My Budget Backpacking Quest - The Rough Guide
Basically, my “aha!” moment mentioned previously was that I need to travel abroad soon, and next summer is the only time possible. I’ve always dreamed of a European backpacking trip, so why not? Well, actually, I can think of many reasons why not to. But my desire to go abroad trumps those reasons right now. Below is a rough outline of the Budget Backpacking Quest that I hope to take in the summer of 2008.
Besides the travel planning and scheming I’ll need to complete before the trip, I also have a special challenge that I must complete before I’ll allow myself to take this trip. So if you’re interested, read the following plan for my Budget Backpacking Quest (2008).
Budget Backpacking Quest Plan - (Just a rough outline right now)
- Where I’m going: Somewhere in Europe
- Places I’d like: Amsterdam, Barcelona, Prague, Berlin, Munich, Sofia
- Destinations not considering: Portugal, UK, France, rest of Spain
- When I’m going: Summer of 2008 (Late May or June more than likely)
- Duration: 16 days (?)
- Travel Buddy: I hope so. I have neither asked nor found anyone. I’m hoping for one or two companions.
- Budget: $2,100 (?)
How I’ll Pay for the Trip
Starting in the fall, I’ll be a full-time student in college, which means that the balance in my bank account has only one direction to go: down. Not good.
The Challenge
As a financially conservative person, and a member of a very conservative family, spending $2,000+ on a trip will be very hard. So I decided to finance it in a unique way. The challenge for my Budget Backpacking Quest is that I must pay for it with my online revenue from July onwards.
So it’s a little mixture of my entrepreneurial spirit and desire to travel. Here are the main ways I’m looking to pay for my trip.
- Sponsors. I’ve been laying some plans for sponsoring my trip, which will appeal to many different organizations and travel related companies. I will announce the sponsorship opportunities soon. If you can’t wait until then just contact me now.
- Monetize more websites - A few of my other websites will be able to be monetized in the next month, which will help.
- Sell some websites - When it comes down to it, I will need to sell a few of my websites. I’ll actually be pretty glad to see a few sites go, because I just won’t have time for them while studying in college. (…Budget Globetrotting is not for sale.)
- Travel Writing - I may start to write travel related articles for other websites. I’m also going to be looking into writing for some of the major players in travel.
UPDATE: Sponsorship information and new advertising options are available here.
Travel Planning Timetable and Checklist
August 20th:
- Site design tweaked
- 20 potential sponsors contacted
November 1st:
- Desired destinations chosen (roughly)
December 1st:
- Tentative, Detailed Travel Itinerary
December 23rd:
- Plan Revealed to friends and family (I like to keep them in the dark)
- 40% of travel funds raised
- Travel Buddy Found
January 15th:
- Set Travel Itinerary
- 50% of Travel funds raised
May 20th:
- 120%+ of travel funds raised
- All required gear ordered or in hand
My Budget Backpacking Quest will undoubtedly result in a slight change of direction for this blog, which will be for the better in my opinion. Instead of general industry news and ideas, this blog will actually be a live catalog of my travel planning. This trip, whether I end up going or not, will give first time travelers a unique insight into what preparation is needed to try and go on a trip like this.
So hopefully everything works out well and I will be heading to Europe next summer. Time to get to work. Peace.
I just spent a month in Prague and will happily give you lots of information on the city if you choose to go there. I've also been to Berlin, though I don't know nearly as much. Feel free to poke me for any info or check my archives, they're all under Europe: Summer 2007
thanks a lot for the offer! if I decide on Prague I'll be sure to get in touch. Peace.
I have a co-worker who offers his couch through http://www.couchsurfing.com. He has had great experiences with it and all the people I have met have been so great.
When I went to Europe in 2004, I flew towards the end of the summer. I was there all of august and september. Saved a bit of money on my airline ticket, and you are not fighting the crowds that are there in full effect during the spring and summer months. I have been back to Europe twice since then. You have any questions feel free to e-mail me.
I am planning a backpacking trip through Europe myself (1 1/2 years away....2 months during the summer). I am very interested in the idea of finding sponsors. I have no idea how to do this...if you don't mind, who did you contact and how did you ask them for sponsorship?
Thank you very much.
I've just started preplanning for a backpacking trip through Europe, hopefully during Autumn for at least a couple months and ending up in Switzerland for a few months to visit a close friend. This website has been helpful and I just wanted to say thanks! Just thinking about backpacking through Europe can be overwhelming! Good luck.
Hello! I too want to go backpacking in Europe summer of '08!! Perhaps we can be travel buddies? You have made much more headway than I in the actuality of it actually happening. I commend you! Now mine just looks like pipe dreams but I will keep checking your site for interesting ways to make sure it happens! Thank you! Happy traveling my friend!
Hi.. I'm from India and planning on a backpacking trip to Europe in June 2008..Already been reading and planning roughly...Any info would be welcome that might come in useful as we are 2 gals from India and travelling to Europe for the first time...Cheers!T
Amen. i'm few months aways from my long awaited trip to Europe, i'm heanding out in December and coming back until i run out of cash. I've saved almost 4000 USD think that should be enough considering the contacts i've made in the last year. I've got few places to stay and lots of countries to visit (France, Portugal, Germany, Spain, Holland, Italy, UK and Switzerland). Nevertheless, i've just had a chat with a friend who strongly recommended to adjourn my trip till the summer as winter time is a big NO apparently during that period. Any thoughts?!!
Thx
Well, the winter would be cold haha. I'd much rather go through Europe during the early summer months. While I'm sure it'd be fun either way, I'd much rather go in the summer to enjoy the outdoors and great weather, especially in places like Spain and Portugal. Personally I'd prefer to bask in the sun outdoors whether at a sidewalk cafe or beach (or Munich beer garden for that matter), but if you're fine with the winter and cold, do it.