Where in Italy to do a good, cheap walking/hiking trip?

Travelling europe for super cheap, any tips/advice?

• Little backstory--me and two of my friends, all of us being female (18,19), are planning on circling europe in a year. We're going as cheap as possible; hostels, sleeping on trains, couch surfing is an option (any thought on this from anyone who knows about couchsurfing? Advice would be helpful). We're basically carrying (each) five outfits, notebooks, a camera, toiletries and possibly a sleeping bag. For transportation, since we're all female, carpooling could be risky. We're counting on trains and hiking (though hiking isn't as good as trains, since trains can offer us shelter and a place to eat/sleep). We need to eat cheap, know how to find shelter quickly if necessary, and basically get around europe as fast as possible. We're not visiting every country, but we are completing a big circle--london to france, scandinavia, russia, ukraine, greece, italy, spain, france again, london again, completing the circle. we hope to end in wales. We'll cross through whatever countries we need to to get from point A to B. We desperatly need to know tips on safety, cheap travel and where to rest/sleep if we get stuck (these are out three priorities at the moment). We're happy making sacrifices if it makes the trip cheaper. Also, we won't be "extreme-tourists". So we won't be spending money on tours and expensive attractions, instead focusing on architecture, landscapes, people we meet, culture, things like that. If anyone has any advice, tips, or even websites with info, that would be great. Getting cheaper plane tickets and train tickets would be cool in anyone knows how (does europass work?), as well as transportation when trains aren't an option (we're bound to go broke eventually). Getting money, cheap food, cheap shelter, keeping safe. We aren't interested in going with a large travelling group, either. Thanks for any information!

• Answer:

  I'd have to write you a book. Get rail passes for sure. You can look for sites now and get your passes. Be very careful with your stuff, especially in the the eastern parts and Spain. Gypsies are slick and before you know it, some 8 year old just took all your stuff. Food is really expensive. Go to grocery stores. In restaurants, ask for tap water (carafe) or they will bring you bottled water at extreme prices. Stay in Pensiones and hostels. Just Google what you are interested in finding out and you will get more info than you can imagine. If you take a phone, make sure your data is off or you will come home to a $5000 phone bill. There is way too much to tell you and I can't do it here.