Over the past two weeks I have been in three new cities and four airports. Given my fresh experience, I have compiled some travel tips. If you are studying abroad, traveling every weekend or planning on taking a trip for the rapidly approaching winter holidays, here are some things to keep in mind.
Flights
Flights early in the morning or later at night are generally cheaper because they are not popular times. The same goes for days. My flight from London to Paris left at 9:30 p.m. but only cost €40.
Look at budget airlines — there are a lot more European options than stateside. Do your research and you can find some good options.
Read the fine print. Some airports only allow one carry-on bag per person. Avoid extra charges and make sure everything fits (purses included).
European airlines have the same liquids rules, so buy some reusable containers; it will save you money in the long run.
Know the airport vocab in the local language. Words like “boarding,” “aisle seat,” “gate,” “row,” etc. are more useful than you think.
Get as much sleep as possible on the plane and be nice to the airport staff, check-in through boarding. I don’t pay to pick seats (it’s really unnecessary) but on two out of five flights I was in an exit row with extra legroom.
Accommodations
Stay in a hostel — you’re young and they’re cheap. Do your research first; safety is always the number one priority. Read reviews, keep in mind the age and gender of those reviewing, as men and women perceive safety differently.
Don’t be afraid of the bigger 22 person dorms, they’re cheap and on weeknights you won’t have a lot of the party kids. Weekends I gravitate to smaller four or six person rooms.
If you’re booking with a group of friends, have one person book it so all the selected beds are in the same room, otherwise you have the potential to be randomly placed and it’s a lot less flexible as far as rearranging.
Unless you’re a hardcore germaphobe, don’t worry about bringing your own towel to hostels. They’re cheap to rent if they aren’t included and take up unnecessary space in your bag.
Make friends with the hostel staff. They know the area and are great sources of information. The hostel I stayed at in London was also a local bar and the bartender was a ton of fun, made conversation each morning and remembered my friend and I because we joked with him on check-in.
Packing
Packing cubes are amazing. You can squish everything you need and it keeps your bag neat and leaves room for souvenirs.
Backpacks, weekend bags and large tote purses are automatically accepted as far as size for carry-on luggage. Wheeled bags are another story, so buy a good bag that is your designated travel bag if you are a frequent traveler. Otherwise your school backpack will work just fine.
Re-wear clothes, especially when going to multiple cities in one trip. No one in Paris knew I wore the same thing in London the day before.
If you can and you’re doing a multi-city trip, pick cities with similar weather to make it easier on yourself.
Don’t be the guy on the plane with three jackets of varying weight — pick one that you can layer and pack clothes in layers as well. It’s easier to add more layers than carry around a giant jacket you wore for five minutes.
Ladies, dress comfortable, not to suit the fashion trends. You, and everyone around you, will be miserable if your feet hurt because you chose to wear stilettos. In London I walked 25 miles in three days, and my feet were fine because I planned accordingly and brought my comfy boots and Tieks. Sure I still looked cute, but the main goal was comfort.
If you know you can drink the water and you want to carry a water bottle all the time, then bring a reusable one. If that is not the case then buy water as you go. In Barcelona I brought a water bottle and carried it empty for two days because you can’t drink the water and restaurants won’t fill it for free as a result.
Bring good headphones. Between the plane and the hostel you will want them. Ear buds are the easiest to pack and less likely to be stolen because of a brand name.
Activities/Attractions/Money
You won’t have time for everything.
Withdraw cash when you get there. Caution: do not flash your cash around. If you will be there for more than two days I suggest only taking out enough for the first couple days then go back to the ATM and pull out more. Don’t become a pickpocket’s target by carrying large amounts.
Pick-pocketing is big in Europe — research common scams in the area and pay attention to your surroundings. Don’t put anything in your back pockets and make sure your purse has some sort of secure fasten (zipper or real buckle, not the magnetic ones). If a situation feels off, get out of it.
Hop on/hop off tour busses and boats are awesome ways to get around and learn about the city you are in. Do your research first and don’t get stuck overpaying for a bus where the drivers don’t play the commentary you’re paying for.
Use public transportation instead of cabs when possible; it’s cheaper and designed around the tourist spots and main destinations (airports).
*Note: Avoid the metro system in Paris. It’s the most confusing thing ever and not speaking French makes it more difficult.
Try the local food. I had a to-die-for food experience at a little cafe in Paris and had I stuck to what I was familiar with I would have missed out.
Souvenirs are great, but you don’t need a sweatshirt from every city you go to. It’s expensive, hard to pack and not worth it in the long run. Buy postcards, stickers or something unique to that place but focus on the memories; they’re all you’ll have left when it’s said and done so make them count.
Be careful of overlapping attractions. The London Eye and London Shard are both popular because of the views of the city, which can also be achieved through the top viewing deck at St. Paul’s Cathedral and save you £50.
For those attractions that are always popular make sure you buy tickets ahead of time — you can skip the lines and won’t run the risk of not being able to see it, especially when you only have a short time in the city.
Tell them you’re a student. I easily saved £50 in London by getting student discounts.
General
Always have a back up of your passport — paper or electronic, or both, which are always accessible and in a different place than the original. In fact, have a back up for your back up.
Write down your itinerary, addresses to the hostels, confirmation numbers, flight numbers, all of it. It’s easy to hand the paper to the cab driver and point to the address if you can’t speak the language or communicate nearby landmarks.
Don’t plan on Wi-Fi, make sure people know they can’t get a hold of you and plan ahead by downloading books for the plane. It’s okay to be disconnected.
Have someone to check-in with. Let your parents know you’re alive, even if it’s only a text a day when you’re in for the night.
Talk to family/friends that have been to your destination before but don’t be afraid to do your own thing.
It will never go perfectly, and that’s okay. You’re in a new place, you’re learning and it’s okay not to know and to ask for help. Hotels and bars are good places to do so.
Take pictures. Blow up Facebook; your family likes seeing what you’re doing. Caption the pictures with the history or cool tidbits or what you did that day, whatever it is because you might not remember in a week.
As they say, “How am I ever gonna get to be old and wise if I ain’t ever young and crazy?”
So go ahead, be crazy. It’ll make for good stories later in life.