Hitchhiking and camping in Eastern Europe

[timthemountain]

Hello I’m Tim from Germany,

I am planning on doing a trip through Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Serbia, Bosnia, Croatia and Italy next year. (At least those are the countries I’m aiming at).
The duration will be around 3 months.
My initial plan was using the interrail ticket and sleeping in hostels. But then I spoke to a guy who said he did a Europe trip a few years ago and saved money by hitchhiking and sleeping in a tent.
So my question is: do you think it is possible to do this route while hitchhiking and especially is it a good idea to set up a tent in those countries?

Greetings from Germany!
Tim

 

[Pauline]

Hi Tim, welcome to the forums. When I was 18 (a long time ago) I spent a few months traveling in Europe with a female friend. We hitchhiked and stayed in hostels. I’ve always regretted the hitchhiking. We should have got a eurail pass. We got into a few unpleasant situations hitchhiking.

Years later when I was 32 (still a long time ago) my husband and I spent 6 months traveling around Europe. We had a train pass and stayed in cheap hotels. It was great!

I think the combination of train pass and hostels would be great for you, especially since you are traveling alone. You will get the chance to meet lots of people.

 

[Tina]

Welcome Tim, it's a good idea to start with a 3-month trip. I agree with Pauline. I don't know about Eastern European countries but in Italy it's not so easy to find somewhere to pitch a tent unless you go to a campsite. Considering all the extra stuff you'd have to carry as well, train + hostels sounds better. Also because you certainly won't find anywhere for a tent in the big cities.