Two summers ago, I set off through Western Europe with a backpack, an Interrail ticket, and a fanny-pack full of ideas. These are the three biggest mistakes I made and the lessons I learned from them so you don’t have to go through the stress.

1. Not reading hostel reviews and just going for the cheapest one.

I booked most of my hostels using Hostelworld which has a great rating system, but I didn’t pay attention to some of the reviews of hostels. At my first stop in Amsterdam, I chose the cheapest hostel and ended up getting bed bugs on my VERY FIRST day!! I had also booked the hostel for a few nights so I had to suffer through knowing I was being bitten for a few more nights. Most of the time, reviews are kept very recent and other travelers will report any issues with the hostel, so be sure to check these in the app or on the hostel’s own page.

2. Traveling between cities too often and not taking rest.

Over the course of 21 days, I hit 12 cities in 5 countries!! They were all extremely beautiful, and definitely worth visiting, but next time I would travel to fewer cities and spend more time in each. I was spending on average two to three days in each location, with travel by train or bus between each. This was EXHAUSTING and definitely took away from being present in each city I visited. I also ended up hitting the ‘Best of’ points of each city (ie the most popular museums and restaurants) and didn’t dig into the deeper history and culture of the places I saw. Additionally, switching places so frequently is more expensive than spending four to five days in each place before moving.

3. Not utilizing free resources like Guruwalk as a starting point for planning.

Now that I’m a more experienced traveler, I schedule a FREE Guruwalk guided tour to hear about the history and best restaurants of a new city as my first activity upon arrival. Many of these tours are given by locals who have a real passion for their city and can show some of the best spots in their area. From there, I can decide if the places I researched in advance are worth visiting with my remaining time on the trip! This has saved me so much time wandering around not knowing if a restaurant has authentic cuisine as well as knocking a few popular monuments off my list right off the bat. You can also meet travelers with similar interests as you among the group and team up to explore the city afterward. Schedule your FREE tour here!

Liked what you read and want to plan your own trip? Contact me at feliciacarrara@gmail.com, schedule a consult, or follow my journey @felcarrara on Instagram.

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