Travel Advice

by karen | Jul 1, 2017 | Non-Fitness

In April 2017 I had the pleasure of traveling to Europe (Ireland, London, Paris, Amsterdam) with two of my closest friends. It was my first time traveling over there and for that long. So just some “things” to think about for my fellow first timers…

I’m glad I had….

• iPhone. This was my camera, my maps, my social media posting. We were constantly looking things up. Trying to figure out where we were.
• External Charger/Battery. Your cell battery is going to die if you are like me and using it 24/7 for pictures or to do all the things at every cafe that had wifi. I like my rose gold mophie that I got at Verizon, but you can get them off Amazon. They also make phone cases that do the same thing.
• Snacks. Theses ALWAYS came in handy. I brought a zillion different bars and ate 1 (or more) a day.
• Digest Meds. If you are like me and can’t do certain foods (for me its dairy). A good digestive aid can be a life saver. We got ours at target, you can get them any where.
• Uber App. We used this when we landed some where and needed to get to our hostel or we needed to get to the airport. OR when it rained in Amsterdam and we were determine to go downtown.
• Google Translate. This was a life saver when we got to Paris and we couldn’t read the menu. We prob entered in EVERY thing on menus till we figured out what we wanted. I’m sure we butchered everything we said but we at least tried.
• Lock. If you are doing hostels then this is a MUST. It allows you to lock up your stuff in your bin. We all had one that had combos. Some hostels will allow you to rent them, but I liked having my own.
• Towel. Same as the lock. This is a must if doing the hostel thing. Mine was a micro fit dry towel that dried so quick. It also came with a little mat. I was really impressed with this towel and how well it worked. Again some hostels will let you “rent” a towel but I suggest you bring your own. You can order one on Amazon.
• Good Walking Shoes. This is a MUST if you are going to seen big cities. You are going to walk every where so ditch the fashion and pick comfort, you will thank me me later.
• Converter Plug. Get one that works in a variety of countries. I got one from Amazon for $15, totally worth it.
• Jacket. I got a light weight poofy jacket from Costo for $20 that could squish into a little bag. TOTALLY worth it. As a person who is always cold, it came in handy so many times. It traveled well and did its job. I also think you can get them off Amazon and the brand is 32 Below.
• Backpack Style Luggage. I am super glad I chose to pack in one suitcase and it was a duffle that had backpack straps. There were many times we carried our suitcases for some time so being able to put mine on my back was very handy.
• International Phone Plan. When we double booked stuff we had a way to call to try and fix it. Talk to your mobil company about this.
• Safety Purse. While I never felt too unsafe I was glad I had a purse that had safety features. I bought one off amazon and it showed up ripped so I went to a luggage store and got one that had all the safety features. I paid about $90 for it but I felt better about it.
• Travel Wallet. I LOVED my travel wallet that I got off Amazon. Many people told me to not carry everything with me at all times. but I did. I felt okay doing it because I knew where my cash, cards, passport were and I knew they were safe in my safe purse. Plus it was red 🙂

I wish I had…

• Mac Book Air. I have a mac book pro (which I LOVE) and its a little heavier, but a mac book air would be lighter and allow me to blog while away.

Things To remember….

• You can wash clothes so you don’t have to pack as many.
• Learn the following in the language of the country you are visiting:
  • Please
  • Thank You
  • Excuse Me
  • Toilet
  • Hello
  • Good-Bye

What would you add to this list? Please send me your ideas Karen@LivingAmped.com