Here’s the link- Can’t find any hostels in Paris!

I recently wrote an article about the scarcity of hostels in Europe.

With the popularity of online booking, hostels are getting filled up faster than ever.

Must I emphasize this over and over again, make sure you book ahead!

There are too many travelers risking it and coming up empty handed.

Be a smart traveler! Go here and book your hostels ahead of time.

2. Passports and Visas

Most of the European countries are covered under Schengen visa although you may need to apply for independent visas for some.

For Americans, the rules are clear on the length of time you can travel Europe.

The U.S. Department of State says that “you can travel Europe for business or pleasure for 90 days. That 90-day period begins with entry into any of the “Schengen group” countries: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden. Multiple visits to Schengen countries may not exceed 90 days in any 6 month period.”

Back in the day, you could pretty much extend this period by overstaying as you wish, without worrying much about the ramifications.

Today, things have gotten a lot stricter and I’m not sure you want to test out Homeland Security these days.

As part of your pre-travel preparations, make sure you make clear photo copies of your passport and any and all visas.

Then, email those copies to yourself, by creating a “dummy” email account.

For example, if you have a Yahoo account that you always use, then open up a Gmail “dummy” account and email these copies to that account. You will ONLY open that account in the case of an emergency (hopefully never).

Like this-

Normal email that I use daily – billybobbiscuithead@travelpunk.com
Backup account for EMERGENCY – billybobbiscuithead@Gmail.com

You will be checking your regular email whenever you find a computer on your travels, and just in case you forget to log out, the next person that uses the same computer will have access to your account.

Good thing you emailed your important documents to your DUMMY BACKUP email account that you will only open in emergencies.

I’ve used many internet cafes in Europe and once in a while, as I navigated back to Yahoo or MSN, I would notice that the person that was there before me forgot to log out. So, I spent hours going through their emails for fun! Just kidding…

In any event, it’s worth repeating- MAKE SURE THAT YOU EMAIL IT TO A SECURE EMAIL “DUMMY” ACCOUNT!

For more information on passports and visas, citizens of the US, check out – http://travel.state.gov/passport/passport_1738.html
Canadians should check out- http://www.ppt.gc.ca/
Australians should go here- http://www.diac.gov.au/
European citizens click here and navigate to the travel section- http://www.europa.eu/index.htm

This section is brand spanking new, so it’s a free for all right now.

Sign up for your backpacker/student travel blog and start blogging away! Add photos and videos to your blog too.

We’ve also created a new photo gallery so you can create photo albums and bragg about your past or current trips. And if you haven’t hit the road yet, then start posting some photos of your mug partying your wild n crazy arses off!

So sign up for your TRAVEL BLOG and claim your money! Heck, we may just give away $50 each month for top bloggers so get a head start while you can!

I got a stack of postcards with inspiring and positive messages from these big gun TPunk’s-

TheJake- from Surprise, AZ (the mastermind behind this magnificent gift! Thanks, bro!)
Blinkchick -from wherever you are these days, babe!
Mooloo- from Wanganui, New Zealand
Maracle- Austin, TX
DC_Jessica (twice!) from Pittsburgh, PA (go steelers!) and Washington DC
MissChick & Slacker- from Loveland, CO
Sijuki- Vegas, baby! NV
Kevin-L - from New York, New York
Indierock05- from Cairns, Queensland, AUS
Lizz- from Wilmington, NC
Raoulduke- from Melbourne, AUS
mb0108- from Ireland
Joe7f (twice!) Gibralter, Spain and Marbella, Spain
Diorama- Wellington, New Zealand
Freespiritz- from Malaysia
Aliz- from Sydney, AUS
jengt- from Costa Rica

These postcards were such a great gift to receive and I am truly blessed to be part of this TravelPUNK family. We look out for our own!

Thanks again, Jake and gang! Westsiiiide!

You can read the real thank you message on our world famous backpacker and student travel message boards.

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