Tips for travlling to Europe (1 Viewer)

[Lord Ac]

Does anyone have any good traveling tips for me, like, for example what type of money I should be taking and in what form. Like, how best to get around and what sort of packages I should buy (like, some sorta daily meuseum attractions pass, or individually at each thing i wanna see).

Cheers,
Ac

 

[numbakruncha]

Take Euro, as most countries in Europe use the Euro as their currency....it's worth shit all aussie dollars (1 Euro=FOUR Aussie dollars!!!) but itll be worse if you have to convert it over there, I think.

Pick up the lonely planet book 'Europe on a Shoestrong' (make sure its the LATEST one) plus any others you think may be handy- language books especially. They sell them for specific regions (e.g. Scandinavia, Eastern Europe, etc). Those can be handy, seeing as there are a LOT of languages used over there and not everyone speaks english.

Ensure that the countries you wish to visit dont require visas-most western and central europe countries dont require Visas for Australian citizens who are there for less than 3 months, but some eastern countries (such as russia-EVERYONE needs a visa to enter russia) DO require a visa. Plan ahead and do your research.

A good way to cut costs in expensive cities is to buy travel cards, they entitle you to travel on all trains, buses, etc for a certain time period. ALSO-BRING YOUR STUDENT CARD-it will save you A LOT on entry to museums, tourist stuff, etc.

Join a Backpacker Association if you will be staying in hostels-the difference between the fee for a member and non-member can be substantial, especially in Scandinavian/Baltic countries.

Hope that answers some questions mate! Will you be backpacking?

 

[elena24]

the euro is not that bad...in fact its 1 EURO = 1.6 Aussie dollars, so its not as bad as it sounds. doesnt matter where u exchange just depends on the rate. wen in london def buy a transport ticket as there is no way u can jsut ride the metro for free like u can in rome.....or even athens. london is damn expensive and caus of the pound it will eat you alive..plan and bugdet well.

 

[Big80smullet]

Take Euro, as most countries in Europe use the Euro as their currency....it's worth shit all aussie dollars (1 Euro=FOUR Aussie dollars!!!) but itll be worse if you have to convert it over there, I think.

Pick up the lonely planet book 'Europe on a Shoestrong' (make sure its the LATEST one) plus any others you think may be handy- language books especially. They sell them for specific regions (e.g. Scandinavia, Eastern Europe, etc). Those can be handy, seeing as there are a LOT of languages used over there and not everyone speaks english.

Ensure that the countries you wish to visit dont require visas-most western and central europe countries dont require Visas for Australian citizens who are there for less than 3 months, but some eastern countries (such as russia-EVERYONE needs a visa to enter russia) DO require a visa. Plan ahead and do your research.

What have you been smoking mate? Have you even been to europe? The euro isn't as bad as that. Also travel guides are good to a certain extent. They tell you the good tourist attractions but they're useless for accomodation guides. www.hostelworld.com is the best place to get a hostel. Real people who've stayed at the hostel rate it so you can see which is best. Now If you're in london, the best thing to do is buy an oyster card if you're there for more than a few days. Otherwise get daypasses on the tube. They're only 1 pound more than a one way. Also in england you can do currency exchange for free at most post offices.

The main thing is to plan ahead to save money. You aint gonna get any deals on a flight or train ride on the same day. The more time there is the more money you'll save. Also dont go somewhere expecting to have a hostel. I had to sleep on the streets in bratislava. NOT FUN. Suitcases are awkward. really do take a backpack. Ask at reception in the hostel or hotel for good places to eat, drink and the best ways to get around. Anyone who works in a hostel should be able to speak english so you'll be ok talking to them.

In Scandinavia everyone speaks english. its mandatory in schools so most of them are better english speakers than you or me. Eastern europe is a bit harder to get by in but still so many people speak english especially in tourist areas. France is the only place where they dont like speaking english.

Definetly visit Paris, Prague, London, Dublin, Munich, Germany, Salzburg, the greek islands and spain.

Also a general rule of thumb is the further east you go the cheaper it is, excluding russia and greece. Those were My experiences from two years in england and several extended euro trips. If you need an thing else just ask and ill be happy to help

 

[PrinceHarry]

i've been looking for car rental in france/UK i cant find any that allow for under 23

 

[rozymisty]

Definately get a backpack!! You can either go to stores like Kathmandu and pay $300 (if lucky) onwards for a 65L upwards backpack. Dont get a hiking pack, for two reasons: they are for hiking and therefore have just a opening on the top which means its a pain in the arse if you want to get something down the bottom. And two, the guy at one store told me that if you are going overseas, some airlines wont let you take hiking packs.

I have a backpack on layby at a camping disposal store, and gee whiz am I saving a bucket load. For a 65L Caribee bag which has a daypack as well, its only $119 on sale, normally about $150 which is a bargain compared to what you pay at Kathmandu. If you have an Anaconda store in your state, try them as well.

Do not make the same mistake I did when i went for a wk to melbourne and took a backpack AND suitcase...suitcase was a pain in the arse and the handle strap kept getting caught under the wheels...who puts shoulder straps on wheelie bags?????!!!!

My backpack i took I found was much much easier than taking a suitcase, and when I go on trips now, I will always take my backpack. Its so much easier on your body, and its easier to race say for your plane or whatever than a suitcase.

I cant wait to go to Europe.

 

[Peartie]

I dont know about other people but ive found the best way for keeping your money is to use an ATM card - some banks in Australia have agreements with banks in Europe (From memory Westpac has an agreement with Barclays in UK and DeutschBank in Germany) where you can get CASH out at ATMs for either a nominal fee (like 50c) or even free. I just found that easier than having to find somewhere to cash in a travellers cheque etc.

Make sure you take a student card to get the discounts (ISIC is very good)!!

and book transport in advance...in England i booked a train 3 days in advance for 25 pounds but the same train booked on the day was 57.50pounds....so booking in advance saves you heaps!!!

and my last bit of advice - if you've booked hostels/hotels/whatever or want to go to one make sure you know how to get there- i spent half days sometimes trying to find the hostel because i forgot to look it up / get a map before i got to the city. And the other thing is some hostels (especially in Scandanavia i found) close from like 12-3 so you cant check in etc between those hours!

And in relation to going to Russia - I wanted to go but didnt end up going because from what I could tell to get a Visa you need "a letter of invitation" or something like that and to get one from companies that do them its something like an extra US$200 and you'll also need a visa to go through Belarussia (all trains go through it) so be careful. But within the Schengen area (basically EU+Switzerland) + Scandanavia and some Central 'East European' countries you have up to 90 days visa free.

 

[Big80smullet]

You can basically go as far east as poland without a visa and most of the countries all the way down t greece. Some of the former yugoslav countries require a visa. not croatia, but serbia + montenegro and bosnia + herzegovina do.

Get a rail pass. its valid on a EU countries rail networks and it'll save you so much money.

 

[Peartie]

i didnt need a visa to pass through bosnia Herzegovina or Serbia montenegro...

but i dont know about staying in the countries.....

 

[yosemite sam]

Westpac has an agreement with Deutschbank for free withdrawals - theyre in Germany, Italy and France from my experience so probly other western european countries as well. Withdrawals from other atms cost you about $10 each time.

and if youre travelling over on singapore airlines they have a exchange counter at changi airport that will exchange your money for free. I dont know if they have them in other airports, thats just what we discovered on our excellent adventure.

 

[s-wetzler]

I just got back from Germany and I think You'll find that Euro's are worth alot more than $4 Australian. It is more around $1 Au gets you 60 Euro cents.
Germany is great. I've also been to England, France, Spain and Sweden there all great but London is the best city by a long shot.

 

[Lizakith]

I recommend Rome, its crazy!
If you stay in a cheapish hostel in the centre of the city, there's alot of competition for cafes so the food is cheap and good

 

[*Minka*]

I am a triple-citizen of Serbia, Croatia and Australia and when in the Balkans, I use my Croatian or Serbian passport, so it is a bit different for me. But there is what I can tell you about the Balkans.

Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina don't require passports but you are required to register where you are satying with the local police within about 48 hours. But if you are in a hotel, they will do this for you. If you wish to visit Macedonia, you need a Visa and you need it in advance and there are no exceptions. Macedonian border control is notoriously picky and anal haha. Serbia is much easier - no visa needed if you are staying under 90 days and you don't need to register. I do recommend avoiding Kosovo and surrounding areas for saftey concerns and Pristina has a lot of crime. Also, don't in any circumstances wander into abanonded fields, or any field for that matter. While things are quite safe in the Balkans now, there are still landmines there.

The Currency isn't the Euro in anywher ein the Balkans except Slovenia and you will find the Balkans are a little cheaper to travel to.

If there is anything else you want to know about there, jsut ask! I go there a couple of times a year

 

[*Minka*]

The current exchange rate is 58 Euro Cents to 1 AUD. As for rail passes - good idea, but you can travel by plane cheaply in Europe and it is much quicker as well. I have seen lots of cities by flying cheaply when there.

 

[Peartie]

i used one of this - Visa travel card or something but i found it shite...once id used up the money on it if i wanted 2 re-charge it i had to get someone in Australia to put more on it - and they still charge you i think it was like $1 per transaction but you cant use them in shops - only at atms

also i was a member of a credit union (didnt use their card much) but they only charged me like $2 per withdrawal (instead of the normal $1) and using a card at an EFTPOS machine was free- nowhere near $5 but then again CBA are rip-off merchants.....