I'm planning to go to Europe, does anyone have any advice on what to do?

Question

This is my first time over there and I was wondering if I needed to watch out for anything....ie.....hostels vs bed and breakfast, or taxi vs train, tour guides.....anything that will help me with my travel is much appreciated. I'm so new at this that I went to REI and didn't know which backpack to buy!

Answer 1

Well first off I would recommend getting the Eurorail pass. (Also note that on Italian trains you need to pay a reservation fee in addition to your pre paid Eurorail, if you don't you can run into problems)  It can simplify getting around.  Also if you are going to fly from point to point I would recommend using Ryanair and Easy Jet, they have reasonable fares.

As far as hostels go, you should try to book in advance if you can and definitly try to travel with someone, it can get scarey at times.

I would recommend getting one of those travel towels that dries really fast as well as carrying travel sized shampoo, toothpaste etc. As far as clothing goes I would take one light jacket/sweatshirt, one pair of dress pants and shirt (in case you go to a club or something) then a pair of pants and shorts for every day with a few nice shirts. Pack as light as you can, it gets really tiring lugging a heavy bag around.  Also get a small travel bag that you can wear undershirt for you money, passport, etc.

If you can buy a book on the places you plan to visit, they are very helpful.  

Make sure you also take a power converter AND adaptor with you also, you never know when you might need one.

Hope this helped a bit!  Have fun!

Answer 2

Hilary's advice above is good - I agree - remember the travel plug adaptor (although you can buy them at the airport if you forget). Remember to budget for the fact that the dollar to euro or dollar to UK pound exchange rate is not good at the moment - making everything seem expensive if you are travelling from the US

Check out http://europe4vacations.com for some further advice and tips about travelling in Europe