Get Insider Tips from Locals about European Cities Before You Go

For the lucky traveler, having the chance to sit down with a friendly local and get the inside scoop about their city can be pure gold. The only thing better than that is picking the brains of several locals at once.

Well, meet SpottedByLocals.com where hand-picked locals from a growing list of 20 major cities across Europe give up their city’s best tips to visitors from all over the world. These bits of insider goodness cover a whole host of topics— from art & culture, to music, sights, relaxation, and shopping, with plenty more categories in between. Each tip is tagged for your navigation pleasure and here's the best part: it’s all free.

4 Important Considerations Before Buying a Eurail Pass

There is an otherworldly charm that comes with the thought of buying just one train ticket that gives you access to all of Europe for as long as you'd like. Filling this niche, Eurail passes are some of the very best travel bargains around and the multitude of places they can take you to is unparralled. This has made them popular with millions of people who travel this way every year. Yet, while granting many advantages to North American travelers in Europe, the smart traveler should know that Eurail passes are not the best solution for absolutely everyone. In fact, without being overly negative, wise travelers should be aware that Eurail passes can have unintended drawbacks that may impact the overall enjoyability of their trip. Before taking the leap and purchasing a Eurail Pass for your next trip, you should seriously consider the following points to see if it's really the right travel decision for you.

1. What style of travel appeals to you the most?

If you are a "collector" of new places that's continually driven to cover more new ground on a trip, then a Eurail pass might be for you. However, if you are the type of traveler that likes to hunker down and absorb a destination like a local for a longer period of time, then perhaps you should skip the pass. Unlimited railpasses are rarely the best choice for those who like to really sink their teeth into a place. That's not to dismiss the movers vs. the hunker-downers as being synonymous with an argument between those who favor quantity vs. those who favor quality. I think that both approaches are valid depending on your overall goal for this trip. Many people—including myself—agree that it's probably best to try to cover as much ground as possible during one's first trip or two to Europe, and then slow down on later trips, savoring in depth the places liked best. I've personally done this twice with Eurail and wouldn't trade the great bird's-eye-view of the continent to be gained this way!

2. If I buy a railpass will I feel the inner need to continually move on?

We've all been to restaurants where we fill obligated to eat everything on our plate because, after all, we are going to pay hard-earned money for it. Nowhere is this more of an issue than at all-you-can-eat buffets, where most people feel like they're not getting their money's worth unless they load up the plate and walk out full--maybe even uncomfortably so.

You should be aware that the same exact phenomenon occurs with Eurail passes. I call it Eurail Sickness. Only this particular malady not only includes the desire to get value for your money, but also the continuously nagging feeling that one's time is also at stake. This usually expresses itself as an inner commentary that goes something like "Europe is laid out before me and I must see as much of it as I possibly can or else I've wasted both my time AND my money."

So, what happens is that you actually end up spending more time compulsively going from place to place than you do getting to know each destination once you've arrived. Even worse—and I know this from hard personal experience—your enjoyment of each destination is diminished greatly because a significant part of your mind is busy working out the logistical problems (route, train schedules, new accomodations, local transportation, etc.) associated with getting to your next destination. Consequently, your trip starts to feel like a disorienting whirlwind and your memories of each destination become a blur: hopefully to be sorted out later through the help of your pictures. I consider this to be the most serious unintended consequence using a Eurail pass.

3. Will a railpass be the most cost effective way for me to get around in Europe?

The truth is that traditional point-to-point tickets might save you money. This depends on the destinations you have chosen (Eastern Europe is far cheaper by rail than the west) and how often you intend on moving about. For an excellent discussion on money savings and a map showing point-to-point estimated ticket prices see Rick Steves here. For more precise information on point-to-point ticket prices you can also search RailEurope's online database.

4. How's my health and stamina......or, will my Eurail pass turn me into a zombie?

This is another important question because you should know that Eurail travel is HARD WORK. Remember, this kind of travel involves a great deal of walking, luggage handling, and having to deal with train schedules that often include odd hours. All this can lead to quick exhaustion if you don't slow yourself down (which, given point number 2, is extremely hard to do). Sadly, I was so wiped out on a recent Eurail trip that I couldn't keep my eyes open during most of the way from the Pyrenees Mountains to Paris—one of the most scenic routes in all of France! You should know that I wouldn't trade my experience for the world, but if all this sounds like all work and no fun to you, then perhaps travel via a more leisurely pace without a railpass is in order for you.

Want more information? See Rick Steves' excellent guide to the various Eurail passes here.

See My Auschwitz Walkthrough Photoset Now On Flickr

Last summer I had the opportunity to go to the Auschwitz Concentration Camp for the second time in my life. It's a sobering, but very worthwhile experience. If you happen to find yourself somewhere near Krakow, Poland you really ought to go. There are a multitude of tour groups that offer day-trips to the site and do-it-yourselfers (like me) can get there easily through public transportation. Just remember to pack a lunch and lots to drink--in the summer it's hot and dry and there is little in the way of affordable cuisine options. Also, plan on it taking a whole day to see everything as there's tons of walking and no real way to speed through the place.

For those wondering what they can expect to see when they get there, I have posted most of my pictures of Auschwitz over at this link on Flickr.com.

Worst Hotel Ever? Check Hotel Reviews Before You Book

A few weeks ago a poster on Digg.com posted a link to this page of reviews on TripAdvisor.com, declaring that it was probably the worst hotel ever. He had a chorus of people agreeing with him--especially the parts about the bedbugs, dead mice, and the nightly invasion of cockroaches coming out of the bathroom drains (according to the hotel's manager, a rolled-up towel smashed under the bathroom door keeps them at bay).

I'm not sure about that claim, but I have definitely benefited from hotel and hostel rating sites by avoiding those establishments--in Europe and America--with the worst ratings.

For a good list of the top 10 hotel rating sites see: "Top 10 Internet Sites with Hotel Reviews: Value for your Money" by Mark Kahler at about.com.

For reviews of hostels see: www.BUG.co.uk; www.hostels.com; and www.hostelworld.com.

Easily Secure Your Luggage While Traveling for Greater Peace of Mind

Handling one's baggage is certainly one of the absolute biggest obstacles for many travelers. For independent budget travelers, efficient baggage handling becomes a necessity. Not only do you have to carry your bags around (I am a firm advocate of the less-luggage-is-more school of travel), but you have to be concerned about their whereabouts at all times lest you and your bags part ways.

If there was one small investment that I could convince you to make for your luggage peace-of-mind, it would be Eagle Creek's luggage cable and lock set (see here). The cable is 4 feet long and coated in soft plastic. It's also extremely flexible, making is easy to snake through baggage handles and around just about any anchor point you wish. Then, when not in use, you can coil it up to about the size of a silver dollar, ready to be stowed in the pocket of any bag.

For the past 8 years I have used this cable to anchor my bags to chairs in airports, to the overhead racks on trains, to my hotel/hostel bed, to train couchette bunks, and to a multitude of other things--even just attaching the bags to each other in hotel luggage rooms while I am out on the town. The included 3 combo lock makes setting up and undoing the cable a breeze.

What's nice about this arrangement is the knowledge that all my bags are together and locked to a fixed place or to each other. That way I can quickly use the restroom or get a little rest without having to take my luggage with me. While not totally safe from a determined thief or a long absence, you have to remember that most thieves are on the prowl looking for easy prey. When they see your bags locked together with a steel cable, they simply move on to easier pickings.

4 Things You Can Do to Protect Your Online Accounts While Traveling

Part of the fun of taking an extended trip though Europe--or anywhere, for that matter--is keeping those at home up to date with your adventures. For most of us that means accessing the internet in order to use email, post a blog, and download digital pictures. Many travelers also need to access their bank accounts, pay bills, and take care of other business.

The great news is that there are internet cafes in all the major cities and large towns in Europe that you can use for a very reasonable price. The bad news is that many internet cafes are a major source of identity theft for unwary users. The same goes for internet terminals set up in hotel lobbies and youth hostels--and just about any other computer terminal that travelers have access to. In order to increase your chances of not being harmed by these, here are some rules and tips:

1. The most import rule is to always assume that the computer you are about to use is infected with some sort of keylogger (a program which records every keystroke you make), spyware, or virus capable to stealing your login information. If this concerns you (and it probably should), there are several things you can do:

• The absolute safest way to avoid exposing your information on an infected computer is to bypass its operating system entirely and use your own. You can do this very easily with a copy of the Linux operating system. It as simple as getting a copy of either Knoppix or Puppy Linux on CD, putting it in the public computer's cd drive, and then hitting reboot. There is almost no setup and you can surf the internet in relative peace because you are not using the same infected windows programs that everyone else is using--actually, you're not even using Windows at all. Then, once you are finished online, take out the Linux disc and reboot the computer to erase any record that you were even there. You should probably try both versions of Linux before leaving home, but I recommend Puppy Linux for its ease of use and tiny pawprint--the whole operating system runs in the computer's RAM, making it extremely fast even on the slowest computers.
  

• If rebooting is not an option, you can use your own flash drive with your own suite of preconfigured programs to bypass the installed programs on the public computer. This is a more secure--but not perfect--option for two reasons: most of these suites have an available virus scanner, like ClamWin, that you can use to quickly scan the public computer and make it somewhat safer for your use. Also, portable application suites are designed to leave no data on the host computer when they are done. I recommend the portableapps.com suite because it is totally free, easy to use, and constantly updated. An additional benefit is that if you are already a Firefox user, you can upload your profile from your home computer and take it with you, thereby giving you access to all of your links and favorite bookmarks on the road. You can also use the free image manipulation utilities available through portableapps.com to adjust your photos before you email them or post them to your blog. Additionally, if you are worried about losing your flash drive, you can always encrypt what's on it with a variety of encryption programs--many of which come preinstalled on the drive when you first buy it.
  

2. Another important rule is to avoid logging into your bank/credit card/financial services accounts from public terminals unless absolutely necessary. Make sure before you go that you have scheduled all your bill and credit card payments in advance. Also, make sure that your primary account (which you are using to pay for your travels as you go) has enough funds before setting out. If you must log in to these types of accounts plan on changing your password as soon as possible once you have established an internet connection from a secure computer.

3. Set up an email account that will exist only for your travels and then have your other email accounts forward their mail to it. This way, if someone does steal your password, they only have access to your temporary, disposable account and you can shut off the flow of forwarded mail from your primary accounts as soon as you are able to do so from a secure computer. Most providers offer email forwarding for free or for a small fee, which you can factor in as a small part of your whole trip's expense. I have found that Google's free gmail service works perfectly for this as it can check both webmail and POP3 based email.

4. Load your passwords into a free password safe like KeePass and then carry PortableKeePass with you on your flash drive as a portable app. This way you don't have to worry about losing your list of passwords somewhere on your travels and the electronic list that you do carry will be strongly encrypted to NAS security standards. I also recommend that you store a copy of your KeePass database on a free online file storage site like Windows Live SkyDrive service, which 25 free gigabytes of storage to anyone who has a hotmail account. That way, if you lose your flash drive, you can still access your passwords and other documents (like a scanned copy of your passport) from anywhere in the world.


Want to know more? See "8 Tips to Fool Keyloggers in Internet Cafes" by Christian Skoda.

New TripAdvisor.com Feature Lets You Compare Flight Search Results from Many Online Booking Agencies and Calculate Hidden Fees

Here's a useful new search feature that was written up in the travel section of the New York Times. According to Joe Sharkey in "A Clearing in the Fog of Complicated Booking",

TripAdvisor, the wide-ranging travel site owned by Expedia, introduced a search function that quickly sorted out flights and variables, including fees, connections and even the layout of the plane, from data pulled from a vast range of online booking agencies, including airlines’ own sites and sites like Travelocity, Hotwire and Expedia