Top 7 Tips for an Unforgettable Trip to Europe: Currency, Packing, and Exploring Like a Local

In this episode of All Things Travel, Ryan and Julie share their top tips for making your next European vacation unforgettable. Whether you're planning your first trip or are a seasoned traveler, these practical tips will help you navigate everything from currency exchanges to cultural norms.

Key Topics Covered:

• Currency Matters: Learn why familiarizing yourself with local currency and understanding ATM fees can save you money and prevent travel mishaps.
• Packing Smart: Discover the essentials for packing light while staying stylish and comfortable in Europe's diverse climates.
• Train Travel Tips: Europe's extensive train system makes traveling between cities and countries easy. Find out how to make the most of it.
• Cultural Etiquette: Avoid common cultural missteps by understanding local customs in countries like France and Germany.
• Staying Connected: Tips on staying connected while abroad, from international phone plans to safe Wi-Fi use.
• Booking in Advance: How to avoid long lines at popular attractions by securing skip-the-line tickets before you go.
• Embrace Spontaneity: Be open to new experiences, get off the beaten path, and find hidden gems that will make your trip truly memorable.

Tune in to hear our expert travel advice and make your next European adventure the trip of a lifetime!

Call to Action:
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Transcript

julieeeeeeee_1_09-22-2024_204524: 0:00

Hello and welcome to All Things Travel. Whether you've been to Europe multiple times or are dreaming of your first trip across the pond, there are so many amazing travel opportunities to explore. On this episode, we have some important tips to keep in mind to make your next trip to Europe an unforgettable vacation experience. Listen in with travel advisors and destination experts, Ryan and Julie. He's your travel professor, teaching you everything you need to know to have a magical vacation. And I'm a Disney loving, Maryland mom of three, and specialist in family travel. Whether we're discussing incredible destinations, top vacation tips, or sharing personal stories, it's always all things travel.

ryan_2_09-22-2024_204523: 0:53

Julie, you know, I love traveling to Europe and so talking about these types of trips, giving tips for traveling to Europe. I just, I absolutely love it. I know you haven't been to Europe yet, but you've got some things on your travel list.

julieeeeeeee_1_09-22-2024_204524: 1:09

I do, and I've actually planned a lot travel to Europe this year. you and I have actually chatted about, best tips or best practices for things so that, I can pass those along to my clients in the most accurate way. part of our job is researching to give them that information. before we get into all those tips, make sure that you're visiting our Facebook page. Go ahead and search for All Things Travel Podcast on Facebook. Like and follow us, and make sure you're following along with all the content we post throughout the week about our episodes that have come out or things that are going on in podcast world.

ryan_2_09-22-2024_204523: 1:49

And if you didn't hear last week's show, go back and take a listen when we talk about maximizing your time on your next Walt Disney world vacation. All right, Julie. So I have seven tips here for visiting Europe. there's a lot of European trips that we've talked about on this podcast. So as people are planning their trips, go back and check those out. But these are kind of the heavy hitters for me. And the first one is. Currency matters. So obviously, most countries in Europe follow the euro, but you also do have the UK with their British pounds, Switzerland with the Swiss francs. make sure to familiarize yourself with the currency for a couple reasons. One, because And, and we're speaking from a U S centric mindset here, right? A lot more coins than what we're used to in the United States. Coins don't quite mean as much. Well, in euros, you can have a one dollar, a two dollar equivalent of a coin. Those coins matter. And two, I've seen a lot of people get taken advantage of when they don't understand the currency. And you know, if you're paying for stuff and you hand somebody the wrong, the wrong type of currency, and they know, you don't know what's going on. That's when opportunities happen. So make sure that you familiarize yourself. Make sure that you look at your A. T. M. card and see about your transaction fees. I've been in countries where I've had big transaction fees somewhere. I've had hardly any, and it really just depends on the type of A. T. M. card I have. A pro tip here. While most places are cashless, meaning you can do the tap, you can do all that kind of stuff with your credit card, you do want to have some small money because of purchases coffee shops, different things like that. And I have seen a lot of those places just have signs that say, Credit card machine doesn't work because they don't want to deal with credit card transactions that are really small and along with having a bit of money for smaller things, make sure to have different denominations here in the United States. It's very easy. You know, you walk into a store and paying for something that's, you 20 bill. People don't really think anything about it, but there they prefer more closer approximate change, if you will.

julieeeeeeee_1_09-22-2024_204524: 4:12

And Ryan, a lot of times you have told me, if when you are doing the exchange, can you talk about that? Like you always say to do it once you're in destination and there's a certain way

ryan_2_09-22-2024_204523: 4:25

so what I do is I always utilize the ATMs when I get my cash, I have used the windows before, and those are perfectly fine. Again, you just want to kind of keep track of how much you are planning on getting. Because I have gotten taken advantage of sometimes with those windows. But. I go to the ATM and I've notified my bank ahead of time. So they know that I'm traveling, I get my cash. And one of the things that they'll ask is, do you want dynamic pricing? And basically what that means is, do you want the pricing in your currency or the local currency? You always want to have the currency in the local currency because you get a better exchange rate in that way. There's nothing wrong. Nobody's trying to take advantage of your money. There's just, it's just the way that the banks talk to each other.

julieeeeeeee_1_09-22-2024_204524: 5:15

the next one after currency is probably the most common question I get from clients traveling to Europe is what do you pack? Especially if you're going to be, in different climates in Europe, that's easy to do. I've had clients Go to Switzerland in the summer, and it's really warm. And then you go to the top of those mountains, and there's snow. So you do have to pack very smart. If you're going to be in different climates like that, you want to still try to pack light. So you want to have some layers. Get those like thermal layers that are very thin and kind of layer a windbreaker with it. Things like that. A lot of the cities are walkable, so you do want to make sure you're having really good shoes. you want to look good when you're in Italy, but walking around in heels is not going to be comfortable. So just make sure that you've got Comfortable shoes and another thing i've heard a lot is focus on neutral clothes so that you can kind of mix and match them A little bit easier than having specific outfits

ryan_2_09-22-2024_204523: 6:10

I think neutral close. And again, I, I'm used to, in Europe, taking larger groups of college students, so I think about things a little differently. Neutral things don't point you out quite as much, you know? So, like, for instance, you're wearing a Ravens jersey because it's football night when we're recording this. Wouldn't take that to Europe. Not gonna be a problem. You just don't want to point out who you are, where you're from, You want to be a little more neutral if you will. And the reason that we want to talk about walkable and your luggage, not just your shoes is sometimes you may be staying in smaller hotels that are off the beaten path and your taxi can't get there or you're getting off the train or subway and you're having to walk half a mile. along the city streets with cobblestones. So making sure that you have something like a larger backpack, that's actually my pro tip here is a larger backpack will be more travel friendly than a rolling suitcase in a lot of these older cities.

julieeeeeeee_1_09-22-2024_204524: 7:10

Yeah, I just saw this backpack on amazon that is basically like when you open it up It's like a suitcase and then you just zip it up and wear it. It was so cool. It's just it's sitting on my wishlist

ryan_2_09-22-2024_204523: 7:22

go. Absolutely. So the third tip here is train travel is your friend. Europe's train system is fantastic. I'll say, not even train, but subway system. I've been in the subway system, in countless cities in Europe, and they're always fantastic. They're easy to navigate, easy to read and understand. And the train system is just absolutely fantastic. I love taking trains in Europe. When we were in Amsterdam, a group of us this spring, we were taking trains, we were taking street cars, we were taking buses, the public transportation, especially in cities is just so much more thorough than it is in a lot of, of non, you know, urban areas. City us destinations so take advantage of that. It's convenient. It's faster It's relatively cheap compared to Definitely compared to renting a car, but getting out to the countryside. It's very easy to do I've done that in multiple places where we've taken day trips just you know I'm thinking my last time in barcelona getting on in the big train station in barcelona Heading out into the countryside for the day. Very, very easy to do. My pro tip here is download any app associated with the train system or the station that you're using. Trust me, know where you go beforehand. I talk about Amsterdam here. I. Had egg on my face a little bit the last time we were there cause we were exhausted. We had just gotten there. We took the train in from the airport. I could not find our train to get us to the hotel for the life of me until we finally talked to somebody and we realized that we needed to get on a street car instead of a train and it was out of the station across the street and it was right there. The trip was great for the rest of the time. And then I would also say to know how you need to pay. So for instance, in Amsterdam, I didn't even have to buy tickets. All you do is scan your credit card and you scan when you come in, you scan when you go out and it charges you accordingly. getting a day pass, a multi day pass using your credit card, super, super easy with trains.

julieeeeeeee_1_09-22-2024_204524: 9:28

Yeah. Agree. And if you know that you're going to be using a train a lot, you can get like a rail pass, like you mentioned, you don't have to book individual tickets you can just kind of use it for the length of stay I've had clients do that before too, and that's a really helpful way to save money another big tip here is to mind the cultural differences So just like in America, we kind of have our own cultural tendencies all the European countries also have their own customs, etiquettes, things that are, unique to that area. So for example, when you're in France, they don't tip as commonly as we do here. Whereas in Germany, being very punctual is really highly valued. You want to know a little bit about the social norms of each country, just to avoid kind of making a fool of yourself. I know that this was something you and I talked about when I was prepping some clients before is that, you know, Americans were pretty loud. We, we take up a lot of space, just kind of keeping that in mind when you're over there

ryan_2_09-22-2024_204523: 10:27

And I think it's more talking about kind of that cultural immersion. it's not that people are quiet all the time, but, if you're in a, in a subway car Or you're in a restaurant and you're with a group of Americans, you're gonna be the loudest and people will kind of look at you sometimes we've got our bags over here and our jackets over here and, you go to a cafe in Europe and you may be sharing a table with a couple other people. And that's just, that's part of it. And it really bothers me when I see folks. And, and again, I'm going to use the United States here. Cause I've been around it a lot where it's kind of like. Well, that's the way that we do it, so people should just accept it. Well, yeah, but you're visiting another country. You're visiting another culture. So, part of it is to understand what's happening where you are. You're the guest, and it's okay for you to change your behavior to accommodate that.

julieeeeeeee_1_09-22-2024_204524: 11:24

I agree.

ryan_2_09-22-2024_204523: 11:26

So, I've got a couple more tips here, Julie, but before we do that, I want to talk about where in the world does all things travel? I really tried to find a European destination for this one because of the topic, but you know, and we've mentioned this city before, but gosh, darn it. It is always at the top. And these last couple weeks. It is by far our top location. For listening and that is Minneapolis, Minnesota. I don't know what is going on in Minneapolis, but folks are listening to all things travel up there, Julie. And we are super excited about it.

julieeeeeeee_1_09-22-2024_204524: 11:58

That's great.

ryan_2_09-22-2024_204523: 11:59

the place I want to meet our listener or listeners from Minnesota is the. Minneapolis sculpture garden. This has over 60 sculptures on an 11 acre scenic area in the heart of Minneapolis. It's free, it's open to the public, And these pictures are just really awesome. I'm just thinking of the great city pictures that you could get around these sculptures with the skyline in the background. It looks really cool. I love places like this. All right. So the next tip we have is stay connected, but wisely. So you will want to stay connected with, for maps, reservations, or simply to share your amazing trips with, friends and family. There's a couple of different ways you can do this. You can purchase a local SIM card. Or use the international plan from your carrier. And I would say most people by now, that's what they tend to do. There is wifi everywhere, but just like in most us cities, you want to be a little leery of the wifi. You want to have a VPN if you're doing any sensitive work, And roaming fees and data fees do add up. So my pro tip here is Make sure to have access to things. The first couple of times I went to Europe, I didn't do this and it was a real struggle. I wasn't able to connect with people as much at home. I wasn't able to know where I was quite as much. So make sure you take some time to look at your phone plan and see what the options are. So for instance, I have AT& T and it is 10 a day and it caps at a hundred dollars. So for instance, when I was in the Netherlands, I was there for 14 days, but at 10 days it stopped and I was able to continue to use it and could use my phone just like normal. It was great. Now I will caution you if you're on a cruise in Europe, the same issues with a cruise occur as they do in the United States. Cruising is different than being on land, except with river cruising. That was perfectly fine.

julieeeeeeee_1_09-22-2024_204524: 14:02

Okay. Good to know. Good to know. And I think that's an amazing

ryan_2_09-22-2024_204523: 14:06

Yeah, it was really good. And in fact, with AT& T it was for the month. So. This was many years ago. I was in Greece and Jamaica in the same month the plan capped at a hundred dollars for the month Over the course of both of those so I don't even think I paid anything in Jamaica to have my service

julieeeeeeee_1_09-22-2024_204524: 14:28

What vastly

ryan_2_09-22-2024_204523: 14:29

I know, right? I almost didn't say anything because that really makes me sound like a travel snob. It was just, it was an amazing year of travel. Let's just put it that way.

julieeeeeeee_1_09-22-2024_204524: 14:39

Yeah, that sounds awesome. this next pro tip is something that we can definitely help you with as your travel advisor You want to make sure that you are booking attractions in advance So there's some very popular tourist attractions. Everyone wants to go to when they think of planning their trip to europe you want to go to the eiffel tower, maybe the vatican the coliseum They will all have long lines because that's where everybody wants to be. So the last thing you want to do is show up there and they say, nope, we're sold out for the day. if you're going during the summer, you have to have these added in. I know recently I was planning a trip to France the Eiffel Tower was no longer selling individual tickets The only way that you could purchase a ticket to get in For that time of traveling that we were booking for was to have it booked into another type of excursion So that being said the pro tip here is to look for a ticket that is going to offer you a skip the line option it's a little bit extra money, but not a lot and You get to skip the thousands of your closest friends that are lined up at that attraction. I almost don't even quote tickets that are not skipped

ryan_2_09-22-2024_204523: 15:48

yeah, I mean, think about how you want to experience that thing, right? You're in Rome, and you've dreamt of this trip for years, and you're at the Colosseum, you're standing behind all these people so you can't see anything or, or you're in, Barcelona to see the, the sculptures and they make it seeing architecture and tons of people are standing in your way instead of getting that, before the park opens type of ticket, it's really worth your time and money to, Put your planning where you really want to focus on.

julieeeeeeee_1_09-22-2024_204524: 16:24

agree. And, you know, even if you aren't getting there first thing in the morning, you, you still don't have to wait in line for 40 minutes or whatever it may be, you can go in and experience what you want to.

ryan_2_09-22-2024_204523: 16:35

So this last tip, Julie, I think this is my biggest one is be open to new experiences. So it's great to plan your itinerary and, always do that, but leave some time for spontaneity. And I call this being comfortably lost, especially in a European city, you know where you are, but you're not necessarily following a plan. You head to a square that wasn't quite on the map, but you find a really nice coffee shop or you find a little store that you find your special thing in. Inside of these little squares and these little walkways, that's where you need to go and to really see the city. And you're going to find your favorite gelato. You're going to find your favorite souvenir in these types of places. Just stop. sit in the square, have a cup of coffee and listen and realize where you are. Be open to that, right? You're not going to have that if you're just running from tourist attraction to tourist attraction.

julieeeeeeee_1_09-22-2024_204524: 17:36

Right. And I find a lot when I am putting together an itinerary for a client and they will say, well, what are we going to do here? And I'll be like, you want some time. To just explore on your own, walk around, I can give you some ideas of things that you might want to do in that time, but you will be fine just wandering around as is. I love the picture you

ryan_2_09-22-2024_204523: 17:59

So my pro tip here is one of my favorite places, and this is not going to surprise you at all, but one of my favorite places to immerse myself in a European city is at a food hall or a market. And I'm thinking of Madrid. And they have these long steel tables and there's just little stalls where you can, it's kind of like, this is going to sound bad because we're talking about Europe, but it's kind of like food wine festival. I mean, there's all these little stalls that are selling, you know, real produce, real food, but you can also get tapas or you can get pastries or you can get coffee Go up to the stand that has sangria and they've got four different kinds and the most expensive one is their family sangria, their recipe and, you know, you can make a meal of that and you can sit, you can watch people and that's where people, in the city go for their lunches and you just, you just relax and you see what's going on and, and you're not worried about where you're going to head next because you're experiencing the city right then and there with the tastes and the sounds and the smells.

julieeeeeeee_1_09-22-2024_204524: 19:00

Man, I really want to go

ryan_2_09-22-2024_204523: 19:01

Let's do it. Let's do it. We don't need to go on this podcast cruise next July. Let's go to Europe.

julieeeeeeee_1_09-22-2024_204524: 19:08

Not

ryan_2_09-22-2024_204523: 19:09

Not yet that down the road to, to, to be continued. Well, Julia, as we wrap up and you think about traveling to Europe for the first time your family, which of these seven tips make the most sense to you as you keep in mind with your planning?

julieeeeeeee_1_09-22-2024_204524: 19:25

I think that last one you talked about, just being open to new experiences and really just having some time to go with the flow. I think that is just so cool. I love that. the way that you talked

ryan_2_09-22-2024_204523: 19:37

Yeah. I think that's the winner for me. I've been in enough situations. where I've been that comfortably lost or I've taken the time just to wander. And those have been some of the most rewarding times in the cities that I visited.

julieeeeeeee_1_09-22-2024_204524: 19:52

Yeah, that's so great. You want to plan a trip to an amazing destination like Europe, but don't know how to get started? As your travel advisors, we work with you to create a customized itinerary for your vacation and take the stress of planning away so you can focus on the fun and creating memories. You can reach me at Julie at creatingmagicvacations.

ryan_2_09-22-2024_204523: 20:13

And you couldn't reach me at Ryan at creating magic vacations. com. We look forward to talking to you next week on all things travel as we celebrate Halloween with spooky travel ideas.