First Time Travelling
At the end of the summer I travelled around Europe for three weeks. This was defiantly a spontaneous decision that I made quite last minute however one of the best decisions. Everyone that knows me, will tell you that I'm not one for going out and about, I'd much rather stay in with a takeaway and film.
My main worry was that when I've been on family holidays, as we all would I never took any notice on how my parents would navigate their way around countries, I would just follow. Once I got out to the first Country I noticed I had nothing to worry about. You naturally find your way around, people will help you and public transport has english signs, a lot of the time.
Lets talk about hostels because I think we all tend to look down on them a bit, including myself. Going travelling for three weeks meant we would never be able to afford hotels, travellers are on a budget and you can travel cheaply. Before I went, the thought of staying in a hostel terrified me, sharing a room and bathroom with strangers, having no privacy, security of my belongings and the no sleep rumour. Honestly every hostel I stayed in was no way near as bad as I thought. We were fortunate enough to stay in dorms and private rooms. The dorms are not as bad as you think. You have your own bed, a place to store your belongings, you can lock the bathroom doors. There was also something very comforting about being around other travellers, they are doing the same thing as you, and most people have respect to give you space and are peaceful at night. I am generally a light sleeper, however I never struggled to sleep in a dorm.
Aslong as you do your research on the hostels, read the reviews, and look at the small print because some hostels have rules, for example curfews.
Public transport was pretty easy to work your way around because you match the signs with the places you want to go to. Also we found that the hostel staff are extremely helpful by giving you maps, directions and instructions with which trains, trams or buses you need to get.
I would say if you get the chance to go travelling then go, don't wait for it to come to you by saying every year that your going travelling and then never go. You just have to book it and go. It is such an incredible experience that you can share with people. It doesn't cost as much as you think, theres cheap ways of doing it, for example staying in a hostel, campsites, cooking in the hostel. You also do not need to pay for all attractions, we happily walked around places without spending a penny some days.
Hostels that I would recommend:
Little Quarter Hostel Prague
Pal's Hostel Budapest
Hostel of the sun Naples
