19 nights backpacker solo trip around Europe for £396.63 including flight, buses, ferries and hostels.
I've based this trip on 1 adult flying out of Stansted into Riga on Wednesday 12th October returning from Kaunas on 31st October. You will be flying with Ryanair and Norwegian who allow 10kg hand luggage and a additional handbag.
You will be staying in Riga for 4 nights and Tallinn, Helsinki, Stockholm, Vilnius and Kaunas for 3 nights.
This trip is only for travellers who are willing to stay in hostels with shared bathroom, if you want your own bathroom you will find you will pay excessively more, especially in the Scandinavian countries. I have based this trip on a solo backpacker who wants to experience life around Europe in hostels meeting other backpackers.
All of the hostels have amazing reviews on TripAdvisor and amazing locations. Some of the hotels have single rooms or single beds but the majority are bunk beds in forms of 8 people. You can easily change the hostels for same sex etc however this may bump the price up.
This deal only includes a 10kg hand luggage with an additional handbag but this is sufficient for the type of backpacker trip that this is.
Trip Breakdown
12th - 16th October
You will land into Riga around mid morning giving you the rest of the day to play with. You will be spending 4 nights in Riga staying in the 2* Red Nose Hostel which has an average of 4/5 stars on TripAdvisor. The hostel is in a great location and is a single bed in a mixed 6 bedroomed dorm with a shared bathroom.
16th - 19th October
Catch the LUX express bus to Tallinn which takes just over 4 hours but isn't you're normal bus. It has onboard entertainment and is super comfy. If you prefer to fly it'll cost you around £50 compared to this bargain €5 bus! You will be staying in Tallinn Backpackers for 3 nights which is located in the Old Town. It has 4.5/5 stars on TripAdvisor and will be staying in a bed in an 8 bed dormitory room.
19th - 22nd October
Head to the ferry terminal to head over to Helsinki on the Tallink ferry. It takes just under 3 hours and is a nice crossing. It's beautiful when pulling into the harbour in Helsinki.
I've chosen the 2* Hostel Diana Park as it has an excellent location in the heart of the city. You will be staying for for 3 nights and it has an average of 4/5 stars on TripAdvisor and it is a bed in a mixed dormitory room of 8 people.
22nd - 25th October
Jump on the short flight over to Stockholm for the next 3 nights. The quickest way into the city is the Arlanda express however this train is super pricey!
I've chosen the 2* Hostel Dalagatan which is in a fabulous location and is the number 1 hostel to stay in on TripAdvisor with over 320 excellent reviews! You will be in an 8 bed mixed dormitory.
25th - 28th October
Head on another short flight over to Vilnius and stay here for 3 nights. I've chosen the great Pilies 16 hostel which has an average of 4.5/5 stars on TripAdvisor. It is located on the Main Street of the old town and you will be staying in a 7 bedroom mixed dormitory.
28th - 31st October
Head to the bus station and jump on the bus to Kaunas which takes around an hour and a half.
You will be staying in The Monks Bunk for 3 nights, it is located on the Main Street of Kaunas and has great reviews with 5/5 on TripAdvisor and being the number one hostel on the site. The room is a bed in and 8 bed mixed dormitory.
Many of the hostels I have chosen have washing machines so you can wash your clothes so you can keep your hand luggage to a minimum. Many of them also have common areas and kitchens of you want to cook to keep costs down.
If you don't like the look of any of the hostels I've chosen there are so many other to choose from for around the same price!
Price breakdown
Flights to Riga booked with Ryanair - £19.99
Riga hostel booked with Expedia - £36.41 *voucher codes don't work with this hotel*
Bus from Riga to Tallinn booked with luxexpress.eu - £4.27 (€5)
Tallinn hostel booked with Booking.com - £27
Ferry from Tallinn to Helsinki booked with Tallink.com - £27.30 (€32)
Helsinki hostel booked with Expedia - £74.16
Flights from Helsinki to Stockholm booked with Norwegian - £25.80
Stockholm hostel booked with Booking.com - £70
Flights from Stockholm to Vilnius booked with Norwegian - £28.20
Vilnius hostel booked through Booking.com - £14
Bus from Vilnius to Kaunas booked through autobusubilietai.lt - £4.69 (€5.50)
Kaunas hostel booked through Booking.com - £28
Flight from Kaunas to Stansted booked with Ryanair - £36.84 (€43.19)
Total price - £396
Top comments
smiler03
14 Sep 165#24
Upvoted immediately. Do as much travelling as you can in life, especially while you're young, under 30ish. You may never have the chance again in your lifetime. You can very rarely claw back those young, free'ish and single times when you get older and find yourself in a rut.
Personally I would head for warmer climes, choose your destination depending on the time of the year. It's actually quite hard to think of anywhere in the world more expensive than Scandinavia.
Cheaper destinations might be any other East, West or Southern European countries. Most of Asia with the exception of Japan. All of South and North America, almost all of Africa, Australasia. I believe Antarctica is a bit pricey.
The other thing I want to suggest is that backpacking gives you the freedom to go where you want, stay however long or little as you want in any particular place. You can find cheap travel and accommodation as you go with your smartphone and advice from fellow travellers.
I went on many Greek island hopping holidays. The best was for two weeks but I missed my flight home by one hour. I thought to myself, sod it, I resigned by telephone with a faked medical condition. I headed back to the islands. I stayed for six more weeks. Eight weeks island hopping. I could never do it now, I'm responsible for my dog and my wife.
Have fun while you can. As they say, "travel broadens the mind". For those with a steady partner, don't blow the average £25k on a marriage, travel together for a year and use a registry office.
p.s. I still upvote the OP, that's an incredible price for so much travel. I cannot imagine anybody putting together such a bargain package without weeks of research.
:sunglasses::stuck_out_tongue::
Disclosure: I'm 55 years old and will do this independent travelling again, well I sincerely hope so.
dannyblackbeard
13 Sep 163#6
hostels are a great way to travel. You meet so many fantastic people. Some wallys too. But, you can always ditch them. Solo travelling is amazing. Heat added. May have to cut my contract short for this, bargain.
All comments (29)
BlueSkies
13 Sep 161#1
BlueSkies
13 Sep 16#2
BlueSkies
13 Sep 16#3
crisscross
13 Sep 16#4
Hi, do you have a URL for this?
BeerGoggles
13 Sep 161#5
WOW are you doing this or do you just like putting deals together. This is amazing and shows you can travel cheaply, although I'm sure many won't like the mixed dorm. I prefer to staying hostels but I usually get a private room which always bumps the price right up.
dannyblackbeard
13 Sep 163#6
hostels are a great way to travel. You meet so many fantastic people. Some wallys too. But, you can always ditch them. Solo travelling is amazing. Heat added. May have to cut my contract short for this, bargain.
DEAN_LONDON
13 Sep 161#7
before you buy this trip see the movie hostel.
still a great deal.
ZazZYo
13 Sep 161#8
Very tempted. Not October maybe next year January.
![Fresh Breakfast Meat Box (Using code) @ Campbells Meat [Haggis / Lorne Sausage / Bacon / Black Pudding & More]](/images/topics/208684_1.jpg)
![[Xbox One] Q. u. b. e: Director's Cut on Deals with Gold](/images/topics/208716_1.jpg)
Opening post
I've based this trip on 1 adult flying out of Stansted into Riga on Wednesday 12th October returning from Kaunas on 31st October. You will be flying with Ryanair and Norwegian who allow 10kg hand luggage and a additional handbag.
You will be staying in Riga for 4 nights and Tallinn, Helsinki, Stockholm, Vilnius and Kaunas for 3 nights.
This trip is only for travellers who are willing to stay in hostels with shared bathroom, if you want your own bathroom you will find you will pay excessively more, especially in the Scandinavian countries. I have based this trip on a solo backpacker who wants to experience life around Europe in hostels meeting other backpackers.
All of the hostels have amazing reviews on TripAdvisor and amazing locations. Some of the hotels have single rooms or single beds but the majority are bunk beds in forms of 8 people. You can easily change the hostels for same sex etc however this may bump the price up.
This deal only includes a 10kg hand luggage with an additional handbag but this is sufficient for the type of backpacker trip that this is.
Trip Breakdown
12th - 16th October
You will land into Riga around mid morning giving you the rest of the day to play with. You will be spending 4 nights in Riga staying in the 2* Red Nose Hostel which has an average of 4/5 stars on TripAdvisor. The hostel is in a great location and is a single bed in a mixed 6 bedroomed dorm with a shared bathroom.
16th - 19th October
Catch the LUX express bus to Tallinn which takes just over 4 hours but isn't you're normal bus. It has onboard entertainment and is super comfy. If you prefer to fly it'll cost you around £50 compared to this bargain €5 bus! You will be staying in Tallinn Backpackers for 3 nights which is located in the Old Town. It has 4.5/5 stars on TripAdvisor and will be staying in a bed in an 8 bed dormitory room.
19th - 22nd October
Head to the ferry terminal to head over to Helsinki on the Tallink ferry. It takes just under 3 hours and is a nice crossing. It's beautiful when pulling into the harbour in Helsinki.
I've chosen the 2* Hostel Diana Park as it has an excellent location in the heart of the city. You will be staying for for 3 nights and it has an average of 4/5 stars on TripAdvisor and it is a bed in a mixed dormitory room of 8 people.
22nd - 25th October
Jump on the short flight over to Stockholm for the next 3 nights. The quickest way into the city is the Arlanda express however this train is super pricey!
I've chosen the 2* Hostel Dalagatan which is in a fabulous location and is the number 1 hostel to stay in on TripAdvisor with over 320 excellent reviews! You will be in an 8 bed mixed dormitory.
25th - 28th October
Head on another short flight over to Vilnius and stay here for 3 nights. I've chosen the great Pilies 16 hostel which has an average of 4.5/5 stars on TripAdvisor. It is located on the Main Street of the old town and you will be staying in a 7 bedroom mixed dormitory.
28th - 31st October
Head to the bus station and jump on the bus to Kaunas which takes around an hour and a half.
You will be staying in The Monks Bunk for 3 nights, it is located on the Main Street of Kaunas and has great reviews with 5/5 on TripAdvisor and being the number one hostel on the site. The room is a bed in and 8 bed mixed dormitory.
Many of the hostels I have chosen have washing machines so you can wash your clothes so you can keep your hand luggage to a minimum. Many of them also have common areas and kitchens of you want to cook to keep costs down.
If you don't like the look of any of the hostels I've chosen there are so many other to choose from for around the same price!
Price breakdown
Flights to Riga booked with Ryanair - £19.99
Riga hostel booked with Expedia - £36.41 *voucher codes don't work with this hotel*
Bus from Riga to Tallinn booked with luxexpress.eu - £4.27 (€5)
Tallinn hostel booked with Booking.com - £27
Ferry from Tallinn to Helsinki booked with Tallink.com - £27.30 (€32)
Helsinki hostel booked with Expedia - £74.16
Flights from Helsinki to Stockholm booked with Norwegian - £25.80
Stockholm hostel booked with Booking.com - £70
Flights from Stockholm to Vilnius booked with Norwegian - £28.20
Vilnius hostel booked through Booking.com - £14
Bus from Vilnius to Kaunas booked through autobusubilietai.lt - £4.69 (€5.50)
Kaunas hostel booked through Booking.com - £28
Flight from Kaunas to Stansted booked with Ryanair - £36.84 (€43.19)
Total price - £396
Top comments
Personally I would head for warmer climes, choose your destination depending on the time of the year. It's actually quite hard to think of anywhere in the world more expensive than Scandinavia.
Cheaper destinations might be any other East, West or Southern European countries. Most of Asia with the exception of Japan. All of South and North America, almost all of Africa, Australasia. I believe Antarctica is a bit pricey.
The other thing I want to suggest is that backpacking gives you the freedom to go where you want, stay however long or little as you want in any particular place. You can find cheap travel and accommodation as you go with your smartphone and advice from fellow travellers.
I went on many Greek island hopping holidays. The best was for two weeks but I missed my flight home by one hour. I thought to myself, sod it, I resigned by telephone with a faked medical condition. I headed back to the islands. I stayed for six more weeks. Eight weeks island hopping. I could never do it now, I'm responsible for my dog and my wife.
Have fun while you can. As they say, "travel broadens the mind". For those with a steady partner, don't blow the average £25k on a marriage, travel together for a year and use a registry office.
p.s. I still upvote the OP, that's an incredible price for so much travel. I cannot imagine anybody putting together such a bargain package without weeks of research.
:sunglasses::stuck_out_tongue::
Disclosure: I'm 55 years old and will do this independent travelling again, well I sincerely hope so.
All comments (29)
still a great deal.