Travelling around Central Europe✈️

By Isabelle Lydon, Eötvös Lorànd University, Budapest

To end our year abroad my friend and I decided to do a bit of travelling around Europe. We thought what a better way to end such a fantastic year. Let me tell you we were right. In this post, I will be telling you about how I saved for, planned and what I did for just under four weeks travelling around Central Europe. These are all my own experiences, and this may differ from person to person so please do bear this in mind. 

The Route🗺️: 

So, my friend and I decided to plan this trip quite early on around November/December time. As we were already in Budapest it seemed only logical that we would start from there. We were in Central-Eastern Europe, and both had wanted to make the most of travelling around whilst it is easy to get to different countries by bus/train. We compiled a list of the places we both wanted to go to and managed to narrow this down to 10 stops that looped back around to finish in Budapest so we could pack and get ready to go home 🙁 We also had previously bought tickets to go see the one and only Mr Harry Styles in Vienna and this fit perfectly into our route. So, our route was as follows: 

Budapest > Slovenia (Lake Bled) > Venice > Rome > Nice > Montpellier > Marseille > Paris > Berlin > Prague > Vienna > Budapest. 

Transport🚍: 

For the most part, we took Flixbus to get from country to country and even within countries. We did have to take a flight from Rome to Nice and we took a train from Paris to Berlin. But generally, we took busses. I honestly think Flixbus is my preferred method of transport for travelling for numerous reasons. They worked out cheaper for us than buying the interrail pass. The interrail pass can be beneficial I think depending on the route you want to take and for the spontaneity of interrailing (if that’s what you’re looking for) however I think it is important to bear in mind that you have to pay extra for seat reservations which, when on a budget, can be annoying. Whereas with Flixbus you get the seat reservation included and if you book the bus well in advance, they can be so much cheaper. The buses are also so comfy. They have chargers and WIFI as well. Also, they’re not as long as you would think. Our longest bus journey I think we did was about 6 hours and if you go to sleep, read a book, listen to podcasts, or watch something you honestly don’t feel it passing that much. So, if you are thinking of doing a trip like this, I recommend looking and seeing whether you can do it by bus because it worked out well for us. 

Hostels🏨: 

When planning a trip like this, especially on a budget, I think it is common knowledge that you generally stay in Hostels. Having never stayed in a hostel before, I was quite nervous about this, but I found everything to be okay. We booked all our hostels quite a bit in advance on the Hostel World App. I would recommend this app for booking them because it puts you into group chats with people in hostels in the same place as you which is a great way of meeting people. We were on a budget, but we didn’t book anywhere with less than an 8-star rating just for personal preferences. TikTok was really useful as well for hostel recommendations and reviews. I think all places offer female-only dorms as well and there are options to have smaller rooms with fewer people if you find it a bit intimidating. 

Things I think you need to bring to hostels: 

• Padlock
• Shower shoes/ shoes to walk around in
• Eye mask to sleep.
• Earplugs

We met so many great people in our hostels and from other hostels so I would 100% recommend doing this if you’re travelling alone and even with other people. At first, it can feel a bit intimidating because you’re staying with strangers but honestly, it is so worth it. You find people to go out with, do activities with, go out to dinner with and you can get other recommendations from them for places you’re planning to go to. Everyone we met was so friendly and approachable as well. 

Budgeting💸: 

So, on travel, I think we ended up spending around £260 on travel. This did not include public transport when we were in the cities but just the transport to and from each city. For accommodation, we spent £560. For spending money, I think I saved around £500 which worked out well for me as when we were there, we did restrict ourselves to only a few meals out. We used the kitchens in the hostels quite a bit because we did not want to spend loads of money on food. I think this helped me to stick to my budget. 

Summary of places: 

1. Lake Bled🇸🇮: I think Lake Bled is gorgeous and a must to visit if you are going interrailing in Europe. They have loads of water sports activities to do once you’re there. You do have to pay quite a bit for these but if that’s something you’re into, I heard a lot of good reviews when I was there. 
2. Venice🇮🇹: I really enjoyed Venice. I’ve never seen a city like this before where there are genuinely no cars and on each little street you walk down there’s another cute bridge. The food was also great (obviously because it’s Italy). I would definitely visit the two islands on the water taxi. I would also recommend going on a weekday and not a weekend if you’re going in peak summertime as it gets really busy. 
3. Rome🇮🇹: Rome was also like a city I had never seen before. Although our hostel wasn’t the greatest, the sights around Rome made up for it. I would 100000% recommend going to the Vatican Museum. I have never been to a museum like it. It is absolutely incredible. If you’re into history, I think you’ll really enjoy Rome. 
4. Nice🇫🇷: I really enjoyed Nice as it was a nice break from being on the go constantly. We were able to just relax on the beach and we were staying with a friend, so it gave us a break from the hostels. I would recommend taking a day trip to Ville France sur la Mer. I didn’t really rate Monaco as it’s quite small and there isn’t a lot to do there if you don’t have money. It was cool that it is another country though. 
5. Montpellier🇫🇷: I would recommend visiting Montpellier if you go to the south of France. It is a really cute city with lots to do. Try to go here for Fete de la Musique in July. There are no hostels so you will have to get an air bnb. 
6. Marseille🇫🇷: I enjoyed Marseille but again we stayed with friends so I’m not sure if there are hostels here. I would recommend going for dinner by the docks and watching the sunset here. 
7. Paris🇫🇷: I absolutely adored Paris and think it 100% deserves the hype. I would definitely recommend staying in the Montmartre area as there is lots to do and it’s not as expensive, I don’t think as some of the more touristy bits. Try to get recommendations from locals about restaurants to go to as well. I would also suggest going for a picnic under the Eiffel Tower but at night so you can see it sparkle. 
8. Berlin🇩🇪: I have to say Berlin was my least favourite city to visit on this trip. To be honest, my time may have been tarnished by the fact that our hostel wasn’t that great and was a bit out of the centre. However, I did just find the city to be a bit dull and the nightlife not as great as expected. Having said this, I loved all the museums, exhibitions, and memorials (WW2 is one of my favourite parts of history so this might be why). Most of them are also free which I thought was cool. 
9. Prague🇨🇿: I thought Prague was really nice. To me, it was just a smaller version of Budapest, but still really cute. 
10. Vienna🇦🇹: I’ve been to Vienna before this trip and absolutely loved it. We ended our trip here as we were going to see the one and only Mr. Harry Styles. This was up there with my favourites of the trip because of the concert. But I also do think the city deserves the hype. 

I hope this blog helps if you’re planning or thinking of planning to go interrailing during your year abroad. I would wholeheartedly recommend going if you can as this was probably the best summer I have ever had.