Heavens

She is 19 and this is her first trip abroad. The group, an educational one, leaves in three days. They are a group of 20, not well seasoned travelers, many first time travelers, ranging in ages from 17 to 35, mostly teen girls. The trip is ten days.

They are on the whirlwind tour; Rome for two days, side trip one day tour to Florence, then to Sorrento, Capri, Pompeii, overnight ferry to Delphi, then a couple of days in Athens. Whew!!! As the time approaches, with all that is going on in the world, I find myself getting nervous about it. Theft, safety issues, so hot, blah blah...

Any advice you all have for one leaving on such a trip? We have the passport, euros, international calling card, copies of passport and cc, ATM, travel purse to keep close to her body, eyes in back of her head talk. Any other gems I need to pass along to her that I might have forgotten? Thanks in advance.

Heavens

Sorry, that should say TO Rome and Athens...

ira

Hi H,

I sympathize that you are having the jitters.

However, she will be in a large group. Unlikely to be attacked.

With that schedule she will be too tired to get into trouble on her own.

kybourbon

Have her take enough clothes for 2 days in her backpack and anything else she will need for a day or two (my sister has had her luggage lost twice this summer). Pack a few snacks (pb crackers,trail mix) in a crush proof container in her luggage for those times she hates the tour meal and there is nowhere to get anything else. If she has a friend going, they might pack half their clothes in each others luggage in case one gets lost.

Florence and Rome - She will need to dress in at least capris and t-shirts with short sleeves to get in the churches. Otherwise, I've noticed the Italian teens wearing the spaghetti strap tops and tanks just like the American teens. They wear very thin linen pants with theirs instead of shorts.

Safety - She just needs to be aware of people around her in the subways/crowds or if there is a distraction. I think that's when pickpockets seize the opportunity to grab something.

If she doesn't have an international cell phone, let her keep in touch by e-mail instead of calling. With the time difference and her hectic schedule, it will be difficult for her to get access to a phone at the time of day she would be able to reach you. All of the students will want to find an internet cafe to checkin with their friends, so she will probably have more access to that than a phone.

Heavens

Thanks for your responses. I think I will not worry about her too much since she is with a group. The also have a full time guide who stays with them.

Does anyone here have any experience with that over night ferry? That sounded a little odd to me.

They will be so busy, almost every minute is planned.

She is taking nicer clothes, overall, but it will be pretty hot. Their rooms should have AC, but that doesn't mean that it works very well.

And yes, I am sure the kids will hunt out the internet cafes.

Barbara_in_CT

Drink lots of water. The heat can dehydrate you before you realize it.

kybourbon

I've been on an overnight ferry between Bari, Italy and Patras, Greece - the Superfast II which is a Greek ship. Since they are students, they will have a quad cabin which can be a bit crowded like any ship cabin. The ferry will probably have a pool, movie theater, casino, disco etc., but won't be as nice as a regular cruise ship.

Most of the budget student tour companies (EF/Explorica) don't guarantee AC and many restaurants won't have it either. I would pack some shorts (all the other kids will be wearing them). Don't forget the sunscreen, there isn't much shade at Pompeii, Acropolis, etc.

esm

One suggestion Heavens. On the way over, put the address of the first hotel on the luggage tag.

A few years ago, my son went on a school trip to France. Everyone had tags on their luggage with home addresses. One member's suitcase didn't arrive and the airline couldn't figure out where it was supposed to go (once it made it to Paris) so they returned it to his house. He ended up borrowing clothes from friends (luckily it was a mid-size group) and then buying clothes. Not fun when you go on a 3-week trip with a limited budget.

Heavens

Thanks all, for your help and ideas. I think she should take a hat, and learn some Italian, but she is doing nothing about things like that. She has packed her cute clothes and shoes and just not worried about much. Ah, such is youth...

She is starting to get excited about the trip. So am I, but also a little anxious with all of that mess happening in the middle east. Yikes, why can't we all just get along...

Thanks again.