Travelling through Europe can be one of the most amazing experiences. There is so much history, culture and scenery that will take your breath away. However, there are many common mistakes that tourists make. But, if you are well-prepared you can avoid them altogether! I've put together a list of mistakes I made on my recent trip to Europe as well as ones I saw other tourists make.
1. Don't eat the 'free' bread. In Australia, the bread that restaurants sometimes bring to your table before a meal is FREE. Apparently not in Europe. My boyfriend and I quickly learnt to not eat any bread, olives or other appetisers that were brought to our table unless we were prepared to have it added to our bill. Sometimes it is added as a service charge so there's always a risk you could be charged for it anyway.
2. Thinking public toilets are free. Once again, Australia allows you to empty your bladder for free! A M A Z I N G. In Europe I saw restrooms charging up to 2 euros - even inside stores! Whenever you eat at a restaurant or go into a museum/ gallery - use the free bathroom to avoid paying later on!
3. Expecting free tap water. Depending on where you are, many restaurants refuse to serve tap water and make you purchase their bottled water. Always carry a drink bottle with you and if you decide to buy water, do it from a supermarket! In Venice, we paid 4 euros for a small bottle of water at a restaurant!
4. Assuming you are 'safe'. Despite us being super careful with our belongings, we still had a phone stolen from a zipped pocket. Always wear a money belt, keep no valuables in pockets or backpacks and research common pickpocketing techniques before you travel.
5. Eating near major tourist attractions. This is a big NO as not only are these places ridiculously overpriced, the food is usually terrible! Jump onto TripAdvisor or Yelp and look up food near you with good reviews. Then you are guaranteed to get a great meal and save money.
6. Paying for the hop-on-hop-off bus. Firstly, these are the biggest rip-off when you can pay for public transport that takes you to all the tourist destinations. Secondly, in a lot of cities the things you will want to see are grouped together so you can just walk between. The buses come with an audio tour but you can find all the information online for free! We went on one of the hop-on-hop-off buses when we met up with people and although it wasn't bad, I definitely don't think it was worth the cost.
7. Not wearing appropriate shoes. Travelling involves a lot of walking and not having appropriate footwear just makes everything so unpleasant. On the same topic, make sure you wear your shoes in before travelling. I made my boyfriend do this and the shoes actually ended up being faulty and broke the day before our trip so luckily he could quickly get them changed!
8. Taking a suitcase that you can't carry. This is important for so many reasons. Many places in Europe have cobblestoned streets so wheeling a suitcase along is quite the task and attracts many stares from the locals. Additionally, some hostels don't have elevators so you need to be able to carry your bag up and down several flights of stairs. Also, being able to get your luggage on and off a train luggage rack is ideal.
9. Booking accommodation in the wrong part of the city. There's not much point in choosing the cheapest accommodation, only to have to pay every day to get into the city centre. Also make sure there are restaurants/ supermarkets near you as not having easy access to food is a pain.
10. Expecting to always pay with a credit card. A lot of stores in Europe only take cash so to avoid awkward situations, just carry some cash on you at all times!
11. Assuming Euros is the only currency you will need. Although Europe is one of the smallest continents, it has 28 different currencies! Do your research before travelling so that you know what currencies are used where.
12. Thinking you don't need travel insurance. This can cover you for medical emergencies, lost baggage, stolen goods, vehicle accidents and the list goes on.
13. Trying to see too many places. It's funny because by trying to see more you end up seeing less. When I created my original itinerary for Europe, I tried to fit so many countries and cities - with only 2-3 days in each. THIS. DOES. NOT. WORK. Travelling is tiring! Some places are fine as a day trip, but always allow extra time in a place to just explore and also just to account for bad weather/ travel delays and the like!
14. Eating out for every meal. Not only does this get expensive very quickly, but it makes you feel bloated and leaves you with less energy to walk around and explore. We found that one restaurant meal a day (at most) was best.
15. Only seeing the major cities. Of course you should still go to London, Lisbon and Barcelona! But these places have a lot of tourists and you don't always get to have a lot of authentic, local experiences. Venturing out into smaller cities can sometimes be more beautiful than the well known ones + it's usually cheaper!
16. Not trying the local cuisine. Seeing people go to Italy and just eat Maccas (that's McDonald's for all my non-Australian readers) breaks my heart a little bit. Research the local cuisine for whatever country you are travelling to and try as much as you can. One of my favourite experiences of the trip was when we were in Porto, Portugal. We searched up good restaurants and found a tiny one that only seated 10 people, at the bar. The menu was short so the chefs picked the local favourites - which although didn't sound particularly appetising, were absolutely amazing! We also chatted to the staff as they cooked in front of us which was such a fun experience.
Another related tip which is very location specific is DO NOT eat pizza in Venice. Wood fired ovens are banned on the island so anything you get served is going to be made in a regular oven. Head to southern Italy to satisfy your pizza cravings.
17. Taking too many photos. Speaking from experience, coming back from a holiday with thousands of photos just means you probably will never get around to sorting through them.
18. Not claiming your VAT tax refund. If you make some bigger purchases, be sure to ask the retailer for the VAT documentation and remember to claim it at the tax desk at the airport when leaving Europe. You will need your passport when making the purchases (if you want the documents) but you can read all the details on the official website.
19. Not checking opening/closing times for that day. There's nothing worse than travelling all the way to Paris and getting to the Louvre, only to find out it's closed on Tuesdays! Do your research as most places close on a Sunday, Monday or Tuesday.
20. Not checking receipts. The amount of times we were overcharged for meals or just had items we didn't order added to the receipt was crazy! Whether it was because we were tourists or it was by accident, we don't know, but just get in the habit of double checking receipts.
21. Throwing away your train/ metro ticket. There are random ticket checks all the time. Always keep your ticket until you have finished your journey otherwise you could end up with a hefty fine.
22. Saving money at the expense of time. Unless you're travelling for a year, I'd say paying AUD$500 less for a 38 hour flight from Australia to Europe is NOT worth it.
23. Dressing like a tourist. Obviously you need to abide by the dress code of the country but aside from that, wearing tracksuit pants, sports team shirts and branded t-shirts sticks out like a sore thumb and makes you susceptible to pickpocketing and tourist scams. Research how Europeans usually dress before packing your bags.
24. Sitting down for a coffee. At a lot of cafes, particularly in Paris and some cities in Italy, you will pay extra to sit at the tables outside. Either stand up or have your coffee at the bar.
25. Feeling as though you have to buy the Eurail/Interrail pass. I have friends that have used this and it's great if you want flexibility however it is not an essential for European travel. If you're organised and book trains in advance, you can save a lot of money.
26. Buying the cheapest flight. Don't fall for the $50 budget airline flight. It probably doesn't include baggage costs, check in, meals, tax etc. Make sure you calculate all of these additional charges before booking.
27. Not arranging your hotel/airport transfers. Arriving in a new country without data and not knowing where to go is a nightmare. When we arrived in London after 24 hours of travel and 2 hours of immigration queues, the last thing we wanted was to get lost in the rain. Research how to get from the airport to your accommodation, whether that's a hotel shuttle, airport shuttle, public transport or Uber.
28. Buying souvenirs at the beginning of your trip. If you find something you really like that you don't think you'll see anywhere else, by all means, buy it! Just keep in mind you will need to carry that for the rest of your trip. We left all our shopping for presents until right near the end of the trip.
33. Forgetting to validate your train ticket. In countries like Germany, you don't need to scan a ticket to go through gates. You simply purchase a ticket on the platform, then validate it at a separate stamping machine. If you forget to do this, you will get charged as if you don't have a ticket at all.
Another related tip which is very location specific is DO NOT eat pizza in Venice. Wood fired ovens are banned on the island so anything you get served is going to be made in a regular oven. Head to southern Italy to satisfy your pizza cravings.
17. Taking too many photos. Speaking from experience, coming back from a holiday with thousands of photos just means you probably will never get around to sorting through them.
18. Not claiming your VAT tax refund. If you make some bigger purchases, be sure to ask the retailer for the VAT documentation and remember to claim it at the tax desk at the airport when leaving Europe. You will need your passport when making the purchases (if you want the documents) but you can read all the details on the official website.
19. Not checking opening/closing times for that day. There's nothing worse than travelling all the way to Paris and getting to the Louvre, only to find out it's closed on Tuesdays! Do your research as most places close on a Sunday, Monday or Tuesday.
20. Not checking receipts. The amount of times we were overcharged for meals or just had items we didn't order added to the receipt was crazy! Whether it was because we were tourists or it was by accident, we don't know, but just get in the habit of double checking receipts.
21. Throwing away your train/ metro ticket. There are random ticket checks all the time. Always keep your ticket until you have finished your journey otherwise you could end up with a hefty fine.
22. Saving money at the expense of time. Unless you're travelling for a year, I'd say paying AUD$500 less for a 38 hour flight from Australia to Europe is NOT worth it.
23. Dressing like a tourist. Obviously you need to abide by the dress code of the country but aside from that, wearing tracksuit pants, sports team shirts and branded t-shirts sticks out like a sore thumb and makes you susceptible to pickpocketing and tourist scams. Research how Europeans usually dress before packing your bags.
24. Sitting down for a coffee. At a lot of cafes, particularly in Paris and some cities in Italy, you will pay extra to sit at the tables outside. Either stand up or have your coffee at the bar.
25. Feeling as though you have to buy the Eurail/Interrail pass. I have friends that have used this and it's great if you want flexibility however it is not an essential for European travel. If you're organised and book trains in advance, you can save a lot of money.
26. Buying the cheapest flight. Don't fall for the $50 budget airline flight. It probably doesn't include baggage costs, check in, meals, tax etc. Make sure you calculate all of these additional charges before booking.
27. Not arranging your hotel/airport transfers. Arriving in a new country without data and not knowing where to go is a nightmare. When we arrived in London after 24 hours of travel and 2 hours of immigration queues, the last thing we wanted was to get lost in the rain. Research how to get from the airport to your accommodation, whether that's a hotel shuttle, airport shuttle, public transport or Uber.
28. Buying souvenirs at the beginning of your trip. If you find something you really like that you don't think you'll see anywhere else, by all means, buy it! Just keep in mind you will need to carry that for the rest of your trip. We left all our shopping for presents until right near the end of the trip.
29. Taking inappropriate photos. This includes spiritual/ holy places, some museums and galleries that have a 'no photography' sign. Don't be that person. No one likes those people. Also, if you really want a photo of a place or a particular painting, google it! The photos online will be much better than your sneaky phone picture anyway. Also please be sensitive. I saw some girls asking their dad to take a photo of them smiling at a concentration camp we visited in Germany. Thank goodness he said no!
30. Not having a power pack for electronics. Phone batteries seem to keep getting worse and worse. Having a power pack means you are never stuck in a place you don't know without any way to contact people.
31. Buying anything from people who have their products laid out on a sheet. The reason it's laid out on a sheet is so that they can easily pick it up and run if the police come. Not to mention, the quality of these products is usually terrible.
32. Not carrying small change for toilets. As I mentioned earlier, toilets are not always free. Always carry small change on you!
33. Forgetting to validate your train ticket. In countries like Germany, you don't need to scan a ticket to go through gates. You simply purchase a ticket on the platform, then validate it at a separate stamping machine. If you forget to do this, you will get charged as if you don't have a ticket at all.
I'd love to know any travel mistakes you've made or seen other tourists make!
#7 lucky your your boyfriend has an awesome mum.... (and #30) :D
ReplyDeleteDefinitely!! xx
Delete