Basic things you should know for the first time traveling to Europe

(Gotravelings.com) Instead of desiring to travel to all places or eat every foods, you have to calm down and plan carefully your journey to have the very first perfect backpacking trip to this old continent.

You want to eat pasta in Rome, stand on Eiffel Tower, come across the red street in Amsterdam, or join in the party in Munich .... It is just when you have the whole year traveling in Europe, or else, you only can choose places based on your capability.

1. Right choices

Europe is a continent which has rich culture and history, and countries here connect with each other strongly. You cannot go to all the countries in a journey (except you do not care about money and time). If you try to go as many as possible, your time spending for train, bus, plane will make your trip shorter.

 

Europe nations are small in square, but rich in cultural and historical places. Photo: Google Images

So what is the secret? You might choose the best 5 places must go. It can be drinking beer in Hofbrauhaus, Munic, Germany; or eating tapas in Barcelona; or visiting Tate Modern in London. Bookmarking all the important places that you have chosen, then spread the trip around those places. When you can define which countries or cities you want to go in the allowed time, the next step is find the way to get there.

10 days are normally suitable for backpackers' wallet. Traveling alone in Europe is easier than in any other continent, because most of European can speak English. You can book a hostel room or transportation ticket online. You should find (or hunt) cheap flight tickets for months before your trip start, sometimes even year before. You should remember that using inter-city or inter-country buses will be cheaper than that of train or plane. You had better find and compare the prices before buying.

You should not miss the symbolic places like the Colosseum arena in Rome (Italy), Eiffel Tower in Paris (France), Charles bridge in Prague (Czech Republic), etc. Those are really amazing places. Many posts in a lot of forums engage travelers to discover new places, but you don't have to follow all of it, especially in your first trip to Europe.

You also don't have to follow everything written in the guide book. There are many restaurant you want to try but are not written in the book, but you can be more opened by experiencing new things. If you read about the Louvre museum (Paris, France) is the place you must go, but you are accidentally lost in the Blek Le Rat world (the famous graffity artist) with a lot of his works on the walls, you can spend times to discover both of them.

2. Travel by season

July to September is the high traveling season in Europe when you have to share spaces with millions of other travelers. Hotel, hostel, dormitory are mostly full or high price; train, bus, and plane are also harder to book. 

Therefore, you can think about Autumn or Spring time, and if you are not afraid of the cold, you can go in winter. You will find everything easier and more peaceful like it is only for you.

Winter in Austria is cold, peaceful, and not very crowded will be an ideal place for your traveling. Photo: autocarhire.com

One thing you should take notice is to travel to Europe at the right time, participating into some festival in this old continent like Oktoberfest (beer festival in Germany), Biennale (modern art exhibition in Italy), La Tomatina (tomato festival in Spain), Tomorrowland (electric music in Belgium), Exit (summer music in Serbia), etc, you will definitely have the unforgettable memories. There also one thing you should consider is the fee and expenses, and you should book all the services 3 months or more before.

3. Know how to protect yourself.

The first time in Europe, you have to take care of yourself from being cheated. Sometimes, the offer for cheap price or some winged words might attract you. In this case, being wise and cold-head will help you to stand up from the attracted words from sexy girls in Amsterdam, or street vendors in Paris. The feelings of a backpacker this time have to be strong. If you don't feel safe, you'd better to quickly go away to another place.

If you still have times after traveling to main cities, you can think about Budapest, Krakow, or Lisbon. These cities will surely bring to you a lot of surprises.

Learning some basic sentences of local language, you can at least know how to greet and ask "do you know English" in local language. 

Pack your baggage lightly, you don't need 3 jeans in the summer or big coat in the Autumn in Europe. The 1 liter shampoo bottle can be replaced by the small convenient packs or a soap. Remember, you are backpacker.

But you need to have at least one decent clothes such as a t-shirt, long trouser, or shoes when you plan to hear opera in England theater or eating dinner in a restaurant in Berlin.

4. Spend money at the right places

Although you are backpacker, sometimes you still have to pay a big amount of money to experience the special characteristics like going on the gondola boat in Venice, enjoy the afternoon tea in London, drink German beer and eat smoked pork, etc.

Bring as much money as possible, especially small money, visa card, traveler check (type of check for traveler which can be changed into money). Visa card will allow you to buy flight ticket back home, and you don't need to put it with cash. Cash should be put in different places. Europe is beautiful and the people are friendly, but there are bad and good people everywhere, so you should take care of your safeness first.

You should have visa card (or master card) and cash to guarantee the expenses for your trip. 

Photo: us.123rf.com.

You go a thousand kilometers to go to different cities with lots of new things, so don't waste your time drinking beer or wine in a bar, hotel, or hostel. Step outside where a lot of amazing things are waiting for you.

Working hard and saving money for your own journey, sometimes, you can be mean to yourself when you are at home, but generous when traveling.

The final things is to enjoy every single moment on your trip.

- Hoai Nam -

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10 stuffs that you might forget to bring along with your trip

(Gotravelings.com) These small stuffs are usually be forgotten, and without it, you might get in troubles.

1. Bathroom stuffs.

Toothbrushes are always prepared in almost all hotels. Photo: Flickr.

Try to list all bathroom stuffs such as: toothbrush, toothpaste, shaving creams, mothwash, etc. If you don't see them in hotel room, you should ask the receptionist. Or in the long flight, guests are also provided a package of toothbrush and toothpaste. If you don't have mouthwash, you can use carbonated drinks or alcohol drinks instead.

2. Glasses and eye supported stuffs.

Forgetting glasses or eye supported stuffs are often happened to travelers. However, they are not easy to be replaced new like toothbrushes or toothpastes, and you might get into trouble when lack of them.

If coming to Asia, in the big cities like Beijing, it is not too difficult to find new suitable glasses. You can also book before you come, and request for urgent buy, but you might have to pay higher price. To avoid this issue, you'd better wear glasses, or eye contacted lens before you go.

3. Charging stuffs.

Nowadays, on your list of traveling stuff always have charging stuffs for your mobile-phone, computer, digital camera, etc. Before you are panic when finding that you forget to bring, you can borrow your traveling partners (if going with you).

The best solution is to borrow from the hotel reception. This issue is not too difficult to solve because electric shops are now everywhere, even in the airport also have free charging place. If you are type of person who always forget charging stuffs in almost all of your trips, you have to prepare a small bags for all the battery charges, and put it into the baggage as soon as possible.

4. The adapters.

Adapter is a necessary stuff when traveling. Photo: Flickr.

The professional international travelers always bring the adapter as a necessary stuff for almost all their trips. However, many people are easy to forget this small but important stuff before they packing.

It will be very hard for you when lack of it. Luckily, you can easily buy the adapters at the airport, or borrow from the hotel. If not, you can also use your flash driver to plug into the television to charge your phone battery. Do not forget to turn on the TV when charging :D.

5. Umbrella or rain coat.

To save your money not to buy a new cheap raincoat or umbrella, you can ask people around you to lend you a big plastic bag. Then make a hole at the bottom of the plastic bag and put it through your head. The smaller plastic bag can also be used as a plastic hat to cover you from the rain. It is not a really fashionable raincoat, but at least it is very useful in the light rainy day.

6. Cosmetics, cleansing tone, and perfume.

For lots of women, without cosmetics on their face is "disaster". After a long flight, you might realized that you have already forgotten your make-up stuffs at home, and it is very difficult to find the same ones.

You can try the new products at the cosmetics stores, ask the sellers to use the trial products, and do not forget to thank them before getting out of the shop. However, you have to take notice about the ingredients of the products if you are easy to get allergies. If you forget the cleansing tone, you can use milk soap to clean with fragrance water or olive oil to remove the cosmetics out of your face. If you don't have perfume, you can easily ask to try perfume at the fragrance shops. They always have the small bottle to give customer to try their products.

7. Cash

Todays, forgetting cash issue is not too difficult to solve when ATM machines are everywhere. If you travel abroad, ATM is always a best way to withdraw cash. However, do not abuse it too much because you will be charge extra money for withdrawing. Therefore, you'd better prepare before.

8. Prescription drugs / medicines.

If you travel while you have to sickness have to treat daily by doctor prescription, and you forget it at home, what should you do? You have to quickly contact to your doctor to get the prescription again, then go to the trusted pharmacy to buy. In another way, if you have travel insurance, you can call them for help if cannot contact to your doctor.

Bring necessary medicine when traveling. Source: Internet

9. Underwear.

Seemed to be the necessary stuff, underwear is often forgotten at home; and this is the no-replaced stuff. Therefore, you can go to fashion shops or underwear stores to buy new ones. You don't have to buy the expensive one, but washing the new underwear by soap and dry it into your hotel room. If you have dryer, you can use it to fasten the time.

Going to the underwear shops is the fastest way for you when forgetting them at home. Photo: ppunlimited.

10. Headphone

You only realize to forget this necessary thing when you want to listen to music, or watching movie on the plane. If you are on this situation, don't forget to ask the attendant to lend you a free headphone. Many airline don't provide free headphone when being offered, but they might sell it at the cheap price.

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What Medicines to Take on Your Travels

I used to think my Mum was being a bit over cautious when she packed the big bulky toiletries for a holiday. But she was right- over the course of my travels I have needed, at some point or another, everything on this list below. It’s not being a hypochondriac, it’s just common sense. Unfortunately when you’re travelling you’re coming into contact with new people, tropical climates, insects and situations where you’ve got more chance of getting cuts and bruises. So it’s important to carry a substantial supply of medicines just in case you’re sick as you don’t know how easy it will be to get hold of these things where your’re going. Make sure you carry anything really important, like prescription medicines and contraceptives, in your hand luggage just in case your main suitcase gets lost. 

1. Antibiotics 

It’s not always easy to get hold of antibiotics when you’re abroad because in many places you need a prescription for them. My number one item is an antibiotic that can be used to treat a wide variety of infections as it is quite likely that on long trips abroad you’ll get an infection of some sort.

2. Anti-Malaria tablets 

Malaria is a dangerous and sometimes deadly tropical disease spread by mosquitoes. Now you don’t want to do a Cheryl Cole and find out that you’ve contracted malaria and end up fighting for your life when you get home, so take some anti-malaria tablets with you. You only need to take them if you’re going to a country where Malaria is present, so check before you visit a country whether there is a malaria risk. Usually you have to start taking anti-malaria tablets before you go to the country in question and take them every day whilst you are there. If you’re on a round the world trip, definitely take some anti-malaria tablets with you, although sometimes they can be cheaper to buy in other countries, especially countries in Asia where medicines are very cheap.

3. Betadine 

Betadine is a brand of topical antiseptic iodine and can be used on cuts and scrapes to help prevent infection by killing bacteria on the skin. In my case I needed it when I came off a scooter in Bali.

4. Gauze & Tape

Essential for wound care, you should dress the wound with antibacterial dressings followed by gauze and tape. Make sure you pack some scissors to cut it and change the dressings regularly.

5. Paracetamol & Ibuprofen

Pain killers are an obvious one for the list…I usually take Paracetamol if I’ve got something with a bit of a fever or temperature and Ibuprofen for aches and pains.
 

6. Anti-motion sickness tablets 

I’ve noticed there’s a lot of anti-stuff on this list, but prevention is better than cure. Another item I’ve used on several occasions in my medical kit is anti-motion sickness tablets. There’s nothing worse than getting travel sick, and I’ve use them on several boat trips- the first time when I went sailing in the Whitsundays, the second time on a boat in Portugal and the third on a particularly rough day at sea when I went Shark cage diving in Port Lincoln. They honestly work, although they do make me a bit drowsy…I’ve been known to sleep for hours on them, although that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

7. Antihistamines 

Antihistamines are usually used for hayfever, allergies and allergic reactions, and work by blocking the effects of a protein called histamine.

8. Anti-Diarrhoea tablets

Not such a nice topic to talk about but if you are unfortunate enough to eat something dodgy and end up with diarrhoea, you’ll have these tablets with you to help combat it.
 

9. Dioralyte

This has saved my life on many occasions. Dioralyte sachets contain rehydration salts and are great if you’re dehydrated in a hot climate, you’re suffering from diarrhoea or perhaps because you’re a little bit hungover after a night of drinking! If I wake up and feel rough with a hangover, I add one of these sachets to a bottle of water and down it, so I instantly feel better. The blackcurrant ones taste the best.

- Victoria : Pommie Travel - 

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Backpacking is not so strange for everybody, especially the young. If you want to have a full week resting, why don't you try this type of travel ?

You can go with the other person or in group. However, the important thing is not about how many people joining but the common interest of traveling and discovering.


4 "NO"

To make your traveling a real backpacking, it has to be guaranteed at least 2things "NO TOUR" and "NO GUIDER". To be more professional, we can add "N

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