imslippy

Hello everyone. I'm relatively new here and this is my first thread so I hope it's in the right place.

On Tuesday, I'm heading to Europe for a cruise in the Mediterranean. I'm starting in Venice then heading to ports along Italy, Greece, and Turkey. It's a Royal Caribbean Cruise and I can't wait.

I'll be staying in Venice for a few extra days and then one day in Amsterdam before coming home. I have a few things set up but I was wondering if there's anything I MUST do or MUST see while I'm in these places. I'm up for anything and will be traveling with my girlfriend. She loves art.

Also, is there anything I should know before going to Europe? I've never been and hear different things about safety and gypsies. Is it as bad as I hear?

Being our first Europe trip, every bit of advice would be welcomed.

Thank you for the help.

CubsFanJohn

Venice:
Go over to Murano Island. That's where they do the glass blowing. Very interesting experience.
Visit St. Mark's square and be sure to get some Gelato while over there. It may not be the best but there is nothing like in the evening when the music is playing while eating Gelato and watching the world go by.
Also I'd recommend going up into the bell/clock tower (I can't recall the name) you get a great view of the city.

Regarding Safety just use common sense and watch your surroundings. You might want to consider investing in a money belt that you put under your clothes. Very secure way to keep your money/credit cards safe.

UnitedFlyGuy

Anytime I go somewhere I try to just take a day to just walk around a city and just experience it.

As far as Amsterdam - The Van Gogh museum is fantastic, if you're into that kind of thing.

Rebelyell

I recently took a Med cruise. Have a good time!

I changed a bunch of money at Wells Fargo before I went. The exchange rate was as good as anything offered in Europe, and I didn't have to worry with the danger of having a debit card cloned or stolen. I carried the cash in a under pants wallet that connected to my belt loop. Here's the link to the one I used:

http://www.amazon.com/Eagle-Creek-Tr...+pocket+wallet

The only warning I will give you about it is that when you go throw airport security you will yank your belt off and the wallet will be unsupported and can fall to the ground. So best not to use this in airports.

Are you a member of the Choice hotel program? They have been having a Europe sale in which hotels are offered for only 10,000 points. So the Comfort Hotel Diana in Venice is on sale for that price. We stayed there and it is basic but nice and very well located near St. Mark's. In fact, you can buy 20,000 points per year for $11 per point, so even if you aren't a member you could join, buy points and still get a room for $110 per night, which is much cheaper than normal for Venice. Just a thought.

Have fun!

tfar

You will hate it. The crime is nothing short of horrendous, the food terrible and the gypsies are ferocious cannibals.

Crime in all aspects is less than in the US (supposing that you are from the US). The food is overall better. The sights are aplenty and "gypsy" is about as politically incorrect as the n-word.

What kind of people are telling you these things?

As for sights, it might be a splendid idea to actually check a guide. These books usually feature the must-see sights and also contain general travel tips as well as cultural advice. I recommend Lonely Planet for a somewhat less mainstream experience that should be very insightful. The internet also has vast resources where you can just read, and read and read.

Main tips:

Be open minded and adventurous.

Enjoy the experience.

Don't spoil our wait staff with ridiculous tips. Mostly service is included already. Wait staff has real contracts and are paid living wages. Read up on tipping.

Don't expect quite the same level of brown-nosing service as in the US.

Dress decently. That means long pants for you and no really short skirts for the GF. The latter especially when you go into churches or other places of worship. They will not let you enter St. Peter's with shorts.

Bring enough cash because credit cards are not as widely accepted and not for small amounts (minimum is often 10-20 Euros) as in the US.

When you have the time, just wander around and soak it all in. A map and a local will help you find your way back. You can also ask locals of where you should go to eat and such. Ideally you would not ask someone involved in the tourist business. They will only send you to another touristy place.

Rome is a paradise for pickpockets but average intelligence and awareness will help you out.

Try out public transportation. Cheap and efficient.

Amsterdam coffee shops no longer serve drugs to foreigners but maybe some form of agreement can be found.

Look with your eyes and heart primarily, not through your camera's viewfinder. It offers only a very limited perspective.

The Van Gogh Museum is indeed wonderful. That comprises both its holdings and the architecture and visitor channeling (the way the architecture leads you through the collection and let's you experience the art).

Till

exbayern

First, my suggestion is that you stop thinking of it as 'going to Europe'. Europe consists of a variety of countries each with their own culture and habits.

If you are leaving in a few days, I would hope that you have done research. My list of quick suggestions include:

- don't expect to use a credit card everywhere
- understand the best ways to obtain cash
- don't expect to be admitted everywhere wearing shorts
- don't use a backpack
- don't engage. It amazes me how many tourists fall for what seems to us completely obvious scams, but Americans seem to be much more friendly and willing to engage strangers. Don't. That woman running after you calling 'Speak English?!', that man who comes up and hands you an golden ring and says 'I think that you dropped this' etc are not trying to be nice and helpful. Don't engage. Just ignore them and walk away
- keep your voice down. Don't discuss your plans loudly, don't be distracted by your wallet, your camera, etc or do other things which make you stand out in the crowd
- learn and use the basic polite words in local language; greeting someone in their language before launching into English will get you a better response than just assuming that everyone speaks English
- eat local to save money and experience the local flavour and culture. Avoid global chain restaurants, places aimed at tourists, etc

Edit to add: (HA! Till and I were posting at the same time; you received two German eye rolls instead of one, and some of the same comments)

As to the safety comment, think of the reverse and what the warnings are for visitors to the US. They are actually much more worrisome than warnings you would hear about the places you plan to visit.

cordelli

There is crime everywhere, a bit of common sense (as already mentioned) will go a long way to helping not become a victim. Don't keep the wallet in your back pocket, don't have her carry her handbag on her shoulder, don't wander into areas you don't know on your own, etc.

As to gypsies, they will be around, just like many other places.

My advice is don't eat in any place in Italy where the menu is only in English. That's for tourists. Yes, you are tourists, but for the Italian experience (and just about any other country) try to seek out the places the locals go to.

My favorite lunch in Italy is to find a salami shop, buy something that looks wonderful, a loaf of bread and some cheese. Enjoy.

If you do the ships tours they will usually end up at one shop or another the tour company gets kickbacks from, don't feel pressured to buy anything if you don't want to.

Enjoy and have a blast, and as mentioned previously, there's really no such thing as bad gellato in italy, enjoy it as often as you can.

lwildernorva

In addition to the suggestions already made, look at the Destinations forum here at FT for Europe: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/europ...ng-turkey-702/. It might be a bit too much information to take in so close to your trip, but there should be some nuggets in there that will help you enjoy your journey.

Assuming for the moment you're an American, try not to expect that anywhere you go in Europe will look or act like America; after all, one of the reasons to travel is to get a different perspective on life. And even when you encounter the Pizza Huts, McDonalds, KFCs, and Burger Kings over there, and you will, resist the temptation and walk down the street to a local place.

No really good travel story starts out with, "I was in this McDonald's in Istanbul, and. . ."

As far as safety is concerned, I've been in Edinburgh, Aberdeen, London, Dublin, Rome, and Florence; so long as I kept in mind that I shouldn't look like a lost tourist, I've never had a problem.

tfar

This may be the single most important thing to take away from the thread. ^

On a recent trip to Venice (last October) I found that there was a very innocous gelateria on the Riva degli Schiavoni. Well, I believe it's actually the Riva Ca di Dio, which is the prolongation of the RdS. The place is tackily called Penguino and their ice cream is one of the best I have sampled in Venice and I have sampled A LOT. I think I gained 2kg in 6 days despite walking for 8 hours per day.

Which reminds me, you will be doing a lot of walking (you should be doing a lot of walking), so good shoes are REALLY important. You do Venice in flip-flops and you will regret that, I swear.

Till

imslippy

thanks for all the replies
I'll keep everything I can in mind and I'll definitely have some gelato
btw, I am American but my girlfriend is Taiwanese. I don't feel too afraid of being pickpocketed because I'm usually aware but I would think my girlfriend might be naive enough to be tricked =p
I'll try my best but what I'm hating the most right now is the fact I need to wear pants to nice places. us Americans love shorts =[

_windi_

It's not 1950. Apart from some churches there is no problem with wearing shorts and/or short skirts.

BadgerBoi

It's all about respect.

A lot of tourists forget that churches are places of worship - I've seen people having picnics in cathedrals (I'm not suggesting the OP would do this!). I'd leave the shorts at home and wear my big-boy pants on days I would plan to visit a church. Shorts look out of place in most big cities in the part of the world the OP is visiting.

_windi_

Outside of churches and fancy restaurants etc. they do not. We wear shorts over here as well...

Flubber2012

The earlier comments are spot on.

I would add, since it's likely to be hot in Italy, be mentally prepared to spend a lot on non-alcoholic drinks. They come in smaller containers there and the air conditioning is not "up to" American standards.

Of course, call your credit card companies to let them know you'll be traveling.

Consider buying/using a coin purse because you could accumulate some 1 and 2 Euro coins that get heavy. I use a SanDisk card holder.

ryanbryan

It's not that you have to, but it will mark you as a tourist in alot of places if you wear shorts. If this is not an issue for you, then go for it.

Although you do say "nice places", do you wear your shorts to nice places in the US as well?