Europe Travel Questions

potpourri

Hi everyone.

I'm currently in the process of taking some time off of school to travel around Europe. I'm going to be there for probably nine months, spending a few months in Barcelona and Paris and spending the change zinging around courtesy of a Eurail pass. Unsurprisingly, I've never really done anything like this before, and I have some questions.

1. Luggage. My mom is pushing me to bring this enormous rollbag that I have, but to be honest, I feel like a jackass whenever I go anywhere with that thing. It can definitely carry a lot, but it's super heavy on its own, and I can't really carry it long distances. Should I look into getting an over-the-shoulder bag, or is a monster rollbag really the best way to go?

2. Cell phones. I currently have an iPhone 3G, and I have no intention of taking those exorbitant charges from accessing the internet all the time. What's the best way to go about this? Should I cancel my iPhone plan, get one of those pay-as-you-go phones and swap SIM cards in every new country? Bear in mind, I'm going to be in a new country every two or three days for at least part of the trip. Should I turn my iPhone into airplane mode and only use it when I'm in a wireless area?

3. Computers. I'm currently using a Macbook that's a year or two old - it's not too heavy, really, but it's relatively bulky, and I'm looking at getting a netbook. All I'm going to be using a computer for while I'm over there is internet, writing, photos and music, so I'd need storage space, but otherwise not a whole lot of power because I'm not going to be doing much. Would a netbook fit my needs, or should I stick with the macbook?

Thanks, everyone! I just really don't want to get over there and realize I've made a big mistake.

Kalkino

1. Go as light as you can manage, but given the length of time you are going for and the fact you are apparently staying in several places for long periods, heavy luggage might be ok. Afterall, you can just leave it at the place you are staying, I would hope

2. Just buy new sim cars when you arrive, if your phone can take them. If you are in a country for more that a week or two it is usually worth it.

3. What size is your mac? Larger than 13in?

SanderJK

What do you want to use the phone for? For communication within the country, get a local simcard in some sort of free unlockable phone. For communication abroad, cellphones will pretty much always be expensive. You may want to skype home for any regular communication, and use the cellphone only for emergency contact. Be very wary of using any kind of data feature (non-SMS) across borders. Those are charged per kb and incredibly expensive.

On weight, first of all, there will be a limit for how much you can take with you on the plane, usually either 20kg or 30kg. Since you are touring around europe during the winter, depending on where you go, you may encounter significant temperature differences, so you may need to bring a fair amount of clothing, or buy some locally. Remember that you'll be lugging it around for 9 months though.

Rhino

1: You might want to look at the large style of backpacker/hiker backpacks. They hold a lot.

3: Netbook with a external drive (or hand full of random thumb drives and/or flash/SD cards) would give you portability without the weight, but still have lots of data storage.

Also, look into some type of online backup. Personally I use a dreamhost account (they give tons of space) to backup important files (encrypt before hand and don't put in the 'public' directory).

Other more expensive services exist for the non-tech inclined. But the basic idea would be to connect to the internet (via hotel or cafe) and sync all your important files (make sure it's an 'un-metered' or "unlimited bandwidth" line!)

EskimoDave

1) Once you start moving a lot you are going to want a backpack. You're also going to want to travel as light as possible, which is easier than it sounds. A quick dry towel, flip-flops, several days worth of clothes, a good pair of shoes, toiletries (toothpaste, toothbrush, shampoo, shaving equip., sunblock). Anything else is a luxury that you have to weigh out if you can survive without it.

2) why do you need a cell phone? If you're just calling your parents back home then get a calling card, and since you want to bring a netbook you can use Skype.

3) a netbook is going to be much easier to haul around and use.

The_Glad_Hatter

1) when you're backpacking, use a backpack. the trolley suitcases are incredible annoying when using public transportation (stairs to the subway, steps to a bus with a divider in the middle of the doorway...).

2) perhaps buy a simcard in the country where they're the cheapest. Buying one for each country is a bit too much since our countries are about the size of one, maybe two, of your states.

3) i'd say netbook + perhaps a portable rugged LACIE disk..

Everywhereasign

Your phone most likely won't let you swap SIM cards. You'll need to unlock the iPhone. I haven't researched this recently, but I seem to recall that it is possible, but more difficult then simply jailbreaking.

Unless you plan on making lots of calls, just use your laptop and Skype, it's much cheaper.

When I travel with my iPhone I don't bother with the Airplane mode. The On/Off is too easy to toggle when you fiddle with WiFi. To avoid crazy ass roaming charges, I just pop out the SIM and keep it with me in a microSD case. You can use every other part of the phone without problem, and without worry of accidentally using international data and having to give up your first born to pay for it.