Travel Tips

Google is your friend! Research, research, research.
Download Google Translate (or another translation app) and learn the simple terms ahead of time, such as “please”, “thank you”, “hello/hi”, “goodbye” – locals will appreciate the effort, even if they end up switching to English.
European stays (hotels, Airbnb’s, etc.) will request a copy of your passports – this is normal and, in some cases, required by the government and/or the EU.
Buy a local SIM card – American cell providers are not cheap when traveleing abroad, and it’s easy to swap out or add a SIM (phone must be unlocked to replace the SIM).
Look into renting or buying a portable hotspot – we have a Solis Skyroam and purchased the unlimited global plan. It works well for our needs, which is primarily when we’re out and about, away from our home Wi-Fi. Find it online at Solis WiFi Hotspot | Stay Connected – soliswifi or on Amazon.

Make sure you have a map app on your phone – Google Maps is good, and we would absolutely recommend CityMapper (not available everywhere, but a life saver in larger cities).
Learn about the local transit system – in some counties you can buy a transit card that can be reloaded, but in others you have to purchase paper tickets, and yet others allow you to scan a credit card at the stations. If you learn ahead of time how it works in the city you’ll be in, it’ll make things a lot easier.
If you’re up to it, research the local bike and scooter rental options and download the app – it’s ridiculously cheap to rent bicycles in most major cities.
If you’re traveling outside of the U.S., your auto insurance will not cover you when renting a car. If renting on a credit card, check with the issuing bank to verify coverage options when you’re driving. If your card provider doesn’t offer coverage, buy the additional coverage protection.
Train travel is exceptionally easy throughout most of western Europe, and you can book online at a number of websites if traveling longer distances within a country or across borders. Depending on where you plan to travel, train passage can be easier and cheaper than flying.

Make reservations ahead of time for dinner, especially on weekend nights! We see people all the time walking into restaurants and expecting there will be tables available; some small, local restaurants have a limited number of tables and only two dinner services a night, and they can’t accommodate walk-ins.
Depending on where you are outside of the U.S., dinner can be as late as 9 or 10 p.m. so plan accordingly.
Some restaurants and shops will close in the middle of the day (i.e., in Italy, many restaurants that aren’t tourist traps will close between 3-7p.m.).
Avoid restaurants in common tourist areas, and skip the ones that feature menus with photos – they’re not likely to be authentic for the area, and there’s a better chance you’ll pay more than you should.
Use Google Maps to gauge which restaurants are higher rated. Be warned that the hours listed on the website are sometimes incorrect, and a restaurant may or may not be open when stated on the app (or sometimes even on the restaurant website).

CityMapper: An indispensable app; CityMapper will direct you to the correct bus stop, metro or tram/train station, tell you which part of the train to ride on, the number of stops, the best exit – it’s everything you need to master local transit. It is not available in all cities, but if you plan to visit a popular place like London, Paris, etc., it will be available on the app.
Google Translate: There may be others that people would recommend, but we like to use Google Translate – we recommend downloading the language ahead of time so you can access the translation dictionary when/if offline.
The Fork: Similar to OpenTable, we found The Fork to be more common among European restaurants, especially Lisbon. Great for reservations and to get an idea of ratings.