Do's and Don'ts: Traveling Around Europe

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Backpacking or Living Abroad, You Have to Make the Most Out of It

One of the biggest benefits of living in Europe is that you can travel. A lot! So of course I take advantage of it. So much so that I am exhausted from traveling. I am exhausted from trying to make the most out the short amount of time that I have here. But I'm not about to stop. So here are the do's and don'ts of traveling within Europe.

Don't

Don't worry about pre-booking trains or busses to or from the airport in advance. All major airports consistently have trains or busses bringing people to and from the airport. All you need to do is know how to get to the airport and the rest will follow. Once you land in a city, it's fairly easy to just go to a help desk, and they will tell you how to get there.

Do

While it is cheap to travel around Europe, it is usually cheaper when you book in advance. So far it seems that six weeks in advance is the best time to buy flights within the continent. Of course options are always available but for a higher price. So to save your bank account, plan on booking in advance.

Don't

Don't worry about always knowing where you are going to go. You can get around Europe just fine by figuring it out day to day. It's usually easier and cheaper to book ahead of time, but you can easily make it without having any set plans. Sometimes it's even easier as trains and planes can get delayed, a lot!

The Globe Theatre, London

Do

Get to know sites like skyscanner.com. If you want to be spontaneous and see where you can go for a good price, skyscanner is a great tool. All you have to do is put the city that you are flying out of, the dates you want to go, and it will give you the cheapest places to fly to, and you pick the one that's most interesting to you. I love looking at this site when I'm feeling spontaneous.

Don't

Don't forget about overnight trains. Sometimes when you have a limited amount of time and want to sightsee, overnight trains are great because you're there by morning. You don't have to worry about paying for a hotel that night and you get more hours in the daylight to see things.

Do

Do know that Europe is not always reliable, especially in countries that are known for strikes? If you plan on going to a country, have some sort of backup plan on how to get in or out if they go on strike. Usually you'll know ahead of time, but they can start a strike about anything over here, so you never know.

Don't

Don't feel that you need to plan out your trip day by day before you get there. I used to be like that and I would always feel so rushed through things to get to the next. Now I stop and see the things and take the time that I need, not what I think I need. I usually just have a guidebook in my purse and look at the key points on the map to help me decide what I want to do and see.

Do

Do know that if you are living here, you will have plenty of opportunities to travel. So if you spent too much time on one thing, you can always go back. There's weekend trips, vacations, or just days that you take off because you need to travel. There's always time to see more.