapter plug on us if we did need (for most situations!)
These were INCREDIBLE. We went travelling in quite cold, windy conditions and these provided us a little bit of safety from getting drenched without taking up too much room or costing a fortune. These were clipped onto the outside of our bags, and were used a couple times - Budapest was very rainy, and it was so nice to have these and dance around in the rain in them (there is no nicer, more chilled sound hearing the rain land on the hood of your coat, especially rather than on your head!)
I recommend sizing up like we did, as they are thin, so didn't provide much warmth - meaning having these a bit bigger than usual meant they could fit over multiple layers!
There were jokes made about me looking like a roadman (I did...) but having the comfort of having my phone, money, anything important on me and somewhere so near me I could keep an eye on and didn't have to worry made me feel so confident and calm to travel! I don't think I could've put my passport in my backpack and felt as relaxed as I did! An absolute essential in my eyes.
My best friend was a genius when she last minute ordered these! We could've got these when we got out to the first country, but these little towels were a) microfiber, so dried SO unbelievably fast b) were large enough for us, but small enough to fold up and fit away c) had a really handy case! I would strongly recommend these little wonder towels to anyone.
Other than that, we made sure we had good insurance (I got insurance from the Post Office as it covered everything I wanted) and sorted out cards and currencies before we left.
Note - when we travelled, and for the style of travelling we did, we didn't need a Visa. But always make sure to check in case you do!
And finally...
All this in 12 days... Was it tiring? Honestly, yes. But was it worth it?! Completely. The best adventure of my life.
There's something about the length of time, two weeks feels like such a short, insane amount of time to travel around for, but it really did provide such a good amount of time to book off work, see lots of places and try lots of different things. If you're looking for a taste of travel or backpacking, but don't want to commit to it for a massively long amount of time, this is the trip for you.
For me? I think it might just be the start...
I'll be posting activities from each place and some nice pics (of course) in my next posts, so keep an eye out!
Love,
M x