Travel Tips

• Copy of Birth Certificate stamped with an 'Apostille Certification'

• Updated Passport - i.e. 

• Check Entry Requirements

• Check Travel Advisories

• Enroll in Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) 

• Passport -Valid at least 6 months left after EU entry

• Phone plan

• Tourist Visas 

• Vaccines 

• Ask off work

• Booking Flights, Accommodations, Transportation

• Picking cities 

• Always get travel insurance - risk covering full flight costs, medical expenses, lost luggage, and emergencies

• Book tours, hotels & flights 1 year in advance

• Avoid holidays & touristy seasons 

• Pack light -avoid baggage fees

• Cheap accommodations - Hostels, couch surfing and workaway, Imoova($1 a day campervan relocating)

• Grocery stores - save on food costs 

• Izi travel app - Free museums & walking tours 

• Not worth saving $50 on a flight or hotel if it's unsafe, unclean, uncomfortable, loud, isolated etc.

• Hotels

  • Airbnb- fing app to check for spy cameras

  • Vrbo

  • Vacasa

  • Expedia

  • Booking.com

• Camping

  • Airbnb

  • Hipcamp

• Hostel

  • HostelWorld

• Unconventional stays?

  • Trusted house sitters

  • Worldpackers

  • Couch surfing 

• ALWAYS get travel insurance!!!!!

• Spain VPN to get cheaper flights (Nord VPN)

• Biggest hubs in world cheaper to fly with fewer connections

• Avoid traveling during holidays, monsoon & hurricane seasons

• Know your rights - Get your money back for cancelations and delays

• Use storage lockers if you can’t check bags into your stay for the night

• Credit cards give perks (Miles on certain airlines/Sky club waiting areas in airports etc.)

• Vaccines 

• Mask on planes and in airports to reduce getting sick

• Bring US medicine not found in other countries & bring doctors prescriptions

  • Antihistamine, Saline nasal spray, Imodium, altitude sickness, motion sickness

• Plan at least 2 attractions per day

• Use Wanderlog

• Ask your hotel staff, locals, info centers, taxi drivers for food/bar recommendations

  • Ask about the best local phone apps for weather, public transport, taxi

• Alternative Apps to Dulingo- Babbel, Busuu, LingoDeer, Mango languages, 

• Learn the Basics - Greetings, how to buy items, ordering food, directions in car etc.

• Short Greetings when entering a store -not usual to have full on conversations like in the US with shop owners/restaurant employees

• Always appreciated to try to speak local languages 

• Ask if people speak English before asking a question in English

Get an eSIM or international plan months before the trip

• Verizon( at least a week before)

• Google fi (3 months before)

• Airalo

• Buying a lot of souvenirs? Bring 2 suitcases. Flight there put your smaller suitcase inside the larger one.

• If flight is full - Southwest, Delta, American Airlines might ask for people to check their bags for free 

• Pack strategically in your day bag - important documents, extra clothes, rain gear, toiletries

• See my 'Packing List' 

• Enroll in Step on Travel.State.Gov

• Share your location - Share your Google Location with family, Strava- share real time location in app, Buy a Garmin 

• Don't Rush - timers for departure etc.

• Avoid Night Driving- avoid animal crossings and driving tired

• Overnight car camping - Back into camping spots, tint windows, arrive late and leave early, decoy men's shoes

  1. Back up plan - Pay for a campground/hotel

• Satellite phone - iPhone 14 or newer & Google Pixel 9

• Maps - Print off your route, download offline maps when you’re in remote areas

• Self defense training- Free courses at colleges, Eventbrite, or martial arts gyms. (Gracie Jiu Jitsu Women Empowered courses have a free trial period)

• Coed hostels - Top bunk and keeping your stuff locked up or in your bed. Keep your passport and money on you. If you feel unsafe, front desk workers will help and likely get you a new room. 

Rome to Rio for cheapest transportation

Trains

• • Cancellations or Delays - avoid this by leave in the morning and before night rush

  • Always look for a validation station for your ticket at each station 

    • Different rules per country- ticket valid for certain trains, only an hour, certain dates etc.

Renting cars 

• • Most reliable source of transportation

  • Can be pricey, confusing driving new places, new driving signs.

  • Price check local car renters

  • Drive stick shift for lower priced rentals

  • Rent from location on outskirts of a city to avoid complicated city driving

Buses

• • Some buses are free and hostels sometimes give free passes

Bikes/Scooters

• • Certain cities have free bikes 

  • Bolt, Bird, Lime

Taxis

• • BlaBlaCar - Bus or Carpool 21 countries

  • Free Now - London

  • Check across apps for better prices (Uber and lyft are not always available)

•  Overstaying a visa can lead to a ban from re-entering a country

• Schengen tourist Visa- visit 90 days in any 180-day period (Exit Schengen Region over 3 months to restart the 180 day period)

• See more in the Visa tab

• Booking in the off season- bad weather and closed attractions 

• BUT accommodations are cheaper and booking attractions will be easier/less crowded

• Don't plan a trip just to see northern lights (unreliable, unpredictable and dependent on clear skies and good solar wind)

General

• • Jen from Expatsi @expatsitest

  • Nidhi Nagori youtube Netherlands 

  • Monae Youtube @Pro Adventures 

Specific Countries

• • New Zealand @kiwi.froyo

  • Spain @WanderOnwards

  • Madrid, Spain  Maddy in Madrid