First-time independent travel
Backpacking Europe Alone for the First Time
A practical guide for first-time independent travellers heading to Europe.
Preparation builds freedom.
From building a realistic route and budget to buses, trains, hostels, safety, money, arrival-day planning, scams, and handling the unexpected, this guide focuses on the decisions that matter once you're actually on the road.
Social media inspires the trip. Fichtner Travels prepares you for it.
Planning Europe for the first time?
This guide is designed for first-time independent and solo travellers who want practical help without having every day of the trip planned for them. It is especially useful for backpackers, students, young adults, gap-year travellers and anyone who wants to feel more prepared before leaving home.
What's inside
Thirty-six practical chapters plus companion appendices designed around the decisions a first-time independent traveller actually has to make.
Built around decisions, not destinations
Most travel content tells you where to go. This guide focuses on how to travel — the decisions, trade-offs, preparation, and everyday realities that determine whether a first independent trip feels freeing or overwhelming. Kevin Fichtner first travelled and worked in Europe at 19 and returned independently several times throughout his twenties. His daughter later travelled through Europe on her own in her mid-twenties, relying heavily on buses to move between cities. Fichtner Travels grew from those experiences and from a simple idea: independent travel should feel adventurous. It doesn't have to feel unprepared.
Preparation builds freedom.
Inside the guide
Thirty-six practical chapters plus companion appendices designed around the decisions a first-time independent traveller actually has to make.
Start with the free Pre-Departure Checklist
Not ready to wait? Download the free checklist designed to help first-time Europe travellers prepare the essentials before departure.
The author
About Kevin Fichtner
Kevin first travelled and worked in Europe at 19 and returned several times as an independent traveller. His daughter later made her own solo trip through Europe, relying heavily on buses between cities. Fichtner Travels was created to make first-time travel feel more manageable through preparation rather than overplanning or fear.
Backpacking Europe Alone for the First Time
The manuscript is complete and the guide is now in final production and advance review. Join the launch list to be notified when the first edition is released.