Travel Tips
01
Packing Light
Traveling for 3 weeks and what to pack? October presented different weather conditions. I planned for warm weather in Italy and cooler fall temps everywhere else. And then there was Switzerland and the top of the mountain.
So I packed a bit of everything and by a bit I mean just 1-2 things for each temp range. I had my carry-on and a small backpack. I also brought a water bottle with me. I highly recommend a roller bag. Cobblestones are brutal on luggage and your feet but carrying everything isn't much fun. We had a fellow traveler who regretted her choice to bring a duffle bag without wheels.
I chose clothing that would dry quickly if I was going to do laundry in a sink (which I did). My cotton socks were the slowest thing to dry. I have a small travel box for all of my cords / chargers. I keep an extension cord in there at all times. Chuck wears a c-pap. The extension cord came in very handy - especially in Italy where there was only one plug and it was in the bathrooms.
02
Protect Your Stuff
Pick pockets are everywhere in the cities targeting tourists. I used a special backpack to help deter theft. It has locking zippers. Someone managed to unhook one of the zippers at the Trevi Fountain but they didn't get into it. A few fellow travelers did have some theft on the Metro in Paris. When in a crowded place where bodies are touching is when it seems to happen. Be extra vigilant. Rick loves his money belts and we had those as well. The thieves just want the money. They aren't violent and from we experienced, they are mostly women of all ages.
03
Staying Connected
My phone is everything. It's my camera and my link to home, navigation if I get lost, access to the internet, etc. I literally attached my phone to myself. It was the one thing I couldn't afford to lose. Unfortunately someone did lose their phone on our trip. It fell out of his pocket in Switzerland while they were climbing and having fun in the mountain adventure path. It fell down the mountain way out of reach. Don't forget to make sure you have enough space on your phone for pics and movies. Offload stuff before you leave.
I purchased a 30 day International plan through my carrier and was very careful to turn off as much as possible in my settings so I wasn't running through data in the background.
04
Health and Money
One of the first things Jody always pointed out when we arrived to a new location was the banks and pharmacies. Traveling with an experienced guide has it's advantages and this was a huge one. We took money out as we needed it but I do recommend having lots of 1 euros coins with you. We had a very generous travel companion who filled a plastic cup with coins for those who didn't have any for the toilets. We went through lots of coins. Switzerland was the only country that didn't use euros.
05
To Plan or not to Plan
I planned our flights and our last day at Disneyland. That involved booking a hotel for one night and buying tickets. We did buy travel insurance, just in case.
I chose not to plan anything else. I had no idea how it would go and it went above and and beyond what I could have imagined. I had the freedom to just be and see everything and take it all in. I imagine it might be like this for the lucky people who I take to Disney!
I feel a bit spoiled now, like I don't want to have to do any of the planning again for another trip. I just want to show up and enjoy myself.
When you register for a trip, you will receive a guidebook for that trip. The guidebook is really all you need to plan and see what you will be doing. I chose not to read it. Bring the book with you on your trip. You will spend time on the bus going over some of the stuff in the book. It has resources for where to eat, city maps, etc. We tore out the pages on the bus so we had just what we needed when we needed it. The books are constantly being updated, so it will have current information.
For locations that are lacking a human guide, Rick usually has an audio guide you can download and follow along with. We used these for the Vatican, the Louvre and some cathedrals. They are easy enough to download when you get there but if you know you want them, save the international bandwidth and download before you go.