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Book your flights and hostels early. The flights will be much cheaper that way and hostels will have more choices. Paris hostels in particular tend to fill up quickly: if you want to stay at St. Christopher’s (one of the best), book at least a month beforehand.
That leads to another issue: hostels. Don’t believe the Hollywood hostel horror movies; most hostels are not creepy places where you will be murdered, particularly if you do your research and book early. Some hostels are more like hotels, excepting the fact that you share your room with a number of strangers. The more you’re willing to pay, the fewer people will be booked in your room. Go for hostels with high ratings on www.hostelworld.com and read the customer reviews; what one traveler liked about the place, you may not, and vice versa. Go for the hostels that serve free breakfast, but be warned that this usually only includes coffee and toast. Even if you have to pay, it’s often cheaper than a breakfast out would be.
Another thing about hostels that goes with the whole “foreign experience” idea: people. You will meet many more people from around the world, many who speak at least some English, if you stay at a hostel than if you are cooped up in American-dominated hotels. Talk with them, do tourist outings with them, and when you get home, Facebook them. A lot of college travelers have Facebook, no matter where they’re from.
Europe, of course, is not the only destination for the international traveler. For the Asia traveler, a little advice for Korea:
“In South Korea, you should always carry a roll of toilet paper,” said Kaying Vang, who studied abroad there. “Sometimes toilet paper isn’t provided in public restrooms or there is only one roll outside the bathroom stalls to be shared by everyone.”
She laughed and said that remembering to grab some of that paper before going into the stall was sometimes hard. She also warned that a lot of the public toilets consist of a hole in the floor.
Wright added her own restroom warning for those traveling or staying in Mexico.
“I wish someone would have told me that you can’t flush the toilet paper,” she said. “There were trash bins in all the toilet stalls and that’s where you were supposed to put the used toilet paper. This contributed to a much stronger bathroom smell, if you know what I mean.”
She explained that Mexican plumbing is not advanced enough to handle all the paper in the septic tank.
“I went to a school especially for foreigners so there were actually signs posted on the backs of all the bathroom doors,” she admitted. “Signs or not, I never remembered.”
If you’re staying in a hostel with limited bathrooms, get up early in order to get your turn without waiting in line. Or go during the day, particularly after the end of the lock-out period – if your hostel does lock you out during the day – as this will be when the bathrooms are cleanest and emptiest.
While driving anywhere outside of the United States is not advised, there are some things to remember if you must. First, in other countries, traffic laws are often more suggestions than laws; watch out for drivers running red lights. Street signs are different, and you’ll have to deal with roundabouts and a lot of one-way streets in the cities. Second, if you think gas prices here are bad, wait until you get to other countries. There are fewer gas stations in the more rural places as well.
“If you're traveling by car, don't wait until your gas tank is almost on empty to fill up, especially if you don't know where you are,” advised Caruso. “I was almost on empty once and there wasn't another gas station for about an hour. Luckily, I made it to the gas station just in time.”
Here are some other tips, particularly for the European traveler:
- Take advantage of free walking tours in European cities; they’re usually in English, last hours, are more informative and entertaining than tours or travel books, have themes and the guides live on tips.
- Buy a money belt or, better yet, a flat pouch that goes around your waist for your passport, credit card and money.
- If you don’t want to or can’t learn any of the native language before arriving, at least glimpse over some basic food terms so you can read menus. Otherwise, go to patisseries (bakeries), point and pay.
- Have an international cell phone. If you get lost, you can even call your parents in the United States and have them direct you from MapQuest. At $2 a minute for many plans though, watch your call lengths.
- They tell you not to drink the water. If you have the money, buy bottled. If you don’t, drink tap. Many people don’t get sick at all.
- Bring a book. Or two. Airlines have you check in up to two hours early and some places don’t have much going on at night. Many hostels have book exchanges, too.
- Watch out for Spanish entry laws. If you’re flying to Spain, do it from another continental European Union country to avoid having to send your passport information beforehand. They don’t even stamp your passport if you’re coming from a continental EU country.
- Entering or re-entering the UK from Ireland is also a good bet to avoid immigration lines and hassles. You walk right through.
- Bring more underwear and socks than other clothes. Wearing your clothes a few days won’t kill you or make you stink, and when a load at the laundromat can cost you the equivalent of $15-$24, your money will last longer this way.
- While traveling by air is the best way to city-hop, lovers of countryside views should look online for various European rail passes.
- Set up an account with a site like WebShots, where you can unload the pictures on your digital camera for family to see. You’ll be able to take more pictures without having to buy an extra memory disk and these sites often let you order prints straight from them when you get home.
- Tipping. Don’t. Not much, anyway. The wait staff doesn’t live off tips in Europe. The waiters do love Americans, though, because we tip big even when gratuity is included in the bill.
- Count on paying more for your meal at restaurants than the menu price. On top of included gratuity, those bread rolls are not free, even if you didn’t order them, and you must say “tap water” or be charged for bottled. A four-serving, glass bottle, in fact.
- Your feet are your best method of traveling in cities. Bigger cities, like London and Paris, have excellent underground systems (aka subways) however, and if you can figure out how to buy one (not easy in Paris), day travel passes are your best bet, financially speaking.
- Maps are wonderful. Print them out. Get directions before you get there. Make sure you can get to your hostel before the end of check-in time.
- Make sure someone knows where you are: parents, UNCC Education Abroad Office, whatever institution you study abroad at.
- Most foreigners don’t hate Americans. They like Americans. They hate the American government. Don’t argue with them – you won’t win, and it’s rude besides.
- Walk with a purpose, chin up, back straight, shoulders back. Violent crime is much less, at least in Western Europe, but pickpockets are numerous and if you look like a victim, you’ll be one. Looking like a tourist isn’t recommended, either.
- There are loads of beggars on the streets and some are more dishonest than others. Sob stories, especially written in English (and thus targeting rich Americans) are usually false. Welfare programs are much better in Europe – begging is often a profession, not a necessity.
- Pack your dry, labeled, packaged medications. Watch anything else in a carry-on; if it’s opened, it’s suspicious, if it’s liquid, it may be confiscated.
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