First of all decide what you really want to see – time is short, Europe can be expensive… Don’t want to waste time or money. You need to decide whether you want Cities, mountains, beaches, nature, nightlife…or a bit of everything! Alongside this you need to choose when you want to go, and what the weather is like when you get there so you can pack your backpack accordingly

When to Go
Low Season (October – April)
The low season has its benefits. It is cheaper to get there, less crowded when you do, and easier to book into the hostels of your choice. Because there are less travellers around, many tourist cities are ‘reclaimed’ by the natives, and you have more chance of meeting the locals. But the down sides are, of course, that the weather may be terrible for long periods of time, some attractions may be closed for the off season, and you might be the only lonely soul in the hostel

High Season (May – September)
The good points of the high season are what makes it the high season in the first place. Great weather, the full compliment of attractions, nightlife, tours, better transport connections, and much more likeminded people to hang out with, travel with, and generally share your adventures with. The bad side to this is pretty obvious, crowds of camera wielding tourists can dampen the allure of even the most attractive sites, hostels may be full adding stress to your trip, and the odds of meeting someone from the place that you are visiting can be dramatically reduced.

Climate
Check the individual country pages for more detailed information of what the weathers like in each country, but for what it’s worth, here’s the average maximum temperatures in some of the major European cities;

What to Bring
Of course, the weather plays a part in what to pack. The famous backpackers mantra; ‘lay out everything you think you need, take away half of it, and pack the rest’ is especially good advice that we have no problem repeating here, however clichéd it may be. Some key stuff that might be useful includes; locks for your backpack and hostel lockers; pen-knife with cork-screw (but pack it in the hold for the flight over!); waterproof; good shoes; first aid kit and sewing stuff; toiletries (especially the favourites or essentials that you don’t think you’ll be able to get); and, not least, a BACKPACK. Some crazy people insist on travelling with suitcase or pull-trolley. Please, trust us, a backpack is ‘hands free’, easier to carry (the weight is distributed over strongest part of your body) and, of course, it’s a badge of honour that elevates you above the normal tourist hoards.

Maps, guidebooks and a friend or two can be invaluable companions to your trip, but none of them are essential. Remember that you have to carry everything you take around with you so a rail timetable plus a general, overview guidebook might be the way to go, supplementing this general info with trips to internet cafes, meeting locals in the pub, or at the hostel receptions along the way.

As for companions of the human variety remember that travelling together can mean 24 hours a day together – something that nearly no other type of relationship or situation can prepare you for. It can be great, often you learn more about one person in a month on the road and off the rails than you would in years back home, but it can also put a great strain on even the strongest friendship…try to agree on as much as you can beforehand, be flexible, and give people time and space when they need…do your own thing for a few hours, or even days, and then meet up later to invent wild tales about striking out on your own.