Ancona (Italy) to Patras (Greece) by boat - Survival guide

Odyssey or Love cruise ?

 

When you get there
If you get to Ancona by train, frequent buses pass from the Ancona train station (there are some ticket offices round there from some lines), pick the bus to take you to the city centre and after approximately 20 minutes you will get there - it's a nice city - start looking for the port, you pass the ticket and passport check and you will be able to get on board the ship.


Ticket and passport

Boat connections between Italy and Greece

Make sure where the offices of the lines you will be using to get to Greece, you will be asked for your passport of course (in order to find a seat make sure you, book the tickets by phone using your card a few days earlier). The price of the ticket is exactly the same for most of the companies, remember that for Interrail and Eurrail pass owners, there is a discount "using " 1 day of your pass.

Also some groups of people might be allowed a discount, so investigate if you can have a discount either by calling the customer service of the company you have chosen or online.


Companies
There are 3 companies (ANEK lines, Minoan Lines, Superfast Ferries), having used all companies I would strongly suggest to avoid ANEK lines and prefer Minoan lines for various reasons.

Expenses on the ship and before boarding
Be aware that the products on the ship are more expensive than on the land, prepare for it and purchase goods from local supermarkets before getting on board! the trip lasts up to 25 hours (in totally rare occasions), so buying fridge products would not be worth it. On the boats there are also a restaurant and a mini-shop.

On the boat
If you have a "deck"- ticket, it means that the company provides you with a plastic chair to sit down, it is not worth it to stay outside(during the night there will be some noise and wind). Prefer to get indoors ASAP, find a good place to relax, lay down on the isle somewhere it will not bother passengers and the staff to pass (prefer corners with plugs if you find any, find a way to keep your  luggage safe, actually check what your fellow passengers will do if you are not sure).


  Sleeping on board

Using your backpack as a pillow
will give you a feeling of security

Fellow travelerscould guard the team's backpacks

During the night lay down on the floor your thin foam mattress (if you do not have one use layers of towels to avoid waking up with back pains) and get in your sleeping bag. Sleeping on your backpack or using it as a pillow will give you some security for your belongings. Accessories such as waist wallet or secret pockets on your clothes or luggage can be a lifesaver.

Not the best sleep you will ever have,
but it is better than not sleeping at all

There will be some noise indoors but you will get used, a night mask and earplugs will definitely let you have a better sleep, so don't worry. The other passengers after some time will be resting too and from time to time a member of the boat's staff will pass through the isles just to make sure that everything is fine. Whenever the boat reaches any destinations, there will a quite loud announcement from the speakers and enough time for you to pack your things and get off the boat. Remember : having a fellow traveler guarding your belongings is the best solution.


When you reach Ancona - Italy

Ancona Ferries Terminal (maritima biglietteria)

 If you have booked your ticket online, but did not have it printed yet you should go first to the "maritima biglietteria"( means ship tickets). All the ship companies of Ancona are based in the same building on via Einaudi street, which is outside the city. To get there you will need to catch the bus #20 or  #12, from the port or the train station both buses have a frequent timetable. Note that the accounting office of Minoan line is opposite the port, so do not get confused you can not get your ticket from there.


When you reach Patras - Greece

The "KTEL" coach station in Patras

When you finally get to Patras, right outside the port there will be a local bus stop (from early in the morning until 6pm), there are buses to the city center and to the coach station (KTEL). In case there are no buses, taxis will be there to transfer you anywhere you want.
KTEL is the national bus operator in Greece and main way of moving from one place to another (if no car is available).

A trip to Athens from Patras "KTEL" coach station takes from 2,5 up until 3 hours (Price 18,90EUR - August2014).



Know what you want. Be prepared. Enjoy.

• Introduction
  Who am I and why start blogging?
• A helpful and inspirational guide before you travel by train
  Where to start and what to think before travelling
• How to pack your bag
  Overstuffed and overweight bag, at least keep it overstuffed 
• What to pack in your bag
  You don't need your fashionable clothes in here! 
• Travelling Solo VS Travelling as a group
  Loneliness doesn't always have to feel bad
• Couchsurfing and stay
  Make your stay safe 
• Raildude,ticket purchasing
  How to get the pass,the rules in the train station 
• Maps and books
  Should I get a map, guide or ignore everything? 
• On the way/train
  You can't get bored here my friend 
• Law,stereotypes,different lifestyles and adopting
  How not to end up behind the bars! 
• Types of travellers
  People worth meeting and not 
• Journeys
  Past personal Experiences 
• Ancona (Italy) to Patras (Greece) by boat - Survival guide
  Meeeeeeeeh...
• Additional tips
  Weren't all these enough?
• Self awareness, Self confidence, Passion and Personal awesomeness
  So you think you are not cool enough?

Useful Links

Please add your suggestions for sites in the comment section

Flights:

There is a variety of websites allowing you to search for cheap or flexible flights, unfortunately most famous websites such as Skyscanner, limit their search only within some pre-defined airlines not showing all potential airlines.

Kiwi.com : Multi search engine, allow search according to date range, geographic location with an innovative design and dynamic price change according to the user parameters.
In addition you can limit your search with how much time you are willing to spend in between changes, as well as the available routes on the map.
www.kiwi.com


Kayak : Multi search engine for plane tickets, comparison of plane tickets with other sites.
www.kayak.com


  

Skyscanner : Not so efficient search engine for flights as it used to, combining flight schedule to achieve the lowest price. Several problems have appeared as the prices of the website are not automatically updated and more companies refuse to cooperate with Skyscanner.
www.skyscanner.net

Additional tip : remove your cookies before revisiting or the prices will keep increasing



Alternative websites:

Tripsta : http://www.tripsta.co.uk


Viva: http://travel.viva.gr/en/

Skyexpress: a small airline company interesting offering deals with flight connections from Crete (Greece) to other islands, suitable for island hoping. (http://www.skyexpress.gr/en-us/home.aspx)

Note: Some websites may have already "clicked" some sections where the user accepts to offer a small donation to the selected company as an economic aid, make sure no such thing is selected.

Accomodation:

Booking.com : Easy to use website, many criteria to find the best hotel, hostel BnB for any budget.
http://www.booking.com

Couchsurfing : Want to do something unusual without paying to much? Why not ask a local to host you for free?
 https://www.couchsurfing.org

Additional Tip: A short guide about Couchsurfing is available from my blog. (Couchsurfing and stay)


Airbnb: Locals rent their rooms or properties to visitors, the price range is variable, in the description of each advertisement the owner describes what the accommodation offers such as wi-fi, towels, breakfast with extra charge and more. The process of finding an available property is fast-track, starts with sending request to the owner for specific dates, if there is no answer within 24 hours, the request is automatically cancelled, in parallel you get automatic text messages on your mobile updating you with the answers of your requests.

Train Tickets and train schedules, maps:

Raildude : The "Facebook" of Interrailer and Eurrailer, maps with train connections and timetables, tips, tricks and forums about traveling by train round the world, meet other travelers (Interrail and EUrail passes also available here). Suggested routes and examples of possible travels for a few days produced by the admins of Raildude website are also available, but they did not stop there, they equipped the website with a blog, news feeds about train connections globally. In 2013 Raildude became official online partner of Deutsche Bahn (national German railways).  http://www.raildude.com

Additional Tip : Having a look at this website before traveling will give you for sure a good boost you will need

The man in seat61 : Mark Smith

The man in seat61: A frequent traveler goes round Europe with the starting point always from London, the website covers a wide variety of information about purchasing tickets ways for every country, general feedback on the routes and opinions as well as other information and tips like travelling with children, where to store your luggage and other. Mark Smith, the creator of the site has also been awarded many times for his website from the Telegraph, Guardian, Observer and other papers. Additional site in french http://www.seat61.fr , or http://www.seat61.com for English speakers.

Additional Tip : Even if you do not intend having a look at his website you can see his videos on YouTube about the routes he uses.

Areas:

Daily Secret : Frequent newsletter and updates for each area you have selected, small tips that could change the way you see the place and live in it! Careful cause some of the tips are on for a very short time period or be seasonal.
http://www.dailysecret.com






Know what you want. Be prepared. Enjoy

• Introduction
  Who am I and why start blogging?
• A helpful and inspirational guide before you travel by train
  Where to start and what to think before travelling
• How to pack your bag
  Overstuffed and overweight bag, at least keep it overstuffed 
• What to pack in your bag
  You don't need your fashionable clothes in here! 
• Travelling Solo VS Travelling as a group
  Loneliness doesn't always have to feel bad
• Couchsurfing and stay
  Make your stay safe 
• Raildude,ticket purchasing
  How to get the pass,the rules in the train station 
• Maps and books
  Should I get a map, guide or ignore everything? 
• On the way/train
  You can't get bored here my friend 
• Law,stereotypes,different lifestyles and adopting
  How not to end up behind the bars! 
• Types of travellers
  People worth meeting and not 
• Journeys
  Past personal Experiences 
• Ancona (Italy) to Patras (Greece) by boat - Survival guide
  Meeeeeeeeh...
• Additional tips
  Weren't all these enough?
• Self awareness, Self confidence, Passion and Personal awesomeness
  So you think you are not cool enough?

Additional Tips - Draft

Tips in a total random order - Draft

• When traveling from France to another country or within France, remember to reserve your tickets a long time ago. Most trains in France are high speed trains which require a reservation first, buying the ticket straight will cost you quite a lot of money, alternative solution for this is using the normal train, which takes much longer!
• Always ask a local  where to go, what to do.
• Do not lose the chance to socialize and network on the way, you might get from a simple tip to a future job proposal!
• Avoid "touristic places", places full of tourists, usually this means that the shop- restaurant- owners will try to make some extra profit buy giving you either bad service or lower quality of goods compared with the amount you pay.
• Give it a try to speak the local language, people appreciate this (except France!) , do not lose your hope some of them will try to communicate with you using body language and sketches (carry pencil and paper with you)
• As bad as it sounds, choose places where locals prefer to go, they do know better than you do!
• Be kind with the locals, respectful to their culture, religion and believes, raising a dispute will not solve anything.
• Avoid getting drunk and humiliate yourself, locals will not like you for sure
• From place to place people differ, they can be very social and helpful, giving you a lift when there is no available transport even inviting you to their family table!
• Being advised from a local is not a gift, is a blessing. :D
• Keep protecting the enviroment
• When strolling around a place, keep in your mind some "marks" such as parks, clocks, cafes or something stable that got your attention.
• Be aware of the public transport details, frequency, what time it starts and stops

Health and Safety Advice:

UptoDate : Patient information: General travel advice (Beyond the Basics)

Advices also provided from governments:

UK : Foreign travel advice, Travel Abroad

USA : Traveler's Checklist

Maps and books

Should I get a guide, map or ignore everything?

Weeeeeeeell, this is up to you : how much money would you like to spend? how much in-depth would you like to know about the places and the sights you will visit? what other choices do you have?

Guides: Looking at my collection of travel guides, most of them are from "DK", "Rough Guides" and "Lonely Planet". Of course every company has a different style - small or big - has different style and more suitable for different "target group" of the readers, depending on the type of tourism they are interested in. In no case the most famous guides will always have what you ask for, some not so famous guides could have details that could even have a difference significant to your journey( but nothing compares with the advices of the locals who do know really well their place, so get chatty)!

DK : really compact and concentrated information about each place, wide variety of choices from guides that talk about a whole country to guides who are specifically for only one city and the sites of it. Usually, they are big and expensive, include hard cover, detailed maps, good descriptions, maps are split in blocks for every area, colored fully illustrated, time lines and addresses, phones of restaurant, museums and other are included. If you plan to visit a place again and again, it will be a good investment of you!

DK - Cover sample

DK - Explainatory sketches 

Lonely planet : small sized, thin pages, includes a good feedback of information and description about the places and climate, environment, history, religion, traditions, culture, shops, important tourist information, restaurants, hotels, prices, activities per area, a basic glossary, events calendar, nightlife, transport (local and international) and many many advices. The maps are well-designed in black and read, small number of black and white illustrations with some breaks in between of colored pages, good and low price.

Lonely Planet - an inside look

Lonely Planet - Cover Sample

Rough Guides : small sized, thin pages, with black and white pictures, wide range of informative maps, long descriptions about history, places and events. Covers most of the places of interest, concentrated good amount of information in a few lines about the choices you have in museums, activities and places. Its last few pages provide a good feedback in total as well as an extended glossary, correct pronunciation guidelines and important phrases. Trying to make the tourist adapt to the local lifestyle.

Rough Guides - Cover sample

Sneak peak inside the Rough Guides

DK, mainly cultural interest.

Lonely planet, activities and some cultural - environmental  interest.
Rough Guides, general cover of the basic points of interest.

Seriously do not download piracy products!

Of course you can read reviews from other readers or visit a bookstore and decide which guide, suits you the most. Please do not download the guides online for free, support the companies and their work. ;)

"Fuck, we got lost, let's smile!"

Do you want to visit many cities without spending too much money on maps, guides etc? Easy-Peasy, download in .pdf form the maps for all the cities you want and transfer them to your smartphone, problem solved! Otherwise get a detailed map of the big cities from shops around train stations and souvenir shops. You want to go super-cheap? An acceptable solution is to ask from information desks to give you a small map (like the ones with advertisements in them, ask first if they are for free) but do not expect high accuracy and quality printed maps! Some local restaurants may have a printed map on the back side of their menus,
whatever rocks your boat!


One thing - I strongly support purchasing an official book with the European Train timetables each season (includes accurate timetables, train connections from city to city, short codes for trains, telephone numbers, advices etc, for more information: http://www.europeanrailtimetable.eu/home.html), make sure you get the timetable book for the season you need! (sometimes they are printed a bit later than expected, try to contact with a good bookstore or purchase it online)

All the above information include personal opinion, information and experiences I have gathered over the time, and with this post I do not wish to advertise or misadvertise companies and physical persons.

Know what you want. Be prepared. Enjoy

• Introduction
  Who am I and why start blogging?
• A helpful and inspirational guide before you travel by train
  Where to start and what to think before travelling
• How to pack your bag
  Overstuffed and overweight bag, at least keep it overstuffed 
• What to pack in your bag
  You don't need your fashionable clothes in here! 
• Travelling Solo VS Travelling as a group
  Loneliness doesn't always have to feel bad
• Couchsurfing and stay
  Make your stay safe 
• Raildude,ticket purchasing
  How to get the pass,the rules in the train station 
• Maps and books
  Should I get a map, guide or ignore everything? 
• On the way/train
  You can't get bored here my friend 
• Law,stereotypes,different lifestyles and adopting
  How not to end up behind the bars! 
• Types of travellers
  People worth meeting and not 
• Journeys
  Past personal Experiences 
• Additional tips
  Weren't all these enough?
• Self awareness, Self confidence, Passion and Personal awesomeness
  So you think you are not cool enough?

Couchsurfing and stay

Make your stay safe!

Couchsurfing from my point of view : Useful, smart, free, amazing but in some cases dangerous!
As a couchsurfer in the past few years I had a short variety of experiences, good ones and bad ones. The outcome : Being careful and choosing people who will host you. A host that is constantly busy and volunteers to guide you around or show his/her own lifestyle could be one of the best things Couchsurfing could offer to its member, including the hospitality and the spirit of kindness.

The article of Wikipedia will give you a more detailed explanation.here

Make an account, the first step is to make an account with valid information, introduce - talk about yourself, move on adding pictures and in case you do have some friends who are already members or ask them to leave you a reference on your profile. References are important, they are the opinion other people had about you when they came in contact with you (hosting,surfing or travelling), it could be the quality measurement of how other people see you as a potential host or surfer. Use a similar format and get some ideas from the profiles of older members, they have more knowledge and experience about what to add. In my details, it is wise to add that you would like to have a Skype call with your potential host/visitor, just to make sure it is the same person and for other security reasons as well!

You can find CS members on every corner of the horizon around the world.

Join groups, forums, events according to your interests, you can chat and share with them ideas,experiences etc. Some groups and societies might be closer than others and might even have weekly/monthly/annually meetings, even in your neighborhood there might be a local group!

There are 2 kinds of requests, the first one is Public requests and the second is private requests. Open/Public requests, lets other members know that you will visit their place on a time you specify.It is up to them if they will be able to host you depending on their schedule. On the other hand, private request is sent only to a specific "potential host" you choose, of course for various reasons, you can be rejected either cause the host had a look at your profile and was not satisfied with your references, your personalities do not match, your time schedules do not match, etc.

For God's sake, Couchsurfing is NOT a dating site.

Old-school couchsurfers posing in the original CS stand

Having a completed profile guarantees more hosts that would like to invite you to their places, but remember it is their places and not yours. Be ready to adapt to their time schedule as well as way of living, meaning that as a Couchsurfer and try being kind, at the same time you must contribute in either cleaning,cooking, or buying goods as long as your host allows you to and does not demand so! Being kind as a visitor or a host is the key for a nice stay and cooperation from both sides.

Hosts have different preferences, some have a separate room for the visitor and a bed/couch, some other do not have any problem sharing the same surface (!?!) with you (Just avoid these people!). Make sure the host will be able to host you under the conditions you wish, but in case of emergency always have a plan B.




The descent : A couple of years ago CS website turned from a non-profit organisation into a for-profit organisation, as a result many of its members complained that the original spirit of CS would totally change, there would be many fake profiles and decided to shut down their profiles.

Unfortunately, in the past few years there have been cases of sexual assaults (so please before you sign up do your research first!). The official site of Couchsurfing has provided a guide with tips to protect yourself.

All the above information include personal opinion, information and experiences I have gathered over the time, and with this post I do not wish to advertise or misadvertise  the official Website of Couchsurfing and physical persons.


This post will be expanded too for other choices of accommodation (hostels, hotels, BnB)

More information:

TIPS FOR STAYING IN A HOSTEL: WHAT TO BRING

10 Tips for Staying at a Hostel

Things to Know About Hosteling: Tips and Tricks for Lodging on the Cheap

Always check for reviews online, for example search "name_of_hostel" review

Know what you want. Be prepared. Enjoy

• Introduction
  Who am I and why start blogging?
• A helpful and inspirational guide before you travel by train
  Where to start and what to think before travelling
• How to pack your bag
  Overstuffed and overweight bag, at least keep it overstuffed 
• What to pack in your bag
  You don't need your fashionable clothes in here! 
• Travelling Solo VS Travelling as a group
  Loneliness doesn't always have to feel bad
• Couchsurfing and stay
  Make your stay safe 
• Raildude,ticket purchasing
  How to get the pass,the rules in the train station 
• Maps and books
  Should I get a map, guide or ignore everything? 
• On the way/train
  You can't get bored here my friend 
• Law,stereotypes,different lifestyles and adopting
  How not to end up behind the bars! 
• Types of travellers
  People worth meeting and not 
• Journeys
  Past personal Experiences 
• Additional tips
  Weren't all these enough?
• Self awareness, Self confidence, Passion and Personal awesomeness
  So you think you are not cool enough?

Introduction

Hello everyone,

le me

Welcome to my blog. I am a young male person, engineering student, traveler, daydreamer, weirdo, who enjoys little things in life ( friends call me "bear"). I like traveling, listening to music, working on electronics, sketching, reading psycology books, tourist guides and most of all giving a hard time to people whenever I was to screw around. 


For a long time, I was scared to travel around without any plans at all and alone. Since my parents thought sooner or later  by the time my foot steps out of the house I would get kidnapped, rapped by Pedobear, stubbed, pick pocked, set on fire, crucified, sacrificed to Satan, exposed to radiation etc. (all the above can actually happen to those who are not careful in a random order)

Friends  of friends of friends had used Interrail pass(?!?), I had no clue what that was but I was assuming they had loads of money to travel round Europe. Some years later and after  long researches, things were easier than expected, travelling by train is easy, fast, cheap and accessible to almost any place you want. Combined with some other websites such as Couchsurfing I could have the best time than any other person had in his life. My journeys were lasting 14 days max., but learnt some really important advices, suggestions, lessons, rules, ways of thinking, that helped me travel easier time after time. I have gathered and keep gathering everything I can from A to Z in this blog and present them to you.




Know what you want. Be prepared. Enjoy

• Introduction
  Who am I and why start blogging?
• A helpful and inspirational guide before you travel by train
  Where to start and what to think before travelling
• How to pack your bag
  Overstuffed and overweight bag, at least keep it overstuffed 
• What to pack in your bag
  You don't need your fashionable clothes in here! 
• Travelling Solo VS Travelling as a group
  Loneliness doesn't always have to feel bad
• Couchsurfing and stay
  Make your stay safe 
• Raildude,ticket purchasing
  How to get the pass,the rules in the train station 
• Maps and books
  Should I get a map, guide or ignore everything? 
• On the way/train
  You can't get bored here my friend 
• Law,stereotypes,different lifestyles and adopting
  How not to end up behind the bars! 
• Types of travellers
  People worth meeting and not 
• Journeys
  Past personal Experiences 
• Additional tips
  Weren't all these enough?
• Self awareness, Self confidence, Passion and Personal awesomeness
  So you think you are not cool enough?

What to pack in your bag

You don't need your fashionable clothes in here!

First of all, purchase a good backpack (trust me it is important, it is not so nice to have back pain when travelling and I insist on this!), do not even think about pulling a suitcase around - it will not work - and after your trip is complete, your suitcase will look like it has been rapped and abused by 1000 airline luggage handlers!

                                    Just to give you an idea of how it will look like later on...

                                                                       Look...

                                                 Don't look away! Isn't this enough ?

                                                             You want more???

                                                      I hope you got your lesson!

Always keep some snacks and water in case of emergency. Yes my dear child, snack bars can be helpful too even if you are not MacGyver .

Avoid carrying pepper spray or weapons, first because in some countries they are banned and second because you do not want to get in trouble.

Carry only multi-purpose clothes, they might not look great but they will do their work, choose clothes easy to dry warm or thin, but be also prepared for a heavy rain, blizzard, Apocalypse or Ragnaroc, depending the season you prefer to travel and because you never know, a poncho or something waterproof in case of rain.

Don't forget to buy good shoes, your All-Stars shoes will turn into dust after some time if you do wear them when you walk a lot every day, causing back- and knee-pain, prefer trainers with confident and flexible sole for you (for my trips I carry 2 pairs of shoes, 1 for walking 1 for clubbing, the amount of clothes depends also on how long I decide to travel).

Remember : your fancy shoes will not last long!

Pack personal care items in a smaller bag, really useful if you have to sleep on the train
Medicine, liquid & dry wipes, hand gel, contact lenses liquid, shampoo, make up, perfume, deodorants (cause you do not wish to make your travel mates to suffer), sprays, RPG, etc.
Are you planning to sleep on the train? take a spray for mites and bed-bugs that might live in the mattress just to be on the safe side.

The multi-tool

A few plastic bags, multipurpose multi tool... it's a miracle what you can do with them. They are weightless, take up very small place. Their uses are limitless : separate wet clothes from dry ones, either separate dirty clothes from clean ones, put your shoes in them, waterproof any sensitive electronic devices you carry. These little bastards are useful!

Example of backpack cover

Backpack cover, because nobody would be happy to carry extra weight and have all documents, electronics and staff totally soaked! You can find these in shops selling camping or sports products. They are cheap, heat and scratch resistant. Some backpacks might already be equipped with a cover, placed at the bottom pocket of them, so have a look first over there just to be sure.





Lock, a small one could do the job just to make sure nobody would dare to steal something from your backpack when you use it as a pillow, also could be used as a proper lock to store in small lockers (usually placed in airport, coach stations or train stations) for specific duration and cost.



(For travellers in India : if you are travelling by train, be careful of the enormous free range cockroaches strolling around the floor - buy the most chemical bug spray you can find ... and I personally with you  good luck!)

Diary, can be more useful than you would think. You can keep a record of memories in it, as well as a record of your expenses and available budget on your trip, so next time you can be more prepared.

Plug adaptor, this part can be pretty annoying. In the old times each mobile phone company had a different charger, luckily all of them now use the same style of charger! Make sure that the plugs in your country are the same with the ones you will visit. Here is how a multi-plug adaptor looks like.

Dry and wet napkins, all time favorite for freaks with cleaning!

Money, before you go abroad inform your bank that you plan to travel and let them know which countries you will visit. Some banks may block any transactions from a card if things get suspicious! Do not carry huge amount of cash with you, split small amounts of money in many different places such as your pocket, inside pocket of your bag, hidden pockets.

Scan, print and leave back home some copies of the documents you will decide to carry around with you, take also some with you too and put them in a safe folder(This will save you loads of time if you get pick pocked, the local police will try to help you even more).

I do not support buying tourist guides for this kind of travelling, they are expensive,sometimes heave and take precious space in backpack, plus I do not suggest having them in ebook form stored in iPads,Kindles and sh*t.


Do you want to visit many cities without spending too much money on maps, guides etc? Easy-Peasy, download in .pdf form the maps for all the cities you want and transfer them to your smartphone, problem solved! Otherwise get a detailed map of the big cities from shops around train stations and souvenir shops. You want to go super-cheap? An acceptable solution is to ask people behind the information desks to give you a small map (like the ones with advertisements in them, ask first if they are for free) but do not expect highly
accurate and quality printed maps! Some local restaurants may have a printed map on the back side of their menus too, whatever rocks your boat!

Example of German EHIC

European Health Insurance Card, definitely important for every EU citizen traveling within the European Union countries (plus some more countries in Europe). Are you having a health problem but you are abroad? Show this card to the doctor of the local hospital and he/she will take care of the rest, this card covers all or most of the costs for your treatment, visit in the hospital or health center etc.

Before you make one for yourself, please do your research first. You can get the basic feedback from Wikipedia.


I will upload a post talking about backpacks suitable for traveling.

One thing - I strongly support purchasing an official book with the European Train timetables each season (includes accurate timetables, train connections from city to city, short codes for trains, telephone numbers, advices etc, for more information: http://www.europeanrailtimetable.eu/home.html), make sure you get the timetable book for the season you need! (sometimes they are printed a bit later than expected, try to contact with a good bookstore or purchase it online)

More information :

The telegraph : Travel advice, tips and information

Huffington Post : Your Life in a Backpack: What to Pack For 6 Months Traveling Abroad


Know what you want. Be prepared. Enjoy

• Introduction
  Who am I and why start blogging?
• A helpful and inspirational guide before you travel by train
  Where to start and what to think before travelling
• How to pack your bag
  Overstuffed and overweight bag, at least keep it overstuffed 
• What to pack in your bag
  You don't need your fashionable clothes in here! 
• Travelling Solo VS Travelling as a group
  Loneliness doesn't always have to feel bad
• Couchsurfing and stay
  Make your stay safe 
• Raildude,ticket purchasing
  How to get the pass,the rules in the train station 
• Maps and books
  Should I get a map, guide or ignore everything? 
• On the way/train
  You can't get bored here my friend 
• Law,stereotypes,different lifestyles and adopting
  How not to end up behind the bars! 
• Types of travellers
  People worth meeting and not 
• Journeys
  Past personal Experiences 
• Additional tips
  Weren't all these enough?
• Self awareness, Self confidence, Passion and Personal awesomeness
  So you think you are not cool enough?