Jonathan’s Travel Tips

I want this trip for everyone to be fun, happy and low stress! It should be a celebration/vacation/party. So I put together a list of suggestions to help save you some money, effort and confusion that will hopefully help you enjoy the trip to its full potential. If you have any questions or want help planning I am here to help. These are all my tips and tricks for travel, tailored to this trip:

⁃ It is your trip! Don’t think about it like a school field trip and feel the need to have to go to museums or popular tourist sites. If you want to spend the whole time relaxing by the beach drinking then do it. You want to spend your money on amazing restaurants then do it. You don’t have to stay in Italy- it should be easy/cheap (if planned ahead) to fly/train anywhere within Europe. Treat this like a present to yourself. Do what you want to do (just be at the wedding)!

⁃ Figure out your budget and then plan around it.

⁃ Consider it a present to yourself and don’t stress about costs as long as you stay within your budget. When you are determining a budget, consider travel, lodging, food, drinks, excursions, passes, events, and souvenirs. I always assume something unexpected will come up that will cost money I did not allocate for, so add in an extra buffer.

⁃ Look for travel deals, some sites I like to use are below.

For Miles/Points:

⁃ Chase Ultimate Rewards: These are transferable points to a bunch of airlines and hotels

⁃ Amex travel: These are transferable points to a bunch of airlines and hotels

⁃ Any airline or hotel chain you have points or status

For Prices/Deals:

⁃ Google flights

⁃ Point.me: Think Expedia for points. This is awesome if you have miles for multiple airlines or bank points (Amex, Chase, Capital One). This is a paid subscription, but a guy I follow on social media has a discount if you use “monkey miles” it’s $1 the first month.

⁃ Expedia

⁃ Hostelworld.com

⁃ Great Travel Sites

⁃ Google translate (app download): You can type phrases in or take a picture of a sign and it will translate the text on picture

⁃ Rome2rio: Helps you find the best travel route with costs and options to take from any two places

⁃ Flightconnections: You can search from Atl to any destination and see all possible routes. Same thing in reverse, anywhere to Atl.

⁃ TripAdvisor (app download): I use this for hotels, restaurants, attractions, tours - anything to see reviews or prices basically. Good option when trying to find food and you Dort by distance to current location.

⁃ Delta Discover Map: Check any Covid restrictions or documentation you need to prepare

⁃ There is no direct flight from Atl->Florence, the airport is small and only domestic. So the fastest options (~12 hours) are 1. Direct Atl -> Rome then train to Florence or 2. Atl to somewhere else in Europe and then fly to Florence. Ashleigh and I are flying Atl->Paris->Florence.

⁃ Consider flying to a different hub within US (I.e. New York) to possibly find cheaper flights. This will add time to your travel itinerary but may be worth it depending on costs.

⁃ Your likely biggest expense will be airfare. Consider trying to use points to pay for it. I can help you look for deals! Best value are those Chase, Amex or Capital One points. (These are different than something like Delta Miles you get with a Delta Amex Credit Card)

⁃ Use point.me to find the best points deals and then you transfer your points to the specific airline with the good deal.

⁃ On your phone, share your location with people for emergency. Also helpful if you split up to find each other in crowded tourists areas.

⁃ Think ahead about cellular. I know AT&T does $10/day when on my plan, but check what your options are. Also you can look into renting a SIM card or mobile wifi device. Most European cities have wifi in most places but it’s good to have at least one person in your group with cellular.

⁃ Spend some time to learn/write down a handful of basic phrases in the local language. Here’s some examples in Italian:

⁃ Thank you: Grazie

⁃ Please: Per Favore

⁃ Help: Aiuto

⁃ Excuse me: Mi Scusi

⁃ Where do I go: Dove Vado

⁃ What do you recommend: Che Cosa Mi Consiglia

⁃ How much money: quanti soldi

⁃ Look up the conversion rate to local currency. A majority of European countries use the Euro which is roughly 1->1 with the US dollar at the moment.

⁃ Google search if tipping is expected - Italians do not tip but Americans still do it. It’s not expected that you tip but the receiver of tip will still appreciate it

⁃ I recommend always having some cash and a Visa credit card that has no international transaction fees. Most places will not take Amex. When you swipe your credit card always choose pay in US dollars. The bank covers the cost to convert currencies. Generally ATMs are better than Currency Exchange shops, but ATMs charge fees. Exchange rates are normally unfavorable at airport and tourists sites, but sometimes you may just have to suck up the bad conversion rate. I think you can get Euros from your local bank in US, but I’ve never done that. I use Charles Schwab debit card at ATMs and they cover the fees.

⁃ Google most common scams on tourists in…You only make this mistake of not doing this once

⁃ Depending on your trip you may want to rent a car, book this ahead if you do. It is peak travel season and they are likely to fill up. Most places either have cabs, Uber or something similar. Google your area and determine which is least sketchy option.

⁃ Google expected costs based on distance. If you get a cab clarify before hand the cost. You almost always want them to use the meter. Cab drivers universally piss me off and more than anyone else try to rip me off, especially the guys standing at airport looking to pick up tourists. When in doubt meter is better and research ahead of time what the cost should roughly be. Uber or other apps are nice because you know it is roughly fair.

⁃ what I bring on long international flights

⁃ Most comfortable clothes I own…literally one step above pajamas

⁃ Gym shorts & t-shirt - I put a hoodie and joggers in my carry on

⁃ Slippers

⁃ iPad (ash brings her kindle) - this is also great to use internationally with free VPNs

⁃ Over the ears noise cancelling headphones - amazing to block out plane noise

⁃ Remember to bring aux cord if you want to use them with your seat monitor on the plane

⁃ Eye mask

⁃ NyQuil

⁃ Phone charger, most international planes have outlets in your seat

⁃ I buy snacks (or steal from lounge) in the airport, airplane food is frequently awful

⁃ Most airlines give you free alcohol on international flights (Delta does). Obviously drink if you want, but be aware the altitude does gets your drunk faster.

⁃ Life saving Toiletries: Advil, Tums, Vitamin C packets, Liquid IV packets, Lotion, Extra Toothbrush/Toothpaste, Extra Phone Charger, International charger.

⁃ Before getting on your plane download music, videos, shows or movies. I normally do Spotify, YouTube, Netflix, HBO.

⁃ Jetlag

⁃ Episode 6 sleep masterclass by Matthew walker (This may or may not be placebo)

⁃ Sleep beginning half of flight. Normally they feed you soon after takeoff, so I try to nap right after.

⁃ After you wake from nap stay up for at least 12 hours there after

⁃ Get as much sunlight as possible in the mornings and less later in day. So no sunglasses in morning but put some on late afternoon

⁃ Avoid alcohol and caffeine before nap (I drink but it’s scientifically better not to)

⁃ You can take melatonin to help sleep but you are suppose to only use .5 or 1 milligram for a nap and 1-3 milligrams for full sleep. Most people I feel like do more than they are supposed to.

⁃ Change your clocks as soon as you can.

⁃ Attempt to avoid light before sleep so I use an eye mask on planes.

⁃ Plan, but be willing to adapt.

⁃ Expect most cool things to fill up. It’s peak season so book “important” things ahead of time

⁃ Before booking hotel/airbnb/hostel consider what you will want to do - Tourist attractions, events, restaurants, places to “go out”. Some people want to stay at a really nice or really cheap place, I generally care more about location, after a certain standard is met. For me, depending on the trip, it may literally just be a room to sleep and I’m out doing stuff the rest of the day.

⁃ Consider when you arrive and leave an area. If you get in super early you probably can not enter your airbnb and therefore are stuck with you luggage. If you get a hotel they will let you drop off your luggage so you can go explore until your room is ready. If they are nice and able you may be able to have an early checkin or late checkout.

⁃ Hostels can be awesome if you want to meet people and are in your 20s. If you are not feeling young, then do not lie to yourself, just get a hotel or airbnb. If you stay at a hostel bring a lock. They generally have lockers for you to put your stuff in.

⁃ TripAdvisor is great for both things to do and places to eat. If you want to do things like rent a boat or do a tour they may fill up so book ahead.

⁃ To find the best food first look at number of reviews, then ratings (only 4, 4.5 or 5 stars), then read the customer reviews. If 9/10 reviews all talk about the same meal from this place then order that same damn meal, it’ll be good.

⁃ Look up that cultures most popular/well known types of foods and then find restaurants that meet my criteria above and specialize in that specific food. (I.e. in Italy find some really good pasta, tiramisu, gelato, etc.)

⁃ If you spend time in Rome go to the Vatican. It’s the only “museum” that’s actually blown me away

⁃ Markets with food and/or local souvenirs can be cool. Most everything is negotiable

⁃ Social Media has great tips, if you are willing to sift through the noise. This is for someone willing to dedicate time, but you can find hidden gems this way.

⁃ Make a list of places you want to go - Google sheets, Google maps allows you to create a trip map where you save all the places you want to go. It is unlikely you will go to all these places but its a nice to have if you are not sure what to do in the moment.

⁃ Google “Best things to do in___” “Best things to do in ___ in July” there will be tons of articles.

⁃ Get recommendations from friends who have traveled where you are going

⁃ Consider if it makes sense to do a tour or just go to a place yourself