Europe Preparation Tips for Backpackers

No Power Converter. Don’t buy a power transformer unless you need a hair dryer, your laptop and regular electronics will work fine. You will need a plug converter though, the European one will work fine for most of Europe. In Italy they use a slightly modified version but depending on the plug most of them work. If you look at your power adapter it should say the voltage as long as the range is within 220V it will work fine. For instance, most laptops say 120V-220V which is good and you won’t blow up.

Login credentials. Make sure you know all of your login credentials to your important sites such as banks, credit cards, facebook, etc.

Buy a guide to Europe book. These help to figure out how many days you need in Budapest or in Prague. It also has great information on items such as where to find good food or cheap places to stay.

Bring a flip video camera as well as a digital camera. The Flip is great for funny moments and hanging out with people to capture some of the moments better than a still camera can. Bring the Flip on your pub crawls and you are sure to capture some great moments. Use the digital camera for all of the sites and various things in the city.

Bring a puter. Buy a cheap netbook, most of the hostels have free wifi or wifi that you can pay for. Internet is always more expensive if you don’t have your own computer. Cheap netbooks start at $250 and you can use it for future travels. The Dell Mini is a great solution that still gives you ample power. If you don’t have your own computer then expect to pay about $2-4 per HALF HOUR.

Bring a few books to read. Even if you bring your computer it’s going to die at some point on your 7 hour train ride. Purchase a couple great fiction books or a book on a new skill you want to learn. You will find that you read the book a little more thorough because you have tons of time to read them on travel days.

Don’t buy Garmin’s Europe Navigator software. If you want a GPS device instead of a map then buy one while you are over there. It’s usually not that hard to get around it’s just the culture shock and language barrier that makes it hard to get around. In most cities people are pretty helpful with directions, some places it can be hard. If you ask one of the locals and they don’t want to talk to you then talk to a store owner or an official on the street.

Earplugs. These are fantastic little squishy things. They are essential to get actual sleep in some places and are great for when you need to concentrate on something. I was working on a couple projects while over here and being able to block out everything with earplugs has been fantastic.

Locks. Bring a bike lock or pacsafe to lock up your stuff in places that don’t have lockers. I have a pacsafe which I’ve only had to use a couple of times and they are more expensive($150) than a typical bike lock. I’d recommend a regular bike lock, Europe really isn’t as sketch as everyone’s horror stories try to make it out to be. I also had 4 little luggage locks that I used to lock up my regular backpack because it had the most valuable items in it. Also bring a regular combination lock, don’t get one with a key because then you have to carry it around. You’ll use the combination lock to lock up your stuff in hostels.

Book your first hostel. Go to hostelworld.com or hostelbookers.com and book a place for wherever you plan to be first. Those two sites are the top sites for booking hostels in Europe. This way you have somewhere to go when you get there and have a path. Write the directions down that they email you and put that in your bag. You don’t want to be stuck in a foreign city going around to places trying to find vacancies, especially if you are going during peak season. Hostels are fairly easy to book during May and June, July and August are quite a bit more difficult though. Most of the time you just need to book them at least a week and a half in advance.

Eurail Pass. Get one of these IF you plan on going to a lot of countries. If you are only going to 5 or so you might as well catch a few flights with easy jet or ryan air. The rail pass is great because you can just go to the train station and jump on whenever, they give you a time table book that shows you all of the train routes and times. I bought the 3 month global rail pass and have used it to get everywhere except the Greek Islands and to Amsterdam from London. Sometimes you will have to pay extra because there’s only a speed train for the route that you want to go on.

Pack lightly. Pack and then unpack half of your clothes. Only bring a couple pairs of shorts and 5 or 6 t-shirts along with some underwear and socks. My bag weighs 30 pounds because I overpacked a little bit it gets to be pretty heavy when lugging it around on travel days. You want extra room too if you buy anything over there.

No phone. Don’t bring a phone and don’t get a phone while you are over here. If you bring your phone it’s going to cost about a dollar a minute to talk, data is far worse. If you need a phone you can use skype at an internet cafe or on your netbook.

Shower items. Bring soap and shampoo since no hostels supply this. Get a plastic soap container to keep your soap in.  You might also want shower shoes, some places are pretty gross, think community bathrooms in dorms but a little worse.

Backpacks. Get a large traveling backpack and bring either a regular backpack or a small drawstring bag or both. I brought 3 bags and have found it very helpful. The big backpack has all of my clothes and bathroom stuff, regular backpack has computer and other electonics and small bag I just use when going to the beach or anytime I need to carry around items.

Towels. Bring a towel, try to get small ones as towels can take up a lot of room.

Beard trimmer. Having a beard trimmer was much more convenient than having to shave every day and buy more razors and shaving cream. I usually use the beard trimmer once a week or whenever my beard gets itchy. Ladies, you are on your own on this one.

Movies and shows. Download a season of your favorite show or some of your favorite movies, these help ease travel time. Shows such as The Office, Lost, House, Dexter, Entourage.

Screw plans. Don’t make any solid plans as they will easily get in your way. Mark out the places you want to go but don’t book everything in advance. Some places deserve a longer visit than others and plans make it hard to extend your stay.

Locals do it best. If you have friends or family over in Europe send them a message mentioning you will be traveling and would love to catch up over a drink. This way you can get some good advice on where to go and what to see and learn more about the culture as well.