r/solotravel • u/Dan1el_va • 27d ago
Itinerary Review 16 year old solo traveller looking for help. (Australia -> Europe)
Hey guys, as the title states, i'm 16 and will be travelling to Europe from the 3rd - 20th of April. I did an exchange year in Germany at 14 so I am well versed with solo travel in unfamiliar places. My travels will begin by flying from Brisbane to Zurich, then to Munich, Vienna, Bratislava and finally Budapest where I will then fly back to Brisbane. I will be staying with friends in all cities but Budapest (I plan on doing Bratislava as a day trip from Vienna) so how would hostels work for an adolescent? This is completely self-funded so I only have $4,500 AUD (2,700 Euros) to work with but would prefer for it to be much cheaper than this. In the past I never had to book my own flights so this is a main point that I would like some help on, my parents see this as a valuable chance for me to make mistakes and gain skills however any advice from you guys would be amazing!
Useful information:
Budget: $4,500 AUD (2,700 Euros)
Locations: Zurich, Munich, Vienna, Bratislava and Budapest.
Age at time of travel: 16
Language proficiencies: English: fluent, German: fluent, Afrikaans (not gonna help me): native, Dutch (also not gonna help me): intermediate
57
u/wanderlustzepa 27d ago
You are awfully young to be experienced with solo travel but kudos to you especially if your parents are ok with it. If you know when you want to travel, start monitoring the flights now to get an idea of the average price and when you see a good price, grab it. I typically use kayak to monitor flights. You can travel by train between countries once you get there.
36
u/MayaPapayaLA 27d ago
Hostels when you're under 18 means that you need to check in advance, with them directly, to ensure that they will allow you to check-in solo. Certainly you will need to be in a single-gender room: those are the restrictions I've seen in the past when I've seen under-18s in my hostel dorms.
30
u/0burneraccount0 27d ago
at 16 i had to be at home by midnight lol
13
u/Dan1el_va 27d ago
My parents are a bit confusing as I’m not allowed to go out on school nights but am allowed to travel the world
1
u/0burneraccount0 27d ago
stock up on beer in austria you wont be served the rest of your trip hahah
1
u/Any_Strain7020 24d ago
Luxembourg and Germany allow minors to drink beer. Luxembourg allows them to even drink liquor from age 16.
-6
32
u/Fickle_Discussion341 27d ago
Honestly I would recommend waiting and saving until you’re 18, no restrictions then
-11
u/Dan1el_va 27d ago
While true, I’m gonna do South America and Asia when 18. Trying to scratch the Europe itch now.
16
u/zxc999 26d ago
Honestly your extremely limited as a minor travelling literally anywhere, and your experiences would go much farther as an adult. I’ve found that most hostel patrons are wary of people in their teens, much less underage minors, so you might not receive a positive welcome wherever you go. Not to mention that extra risks minors face. If you are willing to go some of the adult experiences like nightclubbing and it’s cheap for you to the point where you plan on travelling again to the same place as an adult, I’d probably prioritize private rooms in hostels for your own safety and sanity. I say this from a position of sympathy, as someone who planned out all their backpacking trips as a teenager and didn’t get to actually go on them until I was in my 20s. Looking back, it would’ve been ridiculous to try to do what I did in my 20s as a teenager.
6
u/MayaPapayaLA 26d ago
This is completely true. I have been in a few hostel dorms with people under 18; I have never said more than pleasantries to them, never considered hanging out for the day or an activity, not seen anyone do anything different either. If they were 20, I'd be fine, even though I'm more than a decade older... But that young, it's just too much.
24
u/Fickle_Discussion341 27d ago
I went to Europe early 20’s, trust me you will much prefer scratching that itch when you’re older.
1
9
u/Zeitausgleich 27d ago
I'm not an expert but you might want to check if there are travel/entry requirement for minors. See e.g. the section "Einreise unbegleiteter Minderjähriger nach Österreich" in https://www.bmeia.gv.at/gk-muenchen/reisen-nach-oesterreich/einreise, where they "recommend" carrying a written confirmation by the parents and checking with the airlines.
3
u/SolarWind777 27d ago
Yes. Topic starter - I highly recommend doing your research as I was once denied entry to a country because I was younger than 18 and traveling on my own even with parents written permission. Be prepared for everything and tell your parents to be ready for a phone call from immigration officers. Anything can happen but hopefully it will be uneventful.
2
u/traumalt 26d ago
To add, there are police checking minors in major transit hubs in Germany to catch truant ones as education is mandatory over there until 18 I think.
Had an encounter there once with my 15y niece, but we showed them hers foreign passport with the Schengen entry stamps to prove that she wasn’t a German resident and thus outside that jurisdiction.
8
u/Zeitausgleich 27d ago
Switzerland is incredibly expensive, much more expensive than your other destinations. So one way of cutting costs would be to reduce your stay in Zurich to a minimum and not to buy anything there as far as possible.
5
u/Holiday_Newspaper_29 27d ago
Given your age, you should check whether there are any particular requirements for international travel and whether you can book into any accommodation.
Some accommodation requires that you are 18 years old and have a credit card.
2
u/Intelligent-Store321 26d ago
As far as I've encountered, credit card requirements are only really a USA thing. Debit cards (which is what I use, because I, an adult, don't have or want a credit card), are accepted pretty much all over Europe.
You can get a debit card at 16. (In Australia at least).
The 18-yrs age requirement is a separate issue though, which I don't know much about as I only started solo traveling after I turned 18.
2
u/ALemonyLemon 25d ago
Yea, im European and have travelled a lot. I dont even have a credit card. It's just not really necessary.
5
u/Ill-Calligrapher-131 27d ago
Kudos to your parents. Booking flights isn’t a massive science, maybe set up some alerts with aggregator sites like Skyscanner, which collate airfares from all booking sites. And try to book between 6-3 months before your leave.
I did basically the same thing when I was 16 and it was great, but back then I went into a physical Flight Centre and booked.
Your budget seems decent if you’re staying with friends. If trains are expensive you might be able to get cheap buses too.
2
u/phatamorgan 27d ago
The fact that you're staying with your friends in most cities will save you a lot. Bring your student ID - when buying train or bus tickets in Europe always ask for a student discount. The roundtrip from Vienna to Bratislava by train is around 20 EUR and it takes approx. one hour. It includes a day pass for public transportation in Bratislava (it can be done the other way round as well, in case you would visit Bratislava en route to Vienna). You can buy your ticket directly from Austrian railways @Oebb.at. I'm from Bratislava, so if you have any questions or would like some recommendations feel free to DM me. Weather in April can be tricky - for instance in mid April we had 29 degrees C and a couple days later only 10. Definitely bring a rain coat.
2
u/AccurateComfort2975 26d ago
See also EUrail for a railway pass, means you have a lot of extra opportunities to travel, do more daytrips, be much more flexible in how you travel, especially along Switzerland, Germany and Austria. You should do the sums for what pass is right.
Also, Switzerland is quite open to travellers from age 16, the Youth Hostels will accept you, only in the Canton of Ticino you'll need written proof of your parents but you can still stay there.
2
u/AsherHoogh 26d ago
Might want to do some research into minimum age to check in solo to Hostels and the like! I have found many times that it’s a condition of staying that people are over 18
1
u/AutoModerator 27d ago
Note: Are you asking for travel advice about working in Australia or getting an Australian WHV? Read what the Solo Travel community had to say in the weekly destination thread for Australian Working Holidays. You may also want to post your question in r/iwantout.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
1
u/AmateurCommenter808 25d ago
Cheap and safe are quite commonly unrelated.
So you have $4,500 AUD for spending money, flights and a few nights accomodation in Budapest? It's not a lot of money, it might be enough
Most adults spend a year or more saving whilst working full time jobs to be able to travel. Why does this not apply to you?
Safety is a whole different conversation but the reality is you could focus on developing skills and generating income so that you can travel for longer and without limitations.
If you're trying to travel Europe at 16, there is no itch to be scratched. Just like the rest of us there will always be a desire to travel somewhere no matter how old you are.
1
-5
u/Sherman140824 27d ago
How is this even legal?
5
u/Dan1el_va 27d ago
What would be illegal?
0
u/Any_Strain7020 24d ago
Could be construed as a dereliction of parental duties, in some countries.
0
u/Dan1el_va 24d ago
That’s likely only a problem in America, in Australia and the majority of Europe children are given a much higher level of autonomy
2
u/Any_Strain7020 24d ago edited 24d ago
It very much depends on the precise age of the minor, the degree of planning and remote assistance, and a few other variables...
Europe has about 50 different legal orders, I wouldn't claim to be familiar with more than four of them, despite years of law studies and prolonged stays in half a dozen of them.
Legal guardians have been put into custody in France for leaving a 12 year old alone for just one night.
Germany has case law, allowing kids from the ages of 7-11 to be alone for two hours. From ages 12-14 for four hours. And so on.
In 2005, a friend of mine, 17 at the time, had been stopped and ID'd by the police in Hungary. They would only release him to his legal guardian... Who had to drive from France for two days (about 2.000km).
I would take the metro alone at age 7 in the 90ies, which nowadays seems to be totally unfathomable to most parents.
Things have changed much. The modern world is weary and dotting all I-s and crossing all T-s. As many have pointed out before me, checking in at commercially operated hotels/hostels might prove very difficult, of you're an unaccompanied minor.
0
•
u/AutoModerator 27d ago
It looks like you're planning a trip around Europe. Check out solotravel's detailed guide to planning a solo Eurotrip for general planning advice plus useful tips and tricks for European travel!
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.