I backpacked across Europe for 2 weeks and slept on trains and in budget Airbnbs. 10 things surprised me about this type of travel.

Tech Insider : Travel, Travel
Two images: Left: A sunlit field with homes in front of a mountain. Right: The author in her backpack stands smiling on a train platform on the right with people boarding a white and red train on the left
Business Insider's reporter took a one-week solo backpacking trip in Berlin and Vienna, sleeping in budget Airbnbs and shared train cabins.

Joey Hadden/Business Insider

I've booked luxury stays around the world. This adults-only hotel in Wyoming, which costs $1,500 a night, was the best by far.

Tech Insider : Travel, Travel
Two images: Left: Wooden hotel units with black roofs scattered along a stone pathway with mountains in the background. Right: The author sits on a bed with a bathroom in the background
Hotel Yellowstone is the only hotel just for adults in Jackson, Wyoming.

Joey Hadden/Business Insider

I paid $560 for a 7-day Eurail pass to country hop by train in Europe. I took 8 rides between 6 cities and it was so much better than flying.

Tech Insider : Travel, Travel
The author traveled around Europe by train and preferred it to flying.
The author traveled around Europe with a Eurail pass.

Joey Hadden/Business Insider

I flew into the only airport inside a US national park. It felt more like a luxury hotel lobby than a terminal.

Tech Insider : Travel, Travel
Two images. Left: travelers walk through a decorative arch designed to look like antlers leading into Jackson Hole Airport. Right: A view out a plane window with the wing on the left and mountains and lakes on the right
Business Insider's reporter flew into Jackson Hole Airport in Wyoming.

Joey Hadden/Business Insider

We sailed in an interior cabin on Carnival and an ocean-view room on Royal Caribbean. We'd only book one again.

Tech Insider : Travel, Travel
Side by side photos of Royal Caribbean (L) and Carnival (R) room selfies
Joey (L) and Monica (L) in their rooms.

Joey Hadden/Business Insider, Monica Humphries/Business Insider

The best and worst airports to have an early morning flight, according to a travel expert who flies 200,000 miles a year

Tech Insider : Travel, Travel
Two images: Left: a glass circular building with 280 restaurants and stores and a 40-meter-high circular indoor waterfall. It is surrounded by hanging terraced gardens.

I went to Venice for the first time. I loved it, but I won't go back due to the massive crowds.

Tech Insider : Travel, Travel
Two images: Left: The author stands in front of a castle gate with statues and trees beyond the gate. Right: The front of a gondola in a narrow canal between historic buildings with a bridge crowded with people in the background
Business Insider's reporter visited Venice, Italy, and saw first-hand how overtourism impacts its residents.

Joey Hadden/Business Insider

The best Amtrak booking is the private bedroom with 2 beds, a couch, and full bathroom for $1,000. Here's a look inside.

Tech Insider : Travel, Travel
The author sits on the train and plays her Nintendo with the sun peering through the window on the left
Business Insider's reporter took a 2021 overnight Amtrak train from Miami to New York City in a bedroom accommodation.

Joey Hadden/Business Insider

A dad who has been taking family road trips for 13 years says these are the 5 biggest mistakes he's made in the car

Tech Insider : Travel, Travel
A family of four sitting smiling in a sedan with black interiors
Rob Taylor has made a few mistakes while roadtripping over 30,000 miles with his family of four.

2 Travel Dads

Disappointing photos show what it's really like to backpack across Europe

Tech Insider : Travel, Travel
Left:  young smiling backpacker checking city map on smartphone with downtown buildings behind here. Right: The author in a black backpack walks next to a train with other travelers around her
Business Insider's reporter expected an Instagram-like backpacking adventure in Europe, but the reality was much less glamorous.

Joey Hadden/Business Insider

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