PAK, travel followup

by Jay @, San Diego, Friday, May 18, 2018, 08:23 (2458 days ago)

Sorry for the later reply but I wanted to follow up. I was typing up some notes for some friends who are coming to visit us this summer and I thought you might be interested in this too. I'll follow up with some specific Paris recs.

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Money: bring your ATM card and know your PIN number. Getting cash from the ATM is the best way to exchange money and it will also give you the most favorable exchange rate. I do not think you will need to bring any Euros from the U.S. If you want to bring some extra cash as emergency backup, dollars are fine and you can exchange those if you want to (but the rate will not be as good as the local ATM).

Credit cards: all your credit cards should work in Paris. However, if you don't know your PIN numbers for credit cards, you should reset them ahead of time and write them down. Credit card cash advance is a good backup policy in case you lose your ATM card.

Credit/debit cards, part 2: for any card you're going to use in Europe, contact your credit card company ahead of time and let them know the dates of the trip and where you're going. Most credit card companies have an online form to do this. For example, here is the form I use for my USAA cards.
https://www.usaa.com/inet/pages/bk_ck_howto_travelnotification_landing_mkt

Definitely do this before you leave because otherwise your credit card may be declined on suspicion of fraud the first time you use it.

Passports: bring a photocopy of your passport ID page and stick it in your suitcase just in case you lose your passport. Email a copy of it to yourself and to key contacts back home before you leave.

STEP: register with the State Department before you go, just in case.
https://step.state.gov/step/

Phones: you can activate your phone for international calling/texting for the time that you are going to be in Europe. We have iphones through AT&T, but if you guys are on different carriers I can help you figure out the options. You will want to turn off roaming data downloading in your phone before you go, and stick to web browsing/email only when you are connected to wifi (which the hotel & airbnb will have, as well as nearly every cafe). (International data usage without a plan is ridiculously expensive). Sprint accounts automatically include free international roaming but the data download is extremely slow. Not sure about Verizon or others.

Electric: for recharging phones and your other devices, you'll need to get a plug adapter for continental Europe. It's got two round plugs, looks like this.
https://www.amazon.com/Ckitze-Round-White-Europe-Adapter/dp/B01C5TG278/ref=pd_bxgy_23_i...
You should not need a power converter, even for a laptop if you're bringing one. Just the plug.

Packing, clothes: Good walking shoes are a must. We're going to be walking a lot. Weather wise it could be anywhere from the 60s to the high 80s. It will likely rain at some point so you may want to bring a light rain jacket/shell or a small umbrella. I would say 1 "dinner outfit" is all you need in the way of nicer clothes, but only country club casual (no jackets/ties or fancy dresses). For churches, shorts and bare shoulders are fine in the summer (but no hats).

Packing, other stuff.
* Don't bring a hair dryer as they might short circuit in Europe. You can pick one up for like 10 bucks.
* Don't bring any expensive jewelry.
* Definitely bring any prescription meds, enough for the whole trip. Getting meds in Europe may be difficult.

Guidebooks
If you guys are going to do a little sightseeing research, I recommend Rick Steves' book
https://www.amazon.com/Rick-Steves-Paris-2018/dp/1631216678/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=U...

and the DK Eyewitness Paris book (lots of great pictures)
https://www.amazon.com/DK-Eyewitness-Travel-Guide-Paris/dp/1465460454/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_14...

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