Our 4 Month Travel Itinerary: Where We Stayed, How Long For and Would I Recommend It?
Our 4 Month Travel Itinerary: Where We Stayed, How Long For and Would I Recommend It?
If you’ve ever thought about quitting your job and travelling the world for 3-4 months.. you should do it.
I’ve said this before and it still remains so true for me. Travel is the only thing you can buy that makes you richer. The beautiful memories, the wonderful things you learn about not only yourself but from being with your partner 24/7 (big fan of travelling long term with your partner), the logistical stress’s and struggles we had to overcome, the unbelievably delicious local food you can’t get at home, the awesome new friendships you make, the feeling of waking up every single day with a new adventure ahead.
Nothing makes my heart sing more than discovering a new little corner of the world, and I think if you’re the type of person who day dreams of travel, doing a long term trip in your twenties before you decide to ‘settle down’ is one of the best decisions you will ever make in your life.
Those of you who are pondering the idea are probably thinking, where the hell do you even start when booking such a long amount of travel? I’ve decided to write out our entire itinerary including the cities/towns/countries we went to, the accomodation we stayed in and whether I recommend visiting that place, or not! Hopefully this can spark some inspiration and be of some help with your planning.
P.s: as a general rule I’ve always found that I can see enough of one place in two days. So my best advice for a trip this long is to book 3 nights for most places, except for the ones you’re reeeeally excited to go to. For those, book 4 nights. Then you should be able to get through as many places as possible. Also 95% of the accomodation we booked was for a couple on a budget, so also bare that in mind! There are so many amazing, clean, modern budget hotels and hostels around that generally cost around 50 euro’s per night for two people.
21st – 23rd June
San Francisco, California, USA
Where we stayed: Our friend Luke’s house :) however I recommend booking a place anywhere close to the Painted Ladies, it’s the most beautiful area.
We loved San Fran, there is just such a cool vibe that feels way less tacky than LA (I still love LA), but make sure you bring warm clothes, even during their summer. It’s pretty much always windy and cold. Also be prepared for the Golden Gate Bridge to be covered in fog! Unfortunately we barely got to see it.
23rd – 25th June
Yosemite National Park, California, USA
Where we stayed: In our Jucy Trailblazer Campervan at the Indian Flat Campground 30 minutes just outside Yosemite Valley, however I recommend the inner valley campground that I’ve listed here.
Truly the most incredible place we have visited, and we have done a 2 week roadtrip around the South Island here at home. There is just something about knowing there are bears and other woodland creatures wandering around, and the granite rock landscape is just out of this world incredible. We will absolutely be going back for a longer trip!
25th – 27th June
Lake Tahoe, California, USA
Where we stayed: In our Jucy Trailblazer Campervan at the Tahoe Valley RV Resort
It was an incredible campground! You literally camp in a huge pine forrest and they have all the amenities you could possibly need. Across the road is a Starbucks which is handy as well as the best pizza place on earth: Lake Tahoe Pizza Company, so good! Lake Tahoe is absolutely amazing and again, I wish we had more time there.
27th – 28th June
We had one night in San Fran at Luke’s to drop the campervan back and get ourselves sorted for the flight to NYC. I recommend booking one night after your roadtrip to re-organise yourself before your next destination.
28th – 1st July
New York, New York, USA
Where we stayed: Hotel Hudson, Central Park
If you’re reeeeeeeeally on a budget, it wasn’t terrible. I also wouldn’t stay there again. The location is great being next to Columbus Circle Subway station and Central Park, but next time I’d rather stay in Soho or Williamsburg. Our air con wasn’t working for a full day when we checked in so we weren’t super impressed, but it’s definitely worth checking out as an affordable place to stay in NY which is so crazy expensive!
1st – 3rd July
Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Where we stayed: Liam’s cousins house! Lucky us. I recommend staying anywhere near Hanover Street: super central with all the most amazing food spots.
3rd – 14th July
London, United Kingdom
Where we stayed: My uncles house, lucky us, again! In London I recommend staying in any of these areas: Notting Hill, Soho, Chelsea, Covent Garden, anywhere in the Fitzrovia/Marylebone/Mayfair area is perfect!
14th– 17th July
Paris, France
Where we stayed: Smart Place Gare Du Nord
Absolutely brilliant for a couple on a budget, especially if you’re coming into Gare Du Nord via train which you will be if you catch the Eurostar from London like we did. Close to Montemartre which is one of my favourite areas of Paris, and an easy 10 minute Lime Scooter (there are amazing bike lanes everywhere making e-scootering so easy and non-scary) to the river Seine. I definitely recommend this spot and it was crazy cheap for Paris!
17th– 18th July
Amsterdam, Netherlands
We had to book a night in Amsterdam before we went off to Tomorrowland because we bought a return to/from Amsterdam Easy Tent ticket package (it’s easier to buy Tomorrowland tickets that way). I’ll explain Amsterdam below.
18th – 22nd July
Tomorrowland Festival, Boom, Belgium
Not my cup of tea music-wise all though it really is such a beautiful and incredibly well produced festival, I went with Liam to help him tick it off his bucket list, but if you are interested in going you must book the ‘Easy Tent’ package. It included our 3 day tickets, return train and shuttle bus from Amsterdam to the festival and a tent, blow up bed + other camping necessities (including a tent lock) all set up for you upon your arrival. It seriously saved so much logistical stress and was worth every penny! It also means you camp in the Easy Tent campground rather than the normal BYO one meaning your things are much less likely to be stolen and destroyed, the other campground ‘Magnificent Greens’ gets pretty gross and crazy.
22nd– 26th July
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Where we stayed: Q Factory Hotel
Great value for money, but it’s just way too far out of the canal belt. I recommend staying in De Pijp which is full of trendy amazing cafes or Jordaan which is where the Anne Frank House is plus all the amazing ‘cool’ Amsterdam boutique shops.
26th – 27th July
Heidelberg, Germany
Where we stayed: Easy Hostel Heidelberg
My favourite little fairytale town in Germany! Definitely worth visiting. The private double room with a shared bathroom (mostly the case with hostels) was clean and big, but in the middle of a heat wave with a tiny little fan (the case in most of these types of countries) it was pretty awful. Not to mention the Old Town isn’t walking distance and you have to take a bus. Book somewhere else in the Old Town and save yourself the faff!
27th – 29th July
Munich, Germany
Where we stayed: Euro Youth Hostel
Absolutely brilliant. One of the best private hostel rooms we stayed at on our trip! It was clean, big and the location is perfectly central. Munich is such a fun city with beer halls and a tonne of Bavarian history, all though be prepared for rain. I’ve been twice and experienced non stop rain on both visits!
29th – 1st August
Prague, Czech Republic
Where we stayed: Hostel Boudnik
The private room was on the 8th floor with no elevator, so that was a bit crap with two huge suitcases. Apart from that I liked the hostel, it was cheap and not too far from the old town. It’s a 20 minute walk, otherwise Uber is outrageously cheap in Prague so it doesn’t matter too much! Again we had a private room situation with a shared bathroom.
1st August
Overnight Train from Prague to Krakow booked via our Eurail Passes (another blog post to come)
2nd - 5th August
Krakow, Poland
Where we stayed: Bubble Hostel
I highly recommend this hostel, our room was huge with a big window and it’s a 5 minute walk to the train station and the Old Town is across the road.
Krakow was one of my favourite places we visited on our trip. It’s full of fascinating history from WW2 and the Holocaust (we did a day trip to Auschwitz Concentration Camp) plus it’s super cheap, like Bali prices at cafes and restaurants!
5th August
Overnight train Krakow to Budapest
6th – 14th August
Budapest, Hungary for 7 day Sziget Festival
Where we stayed: An apartment on Air BnB which doesn't appear to be on the website anymore. In Budapest it’s ideal to stay as central as possible! Close to the river is good if you’re doing Sziget festival so that you can get a bus/tram to the ferry that takes you straight to the festival.
Guys, I really wasn’t into Budapest as a city. Hungary is still dealing with post-communism life and for me personally I just really felt such a hatred towards tourists from the locals. I like to visit places where the locals welcome you with open arms (Italy!!!) I also felt it was pretty dirty and run down, for me it just didn’t spark any joy as a place and all the fun I had was spending time with our friends and attending the festival. Sziget is definitely worth doing though! So much fun!
14th – 17th August
Dubrovnik, Croatia
Where we stayed: Villa Darrer
We actually loved the Villa, situated on top of the hill overlooking Dubrovnik with a pool in a cute local town. It was so wholesome and authentic, however an absolute pain in the ass to get to and from the Old Town. For this reason I probably wouldn’t recommend it, there’s a bus but it’s not frequent enough, find somewhere in the town and it’ll save you a lot of time!
If I had to pick between Dubrovnik and Split, I’d definitely pick Dubrovnik. It’s such a special place!
17th – 21st August
Split, Croatia
Where we stayed: Apartments Sunny Split
I was so super impressed with this accomodation! It was such a great find, right bang in the middle of Split with a full kitchen so it’s a great opportunity to cook!
I found Split pretty boring compared to Dubrovnik, and as a whole the food in Croatia is pretty terrible. However you’ve got to stay here if you want to do a Sail Croatia week on a Yacht. You probably don’t need more than one night here in Split and I recommend doing one night before the Sail and one night after to keep yourself organised.
21st – 28th August
Sail Croatia Yacht Week
We booked the Under 39’s Premiere Yacht which I promise you is worth every penny. You get air con which makes a world of a difference, and the Premiere yachts are just so much more spacious and a lot nicer. There was 3 of us couples on the yacht, and we sailed around with 4 other yachts which was nice because you could make friends and party but also sneak off to our own boat for some quiet time! There wasn’t any party pressure on this yacht which I loved, we had a good mix of relaxation, drinking, swimming and exploring!
28th – 30th August
Venice, Italy
Where we stayed: Hotel Nazionale
If I’m going to give you any advice today, it’s that you shouldn’t book this place. It was absolutely disgusting, our sheets were damp, it felt so gross and I really wished we just spent a bit more in Venice and stayed somewhere nicer. Luckily it’s one of my favourite cities and we still had an incredible time there!
30th – 2nd September
Florence, Italy
Where we stayed: Hotel Delle Nazioni
Pretty amazing value for money to be honest. A really nice, brand new hotel room and It’s right next to the train station which was handy for us. I won’t lie the area is a little bit gross and dodgy. Overall It was fine and I would still recommend this place as it’s only a 7 minute walk to the Duomo!
2nd – 5th September
Rome, Italy
Where we stayed: Heart Of San Lorenzo
Our biggest mistake on this trip. The room was fine all though the photos make it like twenty times better than it is, the area of this place was the worst part. It was just too far away from central Rome, not walking distance, public transport in Rome is crap and Uber is painfully expensive. I tried to book a lot of our accomodation near train stations so we could walk to and from easily when arriving/leaving a city, but for Rome I really just wish we booked somewhere central near Piazza Navona or in Trastevere. Big regrets and would not recommend!
5th – 9th September
La Spezia, Cinque Terre, Italy
Where we stayed: La Taverna Del Metallo Rooms
From one of the worst rooms, to one of the absolute best. I highly recommend staying in La Spezia when visiting the Cinque Terre area it’s a lot cheaper than the small Cinque Terre towns with so many great restaurants and cafes and is the start of the Cinque Terre railway line that takes you to each little town. The room was perfect! Owned by the restaurant down stairs (it’s not noisy don’t worry) Brand new bathroom, clean and a super comfortable bed. A 4 minute walk to the train station and right amongst all of the restaurants. We booked 4 nights here but I could have done 5!
9th – 13th September
Nice, France
Where we stayed: Hotel Trocadero
This hotel was fine, not terrible but not amazing. I would have preferred to stay closer to the beach and the Old Town but of course that’s always going to be more expensive. For the price it was pretty good value and we were comfortable! France is an expensive country so I would recommend this hotel in Nice.
13th – 16th September
Cassis, France
Where we stayed: Hotel Laurence
A beautiful part of the south, we absolutely loved Cassis but we booked our accomodation last minute and ended up in a hotel we weren’t happy with. The bed was awful and the bathroom was tiny, if you book in advance I’m sure there are some much better places to stay.
16th – 18th September
Avene, France
We were super lucky to stay in Avene with Eau Thermale Avene, the French pharmacy brand that I work with here at home! It’s not really the kind of place you’d visit as a tourist as the hotel we stayed at is there for patients visiting the Avene clinic to get treated for skin conditions, but we had a great time and are so grateful to the brand for inviting us along.
18th – 21st September
Barcelona, Spain
Where we stayed: Wow Hostel Barcelona
I really liked this hostel! We had a private room with private bathroom which was a nice change compared to the other hostels we stayed in, it was in a great central location however there weren’t many restaurants in walking distance. Next time I’d prefer to stay in the La Ramblas area!
21st – 24th September
Madrid, Spain
Where we stayed: L&H La Latina
Such a great place to stay in Madrid! Tucked away in a local suburb but walking distance to all the hot spots and great cafes/restaurants. We loved it!
24th – 26th September
Seville, Spain
Where we stayed: Guesthouse Jardin de la Alameda
Another goodie! Located in a local area but a 10 minute walk into town with really Spanish restaurants so it felt super authentic. A beautiful guesthouse with everything we needed
26th – 1st October
Lagos, Portugal
Where we stayed: Belmar Spa & Beach Resort
The odd one out on this budget friendly accommodation list. We wanted to treat ourselves and this was the absolute perfect place. I honestly couldn’t rave about it enough, the resort was stunning located on the cliffside and a quick and easy 5 minute uber ride to town. There are two main pools which were amazing and we had a full apartment to ourselves which was absolutely dreamy after all the tiny hostels we stayed in! We stayed here for 5 nights and it was sort of like a mini holiday at the end of our big trip. If you want more of a holiday vibe in Lagos, definitely splurge and stay here!
1st – 3rd October
Lisbon, Portugal
Where we stayed: Principe Real Guest House
Another fantastic one. Cheap, great location and pretty much brand new. It was beautiful and we loved it! 10/10! P.s Lisbon was my favourite city we visited!
3rd– 5th October
Porto, Portugal
Where we stayed: Oporto Guesthouse Downtown
A lovely way to finally end the trip was the worst room of all. The bathroom was broken so every time you turned on the light the fan would make this loud awful noise that doesn’t stop until you turn it off. The bed was so lumpy, old and uncomfortable we had to sleep on the couch pull out bed.. that’s when you know it’s BAD.
5th– 10th October
London, United Kingdom
Back to my Uncles house for a few days in my home away from home!
What a wild ride, truly! Long trips like this always have their ups and downs, and luckily for us the worst of it was having to sleep on a pull out couch because the main bed was so bad. Other than that we were pretty smooth sailing logistically, and there isn’t that much I would change about our trip!
Now to finally get these photos printed out!