What's the biggest mistake you made on a European trip?
 

Headed to Northern Italy and Switzerland. It's my second visit to Europe, and my husband's first visit.

I need this trip to go smoothly, so it will encourage him to want to go back someday. Obviously, crap happens on vacations, but smart planning and decisions can help avoid problems.

What are some pitfalls to avoid? What was your biggest mistake?

I once ran after my travel companions in Paris, in the days when you paid cash for Metro tickets at a window, and I put my wallet in an outside pocket of a flapping big raincoat, thinking "just for now, I'll transfer it to an inside pocket once I make the train that the others are already boarding".

Wrong - by the time I boarded the train 30 seconds later, the wallet was gone.

It was found, minus the cash and American Express Travelers Checks (those were the days...), tossed in front of a shop entrance nearby.

Luckily I had the habit of putting a business card of the hotel in my wallet, so the shopkeeper called the hotel and I got it back. A half-day spent at the police station to get the papers I needed for AMEX reimbursement later, I was out "only" some cash.

That was about 1980, never again since...

For anyone who hadn't thought about this being a potential problem, you may want to read some good tips at
https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-ti...ng-pickpockets

It's all commonsense, but sometimes we lack that...

Traveling with a group of friends in Italy, one friends could not get her ATM card to work to get cash from an ATM. The rest of us had no problem using our cards.

We all compared notes and discovered she was the only one of us who had not notified her bank that she would be traveling to a foreign country. Her bank froze her card thinking a charge in Italy was fraudulent. For walking-around cash for simple purchases, she had to borrow from one of the group while we were there.

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In Italy, in a restaurant it is a GOOD thing--not bad service--if the waiter does not bring you the check until you ask for it.

I left the list of the places we were staying in my checked luggage... which didn't arrive at the same time we did. Had to make some frantic calls back home to get the name of the hotel. Ugh, stupid!

My biggest mistake was overpacking. I thought I packed light last year when I went, but I think I could have done better. I'm going back this September and I am hoping to reduce the amount I take by 1/3. I am going to make sure I have a lot of fast drying things, that I can wash out at night in the sink.

Sorrento.

If you're taking your cell phone, make sure you call your phone carrier service first and get a reasonable international plan, or get a rental phone. And follow their instructions - if data is not on your plan, be sure to turn your cellular data off!!

That was not my problem, though, the first time I took a phone with me to Europe. It was that I didn't bother to figure out how to use my iPhone to dial European phone numbers. It wasn't something I foresaw before leaving...

We'd rented an apartment in Spain, and I needed to call the landlady as soon as we arrived in town. I was jet-lagged and couldn't figure out why my phone wasn't working or why I was unable to dial the number. Really, we sat in the train station in Seville for almost half an hour, playing with my phone, trying to figure this out.

One of us finally realized we needed to press and hold the '0' key until it turned to '+'.
And then we were able to make the call.

But that wasn't the "biggest" mistake. I'd say my biggest mistake was once going to Europe (Italy) in August. We didn't realize that was high season, everything is a lot more expensive, a lot more crowded, and it's a lot hotter in Italy. Also, a few restaurants we wanted to go to were closed, and many museums had odd hours.
We also did not shop around for hotel rooms (I wasn't on this forum yet) and overpaid, imo.
I'll never go to Europe in August again.

Gee, it's a toss up between leaving my purse hanging on the back of the toilet door in CDG after deplaning from Chicago in a jet lagged fog (luckily I remembered in time and managed to run back and grab it.)

Or, maybe that time I had repeatedly jammed the wrong card in an ATM machine in Paris before I finally realized it wasn't the machine that was malfunctioning.

Oh yeh, then there was the time I zigged instead of zagged when exiting a canal boat in Amsterdam sustaining multiple gashes and contusions, putting my knee replacements in peril. Hiwever, i did get to meet that sweet doctor in Mastricht who treated the infection that set in while the rest of my group did the walking tour of the town.

:)

Ouch.

I once fin

Biggest mistakes
Not buying travel insurance
Not renting a car in Sicily
Not planning transportation well ahead of time, so spent a lot more money
Not researching hotels more
Not learning enough of a language to communicate as well as I would likei

We got to Rome airport 3 hours prior to departure and almost missed our flight because check in was slow. With a family of four, it could have cost us a fortune (like A$6000) to return to Australia if we'd missed that flight. Now I'm the one sitting at the airport killing time, waiting for my flight. And on the same trip but outbound, arriving at the airport without the credit card with which we'd booked the flights and they weren't going to let us board. Nearly divorce over that one!

But biggest mistake of all - not applying for a visa to work in Europe back when I was eligible.

Best recommendation - pack really light.

My husband taking two cameras and using both and leaving one on the train. I'm still asking myself why he did that. I think I have forgiven him.

Sorry another one was staying in gites in small French towns. Realised I like largish towns.

My travelling companion did not feel it was necessary to learn any words of "politesse". So I ended up having to talk all the time, which was a distinct PITA.

every trip has been amazing! some things to know, many of which have been said...

wear a money belt. you won't have to think about pickpockets OR forgetting your wallet/purse.

pack less.

learn 20 phrases. you will be repaid a thousand times with friendly interactions.

Cars are nice for the countryside but not so much in cities and historic centers. Milan south on the freeway, we spent more on tolls than gas. We got a ticket (again) for going into a restricted city center (have not idea which center that was... no recollection of sign) .... so we like to take a train to a smaller town, then travel the countryside from there.

bring an extra lightweight nylon suitcase inside your little suitcase for the items you will eventually buy.

use this board and do your research. we like location and view over big rooms and fancy furniture... but just know what you like and research so you're happy when you get there.

don't be afraid to be a tourist once in a while. i live near San Francisco and love being a tourist there! If something is 'touristy' it's probably well loved for a reason. Again... research and find out what local tourists love.

Don't try to do it all. Our rule is 3 nights in each base... but as we get older, we're liking 4 nights better. it's ok to take it slow.

we love italy so very much. we've travelled all over the globe, but just keep going back to italy!

Cramming your itinerary with must visits, must see, must do etc. Don't forget to breathe. It's not "The Amazing Race" audition. :)

1) only taking one credit card and the bank cancelling it
2) not taking a Rough Guide
3) not checking the basic climate for the area
4) not realising that while I landed at terminal 1 in Budapest, the return flight left from terminal 2 (about 5km away and the only route was down a motorway and I had to ride a bike down a motorway without the police catching me)
5) not checking for density of modern hotels in a variety of countries and ending up in state-hotels when another bend in the road would have found a proper hotel (in europe, but behind what had been the iron curtain)
6) not recognising the best restaurant in town was actually the ground floor for the best male bordelo in town
7) find the hotel nearest to Milan's main station was the favorite street whore's place of work (booked in for the week and got to say "hi" to more people than I expected)
8) not understanding the local language enough to realise I was in a bus only lane on a toll road
9) letting Mrs B chose restaurants from tripadvisor in italy rather than just go to the noisiest place (now my prefered selection process)
10) traveling with people who claim to speak the local language only to realise that not only are not able to but know how to attract every tramp in the region to chat to them.

Trying to see too many things and places. Mr. OverIt taught me that less is more, especially if it's your first time somewhere.

I should have allotted more time for Crete and less for Santorini. Though I know the former is a much bigger island I thought the latter would really wow me and it did. But 6 nights on Santorini was more than enough, 2-3 of those nights would have been better spent on Crete. I had no idea I'd fall in love with Crete like I did. Hope to return at some point and do the place justice. On the plus side, I met a very handsome man on Santorini who just happened to be a chef, so not all was lost!


Another mistake was on a trip to Madrid, which I loved, I took a 3-night excursion to Cuenca, another place I love and with one of the best modern art museums and views I've ever seen. When I returned to Madrid, I had one full day remaining before flying home and my plan was to see Toledo on that day. This was mid-December but the weather had been beautiful, sunny and cold, but not too cold, except on that last day there was an ice/rainstorm. It was ghastly so I ended up spending the day at the Thyssen Bornemizsa museum, a fantastic collection. Still sorry I missed Toledo because I won't return to that area again, too many other places remain on my list.


Travel is always a mixed bag, with most of it being positive. I'm just grateful I got to see what I did, lots of people don't have the opportunity.