One of the first things I started doing when applying to graduate programs was to start saving for traveling (one-track mind, I know). As someone who’s guilty of indulging in those articles about “Things I wish I had known in my 20’s,” something I realized was that in every article, at least one person mentioned how they wished they took more risk and traveled more.

With this in mind, I gave my two weeks in May, told my boss I’d be leaving in June, giving me plenty of time to travel before school started in August. I chose to do both Europe and Asia (and a taste of Africa with Morocco) because most of my family is still in South Korea and Greece and Italy just looked too beautiful to pass up. Traveling to both South Korea and Europe in two months is completely doable and after researching online and asking friends, here’s the itinerary I came up with. Hopefully, it can show you how to plan your summer Asia and Europe trip.

2 Month Asia and Europe Itinerary

When?	Where?	How?	Notes	Sleep?	How much?
Jun-15	Seoul, South Korea	Fly from SF to Seoul, South Korea	$878.50 via Singapore Airlines	relatives and friend’s place	free 😀
Jul-15	Milan, Italy	Fly to Milan	$650.40 via Aeroflot	Malpensa Fiera Milano Hotel	$35.23
Jul-15	Venice, Italy	Train to Venice	$21.28	Generator Venice	$54.21
Jul-15	Milan, Italy	Train to Milan	$21.28	Hotel Central Station	$31.55
Jul-15	Cinque Terre	Train to Cinque Terre	$26	Le Sirene	$143.88
Jul-15	Florence, Italy	Train to Pisa then to Florence	$10	Backpackers Florence Central	$105.80
Jul-15	Rome, Italy	Train to Rome	$29	Vittoria B&B	$138.65
Jul-15	Naples, Italy	Train to Naples	$29	Giovanni’s Home	$48.75
Jul-15	Mykonos, Greece	Fly to Mykonos	$148 via EasyJet	Mina Beach Hotel	$115.90
Jul-15	Santorini, Greece	High speed ferry to Santorini	$39.20	Katerina and John Hotel	$38.68
Jul-15	Crete, Greece	Ferry to Crete	$61.60	Manios Studios	$45.50
Jul-15	Athens, Greece	Overnight ferry to Athens	$95.20	Pella Inn	$101.28
Jul-15	Delphi, Greece	Bus to Delphi	$16.80	Sybilla Hotel	$21.46
Jul-15	Kalambaka, Greece	Train to Kalambaka	$15	Tsikeli Hotel	$27.90
Jul-15	Litochoro, Greece	Train to Litochoro	$17	Hotel Naysika	$25.04
Jul-15	Thessaloniki, Greece	Bus to Thessaloniki	$8	Alexandria Hotel	$25.75
Jul-15	Berlin, Germany	Fly to Berlin	$150 via EasyJet	PLUS Berlin	$84.64
Jul-15	Nuremberg, Germany	Train to Nuremberg	$236 via German Rail Pass	Five Reasons Hostel	$28.61
Aug-15	Munich, Germany	Train to Munich		Wombats City Hostel Munich	$82.98
Aug-15	Heidelberg, Germany	Train to Heidelberg		Lotte	$34.33
Aug-15	Frankfurt, Germany	Train to Frankfurt		Five Elements Hostel Frankfurt	$66.18
Aug-15	Amsterdam, Netherlands	Train to Amsterdam	$78	St. Christopher’s at The Winston	$113.69
Aug-15	Marrakech, Morocco	Fly to Marrakech	$366.40 via British Airways	Riad Dar Tamlil	$227.94
Aug-15	Lisbon, Portugal	Fly to Lisbon	$275.28 via TAP Air Portugal	Rossio Hostel	$232.79
Aug-15	Home (SF, USA)	Fly to SF	$1,315.35 via TAP Air Portugal

– – – –

Total: $6,318.03

My wallet slightly cried when I tallied up the total but in hindsight, it was worth it. I had saved for about 6 months before going on the trip so if you start saving in advance, you can definitely make the trip possible. Also, to save money on flights you can check out websites like The Flight Deal or slickdeals, which is how Sharon found her $150 flight to Milan.

Tips for Traveling in Europe

Hostel vs Hotel – While hostels are usually cheaper than hotels, sometimes we found it cheaper to stay in hotels! We used hostelworld and hotels.com to compare prices before booking.

Flights – For cheap flights within Europe, check out EasyJet and RyanAir. Be careful of hidden fees though! These budget airlines tend to make up for their cheap prices by charging you for anything from extra legroom to seat selection.

German rail pass – To save money on traveling by train through Germany, I bought a rail pass in advance. The price varies with age and number of days you’re traveling, but overall I was able to save some serious euros this way.

Packing smart – Having never gone backpacking before, I wasn’t sure if I packed everything I needed but it ended up being fine. If anything, I probably overpacked and was proud that I was able to fit everything in one backpack. I cover everything you need in my previous post here.

Conclusion

It’s been a year since I did this trip and as I was researching for this post, I can’t help but miss it a little bit. Catching the sunset at Santorini, eating stuffed grape leaves on the beach at Crete, swimming in Litochoro while staring up at Mount Olympus..these are all memories I hold close to my heart. Like with most travels though, it was really the people I was lucky enough to meet along the way that made the travels that much more memorable. Random strangers helping my friend and I with directions in Athens, talking philosophy with locals, and the new friendships made with other backpackers (all united in our excitement of exploring a city for the first time) – this is what was really valuable for me and what motivates me to continue exploring.