I want to see the world, help?

[AceofSpades]

I graduate in december and before I start grad school I'm thinking of buying a plane ticket to europe and traveling around italy, greece, spain, morocco and supporting myself playing poker by playing on a laptop in coffee shops/wifi places.

I need a general idea of how much I need to make to cover living, travel, siteseeing expenses per day. Can anyone give me a rough estimate what I need to be making and any tips? I don't really know anything about passportes etc. I don't mind staying in cheap hostels, but I'd definitely want to have enough to do cool stuff and go out, etc.

how do I get started?

[NewTeaBag]

Step 1) Get yourself a passport

I believe its as easy as DLing the application and submitting it at your local post office.

[PoliticalRefugee]

don't play poker over there, too much hassle and you'll look like a complete loser to anyone you meet. And lol at taking a laptop, are you insane? I've been mugged every time i've been travelling and yeah its a bummer but if you're backpacking but usually you dont have anything too valuable on you.
Grind it for a while before you go. And by the way those countries are hardly seeing the world so don't expect too much.

[T50_Omaha8]

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I don't mind staying in cheap hostels

[/ QUOTE ] Keep an extra $1k on hand for a replacement laptop?

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And by the way those countries are hardly seeing the world so don't expect too much.

[/ QUOTE ] Ah hell, why be such a downer? There's lots of stuff to see in these countries.

In Morocco stay in real hotels. Don't expect a laid back exerience, from what I saw. Stay in a tourist area wherever you go (I assume Casablanca & Tangier are on your list) because being in a very 'local' place wears you out...fast.

In Spain you'll be fine, but many of the best towns in Costa del Sol can only be seen by car. Gibraltar is certainly worth seeing.

You should def. do southern France/Monaco while you're in the neighborhood.

Try to make it up to the Swiss Alps--Lauterbrunnen, Rhone Valley, Zermatt type areas. They can be a relief after somewhat-sketchy Italy.

A cheap way to do the Med. is Croatia, and it looks pretty amazing from what I've seen. Also the Gulf of Kotor in Montenegro if you can make it out there.

If you want to "see the world" you should try to plan ways to get out of big cities. Often there's a whole different culture to be found in the very same country if you just make it out into the small towns.

Also you should consider going further north, in my opinion. The Med. is very nice, but it's sort of a European version of the Gulf of Mexico at the same time: there are a LOT of places solely meant for European tourists.

[goodgrief]

People are reporting many weeks or months delay in receiving new passports, so you need to go ahead and apply for the passport now, before trying to purchase any plane tickets. There is a backlog in applications. Don't buy a nonrefundable ticket until you are sure the passport will be in hand so that you can use it. I have often found discount airfares across the Atlantic in January or February, so you may be starting your trip at a good time, considering your December graduation. It's fine to get your passport through the post office.

As for the guy who gets mugged "every time" he travels, what can I say, I've lived this long and never been mugged while traveling. Knock on wood! You need to have reasonable street smarts but I don't think you need to plan on being mugged. It seems fairly unlikely to me.

A problem I've had is that I never do any work while traveling, no matter how wonderful my original intentions. There's always the next sight to see or the next party to get to. I don't know if you'll really do any work on your laptop. You may. But for myself I've learned that I will do very, very little. If any at all.

[PilotMatt]

If you do buy a non-refundable ticket and need to get a passport quick, just call your state representative.

I called and was able to get one in 3 days since we decided to make a last minute trip. All they asked for was a reservation/confirmation number.

[Cancuk]

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And lol at taking a laptop, are you insane? I've been mugged every time i've been travelling

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Are you insane? What are you doing, running around with 100 dollar bills out of your pocket? Either you're doing something very stupid or you're on a HUGE downswing...

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And by the way those countries are hardly seeing the world so don't expect too much.

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Atleast you're not being ridiculously pretentious.

[HP]

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And lol at taking a laptop, are you insane? I've been mugged every time i've been travelling

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Are you insane? What are you doing, running around with 100 dollar bills out of your pocket? Either you're doing something very stupid or you're on a HUGE downswing...


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fo rizzle, I´ve traveled through like 20-30 countries and haven´t been mugged once

knock on wood

[K䲰䮥n]

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And lol at taking a laptop, are you insane? I've been mugged every time i've been travelling

[/ QUOTE ]

Are you insane? What are you doing, running around with 100 dollar bills out of your pocket? Either you're doing something very stupid or you're on a HUGE downswing...


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fo rizzle, I´ve traveled through like 20-30 countries and haven´t been mugged once

knock on wood

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seconded

[jfunky]

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And lol at taking a laptop, are you insane? I've been mugged every time i've been travelling

[/ QUOTE ]

Are you insane? What are you doing, running around with 100 dollar bills out of your pocket? Either you're doing something very stupid or you're on a HUGE downswing...


[/ QUOTE ]
fo rizzle, I´ve traveled through like 20-30 countries and haven´t been mugged once

knock on wood

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seconded

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thirded, but I've had friends who have been