Basicly ive read tons of books and tried to get some conclusive information about it but im still a little fuzzy on some subjects so here is part of the post i posted on yahoo answers and got no response to...


How much and where do i catch a train to get to spain or france from heathrow airport london?
Im backpacking my way through europe in 2 weeks and im flying into heathrow airport and want to get to france or spain ASAP,only reason im flying into england first is because of the price,So im curious,what is the cheapest way to get across the channel? and how much,U.S. dollars would it be? And i have ALOT of visible tattoos but no disrespectful ones (Full sleeves,Top of head,Throat,Hands,Knuckles etc) Do you think ill have more of an issue finding oddjobs to support my trip or it will be just a little more difficult? is europe pretty liberal about body modification? thanks guys:)


I wear a hat all the time,i usualy never take it off s o you cannot see my shaved head and tattoos,i am in no way a skinhead and very personable:) and when i looked on the eurail site before its like 600 for 2 months and you only get to goto 2 different countries? tell me if this is a bad idea but for the whole summer,i dont really want to train anything cept from london to france,I want to walk,hitchhike etc

My plan is to be a vagabond for about a year then join the french foreign legion... im leaving may 27th:)

You can get some really cheap flights in the UK now around Europe, way cheaper than Eurostar.

I suggest you search UK sites for budget airlines like BMI, FlyBe, Ryanair. I got return flights to Dublin for £40 return and also to Amsterdam! Inc all taxes.

I'd recommend the Greek Islands too, a lot of people backpack around them and they're beautiful.

Have fun!

Reg

If you pass through Germany instead of hitchhiking I would suggest the Mitfahrerzentralen (what a word!!!), the idea is that somebody with a car can take several people to his destination, and they help the driver with the gas cost.

Can't say much more about hitching my way around Europe, last time I did it was in the 70s.

thanks guys,what about tattoo wise? am i going to face more issues there then here?

Tats aren't going to be much of a problem in Europe, no more so than in the USA or Canada.

What you might want to think about though.... you're going to have a hard time getting any jobs unless you have work visas. No one can legally hire you. And, finding someone to illegally hire you may prove harder than you thought. I'd check that aspect out if I were you. Europe ain't cheap anymore... It's about one and half times more expensive than the US and Canada.

hmmm thank you guys for the info

Are you sure you want to join the French Foreign Legion?
They do the French army's dirty work... which generally means going to parts of Africa and killing strangers for vague reasons...
Which you'll forget the purpose, once you see the full brutality of gore in a war.

good luck to you.... no way i would do that, i saw hostel and hostel 2......

He'll love it. My sister emigrated to Australia and she loves it. One thing she misses about being in England, apart from obviously family and friends, is how diverse Europe is. In a relatively small space, you have all these countries, cultures, languages - they're all unique and on our doorstep. We're very lucky really.

To be honest you may have some problems with your tattos when entering diffrent countrys , customs, but as long as you show a friendy and personable attitude i thing you may be ok. depends on the person you deal with some of them can be right pain in the a***, watch out for the Belgan police an customs they are quite hard.
Ive 7 friends went to the french legion only one lasted. i think he is still in it.
If you are friendly an a good guy, ive found the europeans will accept you quite readily, thats my experence anyway.
have fun.

No problems whatsoever, you may get one or two funny looks, but in general tattoos are the norm. Some of my friends are so covered it's hard to see what their natural skin color is, lol.

As mentioned, the best way to get to Spain or France is by plane. Get to any airport and check whats flying that day, cheaper last minute flights. Or hitchhike to any coastal area and ferries pretty much go from most. Check out this site. Website. But the main areas to go from are, Portsmouth, Plymouth or Poole (the three P's lol). Would suggest ferries if you are traveling to see the most, planes are okay, but you go from point A to B with only seeing airports and clouds, lol. Just go as a foot passenger, obviously, lol, but go with a seat, not a room, much cheaper. I suggest if you flying to London, have a look around first, great city. No point missing a great opportunity. And if your on a budget, stay in a Youth Hostel. Very very cheap, and good value. Link And there all over Europe. Europe Youth Hostels You will never have a problem getting a bed, cheap cheerful and great value. You can get a little ID from the first Hostel that you can use in all of them, makes it easier and faster at check in.

Any queries, let me know!

You can get on the tube from Heathrow to Kings Cross where you can get the Euro star. Or the Heathrow Express to Paddington Station and then the tube from there to Kings Cross. Link here for Eurostar.

If you are thinking about hanging out in London for a bit but need something cheap then your best bet would be to find local bed and breakfasts outside of the city as these will be slightly cheaper. Or as Kryso says Youth Hostels. You can then travel into the city via bus or tube. You might want to think about buying a carnet of tube tickets if you do, much cheaper.

Here is a really good site that will give you all the information you need for travelling around London: Transport for London.



Agree with Kryso again. Ferry would be the cheapest and you should be able to get a coach link from Heathrow airport to the major ferry ports.



What Kryso said.



You would probably be better off by using public transport systems to move around from country to country as these can be cheaper for the most part. That or Coaches. There are alot of Coach companies that travel through France to Spain for example. It might take a little longer than other forms but especially if you want to travel through France to Spain, there will be some fantastic scenery on route.

Oh yes one more thing...If you happen to be licensed to ride a motorbike then that could be an option. Maybe hire one for a while and travel around that way. I know a few bikers who have done mainland Europe that way and they all had an amazing time.

And definately the Youth Hostels! Cheap and cheerful. Forgot to add, even cheaper would be camp sites which are plentiful in France and Spain particularly around the coastal regions.

Don't leave your campsite unattended lol. My brother and his friends did and thier gear got stole. lol

LOL you mean they fight while the french army surrenders?