Backpacking Europe Alternatives
Backpacking in Europe, the EF College Break Way
There's more than one way to backpackthrough Europe. With EF College Break backpacking-style
trips, you make the most of your days—and your money. Hotels and transportation
are taken care of, a tour director points you to the cool unknown spots, and you
experience it all with a whole crew of college travelers. Check out the stories
on this page, and see how backpacking with EF College Break is the same life-changing,
epic adventure as backpacking Europeon your own. Just a little easier...View our
backpacking style trips
Where do you want to go?
Check out our top backpacking-style trips, from the streets of London to the beaches
of Thailand.
Adam's Blog
Thailand's great monkey feast Having recently enjoyed a feast of my own (thanks,
Thanksgiving), I felt a special kinship to the macaque monkeys of Lopburi, Thailand,
when I heard about yesterday's annual monkey feast. Lopburi is about 90 miles from
Bangkok (you can get there by bus or train). The city is famous for its ancient
temples and its large population of long-tailed macaque monkeys. According to legend,
the city itself was created with the help of Hanuman the Monkey King; hence all
the monkeys. Many locals consider the feisty creatures the descendents of the Monkey
King himself. I love monkeys. And so I think I would love Lopburi. And I would definitely
love to witness the biggest feast of the year, which takes place annually on the
last Sunday of November. On this special day, about 9,000 pounds of food is put
out in the city, and the monkeys of Lopburi gorge themselves silly. The event draws
thousands of visitors to witness the carnage. While the monkey feast is indeed a
special day, the monkeys are the center of attention here all year round. So there's
no bad time to go to Lopburi. As you would expect from little primates, the macaques
like to get up in everybody's business, pulling on hair and plucking loose objects
from people's heads and clothing. It all reminds me of Caps for Sale, one of my
favorite children's books.
Andrew's Trips
Andrew is our hero. Not only has he backpacked all over the world—some with EF College
Break, and plenty on his own—this year he's in grad school in Chile. He told us
all about his trips: Read Andrew's interview See where he's gone with EFCB: The
Greek Isles Exotic Thailand Spanish Fiesta
Betsy's Best Pics
Not only does Betsy Nunez take amazing photos, she also loves mud. She's been to
Thailand and all over Europe, and she has the slideshow and great stories to prove
it:
Get Betsy's story
See where she's gone with us:
Exotic Thailand
European Panorama
Casey gets Famous
Casey won our hearts (and a free trip to Europe) with his Ultimate Casting Call
video submission. After being filmed Real World-style on our New Year's Amsterdam,
Paris & London trip, he and some friends hung out in England and then took off
for Edinburgh, Dublin and Berlin. "I bought a bagpipe in Scotland. It's pretty sick.
I can make it make sounds, but it doesn't sound good. It kind of sounds like a dying
cow." – Casey Cable Watch Casey's Casting Call video Check out New Year's Amsterdam,
Paris & London
Eye on Barcelona
What are these arms doing? Good question. They're building a castell, a giant tower
of people reaching up to 50 feet high. It's one of the most unique traditions in
Catalonia. Read our Eye On Barcelona See all our Eye On newsletters
Join us on Facebook
Hear it straight from our travelers on our Facebook page. Meet other fans on facebook
Real Photos from Real Tours
Our travelers are awesome photographers. See their photos
We Love our Tour Directors
She was born in the little coastal town of St Jean de Luz in southern France. She
lives mainly in London, but spends time in France and Spain too. She speaks English,
French, Spanish, Hindi and Italian. She's gone scuba diving off the coast of the
Canary Islands. She's a vegetarian. She loves music, singing and philosophizing.
She just spent the past few months in Greece, Scotland, and traveling throughout
Thailand. She's Daisy, one of our favorite tour directors. We love Daisy. See Daisy's
travel photos
Stay Longer
You can travel on your own before or after your EFCB trip. We'll change your airline
ticket to any date you want, from any major airport in Europe! Get more details
Lonely Planet City Guides
After our own tour guides, the next best place to get the lowdown on cities is Lonely
Planet. Check out our Lonely Planet City Guides: Prague Paris Amsterdam All our
Lonely Planet guides
Sally's Summer of Europe
Sally spent a big chunk of last summer in Europe—before, during, and after her Greek
Isles trip with us. She backpacked with friends, rented a car with Mom, taught third-graders
in Greece, and lost her passport in Italy. Highlights according to Sally: "Cliff
jumping in Cinque Terre, dinners with the French family I stayed with in Paris,
mountain biking in Chamonix, getting beyond lost with my mom in our rental car,
kayaking in Lake Como, riding up a mountain in Santorini on a donkey, seeing U2
in Berlin, hanging with locals in Stockholm, and conquering the glacier in Norway
after not showering for 9 days except for a hair wash in a fjord and train station."
View our backpacking-style trips See our Greek Isles trip (the one Sally took)
Mmm... Scorpions
Watch our travelers sample the snacks at a Bangkok market, then check out all the
videos on our YouTube page. Watch video