YOUTH BEAT : Not-Quite-Solo Trips on Europe’s Trains and Buses

If you can’t decide whether to grab a rail pass and tour Europe independently or join a group bus tour, there’s another option you can now consider. Stray Travel Experience has introduced group tours of Europe by rail that have built-in flexibility. They are guided tours that allow you to stretch your adventure from nine days to four months.

Stray Travel Experience already operates hop-on-hop-off backpacker bus services in Britain and Ireland and is linked to the popular Oz and Kiwi Experience backpacker bus services in Australia and New Zealand.

The Stray Europe pass covers transportation (usually rail, but sometimes boat or bus) and the services of a guide, who conducts walking tours and makes arrangements for accommodations and activities.

Some of the activities are included in the tour price, and wherever there is an admission-fee activity, a free option is also available. Meals and accommodations are not included in the tour fee.

Stray reserves accommodations in pensions, independent hostels and two-star hotels. The average nightly price in Western Europe is $19; in Eastern Europe, $11.

The full 18-day Europe route starts in London and heads to France with stops in Paris (including a walking tour), Brive-la-Gaillarde (for wine tasting), Nimes and Nice, to experience the Riviera.

The first stop in Italy is Pisa for a look at the Leaning Tower; then it’s on to the Tuscan seaside for beach life, thermal springs and horse trekking. There are walking tours of Rome and Florence, and in Venice the stop combines sightseeing and salami tasting. In Salzburg the group researches how schnapps is made; Vienna is for exploring palaces and the opera house and indulging in apple strudel.

Eastern European stops include Budapest, Prague and Poznan in Poland before heading back through Berlin and on to Amsterdam. A ferry trip back to London completes the route.

If you have more than 18 days, here’s how to prolong the tour: Guided groups are scheduled to pass each point along the route at least three times per week, so you can break your journey as you choose, taking a few days to sit still or head off on your own side trip, then rejoin when another tour group comes through.

For the solo traveler the tour provides a built-in buddy system. You have people to cook a meal with at the hostel or to head out with on the town. You also don’t have to worry about searching out budget accommodations; they can be reserved and waiting in each new location.

Group sizes are limited to 25, and you must make a reservation every time you rejoin. The reservations can be made by telephone or through an Internet-based system.

An All Europe Stray Pass (minimum 18 days, maximum four months) is $738, or $578 if you are under 26.

The Southern Circuit (London to Venice), valid for nine days to two months, is $385, or $304 if you are under 26. The Northern Circuit (Venice to London) is also valid nine days to two months, and it costs $417 or, under age 26, $336.

Stray starter packages for London, consisting of two nights’ accommodations in a backpacker dormitory, an express transfer from Heathrow or Gatwick airport and a day tour to Bath, are available for $79.

Stray Travel Experience is located at 171 Earls Court Road, London SW5 9RF, telephone 011- 44-171-373-7737, fax 011-44-171- 373-7739, Internet https://www.straytravel.com. Stray Experience is sold in the United States by STA Travel, tel. (800) 777-0112.

If you want to compare opportunities, you can get information on European rail passes through your travel agent or by contacting Rail Europe at (800) 438-7245, Internet https://www.raileurope.

If you are interested in bus travel, the hop-on-hop-off European backpacker service, Busabout, is sold through student travel services or can be contacted at Contiki Holidays, tel. (800) 266-8454. Through this number you can also get information on Contiki Travel (Internet https://www.contiki.com), a tour company for travelers 18 to 35.