Planning Your Trip Overseas
First, start planning as early as possible. Have an idea of where you want to go a year in advance. While that is hard for some families because people may not know what their situation is going to look like a year from now, that doesn't mean you can't have a place in mind for when you are ready to commit to the trip. By having a placed picked out you want to go for your next vacation you increase your chance of getting the best flight options as well. We like use purchase coach seats and use our miles to upgrade to first class seats. Airlines now greatly limit the number of seats they are willing to upgrade through using miles, so you may have to be ready to purchase months in advance to get that deal. Delta does not allow passengers to purchase upgradeable tickets until 300 days before the flight, so roughly ten months before. While this seems like a long time, it can save you thousands of dollars to upgrade with miles. Also, if you purchase a free flight with your miles you will get no mileage credit for your flight, but if you purchase an upgradeable seat you will get the mileage credit for the flight and help keep your total up for upgrading on your next flight.
Second, now that you have your destination and flight take your time. Don't try to plan a ten day trip in an afternoon. Depending on your level of OCD you may be one of those people that can't let a task go until it is finished. If you have the will power, work on it over several days or weeks. Doing the research on a trip involves taking time to look over the websites for the destinations you want to see. Examining existing tours that travel agencies offer is a great place to start, but you should also research other peoples' trips online, you will find some great recommendations for sites you may not have thought of on sites like TripAdvisor. For each location you will need to investigate their opening hours, days they are open, cost, location, and many other factors when designing the flow of your trip. Try to group activities together locally in a city or region so you are not wasting time in a car or train criss-crossing from point to point. Look into what days sites are open in a country. Some nations have traditions for days that sites are closed. For example, most museums are closed in Italy on Monday. This is a great day to go see the churches or parks in the area, or travel out to the country side. Also, look into cultural norms for the region. When in Egypt we quickly realized starting early was not there thing. Planning activities before the culture is getting started is a waste of time, they are not going to conform just to you. Plan time for your travel from site to site. I like to keep a schedule each day for our activities, but I quickly realized I was short selling how long walking to the next site would take, or the time we would get off track walking into a shop. Give yourself time to enjoy your location as you transition to the next site.
Third, if you are traveling in Europe consider using the rail. I am as pro-American as anyone, and think we are the best, but I do recognize the Europeans have mastered the art of the rail system. High speed rail systems exist in most of the nations, and wide spread rail lines make it almost impossible to find a site the trains don't run too. The rail lines, at least the ones I have experienced in the United Kingdom, Italy, and especially Germany are always on time. They all offer long term passes such as one or two weeks that allow you to travel an unlimited number of times for a discounted price. While most of these passes do not include subway travel in the major cities, there are passes you can purchase for those as well. Traveling between the countries is easy by train. While a few exchanges may be necessary, the convenience of getting from one end of Europe to the other in a comfortable seat is worth the time. The true convenience of the train systems in these countries is how quickly you can get on and off the train. There is little security screening so passengers can arrive ten minutes before and step right on the train. Consider the time you save by not having to arrive at the airport hours in advance to make a trip. With trains barreling along at close to 200mph the train trips are not much longer than flights. They are also much more spacious, provide work space for computers, and most have lounges you can eat and drink in. Luggage space on all trains is first come first served, so get on the train first to find a good spot. Finally, if you are going to arrive at the train station early keep an eye on your valuables. Most European train stations are infamous for the gypsies that are wandering through the building looking for people to scam or pickpocket.
Fourth, understand what you can about the currency and economy of the nation you are visiting. You must have a good idea of the exchange rate when you show up to a country. Of course you do not need to know down to the precise cent as those rates change daily, but have a general idea. You know how much you would spend on something in the United States, so do a rough calculation in your head and make a decision if you would be willing to pay that price at home. Most European nations now use the Euro, but not all, so don't just assume if you have some old Euro laying around they will accept them. Don't exchange money at one of the airline kiosk or a street side stand in the city, these places are not going to give you the best rates. Exchange at your home bank before you leave or use an ATM once you get where you are going. Banks deal in much larger quantities of money so they are able to purchase currency from countries at much lower rates which will save you money when you exchange. Be willing to use your credit cards. Credit card companies also give the best exchange rates on purchases and allow you to keep cash in your pocket for the rare occasions when a credit card is not accepted. Finally, research is haggling or bargaining is accepted in a culture. Most European nations negotiating the price is not widely accepted, but other countries expect it. During our travels to China and Egypt it was like a way of life for them. Chinese merchants had inflated the price to such an astronomical rate it was laughable, and they are hoping some people will just blindly pay it not knowing how much they are actually spending (again why you should know the exchange rate), but they will start slashing the price immediately. One item we purchased started off at over $350, but the price got dropped to less than $30.
These are some starters to consider when planning your trip. We will be listing more detailed ideas on each topic at a later time. Any suggestions are welcome.
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