6 Tips to make sure you don’t make the mistakes I did on your international adventure
1. Have Cash
In Europe cash is truly king. In many countries I found I could only pay in cash. As you would expect, of course, with street vendors; but also at the majority of other places. In Berlin some girls and I had tried to go to a bar only to find it was cash only which had us making an 11:00 pm trip to an ATM. In the UK I had found it to be more card-only rather than cash. However, once you hit central Europe keep euros on you especially for transportation as most buses only take cash. If you remember nothing else, HAVE CASH.
2. Carry a tote
While it may sound like the opposite of what you have been told from all of the pack light warnings, I can not recommend carrying a tote enough. No matter where you are there are likely a variety of things you need to keep on your person then couple that with the souvenirs you add throughout your day it is simplest to keep a tote with you. Furthermore, it’ll save you a small bit since most places charge for bags. Do make sure though, to keep your valuables secure inside. For example, I kept my cards in a satchel within the tote then laid everything else on top.
3. Learn the public transport system
Not only learn it but most importantly keep a copy of the schedule on you. This is especially important if you are going to be switching countries since it’s too much to remember, but also you will find that you likely have to take many lines to get home depending on where you are staying. We stayed at Airbnb’s outside of the cities instead of hotels to reduce our cost. Because of this we would take a bus to the train then a train to the city and then intercity transport so it was very helpful to have all of the schedules. If you are staying in an Airbnb I recommend reaching out to the host to ask what lines should be taken and for where to locate the schedules.
4. Carry a reusable water bottle
Do not forget that unlike America, everywhere in Europe charges for water and in some cases alcohol is truly cheaper. To stay hydrated on your trip and avoid the cost, carry a reusable water bottle. Many cities have fountains around that are clean and fine to drink from as well as sinks in hotels and whatnot and you will see the locals doing just that.
5. Plan ahead for Sundays
From my trip I learned very quickly that pretty much everywhere in central Europe is closed on Sunday’s. From this I learned to get food for Sunday in advance and MOST IMPORTANTLY to plan my transport around the cancelations or adjusted schedules they run that day which does come back of course to having those schedule copies.
6. Book airport transport in advance
If you find yourself like us with many flights at odd hours, especially with our lodging not being in the heart of the city, I can not stress enough how important this is. We were able to go through our Airbnb host to acquire local REPUTABLE taxis to call and schedule to take away the stress of a 4am hot mess in many areas that don’t have rideshare options such as Uber or Lyft.