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General Travel Tips and Advice Have you traveled before?- Please share your tips and advice with fellow Tpunks!

Raileurope.com: See Europe by train
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Old 02-01-2004, 12:10 AM   #1
ThereHeGoes
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Hi guys, I have to begin by saying what an amazingly resourceful and generous site this is. I've been excited about taking this trip for a while, and I'm absolutely encouraged by the enthusiasm displayed by everyone here.

In October I'll be leaving Los Angeles to begin a full-on trip around the world. I've got no definite schedule and plan to play it by ear at each location. I'm looking to stay for some periods of time with different pals along the way, and will stay in hostels and such when I can't find anyone at the bar willing to take a poor foreigner home for the evening .

In starting my research, I've got a couple of questions that I was hoping someone could help me out with. For example, what's the best way to decide in which order places will be visited? I thought that perhaps I would start in the coldest locations and try to move into warmer ones... thinking that once I move on to the warmer climates, I could ship the cold-weather clothes back to the States. Here's a list of the locations that are on my list to visit, so far:
  • Dublin
  • London
  • Madrid
  • Paris
  • Amsterdam
  • Switzerland
  • Berlin
  • Prague
  • Rome
  • Sicily
  • Stockholm
  • Athens
  • Cairo
  • Cape Town
  • Bangkok
  • Beijing
  • Sydney
  • New Zealand
Another question is (and this may seem very basic)... what type of information should I be gathering on each place? The trip, at times, seems a bit overwhelming and I would like to be able to feel like I'm making progress in my plans without skimping on the information that I'll need once I get there.

And one more... I've seen a couple of different opinions on taking a laptop. I'd really like to be able to do additional research on whichever place is next on my list, right before I get to it. Is there another option that may be more realistic than a laptop?

Thanks!
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Old 02-01-2004, 02:06 AM   #2
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just a thought, if you did that list in the reverse order, all the places that you visited could be warm... depending on how long you planned to stay down under. Im guessing with the dollar at the moment, it would be cheaper to spend the sumer down here in oz then move on up and by the time you got to europe, it would be coming on spring/summer.

Ive been doing a lot of research lately for my trip starting in may, yet all the little details im just going to leave to chance upon getting there. Dont want to take all the fun out of my experience by having everything planned to a tee.

In saying that though, do do your homework, i find that reading through msg boards, such as this is the best help, as you know the information is from people like yourself, and no one is getting paid to say the stuff they are saying. At least thats how i look at things.

Good luck with it all, and im sure you will grow to totally love this board and the people in it, as have i.

Leeroy.
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Old 02-01-2004, 03:37 AM   #3
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WELCOME TO THE BOARDS and thanks for the prop's, THG!

Quote:
just a thought, if you did that list in the reverse order, all the places that you visited could be warm... depending on how long you planned to stay down under. Im guessing with the dollar at the moment, it would be cheaper to spend the sumer down here in oz then move on up and by the time you got to europe, it would be coming on spring/summer.
Good point, Leeroy ! If your goal is to do the "cheapest/warmest" thing throughout your trip, than the reverse order sounds like the best option. Shipping half of your wardrobe home could be a hassle and be a little expensive too, if you're on a budget.
Also, Europe will probably be the most expensive part of your trip and with the current rise of the US dollar, maybe it will be 1USD = 1EURO by the time you get there B) (currently, for $1,000USD you'll get $807EURO'S. Crappy, I know, but it's improving ).
Just food for thought...

Message boards are a great source for gathering info while on-the-go, because you can see the dates of when the posts/tips were posted, and anytime you need to ask questions, you can expect quick answers.

Also, I find hidden gems "off the beaten path," photo's and more, from reading personal blog's and online travel journals like Restless Me (from our member LittleMiss), Debra Fuccio's- Me in Taiwan, Meine Reisen: My Travels (Verstehen)Wanderlust, and of course, the most experienced of all Tpunk's-
WorldWideMike.com especially, for some great info and pics on his adventures to countries world wide.
These sites have a wealth of info and are great for inspiration !

As for the laptop thing...there are internet cafe's worldwide that will allow you to do what you gotta do. But if that's won't suffice and you don't mind sleeping in hostel dorm rooms "with one eye open" all year, then go for it! dealers choice on that one

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Old 02-01-2004, 09:44 PM   #4
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That's what I was gonna say! Yeah it's entirely possible to do a RTW and follow the warm weather. I've read travelogues where ppl didn't even have winter for a year or two (imagine that!). Basically oz and tp have said everything that I was gonna, but just remember that you don;t have to know eveything about all the places. That's half the fun. I would have a plan for about two months of your trip and then just see where u end up. you'll be meeting ppl and your course of travel might stray a bit, or you might fall in love with a certain place and decide to stay a little longer. The hardest part of a trip is the planning! once your on the road everything comes easy. And then you'll be like Why was I so stressed?
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