first time backpacker

[ashley316]

Hi guys my name is Ashley first time poster,
I am attempting to go to Europe from April to Aug. /09. Now other than one friend I have in England i will be jumping to Ireland,France, Spain,Italy Greece and Netherlands solo. Now I will be either couch surfing or going through hostels to make my way. Now if i do run out of cash my thoughts were to pick up random odd jobs to get by is this risky as a Canadian would you suggest getting holiday visas instead or winging it? As well would you say its better to buy rail tickets one at a time and or buying the 3 month rail passes to save on money? I would appreciate any info any one can offer because i don't want to get deported or waste money i don't need to.
HELP.......

[CanuckAbroad]

Heya,

As far as jobs - you'll probably have some trouble given the current economy either under the table or legit. So I'd suggest not running out of money

If you're using the trains alot, definitely buy a pass. If you're only making a few trips, then it might be worth point to point tickets..but they do add up quickly.

[canadiankat]

Hey Ashley!

I am too, a Canadian planning my first trip to Europe. my hubby and I are going to backpack from Amsterdam, to France and all the way down Italy hopefully with a weekend trip to Greece.
I am a BIG organizer and planner - LOVE to do this stuff - and have been researching prices on all the different modes of transport. So far, I've looked up a lot of different rail pass prices.
It really depends how many different stops you plan on making.
There is busabout.com - they offer a hop on, hop off type of service. Their routes are set in stone, so you have to go where they take you and I hear you have to reserve way ahead of time. I had a girl friend use it by herself and she loved it. There's a lot of young people on there, and it will stop right outside hostels so you don't have to go looking for them.
Then there's the all mighty Eurail.com pass. Depending on what you're doing and going there's a variety of options. The global pass might be your best bet. It's not a bad price for Youth or Saver - and each trip works out to be about $50 - 70 depending on the pass.
We are considering using the eurail pass in combination with local transport, buses and budget airlines. We'll only use the pass when it saves us money and such.
Hope that helps!
Maybe we'll bump into each other in Europe! We're leaving Vancouver in April.

[ashley316]

Hi thanks for your reply it was most helpful. I checked out that site busabout and with that i finally figured how my itinerary would work out. i hope to see you guys in europe maybe our times and places meet up at some point and we could go for cofee. But again i did want to thank you for your support and if i dont see you guys happy travels.......

[canadiankat]

I'm glad that helped You're welcome!