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Travel Tips

  • Keep small bills and coins in your pocket so you're not always reaching into your money belt. And on that note- use a money belt.

  • Don't overplan your first day. We hit a few snags that only allowed us to do one thing on the first day, which was definitely different than we planned. So be flexible, plan for snags, and start with the most important.

  • Plan, plan, plan and then let go. Mike and I have wasted a good deal of time trying to decide where to go, what to do, where to eat, etc. We have also had a couple of missed opportunities because of our lack of planning. Do your best to plan ahead but even when things don't work out, because sometimes they won't, let go and enjoy the moment. It's all a part of the experience.

  • When looking for a place to eat go to a place where locals are eating and ask the waiter to bring you what's best.

  • Sometimes traveling to a foreign country can be so intimidating and there are always a million excuses we come up with to not travel, but don't be afraid just do it. People will help you get around. Once I got to Europe I saw how silly a lot of my fears were. Just do it!

  • Whether you are on Rick Steves’ tour or not get some sort of guide to take you through museums and major monuments- it makes all the difference.

  • Sometimes the Rick Steves' Tour itinerary will change. This is something that threw me off a little at first because beforehand I got so excited for everything. Embrace the fact that things can change and look forward to some experiences that you weren't expecting. I found out that those experiences are sometimes the best.

  • Even with all the prep you do before your trip you are going to forget about certain things. So about a day before you arrive in a city read about the place and make a final decision about what you want to do.

  • If you bring a dictionary of the other languages take a pic on your phone of the essential pages (I used my phone for photos) and reference it throughout the day. It’s much more lightweight than bringing the whole book.

  • Pack light, and pack less than you think you need because you will actually need less than you think. I know it’s hard but trust me - just do it. Do it. Seriously do it. Are you going to do it?

  • I recommend bringing a suitcase that can be carried like a backpack and that has wheels. We had one that did not have wheels and always had to be carried. It got kind of old lugging that thing around. It’s true sometimes you have no choice but to carry your suitcase, but we found that most of the time we were able to roll it.

  • Don’t be afraid to do laundry. Doing laundry while traveling is part of the adventure. We brought an all purpose cleaner and washed our clothes in the sink. We always felt our clothes got clean enough and were relatively dry by morning.

  • Sometimes as a new traveler it can be hard to let go and really enjoy the moment. Let me just advise you to do it. I feel like I was able to finally let go completely and take in Venice and because of that I was able to truly enjoy it. There is something so freeing about allowing a place to fully influence you. Also a tip about Venice- it is really difficult to get lost. The only thing you need to know is where your hotel is in relation to St. Mark's Square. As you wander around and try to get lost you will see signs leading you back to St. Marks square and will inevitably find your way back.

  • If you take a Rick Steves' tour (or travel with other people) sometimes you will have to decide if you want to spend your free time with the group or do something else you want to do. I really enjoy being around people so at times this was difficult. I don’t necessarily have a recommendation except to realize that at times you will have to make that choice. In Monterosso our group got together to socialize during happy hour. I was tempted to be with them because they were such a great group of people but ultimately we decided to enjoy the beach. I’m so glad I did because that was one of our favorite moments together.

  • A lot of times at Autogrills or just in general in Europe you will pay for a plate size, not for the amount of food. When purchasing just know you can stack the plate with food as much as you want. They don’t charge you by how much food you have - just by the size of the plate. This is especially important to remember in Switzerland!

  • It’s ok to branch away from the group and the schedule to do what you want. Throughout the whole trip I noticed other tour members that would do things they wanted that was separate from the itinerary or group. If there is something that is important for you to do and the group isn’t doing it, it is ok to branch out and make your travel dreams happen.

  • When you are traveling to several places in one trip I recommend packing for your next destination the night before. Additionally, we never unpacked our suitcases. We had packing cubes which made it easy to quite literally live out of our suitcases and pack up for the next adventure.

  • Pack a water bottle. I drink water all the time so I was not sure what I would do in Europe. I brought a water bottle that fit in my purse and any chance I had I would fill it up. I don’t think I ever found myself thirsty.

  • This is a strange tip but something I thought some would appreciate. All the toilets are different in Europe. Some have buttons on top to flush, some have chains you pull, some have self cleaning and rotating toilet seats. It was very interesting to see the variety. Besides at your hotel and restaurant you eat at, most toilets cost money - and the prices vary. Most of the time you’re going to want a few coins. Sometimes at a rest stop when you pay to use the restroom you will receive a coupon for the gas station to buy something, which was a fun way to sample lots of chocolate throughout Europe.

  • Pickpockets exist everywhere and especially places with lots of tourists. While we were in the Lourve our guide warned us several times to be aware of pickpockets. Mike and I both used money belts, and typically had either paperclips "locking" our backpack zippers or had our bags in front of us where we could see them. Because of this we never worried about having our stuff stolen. Even if someone had attempted to take our stuff, we at least had the most important things in our money belt.

  • Versailles or not? I was really conflicted about whether or not I wanted to visit Versailles on one of our extra days. I had conflicting opinions from sources I trusted. Ultimately we decided to visit Versailles and I’m really glad we did. Visiting Versailles really broke up the Paris scene. It was nice to get out and see a different part of France and to enjoy the country. Also Versailles is breathtaking and an experience in and of itself. It is a hard decision to make but I do recommend it.

  • Do all you can to enjoy the atmosphere and ambiance of a city. Mike and I were truly able to do that our last night and it was the perfect experience and ending to our trip.

  • Try everything at least twice in Europe. There were many things that were served to me that, if I were at home, I would have never eaten. For example, tomatoes in Europe and tomatoes in America are different. Even if you are picky try everything. Of all the things I was served if I let my pickiness make my decisions I would have eaten half the things. But quite literally they were all good and I would eat them again and again. Let yourself be surprised.

  • If you’re traveling on a budget plan when to splurge. Today was a bit of a splurge day, but with no regrets. I think when traveling there are many opportunities to save money even when things seem expensive. But some things there is just no getting around it- but that doesn’t mean you don’t do it.

  • When I was researching before our travel I knew I wanted to do a gondola ride and I knew I wanted to sit at a café in St. Mark’s Square. Although both of those things are expensive we knew they were coming and budgeted for them. For the gondola ride we paired up with several tour buddies and saved a bit. When we sat at the café in St. Mark’s Square we ordered some of the cheapest things we could. Although I love food, I wasn’t there for the food, I wanted the atmosphere so I just got something cheap.

  • I brought several packs of dissolvable vitamin c. I took one every few days. I don’t actually have any proof that it helped but I really felt that it kept my immunity up. Traveling in Europe can definitely take a toll with always being on the go, traveling from place to place, and sleep patterns being disrupted. It was nice to do something to take care of my immunity.

  • When traveling there will always be more to do than can be done. It’s important to make time to create the experiences you really want. It can be easy to get distracted with what you think you “should” do. That might be a culinary experience, a historical experience, or just sitting at a café and soaking it all in. Either way, whatever you want to experience you will need to prioritize to make it happen.

  • It can be easy to get hung up on the little things. For example, I think I could have let dinner really frustrate me. Having authentic food is pretty important to me and where we ended up for dinner obviously was catered for tourists and less than authentic food. But I think of every event as an important part of my travel experience. Eating dinner at that restaurant ended up being one of the funniest experiences I had while in Europe. Mike and I still to this day joke about that night. Be careful because your expectations could rob you of some experiences that are just as important.

  • Don’t let Rome suck the traveler right out of you. When I was in Rome I was pretty intimidated about getting around and using the different modes of transportation. It will be ok, you will figure it out. If for some reason you are unable to, the worst case scenario is that you end up somewhere you don’t intend to be and you get a taxi.

  • Have snacks in your purse, especially if you are the kind of person who needs to eat frequently. Before our trip I purchased some small granola bars. I think I brought enough for about one a day. It was really nice to have a little something when getting food maybe isn’t an option. For example I ate one during our long museum visit this morning and it was a life saver.

  • Even in a very touristy area you can meet your travel needs. After our day was done and the castles and we were heading down to the bus I noticed that there were walking trails in the forest. I hadn’t even thought to look for something like that at this popular site. One thing I’m learning about travel is that you can almost always find something that you really enjoy, wherever you go.

 

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