Travel Tips
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Where do I start? when traveling, what's irked you? What would you have liked to know about beforehand to prevent this potentially un-fun experience?

INTENSIVE LANGUAGE SCHOOLS are a great way to dive into the culture of a country. for the first few days, trust me, you'll feel overwhelmed, but in no time you'll pick up quite a proficiency. I'm no expert in finding these schools, but I'd suggest choosing a region or city in which you want to study for the semester or summer. Then start using google to look up different schools. Make sure you shop around as there are many reviews out there to give you a good feeling. I've personally had a great experience at a place called Kulturforum, a language school located in Cefalu, Sicily.

COUCH SURFING is an interesting phenomenon. Check out the site here. On it, users "register" their couch where backpackers from all around the world can get in contact and make connections. Conceivably, a couchsurfer could spend 6 months traveling the globe and never once pay for a single night's sleep. I've never used it, but have only heard good things. If you use it, let me know how it goes!

PHONING HOME is necessary if your mom is anything like mine. There's good and bad ways to go about it. Skype is a popular and free way to call another computer anywhere in the world. If you want to use phones, I always go for a scratch card with a pin and call from a landline. This will get you the best deal around, a few cents per minute.If you're traveling around though, remember that each country requires its own card.

IRISH PUBS can generally be found in every city across Europe to one degree of authenticity or another. They can usually be relied on for Guinness, a fun social start to the night and reasonable prices.

ICE BARS can be a fun,  chill experience and are springing up across Europe. I've been to ones in Stockholm, Copenhagen, Rome and London. They generally provide the overcoats and gloves before you enter a giant freezer where you'll enjoy a cocktail that instead of having ice cubes in it, the glass itself is ice. Cool huh? The prices are usually around $20 for entry and one drink and about $10 for the second.

NIGHT TRAINS are a way to get from A to B without wasting a day of sightseeing as a day of travel. That being said, you probably won't have your best night of sleep. There's been times when I didn't catch a wink of it, but with a Eurail pass, they should be considered when making your travel plans. I've taken night trains from Paris-Nice, Switzerland-Rome, Rome-Sicily, Rome-Venice, Madrid-Barcelona, Barcelona-Nice, Madrid-Southern France. I've never had anything stolen, but I stay always aware of my belongings which is very important.

BUDGET AIRLINES are great for budget travelers. I've flown all over Europe for rediculously cheap, but have also been hit hard with hidden fees, and secondary transportation costs. The airlines like RyanAir and AerLingus save money by flying you out of a regional airport far outside main cities, so you have to account for that when making plans. Also you'll get hit with everything from "Airport check-in fees" and second checked bag fees if you're not careful and don't read the fine print. All in all, they're a great option as I believe RyanAir has the best on-time and least-bags-lost records beating out giants like British Air and United etc.

HOSTELS are what I stay in across Europe. I like to use search engines like hostelworld.com and hostels.com to find the best of what a city has to offer. I make sure to read the reviews, check out the location to make sure it's near the city of the action, and look at the posted photos. Among the "must-haves" for me at a hostel are 24-hour front desk service/ no curfew, social area to hang out in, and a good location. Other pluses are internet access (free or paid), access to laundromats, a bar, included breakfasts etc. All these things will be referenced in the listing on the hostel sites. Once I find a hostel I like, I might google it to see if I can make a reservation directly with them. This cuts out the middle man fee, and puts you in contact with the hostel itself if you need to make special arrangements in the future.

You'll soon be able to discuss each of these subjects and more in a discussion forum coming in January. For now, hit up my facebook group where we're already tossing around great travel ideas and tips.

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