Insider's Travel Tips to Europe

There are lots of travel books out there with all sorts of information which will give basic help and travel hints. This isnt to replace that, it is just a few personal things in no particular order which we have found of tremendous benefit.

Jet lag - I always plan to sleep on the plane. I skip the movies, tempting though they may be. When traveling to Europe I know I need to set my internal clock forward and I can do this by forcing sleep as much as I am able. So I:

1. Use a sleeping mask

2. Wear earplugs or some folks use noise canceling headphones.

3. I eat before I get on the plane or bring something to eat in my carry-on so I can skip the dinner. This gives me an extra hour or two to sleep

4. If you dont want to be disturbed its a good idea to pin a note on your shirt or let the service crew know your wishes.

I never sleep the whole way, but I will sleep most of the flight and it really helps.

Dont overplan your trip. It is tempting to try to cram as much as possible since it may be a once in a lifetime trip, but fatigue spoils everything. If you aren't sure how much time to plan for things, plan more time than you think you will need for your main sightseeing goals and then add in some smaller options. Things that would be nice to do, but which wont spoil your trip if time does not allow.

Dont forget to allow for traveling time within cities. Some, like London, have sites spread all over and it can take quite some time to get from one place to another. Others, like Vienna have everything within a few minutes walking distance from each other all centered around the former Imperial Palace.

Save money on lodging - We most often stayed in the least expensive accommodations we could find. In Europe these are Etaps or Ibises. They are like hotels in America, only smaller and in the case of the Etaps, the barest minimum accommodations. But we always found them clean, comfortable and each room has its own bathroom.. Etaps are usually outside the major metropolitan areas, so be prepared to take the subway or bus into town. Ibises are more, but are usually more centrally located.

We were usually driving to our destination and we quickly discovered that hotels charge for parking and often quite a lot. Parking at Etaps is usually, if not always, free.

We generally avoided driving into metropolitan areas. We lodged outside the city, then took subways into town. We avoided all kinds of headaches from trying to navigate through the cities and didn't have to pay exorbitantly for parking. It more than made up for the price of the subway and reduced stress considerably.

To share or not to share
Sometimes it was better or more economical to stay closer into town if there wasn't a subway system or to be close to a major bus route circuit. Many small Mom and Pop places will offer a room with or without a bathroom. We take the "no bathroom" and pocket the discount. It has always worked out fine. There is usually a sink in the room, so most of your toilette can be done there. Usually only two rooms share the same facilities. We have never had to wait  more than just a few minutes. So if you need to save money, try this option.

Getting around - Whenever possible I take the subway or train and spend a bit more and even walk a bit further rather than take the buses. Generally they are harder to use and take much more time.

We did find a bus route in the middle of Rome and also Edinburgh that did a big circuit and stopped at each of the major sites along the way and it was very handy to use, so we always checked our guide books to see if this was applicable.

Cities with these major bus route circuits are also great ways to just see the city and they cost considerably less than the tourist buses or are free with bundled tickets.

Also keep in mind that Europe is moving to a cashless society, so in many cases you cannot just hop onto a bus or tram. You will need to buy a ticket or card with money loaded onto it to ride public transportation. These can often be bought in the airports or train stations, but not always, so check ahead.




Bundling tickets - Look into transportation day passes or tickets that bundle museums and sights together. This can save a lot of money. These travel passes allow you to travel all day, usually on all public transportation for one fee. Some have multiple day passes and these can save more.

Restrooms - Be aware that in northern Europe a fee is usually charged to use public restrooms. In southern Europe it is hit or miss. We have even been charged in a McDonald's, although that was the exception to the norm. So it is a good idea to keep change to pay the fees. Usually it was 50 Euro cents for entry. Our usual strategy was to use the facilities in museums both coming and going. Eateries are also places where one could usually have a free "comfort break". 





Water with meals - Also not usually free in northern European countries, so inquire. You can ask for tap water or for a carafe of water and, if available, may be free or cost considerably less. If you want water with a meal you will usually be sold bottled water and it is often more expensive than beer or soda. Beverages are not served with ice usually and if ice is asked for and provided, many times there is an extra fee for it. You can save a lot of money by foregoing beverages of any sort with a meal. In one restaurant each beverage cost one-third the price of the meals - five Euros. That is roughly $7.50 for a small soda. I also found by not ordering any drink, sometimes water would be provided gratis, again in a southern European country.

Packing - With less and less luggage allowed for air travel and with European hotel rooms generally being quite small what we pack is more and more important. We check the weather. Both what is normal for the time of year we are going and we checked the weather forecasts right before we travel. In spring and fall, I usually bring short sleeved shirts and a light jacket. I can layer as needed. It is usually much cooler in the mornings and the days can warm up considerably. So I can remove the jacket or use it as needed. This also saves on weight in the luggage.

Luggage does get lost and delayed. We had one visitor whose luggage never did catch up with him until he had been back home for a while. We often had our luggage miss our Transatlantic flight which meant we did not get it for a day or two. For this reason we always include some essentials in our carry-on. Medications, glasses, contact solutions and case, a change of socks and undies, deodorant, a clean shirt, some basic make-up. Remember to pack small amounts of any liquids. This way we can manage without too much difficulty for a day or two if our luggage decides to take the scenic route to our destination.

Febreze clothes freshener can be a lifesaver when you are traveling for many days without access to washing facilities.

There is also a spray-on wrinkle smoother by Faultless. It works very well. Spray on your clothes, smooth with your hands and the wrinkles are gone. I love this stuff.

Courtesy - We always takes a few minutes to learn the polite words of a foreign language - Good morning, good afternoon, good evening (you will need all three of these), please, thank you, you're welcome. It makes our trips more enjoyable to both be able to say and understand these simple words and they can make a huge difference in how we are perceived and treated by local people.

 Lots of folks speak at least some English, but we don't presume that they do. Even at world renown sites we have found that the ticket sellers don't speak English. In this case, the simple use of your fingers to indicate the number of tickets needed suffices.

 These small efforts help us to be good ambassadors for our country, but also bring us favor when dealing with local people. Often we are asking for help or are looking for a favor from them and having them kindly disposed to do so is always preferable. (For example if you ask in Italy "Por Favor" which means "please" or more literally "as a favor" your host will do all they can to comply. Just don't abuse this superpower when you are there.

 Miss Manner says,"Manners are the lubricant of society, they reduce friction," and no one has stated it better.

Acculturate a little. It is helpful to read a book on the culture of the country you are visiting. What is polite varies a lot and we have also learned many useful things such as in Austria, there is bread on the table at restaurants, but it isn't free. You will be charged for each roll you eat.

Enjoying the journey not just the sites. If possible, take time for some things that are perhaps the road less traveled. Almost all of the most meaningful things I experienced while traveling involved sitting and thinking and enjoying the spot. So dont pay to tour the cathedral, go to Evensong or mass. See and hear how these buildings were meant to be experienced. Go to a park in the city. Go to a historic high spot and look over the vista. Imagine someone standing there and looking out as an army marched on the city or as celebratory parades marched through the main thoroughfare. Take some time to think about what you have seen and the history that has taken place there. Let yourself be stopped in your tracks to think and feel and experience. It can be anything that moves you or gets your attention, from the soaring beauty of a cathedral or palace, to something as humble and sobering as the remains of a dog I saw in Pompeii, writhing at the end of his tether as the ash fell and he was finally buried even as he struggled to get free. That told me more about the human loss and suffering than all the broken or rebuilt buildings that surrounded me.

Pack your sense of humor. When traveling, stuff is going to happen. If you have been following my blog you have read of some of the very serious things that have happened to us as well as the usual traveling mishaps. Learn to laugh and enjoy the delays, wrong turns, and mix-ups that are likely to happen. If you want to read an example of this, click on this link to my blog titled Fun in Italy. You can see it doesn't take much to turn your trip troubles into fun memories.

Food - You can spend a lot of money on food, or you can save money and still enjoy the part of the local culture that is cuisine. Many places we stayed served breakfast. If so, we would stoke up on breakfast, eat our snacks during the day that we brought with us and then sometimes eat out and sometimes visit McDonalds or some other fast food place. In this way we could get by with minimal expense for our food, but still afford a good meal or two in a nice restaurant.

Be prepared and flexible about what there is to eat. If your lodging offers breakfast, it will often have bread of various kinds, cold cuts and cheeses, yogurt (real, plain yogurt. Sweeten with the honey provided), granola-type cereal and fruit. In Britain a good English breakfast also includes pork and beans. (By the way, Scottish haggis tastes like liverwurst.) If eggs are available they are most often soft-boiled. The polite way to eat these is to put your egg in the eggcup, break off the top and eat the egg out of the shell with the small spoons that are provided. It is best not to try to peel the egg and attempt to eat it like a hard-boiled one. I learned this the hard way at a training meeting at a table full of Europeans. We were served hotdogs for breakfast in Slovakia, so be prepared for the unusual and go with the flow.

Helpful things to bring on your trip:

 1. Make-up wipes or the equivalent. European hotels do not provide washcloths.

2. Basic cold meds, a few cough drops, decongestant in case you catch a bug.

3. Travel can interfere with the digestive tract so if you sometimes need antacids or laxatives, pack those as well. Sugarless hard candies that are sweetened with sorbital have a natural laxative effect which can be helpful with sluggish systems and they are quite tasty too. Baskin Robbins and Creamsavers are two brands that make these.

4. Even if you don't plan to sleep on the plane, bring good earplugs and a comfortable eye mask. Try it at home to make sure they work well and comfortably for you. Some accommodations can be noisy and very few have adequate ways to block the morning light. There may also be streetlights outside your window and most smaller places in Europe do not have air conditioning requiring you to have your window open with the resulting street noise. (I think the Ibises usually did have AC, called Airco in Europe, but you can always call or email your particular hotel to find out.)

5. Window screening is rare as hen's teeth in Europe, so if insects are a particular problem for you, then also bring bug spray. Otherwise the choice can be to be hot or be someone's dinner.

6. We found it helpful to bring some snacks and carry a bottle of water with us. We'd refill the bottle in the hotel in the morning. Often it is hard to find something to eat or the vendors are very expensive. Also some countries don't serve dinner until very late, at least late for us. Italian restaurants don't open until 7 pm for dinner and if you come then you will have the place to yourselves. Some snacks along the way can keep the blood sugar up and reduce fatigue as well.

So these are some things we've learned along the way during six years of travel.