Things To Know | Visiting Europe Edition

It’s no secret that there will be cultural differences when you travel out of the country. It could be food, walking, even eye contact differs from country to country. If you’re new to traveling to Europe, here’s some things to know so you’re prepared.

In Europe, dinner is eaten later, usually around 8-9 o’clock p.m. Sometimes, it’ll be even later than that. If you want to catch dinner with Europeans, expect to eat closer to 10 o’clock. Also, some of the countries actually have multiple courses - up to 7. You have 2 appetizers, a fish meal, the main course, salad, cheese, and dessert to end the night. Last fun fact is when to drink coffee. There are different times to drink coffee and they type you drink. Once again, it varies depending on the country but you should never have a cappuccino during dinner.

August is not a good time to visit Europe as it’s the time that Europeans usually take their vacation. This causes a decrease in people working and it’s been said that the whole continent basically shuts down. You will find many restaurants closed and fewer people than normal. Go any other time of the year!

Europe is not disability accessible. The streets are all stone and uneven, it’s hard to just bring a suitcase. Many buildings do not include an elevator, with steep stairs instead. Some of the streets are narrow so any wheelchair cannot squeeze through. The cars are small and so are the trunks. Unlike America, Europe does not have laws to help disabled people visiting or living in the countries. Hopefully, in the future, we’ll see more access for disabled people.

The price of living is lower there so you can buy good-quality clothes and food for cheaper. A Gucci belt that is $1000 in the United States will be about $500 in Europe. Two full grocery bags will be about 5-10% lower than in the states. Stock up on the clothes and food! You won’t find that good of prices in the states.

Get an international driver's license. For some, you may not need one, but for others you need to get one. This allows you to rent cars and some places need it if you want to rent motorcycles/scooters. To get it, take an online course and pay a fee. You can use it for up to a year.

Hope this gets you prepared for your trip to Europe! All the little tips and tricks will keep your vacation from going sideways!