For Spring Break I had two weeks to travel or do anything I wanted before classes started. My advice for anyone doing this is to not try to pack in a lot at once. It drains you in ways that you did not know you could be drained. I traveled to Stockholm, Sweden, Rome, Italy, Zurich, Switzerland, Granada, Spain, and Paris, France in two weeks and while I look back fondly on all that I experienced, If I would have done it over I would have done it very differently than what happened. I think for spring break, it really depends on when your essays for school are due and how far you are on them; I know spring break is not the time to do homework, but the essays have to be done and the deadlines are final. It is not like the US where you can write your essay with barely any research and turn it in to expect a good grade; they can require up to and over 10 sources for a 2,000 word essay; the essay itself does not take that long to write, but the researching and sourcing quotes can take a while. I was able to turn all my essays in on time, but I know some people who did not go anywhere on spring break just to work on their essays. You make the choice that works for you.
My recommendation is to choose 2 to 3 places you want to go to and stick to that plan for the whole two weeks so you are not rushing around trying to figure out how to cram so many activities in so little time. Another recommendation is to use hostelworld to find good Hostels in your location. It depends on what you are looking for, but we found a hostel in Stockholm and one in Granada that we had a wonderful time at. We met so many lovely people and especially for the one in Granada, it was like being in a huge extended family (in a good way). The meals they offered were pretty cheap and everyone was so nice and accommodating. You can choose to book a private room or stay in a room with other people; the whole thing is up to you. They are safe and clean and very nice; I definitely recommend staying in one. Also, oftentimes hostels are a good way to have a residence right in the middle of town without paying a heck of a lot like you would for a hotel. Just something to consider! A lot of hostels not only have private rooms but they have lockers for you to lock your stuff in if you choose to stay in a 4 bed room for example- bring your own lock just in case though.
You learn a lot about yourself when you travel; it is good to travel with other people; I learned during my spring break that I HATE traveling with other people. It is important that everyone works together to get where you need to go and also, know that it is okay to go off on your own sometimes.
My advise overall for traveling around Europe: HAVE A CONTACTLESS CARD. Preferably Visa or Mastercard. Some places do not take Amex and if you have a discover card, don't even bother trying to look for that sticker. It is getting better with discover but they are still rare. A contactless card will save you so much time and confusion when you travel because a lot of places like the tube or metro systems only take contactless cards. Also when you buy something somewhere, they will offer the contactless portion of the card reader and then if you have an insert they have to switch the machine around, and then you have to sign a receipt while if you have a contactless card you don't have to do that.
A way to get around this is to have apple pay or google pay set up on your phone; then you can connect a visa debit card. That is what I did and it worked great.
Another piece of advice is try to look into things and plan them in advance. It is tempting to want to let things go or to just decide when to do things while you are there, but more things than you think need tickets or you have to buy them in advance. A good example is the easter mass at the Vatican. I sort of assumed it might be first come first serve, but the tickets, while free, go very fast for that service and then you have to make sure to beat the crowds there in time to go see it. Another example is tickets to castles you want to see, like La Alhambra in Granada. I assumed I could get tickets the day of, and I was able to mostly get tickets to see the palace, but I was not able to get a ticket to see the best most intricate part of the castle because i did not book in advance. It is worth a quick google to see what is and is not required there.
Also, try to use Trainline for any train tickets/ journey instead of trying to use a ticket office or a ticket booth. This is because every place has its own ruled for transportation tickets/ you don't know if a ticket needs to be validated; and if you have an electronic ticket then the ticket has already been validated and you don't have to try to figure out that part while doing everything else.
I had moments of sadness and moments of joy on the trip; but just make sure that you are having the best experience for you.
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