If you or a friend are thinking of taking a trip to Europe this summer, I have no doubt that you will be grateful for any information that will assist make your trip go more smoothly and keep you safer. During the summer months, Europe is one of the busiest tourist destinations in the world; therefore, we hope that you will find these ideas to be helpful! Please let me know whether you agree, disagree, or think anything should be added to the list that is provided below. Also, don't hesitate to forward this information to any of your friends, family members, or coworkers who are considering taking a trip to Europe this summer.
5 Things You Should Know Before Visiting Europe
1. Get Your Passport Checked First!
Make sure your passport is up to date if you're intending to travel outside of the nation this summer. As a reminder, several nations require your passport to be valid for at least six months after your arrival date before allowing you to enter their land. No matter how short your trip, you risk being turned away if you don't have a valid passport valid for at least six months. Here's how to get a new passport or renew an old one. Here are 10 passport suggestions that will save you time, money, and aggravation in the long run.
2. What to Leave at Home and what to pack
Traveling light has numerous advantages, such as not having to pay for checked baggage, skipping the hassle of getting to the airport early, and skipping the wait in long check-in lines or at baggage claim that can feel like an eternity (if they ever do). If your flight is delayed or canceled, you won't have to worry about rebooking, and you'll have the option of using public transportation to go around, which is often faster and less expensive, especially in Europe.
When I recommended that on one of our round-the-world trips, she stared at me as if I were joking and shook her head. If you can, don't check a bag when you're traveling with children. Since airlines are now losing record numbers of baggage, make sure to insert an Apple AirTag or Samsung SmartTag into your luggage.
Everything else I need is in my Briggs Riley rolling bag, which has my valuables as well as work gear (laptop, tablet and charger), and a Roots tote bag with a week's worth of clothes in it. When I'm on a journey for more than seven days, I'll find a place to wash my clothes.
3. An extra bag is always useful
If you believe that you will be doing a significant amount of shopping while away from home, you should bring along a thin and lightweight duffel bag in either your carry-on or your checked luggage. If you do end up having too much things, you will have the option to check an additional bag on the way back. If you have made expensive purchases, you should put your soiled clothes in the checked luggage and bring the more important items on the plane with you. This is the second piece of advice.
4. How to fight Jetlag and sleep in the plane
The most effective method for overcoming jet lag is to readjust to the time zone of the destination as quickly as possible. In most cases, I begin this process the night before my flight by going to bed earlier than usual, and the instant I arrive on the plane, I adjust the clock on my watch to the appropriate local time. After that, I make an effort to eat and sleep at the same hours that others would at my final location. If you take a flight that goes through the night and don't get much rest, you shouldn't go to sleep as soon as you get to your destination. Fight against it instead. Make it a goal to keep yourself up until at least 10 o'clock at night so that you can adjust your body clock to the local time as quickly as possible.
5. Check your phone plan and get compatible charger adaptors
Make sure that using all of your apps will not result in you going bankrupt before you start using them all. Before you go on your trip, you should contact your provider to find out whether or not you will be covered in the countries you will be visiting. In that case, you should either turn off your phone entirely or put it into airplane mode and stick to using WiFi.
