Thread: Delta to Europe - best partners when we get there?

Hi FOMTS,
I think that backpacking through Europe as a "mature" adult is an awesome idea. Once I have successful launch of offspring, I plan to do it myself. I did look into it a bit. I would highly recommend reading some of the numerous travel bloggers that are now ubiquitous on the web. They are literally late 20-30 somethings just travelling and writing and living off of it while doing it. I say this because they have useful posts about things like travel insurance (the consensus seems to be Travel Nomad), how to use any frequent flyer/ hotel points- also useful for a nonrevver to augment ZEDS and benefits and other stuff that you just do not think of off the bat. The two I like are Nomadic Matt and Mylifesamovie.com. Matt has travelled a long time and Alyssa is just cute. She doesn't spend a lot and does a lot of outdoors stuff, and practical stuff on packing. She also has a tutorial on how to use skyscanner to find cheap flights. Depending on when/ where you're going, ZEDs are great, but sometimes you need a ticket. Intra-European flights can be cheap, but be advised that their carry on allowances are brutal. Trains are very useful, but they can be more expensive than ZEDs at times, so it depends on the time / money cost analysis that you do. Most of the time, ZEDs can check bags free, I believe. I have had great luck and experiences Zedding in Europe. One other warning, take the time to really cull your Travel ID site. Just randomly plug in flights that you might do. You'll find that quite a few airlines require listings a few days in advance. If you think you might need it, list a more than a few days out, LOT, Air Canada, and United are a few examples. United in particular seems to have a very poor IT interface. My family used a ZED on them and it was exceedingly difficult. Always bring chocolate!

If you do think that you will ZED a lot, I would recommend looking into a credit card that has a Priority Pass membership. Priority pass are airline clubs and they do have a good coverage in Europe, Asia and the middle East. It's actually the states where they aren't very widespread. It's nice to have a quiet place with complimentary food and wifi when you're that always early nonrev. (Just an opinion- avoid Amex Platinum; they do not allow you in Centurion lounges without a boarding pass-not always possible for a nonrev, so they are a poor value at $550/ year!) I have the Chase Sapphire Reserve, ($450/yr) which I like and keep, but any credit card that gives you Priority Pass and other benefits is good. Chase includes some rental car protection as well, which I find reassuring, although for countries like Italy, best to pay the extra for insurance. Remember that when all else fails, you can usually get back to North America via London. LAST choice due to their taxes, but also remember that if you are connecting, (within 24 hours) you do not pay their high taxes- which are even higher if you fly Business/ first.

Hostel World is a membership organization that allows you to book hostels all over the world. Hostels sound like a great idea for certain destinations, however, do price them out. I found that during a recent trip to Krakow, a hostel was 80E and a nice B&B was just a bit higher. No contest. It can be a very nice social experience from what I hear, I would just be a bit choosy as to when and where. Obviously Air B&B and the like are all great things. Pay attention to seasons, you can travel like a king in the winter in Mainland Europe, but summer is expensive. Save Eastern Europe for summer, do Paris, Rome etc in the winter. Btw, we had a recent trip to Poland and I cannot recommend it highly enough. Very kind, patient people, beautiful cities and country and good museums in Warsaw. Great food too!

One last thing, just an opinion, you may want to intermix your travels with river/ ocean cruises if you spot any deals. Cruises can be very economical ways of seeing a lot of different places that you may/ may not want to return to. A cheap cruise can be a respite from backpacking and you have access to discounts via your interline benefits. I really like Vacationstogo's website for finding them, but I book with absea.com since they provide great service but do not charge any fees.

Hope this helps and that you have a great time!