Don’t Leave Your Vacation To Chance

by Lily Iona MacKenzie

Recently I toured Italy and Greece.  I reserved rooms in advance at Milan's Delta Hotel, assuming it would be easy to find, just two miles from the airport.  I envisioned Milan having several airport hotels, much as American cities do, easily accessible from the airport and highly visible. <

When I picked up my rental car, a Fiat, it was about 10 AM California time (7:00 PM in Milan), and I had not slept all night.  I was eager to check into a hotel and sleep.  Two and a half hours later I still hadn't found the hotel.  I stopped numerous people on the street to ask the way.  But my lack of Italian and their lack of English made getting accurate directions impossible.  I was driving in circles.  <

Without a map, I couldn't get my bearings.  Also, the autostrada—their highway system—was a new experience.  It was difficult to read exit signs and make instant choices without a navigator.  Luck was with me and I avoided a collision.  (You can't make a right turn on red lights in Italy.)  Finally, I found a policeman who let me follow him to the hotel.  By then I was near tears, exhausted, and tremendously frustrated. 

After this experience I'll never go to a new city without obtaining a map first or having an navigational device.  I also discovered the importance of reading  everything you can before the trip.  Once underway, you're so exhausted from traveling and touring you just want to collapse.  When you're on the road, whether on a train or bus, it's difficult to ignore the passing panorama and put your face in a book.

I also recommend visiting the train and bus stations you'll be using in advance.  You can't trust the schedules that accompany the Eurailpasses.  They constantly change.  You need to actually go to the train station, unless, of course, you are fluent in the language and can check schedules over the phone or on the Internet.  By visiting the bus or train station, you'll know exactly where you'll be leaving from and how long it will take you to get there. 

If I hadn't checked ahead at Florence before leaving for Venice, my travel plans would have been thoroughly messed up.  Most important, I wouldn't have discovered that the Eurailpass had to be validated by an information clerk before I boarded the train (this was the first time I had used the pass, and it has to be validated before being used for the first time, something I had missed seeing when I read the small print). 

If I'd boarded without having the pass validated, I would have been kicked off the train.  I almost missed it anyway since I hadn't left much lead time.  Fortunately, I just made it, but it would have been a long wait until the next train.  I would have lost half a day or more, considerable time when you're trying to pack in as much sightseeing as possible in a short period of time.  

It's also wise not to trust airport officials' advice.  A British Air clerk told me I needn't get to the airport more than an hour ahead of flight time (I was flying British Air out of Paris).  Luckily, I used my common sense and arrived there earlier; otherwise, I would have missed my flight.  The Paris airport has a particularly archaic system of checking in people, a very complicated multi-tiered, time-consuming process.  Since each airport is set up differently, again it's important to allow extra time for the unfamiliarity and possible snags.

I also discovered that Eurailpasses aren't necessarily a savings.  Compare the price you would pay if you were to buy your tickets in Europe versus buying a Eurailpass.  Since you need to reserve seats anyway, especially during busy seasons, which forces you to visit the train station, requiring some waiting in line and preliminary preparation before taking a train, there isn't much advantage now to having a Eurailpass, unless you are going to be traveling extensively by train.  I had read that the lines for buying tickets would be extremely long in the summer months, when I was traveling, but they really weren't that bad.  (Of course, I was travelling in July, not August, the month when most Europeans take holidays.  There may be longer lines then.)  And as I've pointed out, you generally need reservations anyway during those months.

Before arriving in Italy, I had no idea that tolls were charged on the autostrada, blithely driving through an automated ticket vendor where I should have picked up a ticket.  Since I didn't have one when I was ready to exit the toll road, I ran into trouble:  I didn't speak Italian and the toll guards and cashiers didn't speak English.  I finally gathered that I had crashed the autostrada.  But it took a good deal of time and furious attempts at sign language to communicate what had happened.

Also remember to read the fine print before sitting down in restaurants—extra charges for service, silverware, and bread, especially in Italy, are common.  A dinner costing 11,000L can be twice that amount once extras have been added in.  If you ask for water, you'll receive a litre of bubbly water, not an inexpensive item.  It's difficult, if impossible, to just get a glass of water.  So while in a guide book, a restaurant's prices might look moderate, by the time you pay for all of the above, it can get quite costly.

Similarly, try not to buy food on trains—it's a complete rip off, the prices at least double what you'd pay in a comparable restaurant.  Bring your own food, cheese, bread, pastries, juices or other drinks.   If you're on an overnight train and can't bring enough food for your breakfast, visit the dining car early as they sell out quickly.

I swear by guide books and used them extensively in my planning.  However, the rates for rooms are generally not what they quote in the guidebooks.  Usually the guidebook rates are for the off season; if you're planning a budget around these lower rates, you'll be thrown off by the actual figures. 

Don't let your difficulties with the language stop you from asking questions.  Not asking enough questions cost me when I booked a ferry from Athens to Naxos.  I said I didn't want to be up on the deck for such a long ride (six hours).  They immediately booked me into first class, and I didn't realize I had any choice.  I actually didn't know it was first class till I arrived on the ferry.  Later I discovered that there is a tourist class below deck with very comfortable seats for half the price I ended up paying.  First class was nice, but when you're traveling on a tight budget, it's superfluous.

Don't underestimate how long it will take you to get from one place to the next, especially if you're flying or taking a train.  The day I flew from Athens to Rome, my flight was originally scheduled to arrive in the early afternoon.   I thought I would have several hours before dark to sightsee and made my plans accordingly.  However, not only was my plane two hours late departing from Athens, but getting from the Rome airport to my hotel took much more time than I had expected.  Hence, that day was shot in terms of sightseeing.  All I had the energy to do was leave the hotel briefly to find a food take-out place.

I also hadn't expected to have stomach problems, so I only brought Pepto Bismal tablets.  However, in Greece I ate something that caused diarrhea and was wary about using drugs I wasn't familiar with.  Fortunately, a young American woman staying in my pension heard of my plight and shared her Immodium with me.  It worked immediately, and I wouldn't travel without it now.

Finally, don't expect English to be spoken with any consistency in any of these countries, especially in small towns.  The locals are proud of their language and want to use it, even though English has become more of a universal tongue. 

Often, though, if you're persistent, you'll find someone with at least a rudimentary knowledge of English, enough, usually, to help you find your way.  While a phrasebook can be useful for reading signs, and that sort of thing, or for pointing at when asking a question, it's pretty useless during a rapid exchange or if you're trying to understand an answer and match it to what you're reading.  

My best advice under these and other circumstances is to retain a sense of humor, and remember to expect some problems.  In small doses, they can add just the tension you need to make your vacation memorable.  <

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