Traveling abroad tips?

[Bengalzona]

(07-23-2019, 11:22 PM)Millhouse Wrote: Rick Steves offers solid travel tips for EU. Id also just do a search on YouTube for' Rick Steves'.


Benton
Barcelona. I'm planning on mostly being in the Camp Nou area if you're familiar with it. My daughter got invited to take part in training with FC Barcelona, so she'll be at Camp Nou most of the time and at a hostel they've rented out for the kids the rest. In between I know there's some trips to Park Guell and other tourist spots. As  I understand it, FCB takes care of all the tickets and transport, so I'm hoping I don't have to worry about getting around outside of walking to restaurants.

That is awesome for your daughter! And Barcelona is an incredible city.

As Millhouse mentioned, I'd recommend checking out Rick Steve's show on Barcelona to get an idea of what is around there. One of the things Rick Steve's often suggests is hiring a local tour guide. I'm not sure how much that costs, but I think it is not too much (my wife always does the guiding on our trips because she has lived in six countries and speaks seven languages). I'd say it would be well worth the money, even if it just for only one or two days rather than the whole trip. If there are other parents going, maybe you could get a small group (2-4) to tour together and defray costs (just let the guide know how many people he or she is expected to guide as it may include transport).

Quote:I think I read somewhere the bus/train tickets are all available for purchase at the terminals.

Yeah. Most tickets you can get at the train stations. But some of the city-to-city and international (if you are doing that) tickets you should try to get in advance if you can. We wanted to try and get tickets from Paris to where Arturo lives on the Cote d'Azure, but couldn't get tickets. We would have had to order in advance.

Quote:Awesome. We joined a year ago and I didn't know that was a benefit. I locked my keys in the car three hours from home on a Sunday at 5 p.m. My cell was dead, so was my wife's. A guy trying to look up locksmiths for us had his phone die. A lady in the parking lot used her membership to get it unlocked. Is one of the best services.

You have to find an AAA office and stop in. Tell them where you are going. They usually have a travel advisor at the office. Not that you would need it, but they can set you up with a license to drive in whatever country you are going to (I didn't do that because I was worried about weird traffic laws and signs in metric and different languages).

Quote:That's good to know, too. Any reason I might need them in Barcelona? I was planning on just locking them up.

Not in Barcelona itself. If someone like the police asked, you just give them the name of the hotel (probably won't happen, but that is how it is handled if it does). If you go outside of Barcelona, best to have them with you.

Quote:I've got Google translate downloaded for Spanish and Catalan so hopefully I won't starve or crap my pants looking for a restroom. Still working on memorizing a few phrases.

Have you checked with your cell service provider to make sure you will have service there? Also, check on the rates for international data service. They can gouge the hell out of you on that!

If you have to use the restroom and you stop in at an establishment, you generally have to order something or pay a fee to use it. Restaurant and bar owners are sensitive about being considered a 'public restroom'.  ;-)

I recommend calling your credit card company, if you have one, and letting them know where and when you are going. They may want to know hotel you are at and some other details. Otherwise, you may try to use over there and find out they shut it down as soon as a foreign charge was put on it.

And, even if you don't follow all or even any of the advice... screw it and have a good time! People find ways to get around these types of things when they need to. Just have fun, brother! Really glad for you and your daughter!