How to Plan a Backpacking Trip to Europe: Flights, Hotels + Packing
Planning a Europe backpacking trip sounds complicated until you break it into normal pieces: where am I flying, where am I sleeping, how am I getting around, and how much stuff am I willing to drag through a train station while sweating?
I started backpacking around Europe when I was 19, and every trip since then has taught me something. I’m not saying this is the only way to plan a Europe trip. It’s just the system I’ve figured out after years of booking flights, trains, hotels, shuttles, tiny rooms, cheap meals, airport sleeps, and one-bag travel situations that sometimes work beautifully and sometimes make you question your entire personality.
In this episode of Maxwell’s Kitchen, I walk through how I plan a fast multi-city Europe trip: using Google Flights, finding cheap one-way flights, choosing hotels based on transportation, figuring out airport transfers, downloading the right apps, and packing everything into one small backpack.
THE PLANNING SYSTEM
Start with Google Flights Explore
Search from your home airport and look for cheap destination options
Use one-way flights inside Europe when they save time
Compare flights, trains, shuttles, taxis, and rideshare options
Choose hotels based on location, not just price
Figure out the airport-to-hotel route before booking
Stay near a main train station when it makes the trip easier
Download the airline, train, translation, map, and rideshare apps you need
Travel with one bag when possible
Avoid checking luggage if you have tight connections or multiple stops
Bring a power adapter, passport, cards, backup cash, sunscreen, and snacks
FINDING FLIGHTS
Google Flights Explore is where I usually start when I do not know exactly where I want to go yet. I put in my home airport, look around the map, and start seeing what is actually possible.
Sometimes the destination chooses itself because the price is too good to ignore.
Once you get to Europe, one-way flights can be surprisingly cheap. That does not mean flying is always better than taking the train. It means you should compare both.
If you only have a week or so and you are trying to see multiple cities, a cheap one-way flight can sometimes save half a day.
The trick is not “always fly” or “always take the train.” The trick is to be honest about what your time is worth.
USEFUL LINKS
Google Flights
https://www.google.com/travel/flights
Google Flights Explore
https://www.google.com/travel/explore
Google Hotels
https://www.google.com/travel/hotels
Google Translate
https://translate.google.com/
Google Translate Help
https://support.google.com/translate/
Eurail
https://www.eurail.com/en
WHERE TO STAY
A cheap hotel is not actually cheap if it creates a transportation nightmare.
When I’m planning a quick Europe stop, I look at where the airport is, where the train station is, where the city center is, and how I’ll get from one to the other.
If you are moving fast, staying near a main train station can make the whole trip easier. That is not always the most romantic answer, but it is usually the practical one. You can land, get into the city, drop your bag, and start walking instead of spending your first two hours trying to solve a transportation puzzle with 3 percent phone battery.
GETTING AROUND
Europe has a lot of transportation options: trains, buses, metro systems, shuttles, taxis, rideshare apps, ferries, and cheap flights.
Before I go, I try to figure out the first move in each city. Not the entire trip down to the minute, but the basic arrival plan.
How do I get from the airport to the city center?
Is there a train?
Is there a shuttle?
Does Uber work there?
Do I need a different rideshare app?
Can I walk from the station to the hotel?
That one step saves a lot of stress.
APPS TO HAVE READY
Your phone is basically the whole trip now. Passport, phone, money. Those are the big three.
Before a Europe trip, I usually make sure I have the airline apps, map apps, train or local transit apps, Google Translate, and whatever rideshare app works in the cities I’m visiting.
Google Translate is especially helpful because I do not want to walk into every place acting like, “Hi, I’m American, give me things.” Even if most people speak English in tourist-heavy areas, it still feels better to try a little.
PACKING
For this trip, I packed everything into a 40-liter backpack and avoided checking luggage completely.
That meant fewer clothes, no extra shoes, no giant suitcase, and no waiting around at baggage claim hoping my bag decided to visit the same country I did.
It also meant rewearing clothes, wishing I had flip-flops, wanting more socks, and discovering that fabric refresher is basically travel witchcraft.
Your packing list will be different, but the principle is the same: bring what you actually need, not every possible version of yourself.
QUICK TIPS
Use Google Flights Explore when you do not know where you want to go yet.
Check one-way flights inside Europe because they can be surprisingly cheap.
Compare flights and trains based on time, not just price.
Look at airport transportation before you book the hotel.
Stay close to a central train station if you are moving fast.
Download the apps before you need them.
Keep your passport, phone, and money protected.
Bring a universal power adapter.
Carry a little backup cash, but expect cards and tap-to-pay to work in most major tourist areas.
Pack lighter than you think you need to.
Do not check a bag if your trip depends on tight connections.
Save money on meals that do not matter to you, then spend where it actually improves the trip.
Plan enough to move smoothly, but not so much that the trip becomes homework.
