Thanks for any suggestions!
Get some travel guides, then fly to a major city in europe, like Paris, and then rent a car and go have fun. Alternately get a rail pass and travel from place to place by train, using buses to get around in cities. You need to decide if you want to play it safe and start in England where people all speak english or be more adventuresome and try other countries like France where some people speak english, some don't, and some pretend they don't.
Are you familiar with the term "hostels" as it relates to inexpensive accommodations? They're not all the same, but basically it's very basic accommodations - sometimes they're set-up like college dormitories where there are several bunk beds in a room shared by fellow travelers and the bathroom is at the end of the hall. Some also have private rooms for a little more money, some offer meals and some don't, some have common areas where you can fellowship with other guests, some have bicycles for rent so you can see the area, be sure you know the house rules and hours of operation (some are locked-down by a certain time of the night). If you want basic and cheap, it's a good option - you can get more information at the library or visit some websites, www.hostels.com is a good place to start. Have fun on your trip to Europe!
Try a travel agent and do an escorted tour. You want to leave/return during low season, early Spring and late Autumn when prices are low. Do not go in the winter since you would have to deal with harsh weather. Plan things for inside and outside every day.
For pre-arranged tours like this, you can specify what 'speed' of the trip you want. A medium speed is quite fast I think. You can also specify if your travel mates are young or old, or a mix. I always went with a mix. With a medium speed, it meant that you had to be on the road between 0600 and 0800 and got into bed between 2100 and 2200. You travel by bus.
Your hotels, and one to two meals every day, were arranged in advance. You just sat down. or you would have a side tour that would have a meal with it. Take all the side tours. Now is not the time to be cheap.
So add a day or two to this pre-arranged tour, keep the same hotel(tell the travel agent), and venture out on your own. That is how you start.
I think your question is the best WAY not the best PLACE to travel. For me, I think the best way to travel is your truck. And also it depends on what state you are living at. For me I am at NYS(Syracuse) and I talking about internal travel not to Africa or Europe. So, I would drive to Washington and then to N.Carolina and then to Georgia to Florida. I always wanted to go to Florida especially Miami.
This is what is called the best way to travel to me. Perhaps I see different opinion.
