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UPDATE! I wrote this before our trip... in each section, I've now added the reality of each of these pieces. I currently do not have any affiliation with any of these products. I will always tell you if or when I do.
Oh the research! I spent hours listening to advice of others and reading tons, TONS, of product reviews trying to figure out what we needed for this three week Europe trip of a lifetime. The piece of advice we heard most often was, don't check a bag! Yup, figure out how to go travel to four different countries in three weeks with only your carry-on and a personal bag. There are tons of reasons for this, but that's another blog. I tell you this to tell you all our gadget and luggage choices were based on weight as well as functionality because with international travel especially, you'll bump into weight and size limitations that can be COSTLY if you're not prepared. Another great resource is Wolter's Youtube channel. Love him. https://www.youtube.com/woltersworld Check him out for advice based on country, city and topic.
The MUSTS are:
Lightweight Luggage.
First, if it says "super duper awesome light weight" on the label but has no actual weight posted on the tag, it's like the phrase "all natural" in the grocery - useless. We chose the Osprey Ozone Carry On because the reviews raved about its durability and it only weighs about 4lbs! (We have a 22kg -about 48.5 pounds) limit and most carry on cases weigh 7-8 pounds! That's a lot of clothing staying home just for the bag's weight!) The wheels are durable for those London cobblestones and its more flexible than the rectangle options. We bought it on Amazon for $230. There were other cheaper options but the reviews made it clear - you get what you pay for.
AFTER TRIP - When I eventually wear this luggage out, I will immediately by another exactly like it. Those tires were gold on the cobblestone streets that were in EVERY country not just England. So many people had wheels on little legs and struggled so much getting them to roll on the various stones. The wheels pictured below are terrible for European travel in my humble opinion.
BAD WHEELS!!
Plus, these four-wheeled things that roll in all directions so easily on flat ground, roll easily on flat ground. Imagine the metro, the bus, the plane transfer bus, the train.... you hop on with your luggage and try to find a place to sit or stand where you can hold onto a bar so you don't die, meanwhile off your luggage rolls without you!
Watching people lug these huge cases around and struggle with them everywhere, we loved having this carry-on. Also, it's shape allowed us to carry-on even in the little planes where they insisted rollers wouldn't fit. Ours did due to the shape of the top fitting the shape of the overhead bins when put in top first.
Plug Adapter/Converter.
If you've never traveled, you may not know that not all electrical outlets are the same all over the world. So you need an adapter or converter to plug in your devices. An adapter just makes your plug fit into the socket shaped differently than your plug.
You plug your adapter into the wall and your plug into the adapter.
Now, a converter is much more. It converts the voltage coming from the wall into your device so you don't fry your device with the higher voltage commonly used in other countries. Sounds like you HAVE to have a converter then right? I mean who wants to fry their phone? Well, no. You know that box that comes at the end of your iphone, or that box in the middle of your laptop's long plug? That is a converter! If you're only bringing a laptop, phone, kindle, etc... you'll be fine with just an adapter.
You HAVE to have a converter if you are bringing things that create heat, like a flat iron. Converters are heavier though. You can find hair straighteners that will work overseas.
This blog explains that very well. Check it out if you want to go that route. We are! Click HERE for article.
We bought this adapter:
We liked that it was light, simple and can also act as a travel battery pack! Yup, it stores power so you can use it to plug in your gadgets while on the go.
AFTER TRIP - This worked perfectly! One thing that was probably in the instructions, but I didn't notice is that only the USB ports work in battery pack mode (not plugged in). So if your laptop doesn't have a USB plug, you'll only be able to charge your phone, kindle etc. This was fine with us because most places we had time to use our laptop, had a plug for us. But just an FYI. Also love that I can use it in everyday life as a quick phone charger.
Travel Pillow for Plane!
We hate the bubbly neck pillows and fell in love with this guy.... Its the TRTL Travel Pillow and is super comfortable. Here is their site: TRTL Travel Pillow
It packs almost flat and can be used in many different ways. They have videos that explain it better on their site.
AFTER TRIP - It is comfortable but you do need to bring it across your jaw like the lady in the picture to ensure it supports your head without pulling on your neck. Also, if you always choose window seats, you can use your jacket as a pillow and go without. This is best for middle and isle seats when you have nothing to lean on.
CASH!! Yes, we all live in the plastic world these days, but if you are a good person and generous traveler, you'll need cash to tip, often soon after you get off the plane. AAA travel offices have the best money exchange rates (better than your bank usually) and they are often faster. You need to be a member, but membership is cheap and has tons of benefits. Also, make sure you ONE: walk in with cash to exchange, its just easier and TWO: Ask for small bills. You don't want to be stuck trying to get change for large bills. (CREDIT CARDS - Most people know this by now and most banks have updated - but you must have a chip embedded credit card for overseas.)
AFTER TRIP - Having cash helped us get deals with local artisans. Also, we never had a space for adding a tip to any meal. Sometimes we paid with card and tipped in cash, sometimes all cash. Everyone knows Americans are tippers, be a good tipper. Spread the love. AAA uses the WellsFargo exchange rate but unlike the bank, they do NOT charge a fee for the exchange.
CREDIT CARD NOTE!! - When using your credit card some will ask do you want to process in local currency or dollar - always select LOCAL currency. They are charging you an exchange rate if you choose your own. Yes, a lot of countries that don't use Euro will use Euro in tourist areas, we found the local currency's price to be cheaper. None of the countries we traveled to used Euro so we didn't bring any, but I checked out of curiosity.
Train Card or Rail Pass!
We are using the train a lot in London. So we purchased two Oyster Cards pre-loaded with $50 each so that after a LONG flight, we won't be standing at a kiosk trying to figure it all out. You'll need to Google what you need based on the country you are traveling to. But order ahead, so they have time to ship you the card.
AFTER TRIP - We used these a ton from Monday - Friday and ended up with about 8 pounds left over. You can get a refund, but we kept ours for future travel. We decided to take a day train trip to the White Cliffs of Dover and had planned to use our Oyster Cards. Something told me to ask the lady while we waited, turns out the Oyster is only good inside London. We had to buy tickets for the train to get to Dover. I think it was around $33 pounds total for the two of us for a round-trip ticket, but I can't promise that. It was worth it, just don't board the train with your oyster only to have a conductor come around for your ticket and end up having to buy it from him - there can be a big penalty fee!
Purse. Speaking of money and train cards... You'll need a pickpocket safe pouch/purse. Pickpockets are known for slashing your purse strap and running. So we are looking into shoulder strap purses specifically for travelers. The best ones have metal threaded in the strap (unseen) to keep them from being slashed. But its been hard for us to decide on size and how flat it is online. Might have to make a trip to an actual store for this item. Shopping day!! Fun!
AFTER TRIP - We found the best selection at our AAA office. I wanted to try them before buying them. You can order online though. We chose the Pac Safe shoulder bag with the slash proof strap. It fit my phone, point and shoot camera, tissues, eye drops, etc. It had plenty of room without being too much. We had no issue with pic-pockets and felt so safe in Croatia that we started using our new leather purses we bought in Bosnia. However, we did not go during the busy season. We were only crammed on trains in London a few times during rush hour and my hand rested easily on the bag so I felt ok. I also always keep my back to the wall, etc. This bag also has a RFID protection so thieves can't scan your credit card chip stealing your info while standing next to you. Not the best pic, but this gives you an idea of the size.
Point-Shoot Camera
I'm still in the process of researching cameras. I'd love to bring my Digital SLR but I don't want to lug it around. We'd like to just use our phones, but we want higher quality photos. Any suggestions, we'd appreciate it! Comment below!
AFTER TRIP - We ended up going with the Canon PowerShot G9 X Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom, Built-in Wi-Fi and 3 inch LCD touch panel (Silver)
It worked pretty well, I think it would have worked better if we'd taken the time to learn it before we left. Being able to easily adjust the shutter speed allowed us to take some awesome waterfall pics. Also, the image quality is much better than those we took with the iPhone 8. The touchscreen focus was super useful. Here are some shots we took with it.
Apps for your Smartphone!
We used the Money exchange rate app multiple times a day. We had the correct local currency for all four countries (we just used Kuna, Croatian cash, during our one day trip to Bosnia because they easily accept it.) However, that doesn't mean that in the three-five days we were in each place we could keep up with what it was worth in dollars.
Would you be willing to spend 10,000 Hungarian Forint on one good meal in Hungary? Sure, its only about $37 in American dollars. But a 10,000 Czech Koruna meal is more like $465! We saved our favorite currencies before leaving so the app will work with no service. (It may not be correct down to the penny because currency is bought and sold (exchanged) at slightly different amounts everyday - but its close enough for you to make decisions.) There's an exchange scale thing at the bottom - yeah, I don't know how it works. Just leave it alone. I checked my credit card bill and found I did spend the amount I thought I was spending based on this app, so that's all I needed.
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