Mistakes that will waste your money, your time, and in general, make your trip worse.

Hey guys, Nick here from Away Together.

I've been traveling Europe for years.

I've introduced so many Americans, including my own friends and family, to Europe for the first time, and I've noticed several common, very avoidable mistakes.

And I'll say I've made most of them myself.

Make sure you stick around because point number nine is the most common comment about Americans we get from Europeans here on our channel.

All right, mistake number one is actually a sneaky one, but it should be a quick win.

It's all about walking.

Whenever you take whatever Europe trip you're planning, you're likely going to walk more than you normally do at home.

The big mistake is forgetting to walk before your trip to build up some stamina.

I've had several instances where the people I traveled with were not prepared for how much walking we do on a typical Europe trip.

Then after day one, they're sore.

Their legs and their feet are bothering them, and it slows them down the rest of the trip.

Here's the deal.

Even fit people struggle with this.

Walking just uses different muscles, different than cycling, different than lifting weights, all that stuff.

And so if you're not in a walking habit, I'd suggest at least a month or ideally two months ahead of your trip, start going on some walks.

They don't have to be crazy, right?

But take an hour, walk a few miles.

This will help build up the endurance in your feet and your legs.

And make sure to break in your shoes before the trip too.

I know people love a new pair of kicks before their trip.

Just make sure to break them in before you leave.

One of the most egregious mistakes I see Americans make when they travel Europe is assuming things are the same.

And I mean this in a couple different ways.

First, that Europe is all the same.

That the travel skills you need, the cultural etiquette, the tipping customs, are all going to be the same when you're in more than 40 countries.

And also hundreds of distinct regions with rich histories and norms developed over thousands of years.

Yes, it's true things like the European Union and the Euro have made travel simpler.

But there's still nuances and uniquenesses in every different place that you visit.

For example, it's incredibly easy to get around via rail in Italy.

But in places like thinking things work the same as at home.

I see many travelers make costly mistakes when they default to what's normal back home.

For example, staying in a westernized skyscraper hotel at a familiar brand.

First of all, this typically costs way more.

But it also doesn't connect you to the place you're visiting a lot of times.

It puts you farther from the points of interest and stuff like that.

Mealtimes are going to vary.

Tipping customs are going to vary.

You may think you need a rental car, but public transport could be an incredible alternative where you're at.

Speaking of rental cars, here's an example of a really costly assumption that I made on our own travels.

We had this diesel rental car.

In the USA, the handle for diesel fuel at the fuel pump is usually green.

Not the case in many parts of the world.

And so when driving through rural Croatia, I filled up our diesel rental car with petrol because I assumed it was diesel.

Our car broke down.

We pulled up to the pump with the green handle.

I'm pretty sure I put unleaded fuel in this car.

This is what assuming will get you.

Go ahead and laugh at my stupidity.

The next big mistake, and it's good timing because I just ruined a car, remember, is forgetting about was able to cover what needed to be covered.

And there's all different kinds of travel insurance, and certainly you need to know what's covered and what isn't.

But your personal health insurance likely is only going to cover you in the United States.

Your little extra insurance that you buy with your plane ticket is only about your plane ticket.

Usually this isn't a recommendation for any particular kind of travel insurance, but you should think about what you do in the case of a medical emergency, how to cover your personal belongings if they're lost or stolen, and other things like trip interruption.

We also once had a death in our family in the middle of our six months sabbatical.

We were on a pretty tight budget, and so short notice flights to get home were outrageously expensive, but they were completely covered by our travel insurance.

Many travel credit cards these days come with certain elements of insurance as well.

One area that always comes in handy is rental car insurance coverage.

The important thing to know there is to actually enable that rental car coverage.

You reserve the car with that credit card, and then you waive the coverage that the rental company offers when you're booking.

A big mistake is not knowing how you'll use your phone.

Our phones are pretty crucial these days for things like Google Maps and talking with a host or a local guide.

And something I see a lot of travelers put off till the last minute or forget altogether is how they'll use their phones abroad.

There's a bunch of ways to go about this, right?

But some are more convenient than others, and some are very expensive.

In my early days of Europe travel, I was the Wi-Fi only guy.

I was only using my phone at the hotel or at places that had free Wi-Fi.

For years, I tried my carriers international data plan at $10 a day, which quickly added up to $100 or more for a 10-day trip with all these really frustrating data caps.

All I really wanted was something simple, land in a new country with my phone ready to go without a massive cost or data caps.

And so I'm going to tell you about what my wife, Ali, and I do now when we travel, which is Olafly.

Olafly uses eSIM technology, which makes it easy to stay connected in over 180 destinations worldwide with no roaming fees.

And 117 plus of those destinations offer unlimited data.

Olafly partners with the cellular carriers, typically the best ones of whichever country you're visiting, and their mobile app makes it easy to purchase an eSIM.

You simply browse for the country or region you want to visit, pick and purchase a plan, and then you're given a QR code that makes the install process very easy.

Yes, there's a way to simply take a screenshot of the QR code and install it that way.

Boom, your phone will automatically connect to the network in that country.

The app also makes it easy to get 24-7 customer support in just a few clicks.

One of my favorite things about Olafly is there are no hidden costs.

Unlike other providers that offer unlimited data, with Olafly what you see is what you get and there's no need for additional data top-ups.

If you're ready to stop paying for expensive international data plans, hit the link below and use the code AWAYTOGETHER for an additional 5% off your eSIM purchase.

Thanks Olafly for sponsoring this video.

Here's a mistake that really gets me, sticking to the tourist hotspots.

Imagine saving for years, planning for months, only to miss the real heart of a place.

Venturing just a bit further from those crowded streets can transform your experience.

It can help you find a more authentic and, in my experience, less pricey atmosphere.

Take food, for example.

The closer you are to major tourist sites, in general, the more likely you're dining in a tourist trap.

Where prices are high and the food...

I mean, how many locals do you actually see here?

It's probably just okay.

But wander off that beaten path and you might just find the meal of a lifetime in a place where the menu's in one language, not English.

My favorite restaurant in Rome, for example, is one that I get lost every time I try to find it and there's not a tourist in sight.

Don't forget to research places to eat.

This isn't just all about food.

Don't forget to research authentic local experiences.

A big mistake I see is not at least attempting to use points and miles.

Something I find many Americans take for granted is the opportunity we have with travel rewards programs.

One of the main ways my wife Ali and I were able to quit our jobs and travel full-time back when we first started this channel was because we had accumulated millions of hotel points and airline miles through credit card sign-up bonuses.

Honestly, we went a little bit overboard.

You may not realize this, I didn't for years, but most other countries don't have programs like these where you can open a credit card and earn a ton of airline miles or is getting strategic about collecting points and miles.

You don't have to reach points millionaire status like we did, but with a bit of planning, you can significantly cut your travel expenses.

If you're totally new to this, and here's how I'd start, of course, this all assumes that you're responsible and you can handle having a credit card.

Focus on cards that offer a good welcome bonus and have a justifiable annual fee.

Align them with your travel goals.

Think about where you want to go, have a redemption goal in mind, and then look for cards that align with the places that you want to go, what airlines fly there, what hotels are available there, or best case, a transferable points card that gives you options, and then maximize your everyday spending.

Look, you're already paying for groceries, utilities, dining out, stuff like that.

Why not earn points while you're at it?

We pay for nothing in our credit card.

The mistake that probably bothers me more than any on this list is when travelers go looking for America in other countries, or they simply don't respect the local way of doing things.

We talked earlier a bit about defaults, right?

What's worse than looking for the things that are default at home is carrying around a mindset of, oh, we don't do it that way at home, or, oh, that doesn't apply to me.

Having this mindset that America is just superior.

Friend, I want to urge you, behave as if you're an invited guest in someone else's home.

If you've ever been in a shoes-off household and your host asked you to remove your shoes, what kind of guest would you be if you just said no?

Not a very good one.

Likewise, make an effort to respect the local customs and the local people.

Leave your arrogance at home.

Don't fall into that trap of constantly comparing things to the way they are at home.

It's a surefire way to miss out.

Theodore once said, comparison is the thief of joy, and making comparisons or not respecting someone else's culture or way of life is the exact kind of thing that can give American travelers a bad reputation.

Travel is such an incredible opportunity to grow as a human being.

It's like accelerated personal development if you allow it to be, but you have to be open-minded and you need humility.

Behave as if you're a guest in someone else's home because that's what this is.

Another mistake I see catch travelers off-guard is not realizing they may want to pack differently than on a typical domestic trip in the USA.

I see many, many travelers on their first trip to Europe bring a giant checked suitcase.

There is almost no reason to bring a giant checked suitcase with you on a trip to Europe.

Most people, when they travel to Europe, plan to hit multiple cities and they'll travel between those cities via rail or bus or even inexpensive short-haul flights.

The right bag for a European adventure, nine times out of ten, will be lightweight, portable, and easy for you to manage.

One that you'd be fine walking a mile with if you had to.

One that you'd have no issue quickly stepping up onto a train with and that you're physically capable of managing over cobblestones, up flights of stairs, all that stuff.

And honestly, for the average trip, you just don't need that much.

We've made literally dozens of videos about packing on this channel and I will link to some of our favorites below.

But a couple of quick tips while you're here.

First, try to make carry-on only happen if you can.

You can do it.

I believe in you.

Compression packing cubes help save space in your bag.

Think about building a capsule wardrobe, which is a collection of several multi-use pieces of clothing that you can mix and match.

Don't bring too many pairs of shoes.

They take up a lot of space.

If you do check a bag, I would recommend putting an air tag in your luggage or something like it because it will come in handy if your bag gets lost.

Okay, this mistake is the number one comment about Americans from Europeans who watch our channel.

Americans talk too loud.

Why do Americans talk so loud?

Here's the deal.

I grew up in a family of loud talkers.

My wife, Allie, also talks a bit loud.

Don't tell her I said that.

I would say that we are both loud by American standards.

Americans in general are loud by European standards.

I don't know why we do it.

There's speculation about this.

One theory is possibly because Americans are more concerned about their personal space.

We're used to being farther away from each other and so basically we shout when we talk.

I'm shouting right now.

This isn't going to ruin your trip or anything, but if you hope not to stand out or you just want to be respectful, you may consider using your inside voice even when you're outside.

Maybe the most American mistake on this list is to pack your itinerary way too full.

The way I usually see this play out is trying to cover an entire country or even multiple countries in just not enough time.

You end up cobbling a trip together that's nothing but hitting the major capitals of several different countries and then you spend half of your daylight hours while on that trip on a train or in an airport or behind the windshield of a car.

I know there's an achievement element to all of this, right?

People share their country count like it's a badge of honor, but did you really see those places or did you just spend one night there?

We're all time strapped and we all only have so many vacation days.

I get that, but my preferred way of tackling this rather than trying to see an entire country or even multiple entire countries in one trip is to focus on one specific region of a country and go deep there.