AROUND EUROPE... IN 34 DAYS
Adventure seeker Claire Scott and her ‘Roamies’ head hostel hopping across nine countries, ticking off bucket-list ‘musts’ she didn’t even know she had!
Spending 34-days hostel-hopping from Amsterdam to Athens with people I have never met before was not something I thought I would be up for pre-pandemic – but I can confidently say now, it’s one of the best things I have ever done.
From sipping coffee under the Dolomites in Italy, rafting down the Vltava river in the Czech Republic and night swimming with glowing plankton in Corfu, Greece – this trip ticked off bucket list items I didn’t even know I had.
On June 19, I arrived at the Generator hostel in Oosterpark, Amsterdam, ready for an adventure across nine countries: the Netherlands, Germany, Czech Republic, Austria, Italy, Montenegro, Croatia, Albania and Greece as part of a new joint venture from G Adventures and Hostelworld called ‘Roamies’.
The trips are purpose-built for 1835 year olds looking to see as much as possible on a budget. They’re ideal for solo-travellers like me looking for the freedom of travel on your own terms but wanting the support and safety of a group. Roamies
pretty much offers the best of both worlds with your itinerary, accommodation and transport covered, and local guides with years of experience guiding tours across Europe, south America, central America and southeast Asia.
Hostels often get a bad rap, but the Roamies hostels have been picked for their comfort, cleanliness and vibrant, social atmospheres. The Generator hostel in Amsterdam was a perfect example; it’s located in a converted university building and retains its character, while adding modern features, street art-covered walls and a lecture-hall style bar. There’s also a great coffee shop near the reception.
The 10 ‘Roamies’ joining me on the first leg of the tour hailed from the US, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the UK. While I was doing the full Roamies Ultimate Europe trip, there are 13 shorter Roamies excursions across the continent starting and finishing in different cities. So, while I would lose some new friends along the way, there were always more
GUIDED TOURS THROUGH THE CITIES – AND DELICIOUS FOOD
joining at various stages. Our first week was spent travelling from Amsterdam to Berlin, Berlin to Prague and Prague to Vienna by private bus. We had guided tours through the cities and delicious meals in local restaurants. On day six of the Ultimate Europe trip, we set out from Prague to Vienna but not before we stopped off at a town in the south Bohemian region of the Czech Republic called Czechy Krumlov. The skies had darkened a bit but I was wide awake approaching the multi-arched Cloak bridge, one of the entrances to the old town.
The Vltava river bisects the town which has an ornate 13th-Century castle as its crowning jewel. Our group opted for a raft tour which gave the best views of the castle. In Vienna, we checked into Be Free hostel, one of the many favourites on the trip for its great social atmosphere.
Our time in the Austrian capital was spent walking through the streets visiting St Stephen’s Cathedral, The Hofburg and Vienna opera house. We spent the day perusing beautifully adorned churches, and seeing key locations for composers
Beethoven and Mozart. A particular highlight was visiting Cafe Frauenhuber where Mozart gave his last public performance before his death the following year in 1791. We spent the afternoon in Schonbrunn Palace and took the imperial tour to see the opulent rooms where the Hapsburgs, Maria Theresa, Emperor Franz Joseph, Empress Elisabeth would have spent their time.
The gardens were fantastic for a few Insta-worthy photos of us together as a group. We had to track down a slice of Sachertorte before we finished the day but the queue at the original spot for the classic Viennese dessert, Hotel Sacher, was too long so we headed to the Demel bakery, founded in 1888. It did not disappoint.
From Vienna we went to Salzburg, beside the German border, and on to Munich in Germany before a night spent in Innsbruck, Austria, surrounded by the Nordkette
STARTED THE TRIP AS STRANGERS AND ENDED AS CLOSE FRIENDS
mountain range. Then we continued south for the Italian leg of our tour on day 12. The next five days were spent in Venice, Florence and Rome with stops including Misurina Lake, under the humbling Dolomites, and the Umbrian town of Assisi, birthplace of St Francis.
Florence was a particular highlight. Our group had a free day to explore the city on the first Sunday in July. Our amazing hostel, Florence PLUS, was just a 10-minute walk to La Galleria dell’Accademia where you can see Michelangelo’s David. I was expecting a long queue but there was only a five-minute wait to enter. One of my favourite spots in the city was the Giardino Bardini, a renaissance garden in Oltrarno that has easily the best view of the city with a lovely cafe at the top. The cost to enter the garden is typically €18.80 but thanks to the ‘first Sunday of the month’ rule we got in for free. A lot of the popular museums and sights are free in Florence on the first Sunday of the month. The Boboli Gardens are also stunning but more popular with tourists so might be busier than Bardini.
On day 18, we finished an incredible five days exploring Italy with the likes of ‘gondola trip down the Grand Canal in Venice’ and ‘Sistine Chapel’ ticked off our travel lists.
The next five days would be spent in Split, Korcula and Dubrovnik in Croatia before heading to historic Kotor, Montenegro.
Here we stayed in an ideal spot for solo-travellers – Old Hostel Kotor – which has a range of group activities geared towards meeting new people on the road. On our second night, the hostel arranged a bus to an old Austro-Hungarian fortress – Fort Gorazda with unbelievable views as the sun set over Kotor and it included a great BBQ dinner prepared by hostel staff. The final days of my colossal European excursion were spent exploring Albania’s intriguing capital, Tirana, and boating off the coast of Saranda before three days in sunny Corfu, Greece. We left the Greek coastline for excursions in central Greece including days spent exploring the seemingly precarious floating monasteries in Meteora and wandering the ancient ruins of Delphi.
The last stop of the 34-day tour across Europe was in Athens. I had started the trip with strangers and had ended it with a group that I would now consider close friends, watching a sunset over the Acropolis and feeling incredibly grateful for the trip of a lifetime.