Phone:  If traveling from the US, it is possible for your phone service provider to sell an international plan, however it’s much cheaper to get a SIM card for your phone while you are in Europe.  Should cost 15-20 euros a month for a plan with a fair amount of data and an hour or so of talk time.  You can recharge it every 30 days or so.  This only works on “unlocked” phones.  If your phone is “locked” to your mobile network carrier in the US, you may be able to request them to unlock it for the period of time you are in Europe.

 

Phone Contacts:  You should include country codes in your contact lists.  For US persons who you want to talk to while you are here, add +1 in front of their phone #, ie:

My Old Phone: +1 507-352-5000.

If you want to contact me here, add the Spain country code (+34) in front of the phone #, ie:

A sample Barcelona contact is: +34 667 23 34 56

If you have WhatsApp installed, you will see the iconappear next to the phone number for your contacts who also have it installed.

 

Useful Smartphone Apps:

WhatsApp – By all appearances, this is the preferred communications app for most Europeans (including doctors/dentists/businesses).  Voice/text/video using the data networks.  They use this app so they don’t need to spend money on more expensive phone plans including voice minutes…  This is probably the most important app I have.  You will definitely want it if you plan to communicate with anyone else while in Europe (or India, or …).

Also (this is important), install and test it before leaving the US.  One of our guests thought they would do it after they arrived, and only use the service when a wifi was available (which is perfectly acceptable method of use).  But while installing, they needed to have a text message sent to their (US) phone number … which they couldn’t because they were in Europe … so just get it done before leaving!

Moovit – For determining public transportation routes.  IMHO, does a better job than Google Maps.  Also, their webpage offers downloads of local bus/transit maps for many cities.

Maps.Me – An alternative mapping app which doesn’t use any data.  You will have to download the maps covering the area where you are, but then the GPS sensor on your phone superimposes your location over the current map.  Shows a lot of hiking trails that don’t show up on Google Maps.

loco2 – If you are thinking of taking trains while in Europe, this is the best train app I have found.

www.skyscanner.net – My favorite low-cost airfare search engine.  They can also search for auto rental options.  And they have a smartphone app.

 

Pickpockets:

There are lots of pickpockets out there, and they are extremely good at what they do.  Typically they work in teams – one of them will cause some sort of distraction while the other one goes in for the ‘kill’. For example:

Bird poop scam.  Somebody approaching you from behind squirts some “poop-like” mixture on your shoulder.  They alert you and offer to help clean up.  While you are distracted, the other team member is looking for a way to make off with whatever they can …

Or someone will stumble in front of you on the metro – or wherever – to swoop in for the kill while you are helping the “victim”.

It’s fine to help people in need – just make sure you have both hands on your valuables while you assess the situation!

Pants pockets are generally a bad idea unless they are really hard to get into for some reason – like a hidden zippered pocket.  Definitely do not put your phone into an external suit jacket pocket.  Or an unzipped purse.  Or the external zipper pocket of a backpack worn on your back.

 

Cash:

Depending on where you go, credit cards are not always accepted and you should have access to cash.  Test your ATM cash withdrawal procedures before coming, because (for example) it’s real hard to get ATM pin numbers changed when you are out of the country.

In Spain, most of the ATMs charge a fee (3-5€) for cash withdrawal if you don’t have an account with that bank.  I am aware of several banks that don’t charge the fee, among them are Kutxa and DeutschBank.

When using a credit card, you will be asked whether the transaction should be in dollars or euros.  The correct answer is Euros!  No matter where you are in the world, always choose the local currency.  If you don’t, then you will probably pay an extra currency exchange fee…