vins07

Hi all,
We are a couple travelling to Europe from India from 27th august to 20th september.
Our Itinerary is : 3 days in Ibiza, 3 in Bracelone and 3 in Seville
Then 5 days in Switzerland including Lauterbrunnen, Jungfrau, Mt.titlis, Lucerne.
Then three days in prague.
Then 3 days in paris and 3 in amsterdam.!!

Please suggest all the do's and don'ts in the trip.Any special event or festival which we could attend ?
What all we should carry with us related to food, clothes and other accessorise ?

bilboburgler

Hi, nothing jumps up in my mind. End of high season so there may be the odd special event in the first few days, then Europe gets back to work.

Food, if you have special dietry needs then I suggest you get them written down in the language of the country you are visiting so that waiters can help you.

So if no beef, you need to avoid beef fat in pastry in Spain for instance.
Vegetarian, you need to be clear and more selective of restaurants in Prague etc
Vegan, you will need to spell it out.

Clothes, only if going into churches, just ensure arms and shoulders are covered, hats off.

Switzerland, depending on the height you climb to and where you go then boots and warm clothing may be an issue, have a look at internet climate records for each place

Amsterdam, seriously watch out for bikes, they come from all angles and at all speeds.

marvelousmouse

Are you flying from place to place or travelling by train?

Because I would say take as little as possible if going by train. Big suitcases are not train friendly and not fun to drag around on public transit.

vins07

@bilboburgler - Thanks for your suggestions. Great help..!!

@marvelousmouse - we would be travelling by flight from one place to other and by train also in swiss. Ok.will try to keep less clothes.
Do boots and rain coats are must to carry?? or umbrella would b enough???

Any idea that spain would be tooo hot or bearable??

quokka

Boots - no. Raincoats are essential, though. The best combination is a light raincoat plus a warm sweater or cardigan that fits underneath.

As for size and weight: I often see travellers, in particular tiny people from Asia, dragging huge suitcases that look like they are transporting not only their clothing but also their wives in them;-) Pack light. You ought to be able to handle your luggage yourself, including carrying it up and down staircases and lifting it onto trains. So your own physical forces set the limit.

The solution is doing laundry, so you can wear each piece more than once. I usually pack for four to five days, no matter how long the trip, carry a travel clothesline and a tube of detergent (shampoo is also great for washing clothes, by the way), and wash the used pieces in the bathroom sink.

analogue

Visiting churches is only a problem in Italy if you have bare arms or a wearing shorts.

Boots and raincoats are ridiculous. I have lived in Europe my entire life and own neither. A folding umbrella is more than enough.

Dukey1

How much clothing? All depends on whether or not you want to do laundry and, if so, how often.

Sorry, but if you don't mind carrying something then bring it but remain aware that sometimes space on carriers might be limited.

Christina

No boots. An umbrella is fine. I would never take a raincoat with me to Europe at that time of year. I've been to all those places in September except Switzerland and it isn't that cold, I never would have used a raincoat. I agree that a lightweight waterproof rain jacket might come in handy, though, at some time. So the only place a raincoat might be essential is Switzerland, that's for sure, and I can't speak to that whether it is essential or not. It's not that cold in Lucerne, I know that, and September is not one of the rainier months.
https://www.currentresults.com/Weath...-september.php

It will be very hot in southern Spain, yes, but being from India, it probably won't shock you much. Weather should be moderate in northern Europe.

That time of year is kind of a slow period in many places, actually, just the end of summer and start of school/business years so often not a lot going on (such as performing arts), at least in Paris. Barcelona has a huge festival at the end of September (Merce), but you will miss that. Now Amsterdam does have a major theater and "fringe" festival that you will probably just miss as it ends September 17. I don't think anything in Seville, they have a huge flamenco festival in September but that is biennial and it was last year so won't be in 2017.

menachem

What fringe festival is that in Amsterdam, Christina? For the life of me I can't think of what it is. If you mean Holland Festival: that's in May.

jane1144

I just came back from a 4 week trip to England and Scotland. I took carry on luggage only and did laundry once per week. I even took a couple of things that I didn't end up wearing!

fuzzbucket

Cotton, linen, a straw hat, good walking shoes, a light sweater and a waterproof rainjacket will be all you need, besides underwear.
Food is everywhere - you can get vegetarian food anywhere if you ask for it.
Take as little luggage as possible - a small cabin-size is best for the train, plus one carryon. That way, you'll be able to keep track of your belongings. There are luggage racks above your seats.

StCirq

One small suitcase per person. No boots. No rain jacket. Lightweight waterproof jacket. One lightweight sweater. Hat for sun protection. No need to carry food; it's everywhere. A water bottle, maybe.

Every village, town, and city in Europe has an official website you can check for festivals and activities.

bilboburgler

You will find that small plastic filled water bottles are everywhere (E1 as an average price), in most parts of Europe you will also find water fountains, either marked in blue, "eau potable" or most map apps show them as small blue water drops.

It is perfectly possible to survive a 3 week trip to europe with one cheap plastic water bottle, just fill up as you go and help the planet rather than buy a new one every day.

kerouac

If you buy bottles of spring water in a supermarket, the cost is about 0.35€. And, as mentioned, after the first bottle you can refill with tap water as often as necessary.

fuzzbucket

You can break the packages of bottled water - or any other beverage - in stores. Much cheaper than buying mega-cans or bottles.
And Parisian tap water is perfectly fine to drink.

5alive

One other advantage of traveling light: If you bought short flights between countries, some of the cheaper airlines have more restrictive rules about luggage.

If you have a smart phone, get that ready too. If you travel a lot internationally, you probably don't need the rest of my post. Otherwise, a few thoughts:

Back up your photos and clear out room for all the new ones. Turn off auto-update on apps. Download foreign language dictionaries to your phone.

The mapping while you are wandering around cities is really such a nice thing to have, but it does go through data.

If your normal cell phone plan charges a lot for overseas use, see if your phone is is unlocked and would be compatible with buying a European SIM card. There are many threads on this site about SIM cards--check them out for details.

bilboburgler

if you want mapping, no need to use data, merely down load something like "here" or "my maps" and the maps you will want and GPS will do everything else

NewbE

<It is perfectly possible to survive a 3 week trip to europe with one cheap plastic water bottle, just fill up as you go and help the planet rather than buy a new one every day.>

This is such good advice! We try to do this every trip we take. They even make water bottles that roll up when empty.

lindygirl

I bring my own stainless steel water bottle and fill with tap (Google whether the tap water is safe in that country prior to going). Always pack light (try not to check anything in) - I wash the essentials like underwear and socks but I tend to re-wear a lot of the other clothes like jeans or cardigans.

Depending on where you stay (I stayed in hostels where I had to share rooms) it would be a good idea to bring a sleeping mask, ear plugs, and a lock. I think a carabiner or 2 are great - I ended up using them to hook things together or secure my water bottle. And don't forget those travel adapter plugs.

Enjoy your trip!

suze

Why would you need a rain jacket in August