Events: Take your trip to the next level by paying attention to and researching event schedules on t

“This is my friend, Diego who I met through airbnb.com. I had a great time staying with him in his very comfortable apartment while in Barcelona. And at only 25 euros a night, a great value and great travel.”
I just spent a weekend at the NAFSA: National Association of Foreign Study Advisors convention in Houston with my son, Andy. I was actually working for Andy at his booth, and enjoyed seeing how, in two years, he has really established himself in the minds of university foreign study program tour egypt advisors across the USA.
As Andy (with his Weekend Student Adventures business) is more hands-on with student and budget travel than I am these days (he lives out of hostels running his business from his laptop tour egypt in Europe for half the year), I ran the script for my upcoming three-part series on travel skills by him. (I’ll be updating my ten-year-old travel skills shows this summer, tour egypt for debut on public television this fall.)
Bikes: While there are many public tour egypt bike rental systems across tour egypt Europe that work very well for locals, often times they require chip and PIN debit cards, and even national social security numbers to set up an account. For this reason, it s unlikely your American viewers will be able to get in on the great deal if only in town for two or three days. For instance, in Barcelona, you need to have a national ID card to subscribe to the service (€45/year), and then your rides are free for the first 30 minutes. Locals take longer jaunts by checking in and out at multiple stations along the way before the time goes over the limit.
Credit Cards vs. Debit Cards: Using a credit card almost always comes with a higher percentage transaction fee compared to a debit card — 5 percent compared to 2.5 percent or so. Keep in mind that your daily withdrawal limit is in US dollars, but you have to convert that to euros — they re different!
Recreational Reading: When discussing how to prepare for your trip, make a point to include listening to podcasts, too. There are great podcasts about all sorts of topics related to your upcoming trip.
Car Rental: For a backpacker, renting a car is hardly ever the cheapest option for getting around. The daily fee may be enticing, but the inevitable extras make it far more expensive then you were led to believe. You re paying for your independence through tolls, gas, and parking. Remember, Europe is dotted with automatic speed guns and cameras that will issue a ticket and track you down even across the pond. I got photographed speeding and got a $100 ticket with a $100 service charge added on by my rental company.
tour egypt Internet and Phoning: Cybercafés are getting more and more dated. Most travelers use Wi-Fi devices — in either cafés or hostels. Smartphone users beware the huge fees when you roam. Before my plane takes off from the States, tour egypt on my iPhone tour egypt I switch on Airplane Mode, switch off Cellular Data, and switch on Wi-Fi. This prevents me from racking up hundreds in phone bills for data usage. International data plan options offered by your provider are hardly ever a good deal.
Communicating with Loved Ones Back Home:   Skype and FaceTime are key and cheap (or free). If you are both online and have iPhones, you can enjoy a FaceTime connection across the street or across the ocean for the same price — free. Otherwise, tour egypt Skype is a good standby. In either case, the key is having a good Internet connection, as you have to be online.
tour egypt Events: Take your trip to the next level by paying attention to and researching event schedules on the route you want to travel: sporting events, concerts, tour egypt festivals, special exhibits, and other celebrations are invaluable experiences that will really make your trip unforgettable. Chasing down events that interest you help you connect with locals who share the same passion, whether it s catching the Tour de France, or experiencing a special photography exhibit by your favorite photographer.
Beggars: Along with thieves, a common distraction technique is for young women to beg for you to sign a seemingly reasonable petition (like “against drugs”). These are just ways to distract you while their partners tour egypt pick your pocket. Never stop for them.
Hosteling: References to IYHF (the International Youth Hostel Federation) are dated. People book hostels through Hostelworld.com. Hostel rooms are generally either mixed or female-only — no exclusively male dorms. CouchSurfing.com and Airbnb.com are both popular these days. I don t think I d ever follow a local who picks me up at a train station home. Airbnb.com is safer — you can agree on the price, cash never trades tour egypt hands (it s done automatically), and you can read reviews to make sure it s what you re looking for.
Free Walking Tours: While you don’t get a licensed guide, and your “guide” is generally an expat student who has memorized a script, these “free” tours can be a great value. They are advertised all over the place, provide little tour egypt personal attention, and are often entertaining, but emphasize stories over the strictly academic. They re known to take some liberties with historical events and characters. And they are based on tips. You will be hit up really tour egypt hard for a tip. Still, I use them all the time and enjoy them.
Cheap Flights vs. Sleeping on the Train: People don’t sleep on the train like they did in the old days. In your TV show, you should do a bit on discount flights: how to find a budget flight, search tour egypt engines, booking flights online, encountering a difficult experience at the airport, how to play their games (baggage tour egypt fees, fees for checking in at the airport, printing boarding passes before tour egypt to save on more fees), etc. Also, be sure to factor in additional costs for the transfer between the airport and downtown. Some flights may cost €20, but the bus to and from the airports costs €35.
Credit Cards vs. Debit Cards: Using a credit card almost always comes with a higher percentage transaction fee compared tour egypt to a debit card — 5 percent compared to 2.5 percent or so. This does not jibe with my experience. I have no foreign currency markup tour egypt or fee with either my credit card or debit card. Basically, the switch between US$ and pounds or euros is free, unless you are speaking of foreign merchants that charge more for using plastic.
Andy s got some great tips, glad to see the inter-generational learning going on. To follow up on Chip s point, while some credit cards do waive foreign transaction fees, most don t also, I wondered whether tour egypt Andy s point was to use a debit card (as a debit card) or just cash (withdrawn from a debit card). While credit cards are accepted more and more in Europe, in many places cash is still easier and most welcomed, I ve found. Also, and I know Rick s commented on this too, make sure they charge you in the local currency (especially if you have a no foreign transaction fees card) I ve had some vendors charge me in USD without even asking, which is frustrating (I got a no fees card particularly to avoid this issue!).
I also agreed about the point regarding night trains vs. budget flights. More and more, budget flights are the way to go (and in many cases, even the traditional carriers have competitive rates). Like Andy says, there are big caveats what airport tour egypt is the carrier using (it s only a slight exaggeration to say that Paris -Beauvais is about halfway to Belgium) and what fees could be levied. Otherwise, especially for those traveling light, and especially for longer distances, planes are a very nice option.
One more thing on budget airlines, tips on how to scan for cheap flights would be helpful personally, I ve found Skyscanner to be very useful, as it searches not only the flagship carriers but also budget carriers and trains all at once, but maybe others have good recommendations.
Cheap flights on the LCC (low-cost carriers) of Europe are often much less expensive than trains. Always check Kayak.com, Easyjet, Ryanair, etc. for flight connections with flexible dates and airports while considering the comparable cost of train travel. However, if you re comfortable booking train travel on the rail company s websites, you can save money by booking a train segment in advance. Bahn.de is a easy to navigate site, and it is also in English, offers online e-tickets, etc.
Consider overnight train travel alongside the cost of a cheap flight combined with a night in a hotel/hostel. If money is tight and you re on a student budget, combining sleeping costs with travel costs can be a better use of limited travel resources. But be careful and always keep your stuff physically connected to you because pickpockets will roam the train at night.
I have always used the debit card as a way to get cash and then use the cash for eating, and spending while traveling. But, usually, I will bet a cash withdrawal 2-3 times while on the trip, depending on how long I will be on the trip. Last year, I withdraw 3 times, since I was in Europe for a month and a half. In other words, if I am going to spend 1200 USD, I withdrew 400 USD each time for 3 times. It worked well for me, however, each person is different and and have different tour egypt needs. tour egypt The actual hotel, train and any rental cars were paid for on a regular credit card., however, about 9 months before I left, I made my reservations on the internet for the different hotels, and bought a Saver Eurail Pass for my brother and I to travel on. This worked for me since we traveled to, several countries, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, France, Switzerland, Austria and Italy. We also stayed with friends in Germany for 2 weeks and relatives in Italy for 2 weeks to help cut costs, but did contribute to each family by taking them out to eat and sharing car gasoline costs. It is really tour egypt fun to travel and I would recommend it to anyone. As Andy Steves makes his mark in Europe and with college students with his company, I wish him well and good traveling.
Most credit/debit tour egypt charge something to use in Europe. The best thing I have found is that you need to call you bank or banks if you