THE TRAVEL ADVICE SUPER-DUPER THREAD

[Pedro dePaca]

On Christmas day Im heading to Europe for seven weeks or so. My basic itinerary is : Berlin, Prague, Krakow, Budapest, Amsterdam, Venice, Barcelona and Madrid.

Any advice on things to see/places to avoid would be appreciated.

Also, any oontzers in Europe who wanna get drunk with a stranger from California give me a shout.

[Guest]

On Christmas day Im heading to Europe for seven weeks or so. My basic itinerary is : Berlin, Prague, Krakow, Budapest, Amsterdam, Venice, Barcelona and Madrid.

Any advice on things to see/places to avoid would be appreciated.

Also, any oontzers in Europe who wanna get drunk with a stranger from California give me a shout.

 

berlin - do the free walking tour that meets at brandenberg gate http://www.newberlintours.com/daily-tours/free-tour.html. take the day trip to sachenhausen concentration camp. hostel near the zoo was decent.

 

amsterdam - get shrooms and go to the van gogh museum. pronounce it 'van gogg" if talking to locals'. bull dog hostel was super cool. be prepared to be glued to the windows on the ride to amsterdam station. dont feel like a scum bag wandering red light. everyone does it. dont get caught pissing in public they dont like that.

 

venice - dont use a map. just wander in a general direction. map is useless in that maze anyway. small enough you will find your way and who knows what you migt stumble upon. bunch of dope lil cuts with famous tags. theres a campground outside of venice you should check out. free shuttle rides into venice. hotels on the island are gonna becrazy expensive. make the trip to the outer island where they make glass. i forget the name....

 

 

barcelona - spend atleast a day on barcelona beach. open containers on la rambla at night is awesome people watching and cheap boozing. prepare for graf overload. gothic district was dope

 

madrid - the egyptian temple park was rad. museo del prado is a must.

 

watch your shit while youre in spain. pick pockets galore

[!@#$%]

museo del prado is awesome

spain is pretty great. eat tapas. in madrid it's usually a couple free with each beer but not so much in barcelona. sightseeing in barcelona is worth it.. the gaudi stuff, sagrada familia, etc. nice city. if you are into art it's worth a visit to Museo Reina Sofía to see Guernica.

BOATS is on point with the warning.

it's the only city where people they usually call 'gypsies' managed to get over on me, and my buddies- got my friend's bag while another scammer had us distracted. but we are vigilant, saw the robbery happening, my friend chased the dude down (dude tossed the bag) and got punched the fuck out by my friend, who recovered his bag. it all happened REALLY fast though. so be watchful.

 

 

in amsterdam as well as van gogh i liked the Rijksmuseum a lot too, but i enjoy museums. there was some cool old knight stuff in there as well.

amsterdam is such a great city. hard not to have a good time there and so easy to just walk around.

i think shrooms are illegal there now BOATS. not totally sure but i think that's over.

plenty of hash though. enjoy that. i think you can get fuckin amazing weed anywhere in the US or canada now. maybe australia too..

anyway, as for drugs the hash is amazing in masterdamned and worth it imo

[Drue_Down]

Travel advice: don't have kids.

[Pedro dePaca]

thanks boats and symbols. i can't prop from this mobile device but good lookin.

[publicenemyno.3]

gonna be in LA for two nights starting tomorrow. i'm staying in bell gardens, wherever that is. recommendations on eating, drinking and general cool shit to go see and take flicks of would be appreciated. probably won't have access to a car besides cabs and public transport.

[!@#$%]

I don't care for LA much. venice beach is great to people watch and walk around in though.

and without a car.. damn. dunno. check out IOU's LA photography thread in Untitled, you can prolly get some good shit from that.

 

 

I'll finally be a spring breaker at my advanced age. headed to cancun next month.

[Guest]

 

gonna try to cop a gold bar.

[!@#$%]

word.

 

i'm going to dubai, bangkok, angkor wat, battambang and hong kong.

 

i will not be trying for gold bars. or hookers.

[SMdoubleXL]

I was gonnna post about my silly lil 2 week stay coming up in Pittsburgh..but damn, you guys are on some world travel type level.

 

for what it worth, Ima be in pittsburgh for 2 weeks. april 20-may 4 .

 

last time we did the drive, this time im just flying so i can spend time there.

 

im sure ill find plenty to do...im wondering if there in any place/area i shoudl avoid.

ha

 

also thinking of photothread from last trip and adding this coming up one to it.

i loved that city.

[ClueTwo]

I just went to San Antonio and while I didn't get to see much there were two things I distinctly recall..

 

1. The Alamo is much smaller than I thought. (Apparently I'm not alone because everyone says the same thing.)

2. The River Walk is just as awesome as everyone said it was...Good call everyone.

[Guest]

headed to Portland for a 4 day wknd in August

hyped to do a lifetimes worth of dumpster tags while there

 

 

 

 

 

 

current goal:

 

Copenhagen in 2014!!

[twelver]

Assuming you're talking about portland OR.

 

I'm a portland native (unbelievably rare), and I've been told I'm a great host. I plan on being in Europe until mid August, but if you're in town I could show you all the best eats/strip clubs/bars/parties etc.

[Guest]

ah damn thanks dude. we are heading there early august for a wedding, so dates set.

 

if the date is somewhere near middle august ill PM you on here to get a beer or whatever.

 

My GF has been the planner on this one so im not 100 on the date but i am pretty sure its first wk of Aug

[twelver]

So I've been combing over this thread and I've absolutely learned a few things.

 

I plan on taking a reasonable sized back pack, like one you would use for school, and take just the basics; 2 pairs of socks, 2 t shirts, two pairs of boxers, a knife or multipurpose tool, hygiene stuff, a pair of jeans,a light jacket like a wind breaker and some shorts. You can always buy or rack more clothes if you need them.

 

Keep your cash and other valuable stuff like your passport etc. some place hidden.

 

Travel at night to save on lodging.

 

Talk to people.

 

Sleep holding onto your shit.

 

I also have some questions though.

 

1.) What's up with phones? I know that can cost a ton with roaming fees, so is it best to just get a throw away track phone? It seems like utilizing a" smart phone" would be ideal for traveling, at least it has for me in the states.

 

2.) What's the best place to fly into? Since I have no plan, except to wander, what would be the ideal city to introduce yourself to Europe? I'm thinking Amsterdam, and then working east. I also really like big cities.

 

3.) Little has been said about painting. Without going into to much detail, I plan on making the most of my time there, and wanted to know which cities had the most going on in that respect. I want to loosely plan my trip around those places. Not that I plan on doing anything like that...Just get flicks.

 

4.) After travel expenses, I should have around 3 grand. Based on the type of places I want to go, how long can I make that last? I want to stay at least six weeks. I'm not afraid of squatting or racking.

 

Thanks.

[twelver]

ah damn thanks dude. we are heading there early august for a wedding, so dates set.

 

if the date is somewhere near middle august ill PM you on here to get a beer or whatever.

 

My GF has been the planner on this one so im not 100 on the date but i am pretty sure its first wk of Aug

 

Cool, well If you have any questions about stuff and I'm not in town, pm me.

 

BTW, I'll tell you right now Devils point is the best strip club in town, Pine state biscuits is where you need to get breakfast (don't let the line discourage you.), and the most crackin bars are going to be on alberta (although they can be pretty "hip").

 

Oh yeah, eat at the food carts downtown if you can, they're some of the best in the world.

[!@#$%]

BOATS

Copenhagen is a great city. i loved it. i also visited Europe there.. PM him.

 

 

 

So I've been combing over this thread and I've absolutely learned a few things.

 

I plan on taking a reasonable sized back pack, like one you would use for school, and take just the basics; 2 pairs of socks, 2 t shirts, two pairs of boxers, a knife or multipurpose tool, hygiene stuff, a pair of jeans,a light jacket like a wind breaker and some shorts. You can always buy or rack more clothes if you need them.

 

Keep your cash and other valuable stuff like your passport etc. some place hidden.

 

Travel at night to save on lodging.

 

Talk to people.

 

Sleep holding onto your shit.

 

I also have some questions though.

 

1.) What's up with phones? I know that can cost a ton with roaming fees, so is it best to just get a throw away track phone? It seems like utilizing a" smart phone" would be ideal for traveling, at least it has for me in the states.

 

2.) What's the best place to fly into? Since I have no plan, except to wander, what would be the ideal city to introduce yourself to Europe? I'm thinking Amsterdam, and then working east. I also really like big cities.

 

3.) Little has been said about painting. Without going into to much detail, I plan on making the most of my time there, and wanted to know which cities had the most going on in that respect. I want to loosely plan my trip around those places. Not that I plan on doing anything like that...Just get flicks.

 

4.) After travel expenses, I should have around 3 grand. Based on the type of places I want to go, how long can I make that last? I want to stay at least six weeks. I'm not afraid of squatting or racking.

 

Thanks.

 

 

 

keeping cash hidden isn't entirely critical. ..unless you are carrying tons of it, which i think is a bad idea anyway.

don't be flashy. that is just dumb, anywhere

carry a photocopy of your passport and keep it somewhere away from your passport, so if you lost the passport you have a copy to take to the embassy.

 

if you have that attitude about travelling light, that's great. maintain that and you'll be set. and not only clothes, but you'lll be able to buy virtually anything you need if you can pay for it

just fyi: racking might be a good option sometimes, but not everywhere is easy to steal from, and in some places it's considered very serious.

 

1)

overseas, burners aren't popular because they use SIM cards.

read up on them, then feel stupid they aren't widely used in the US.

if you plan on travelling a lot, go with a carrier like TMobile that sells phones with SIM changing capabilities, then when you are overseas just get a SIM card.

 

2)

think TRAVEL HUB when thinking where to fly into, you can take a train or bus out of many places.

south america, think Rio, Sao Paulo or BA (only buses in south america, but they are nice.)

europe, think London or Paris

asia, try Hong Kong. lotsa cool places in asia are islands, or like a burma accesible by air only

 

3)

spend time on flickr to find the cities with the most graf. it's common knowledge that Paris and Rome have lots of graffiti, and Germany might have the most trains getting done. i don't know much about their buff. Bucharest's trains are disgusting they are so covered with shit

 

4)

who knows how long money might last. since i don't drink, and my man is capable in getting things, we don't spend tons of money.

i've known people who biked through europe, lived off bread and the kindness of strangers, and slept in parks. they probably could make 3 grand last a lifetime. but they didn't waste a cent and bought virtually nothing.

[!@#$%]

200 cities, 35 countries, and Bangkok is my least favorite.

 

 

though, contrary to what everyone else seems to think.

[Guest]

Cool, well If you have any questions about stuff and I'm not in town, pm me.

 

BTW, I'll tell you right now Devils point is the best strip club in town, Pine state biscuits is where you need to get breakfast (don't let the line discourage you.), and the most crackin bars are going to be on alberta (although they can be pretty "hip").

 

Oh yeah, eat at the food carts downtown if you can, they're some of the best in the world.

 

thanks!

[Guest]

So I've been combing over this thread and I've absolutely learned a few things.

 

I plan on taking a reasonable sized back pack, like one you would use for school, and take just the basics; 2 pairs of socks, 2 t shirts, two pairs of boxers, a knife or multipurpose tool, hygiene stuff, a pair of jeans,a light jacket like a wind breaker and some shorts. You can always buy or rack more clothes if you need them.

 

Keep your cash and other valuable stuff like your passport etc. some place hidden.

 

Travel at night to save on lodging.

 

Talk to people.

 

Sleep holding onto your shit.

 

I also have some questions though.

 

1.) What's up with phones? I know that can cost a ton with roaming fees, so is it best to just get a throw away track phone? It seems like utilizing a" smart phone" would be ideal for traveling, at least it has for me in the states.

 

2.) What's the best place to fly into? Since I have no plan, except to wander, what would be the ideal city to introduce yourself to Europe? I'm thinking Amsterdam, and then working east. I also really like big cities.

 

3.) Little has been said about painting. Without going into to much detail, I plan on making the most of my time there, and wanted to know which cities had the most going on in that respect. I want to loosely plan my trip around those places. Not that I plan on doing anything like that...Just get flicks.

 

4.) After travel expenses, I should have around 3 grand. Based on the type of places I want to go, how long can I make that last? I want to stay at least six weeks. I'm not afraid of squatting or racking.

 

Thanks.

 

you have rule #1 on lock. TAKE HALF AS MUCH SHIT AND TWICE AS MUCH $

rule #2 - travelers help travelers... you are not a tourist.

 

i would recommend a pack larger than a Jansport. i used an Osprey pack and it was perfect. you will be glad to have the hip straps when walking long distance from train/bus to hostel/uphill

 

buy a new package or two of socks and boxers and pack em as-is from walmart,

2 pair aint enough.

 

shorts are a luxury item. i would opt for two pair pants. shorts kinda give you away as an american.... or so i was told. swim trunks are a good call though and depending on style could also be used as shorts.

 

forget the knife if you plan on flying. do not check your bag if you fly euro to euro. that bag is your life.. lost luggage would ruin your life.

 

 

travel wallet seems stupid but is functional. exchange in the city not at airport/train station. TravelEx stores are every where.

 

take a Nalgene w a carabiner. water saves money and hydrates... and const $0

 

buy a zippered water proof bag from REI to keep shampoo etc in. mine is Eagle Creek. you can take w you into shower and also if anything pops in flight it wont get on your clothes

 

take a towel.

 

take a combo bike lock/u-lock/ combo lock + bike lock.... if anything but to lock your bag to your bunk if you NEED to. buy a locker if optional

be willing to rent bikes.... bike lock comes in handy. fun way t get around in strange cities too

 

hiking boots, sneakers, flip flops(shower shoes)

 

 

travel towel. you will need your own towel

 

 

sleeping bag is a must for campsites/squatting. some hotels/hostels have a rule against them for bed bugs. just dont spread it on the matress

 

use hostelbookers.com book a few weeks in advance to get your res. shit fills up QUICK

 

opt for campground when possible

 

aussie dudes are fucking badass travel/drinking partners. aussie chicks are easy as shit.

brit and canadian dudes cockblock HARD.

 

take a frisbee... AWESOME convo starter. easy way to meet chicks. also can be used as a plate/bowl.

 

 

buy a LETS GO travel book. yelp, google maps, etc etc etc all in a book you will always have w you. cant say this enough

http://www.letsgo.com/

 

 

 

1) internet cafe, phone card +pay phone. print maps at hostel. utilize comps at libraries.

 

2)London was awesome at easing into europe for me

 

3)zurich was friendly

 

4)as long as you want. buy groceries, take a Nalgene w you and fill and drink all day. campgrounds over hostels if possible. flirt w chicks and crash their room to save $ on booking.... be cool w dudes and crash their room to save $ on booking. make fiends and mooch food. make friends and mooch booze. make friends and mooch info.

[Guest]

oh yeah, back up all your flicks online! learned that one the heard way :(

[Guest]

BOATS

Copenhagen is a great city. i loved it. i also visited Europe there.. PM him.

 

 

4)

i've known people who biked through europe, lived off bread and the kindness of strangers, and slept in parks. they probably could make 3 grand last a lifetime. but they didn't waste a cent and bought virtually nothing.

 

i plan to once i get shit rolling

 

i met a couple of people biking through while i was at a couple camp grounds. sounded dope as fuck... sleeping in random fields etc. i am not sure i am quite THAT spartan though.... & thats kinda saying a lot for me. i met a few aussies who were the world class mooches too. to the point it was highly impressive. charismatic and likable as fuck to the point people WANTED to help em without them even needing to ask. wish i had those talents. shit was a spectacle. dudes shared the wealth too. CASE12 --- if you meet one befriend them

[!@#$%]

oh in reference to one of BOATS' comments, i do tons of research in advance but personally rely on

 

http://www.tripadvisor.com

 

longtime member and contributor, place has put me on the right path too many times to count and often clued me into great spots i didn't see i books.

[Deine Mudder]

shorts kinda give you away as an american

 

..pretty much, yes.

 

: ]

[!@#$%]

headed to Portugal and Morocco in November

tips?

[Pet]

Legzira beach in southern Morocco.

[Pfffffffffft]

headed to Portugal and Morocco in November

tips?

 

 

please take as many pictures of the Portuguese tile work.

 

they have some amazing, amazing stuff.

 

..and the trolly cars if you go to Lisboa

[!@#$%]

word.. i dunno if we'll be going further south than Marrakech but i'lll keep the beach in mind

africa is coolio

 

 

pfffffft that's funny, i saw they have a Tile Museum in Lisbon and thought that would be a cool place to visit.

[Guest]

thinking of adding either Stockholm, Oslo, or Helsinki to the Copenhagen trip next year.

 

any help choosing one from those? i hear Oslo isnt worth the trip but that was from someone who doesnt write.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

bought my tickets to Portland for August.

[BELTOLEUM]

So im headn out west monday n will be traveln thru Montana all the way to Santa Cruz(July 6th)/LA(July8/9th).

Originally was going to LA for a place to sleep but homie baild on me

so if anyone is arnd tht area or santa cruz(id be willing to shoot back up there)

and would be willn to link up or have a place to crash at thtd be syck since I

currently have no place to crash out. Hoping to also shoot dwn to San Diego

before I finally end up n Austin and San Antonio.

So fellow Oontzrz, hit me up id appreciate it.