No turning back now...

But I still bought insurance.


Who knows? Maybe I'll get horribly ill. Or get married. Scratch that. The only way I'll be canceling the trip is if I'm in a full blown body cast.  Or dead. Which ever comes first.

After some research I decided to book my first trip with EF College Break. I never did find out what the "EF" stands for. Never mind. The company had great reviews and ratings. I was still skeptical. I know, I know - I'm always skeptical. But after I found out that people from CSUS (and my work!) have used this company to travel I felt much better.

Deciding on a trip was not that hard. I had a list of the top five places I wanted to visit and one of the trips had three of them. I decided to book their London, Paris, & Rome trip. A total of 12 days in August of 2009.

In retrospect, I would highly recommend them for your first trip if you're between the age of 18 and 26. Why 26? I have do idea. But that's what it says on their website. The company takes really good care of you. Really. They make all of the arrangements for you. They book the flights, the hotels, the tours, and the train tickets. They even have someone meet you at the airport with a sign that says your name :) The hotels all had breakfast included. And I don't mean a continental breakfast. I mean a full blown, sit down, and stuff your face breakfast. I think in Paris alone I gained five pounds. It was those cursed croissants! Those evil, warm, flaky croissants! And the crepes. I never stood a chance.

What was I saying? Ah, yes. The company also provides you with a welcome drink and a farewell dinner. At least they did when I traveled with them. I think they might have changed it up a bit. I think now its a welcome dinner and a good bye drink. Yeah, I know. Who cares. But when you're a student on a budget every bit counts and that was one less dinner I had to worry about. The trip also included a hop-on hop-off Big Red Bus tour. Those iconic buses that everyone sees in pictures of London. A few other excursions (such as the Louvre Museum, the Eiffel Tower, The Colosseum and the Vatican among others) were included in the price. Everything else had to be out of pocket. I also bought the two excursions they offered - Bath & Stonehenge and then Pompeii. 

So basically my only out of pocket expenses were for lunch, dinner, souvenirs, subway tickets, and entrance into a few of the attractions (such as the Tower of London). Add in insurance, taxes, and fees and my total cost of the trip came out to about $3,800. Not bad. Actually, that also included two SD memory cards that I bought that were outrageously overpriced. But more on that later. You can click on "EF College Break" at the top of this post. It will take you to the itinerary of the trip I took.

I know the cost and planning are two things at keep people away from traveling. But going with this company was really easy and affordable. They do have payment plans so you can even pay off your trip before you go. I know that price might seem steep, but it was three countries and a transcontinental flight.


I almost forgot. They also set everyone who booked the trip with a Facebook group so you get to meet and talk to the people you'll be traveling with before you go. I thought that was a really great idea.

Trust me, I haven't regretted it and neither will you.

But...




I would like to give you a bit of advice. The thing about doing something for the first time (and going out of your comfort zone) is there is a very steep learning curve. If I could, I would do the following things differently:


1) Skip the additional trips. Its not because of the additional cost (they are actually really good deals) but because you're in each city for about 3.33 days you really don't have time to see everything the city itself has to offer. I missed out on going inside the Buckingham Palace in London (its only open a few months out of the year), Saint Chapelle in Paris, and the Spanish Steps in Rome. And that's only naming a few. The cities are so large and so diverse that even 3 days is just not enough. So focus on the cities and save the other places for another time.


2) Bring your student ID!!! I can't stress this one enough! Apparently Europe is very student friendly. After I graduated I packed away my old CSUS student ID cards. Stupid, stupid stupid! Almost every place had great discounts if you had your student ID. And the best part about student ID cards is they have no expatriation date ;)


3) London and Paris both offer what they call a "Pass" I haven't checked to see if Rome has one. I only found out about this AFTER I came back. These city passes are really a great deal. If you by the combo pass then that includes entrance into all of the attractions and all of your inner city travel (buses, trains and subways). No buying over priced subway tickets! Or standing in line and paying full price at places like the Tower of London. Just swipe your pass and your in! Click here to be taken to the website for the London combo pass (pass + travel card). Get it, unless, you know, you want to spend more money.


4) Bring enough memory for your camera! I bought a 4GB SD card that I thought would be enough. But I ran out of space - fast! Before I even got to Paris! You don't want to waste your time deciding which pics to keep. And because the people who live there know this the SD memory cards there cost 2-4 times what you would pay for one here! I actually paid $100 for one of them when I could have gotten it for $20 here (or for free if I borrowed it!).


5) Pack light. I mean it. LIGHT. Take one carry-on suit case and maybe a back pack - but no more. You don't need that many clothes or shoes. With all the walking you'll be doing don't even think about taking heels (think Toms!). I think I stopped feeling my feet by day 3. Instead of taking several sweaters, just take a light jacket that goes with everything. I packed a full suitcase and I regretted lugging that thing everywhere. It takes up so much room on the trains, buses, and subways. Its also heavy (and no one will carry it for you). Not worth it.


6) You'll need to have cash with you just in case (for tips or places that don't take credit cards). DO NOT EXCHANGE IT OVERSEAS. Find a bank that will give you Pounds or Euros here. The fees there to exchange money just rip you off. One thing I did do right was use a credit card that had good fees for international transactions. A lot of my fellow travelers got charged huge fees by their banks.
Oh, and do call your credit card companies and let them know you'll be traveling. You don't want them to lock your cards because they think they got stolen.


7) Don't call home. Don't even text. Even with an international phone plan it was still expensive.(Trust me, I learned the hard way) Better yet, find places like coffee shops that have free wi-fi and send an e-mail or post something on Facebook so people know you're alive and well.


That's all I could think of now. I'm sure I'll have a few other tidbits of good information (or warnings) in my later posts. I plan to post short recaps of some of the places I visited on my first trip in 2009. Then, when Anna and I finalize our plan,s we'll reveal what we have in store for this year's trip! 

Only 150 days left!!!