By the time many of you check out this article I will be at my destination in Europe. No- I am not going on an ever so infamous “Euro Trip” I’m actually going to for a family wedding and to visit relatives I haven’t seen in a long time. The interesting thing about this vacation is that it is my first time in over 3 years of traveling that I’m not going to an all inclusive resort down south. Since 2006 I have traveled to Cancun, Varadero, Dominican Republic (3 times), and Jamaica, with each trip being complete with full accommodations. Yes that’s right I paid one flat fee and received transportation, hotel, unlimited food & drinks, and got to lay in the beach while everyone else shoveled snow.
Since it is my first time traveling during the summer time (well it’s technically still Spring) and to Europe in a very long time (since I was a child) I figured I would do some research. I talked to other people that have traveled to Europe through MSN, Twitter, and real life to gather some tips and advice on my trip. As a result I have come up with a few requirements when traveling to Europe for a family vacation:
1. Passport/drivers license. If you plan on driving you absolutely can not forget your drivers license. The fortunate thing is that many countries accept a valid North American drivers license for a certain amount of time. A passport goes without saying because it is the most acceptable piece of identification world wide.
2. Tons of batteries. For your camera and the 20 other accessories you will have in your nap sack.
3. Gifts for everyone. Don’t even try showing up to a relatives home empty handed. I guess it depends on what country you plan to visit but for us it is customary to show up with gifts for everyone as a sign of gratitude for allowing you to stay with them.
4. Medication in case your body can’t adjust to the new setting. I never leave home without my Peptos because there is no telling how your body will react to a certain type of foreign food. You also can’t forget about Aspirin, band-aids, antiseptic cream, multivitamins, and even baby power (you guys know what I’m talking about).
5. Pocket size calculator. Let’s be perfectly honest, vendors will try to rip you off no matter where you go when you look like a tourist. A calculator that you can easily fit in your pocket is really useful because you can quickly calculate the cost of converting the currency or even the tip amount. What I found is that vendors will try to over charge you for a product by giving you the price in their currency. You combat this by making quick calculations to determine which currency you are better off using.
6. Compass. The last thing you need is drive your rental car in the wrong direction for 2 hours. A compass is always a perfect addition to any nap sack when you are traveling.
7. Swiss Army knife. Make sure you get the one that comes with all of the works- sciscors, screwedriver, can opener, etc.
8. Notebook aka your smart phone. If you were around when dinosaurs still roamed the Earth then you can bring your notepad/pen or you can bring your smart phone to make notes. It’s also important that you keep a list of popular terms and slangs that you need to know when in the major cities. Another thing that I like to do is to make notes on certain towns and attractions so that I am better prepared next time. It also doesn’t hurt to keep track of your adventures/how much money you spend.
9. An open mind. You’re in a foreign country staying in someone’s home so don’t complain and don’t be a pain. Enjoy the culture and try to spend your time living like a local. Even though there is a McDonald’s in almost every single country in the world do whatever you can to avoid it.
I know that this is a fairly basic but my goal is to turn Studenomics into the ultimate resources for 20 somethings and vacation advice is highly apart of a young persons life. Please feel free to share anything I may have missed.
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10. Multi Travel Adapter: We Europeans have an awful lot of different power plugs.
(and 230V)
I’d like to know why you carry a smart phone at all. They’re dead convenient, but expensive, no? $30 to $40 a month extra would kill me.
One thing you don’t have on the list I would put on would be an outlet converter this way you can bring chargers and what not to plug into the European outlets.
You missed out “phrasebook”! It makes such a difference to people’s reaction to you if you try to speak their language – even just saying “hello”, “please” and “thank you”. It makes it look as if you actually care about their culture rather than being a stupid tourist (and, sorry to say it – especially if you’re American!).
Just checking in guys!
Thankfully I speak the language (albeit very broken) and the people see it as a sign of respect. If you don’t speak the language of a foreign country then it at least helps if you make an attempt to learn the common words.
I could not agree more with the importance of a power converter. I brought only one and it charged my laptop until in burned. Now I bought another one but definitely recommend everyone to look into making the purchase.
I will have posts up all week and I will check in as often as possible. Thanks for keeping Studenomics alive without me!