Lessons learned
Seven mistakes we made on our first month-long rail pass
Reservation fees, wasted travel days, missed connections and a bag that was too heavy: what went wrong on our first rail pass trip and how to avoid it.
Budgets and long stays
Tom Whitlock
Tom keeps the spreadsheet. He writes the budget breakdowns, the packing lists and the mistakes column, and has carried the same 38-litre bag through eleven countries.
Stories by Tom
Budgets
What three months in the Balkans actually cost, line by line
Our real budget for a month each in Belgrade, Sarajevo and Tirana, travelling overland between them: rent, food, transport, work costs and the surprises.
Packing
The one-bag packing list for six weeks of trains, weighed item by item
Everything in a 38-litre bag for six weeks across three countries by rail, with weights, the things we cut after week one, and how the route shaped the list.