4 Helpful Hints for a 10 Day European Adventure
Written by John Burley March 23, 2018
Oh, the places you will go when you are given 10 days to explore Europe.
I don’t know about you guys but every spring break in my life has been spearheaded by my parents. The only details I had a say in were maybe a single day excursion my family was going to do. Being away from my parents this semester hasn’t really been a struggle up to this point. So, here are 4 helpful hints to help navigate Europe on your 10 day travel week:
1. If you’re flying a low budgeted airline, make sure to follow their instructions closely.
Ryanair is the most popular budget airline in Europe and I now understand why. Let me put it this way, I was able to visit 3 different countries for a price less than a normal state to state flight in the US. In fact, one flight was only $16; however, they will try to catch you on many little things in order to get as much money as possible out of you. For example, they require you to print out your boarding pass before arriving at the airport. Luckily, CIMBA has a printer on campus and I was able to do this. Another measure would be your bag size. We all had to make sure our bags make the requirements for their carry on so we didn’t catch charged extra. Luckily, we all passed.
2. Be aware of different currencies while traveling and their exchange rates.
For my group, we visited 3 different countries which had 3 different currencies. With most of Europe being a cash-based society, we all had to withdraw cash each time. It was very imported to us that we had doubled checked the exchange rate so we didn’t blindly guess on an amount. For us, this meant finding the first ATM we saw outside of the airport to get the best rate. This may seem oblivious to some but the last thing you want while leaving the country is to have a surplus of that country’s currency and having to exchange at the airport, meaning you would lose a little money.
3. Transportation varies in every city and country
In Barcelona, my group decided it would be worthwhile to get a 3-day metro pass while we visited. The city as a whole is very large but walkable. However, we were suggested by our friend studying there that the metro is a lot more convenient and quicker. We found this to be true and take full advantage of it throughout our experience. Prague was a little different. Luckily, for us, we could just walk from our Air BnB apartment to everything we wanted to see and do. I did notice there was the main train that ran throughout the city. In our final stop, we headed to Budapest. This city was very similar to Prague, in the fact, that everything could be walked but it was a little larger. What we did find was an awesome taxi system. “FOTaxi” is the company we used at the airport and throughout our 4 nights. Never had a bad experience and was by far the cheapest cab service I’ve used in Europe so far. With that being said, every transportation system truly depends on where you are and you have to do detailed research in order to find the overall best option.
4. Utilize CIMBA’s travel contacts
Fortunately, every CIMBA student had a positive travel week experience. CIMBA does provide plenty of resources to ensure your safety not only during your travel week but every weekend throughout the semester. First, the travel logs itself. Prior to leaving students to fill out a very detailed travel log to let the administrative staff know where exactly everyone is going and with who. When you’re traveling, it’s really important to let people know where you are and when, just in case. Second, is the emergency phone. This a 24/7 line that connects directly to the CIMBA staff, so in case anything happens you can call this number. I have felt very safe during my travels and if something ever did happen to me, I know I could count on CIMBA to assist me.
Hope these 4 helpful hints can help to make your time abroad more enjoyable!
Ciao,
John
