✈️ Mark & Becky’s Top 10 Smart Start Travel Tips
Real advice from the road—tested, tweaked, and traveler-approved.
Tip #1: 🎒 Pack Light—You’ll Thank Yourself Later
Part of Mark & Becky’s Smart Start Travel Tips
On a Rick Steves tour, you carry your own luggage—up stairs, across cobblestones, often times without elevators.
The key? Pack light and smart. 99% of all our tour mates have done so. Don't be the 1%!
Here’s how we do it:
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👕 Capsule wardrobes: Choose pieces that mix and match effortlessly.
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🧥 Layer up: Bring lightweight layers for changing weather. Use a rain jacket as a jacket if needed.
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🥾 Wear the bulkiest items on the plane—especially the hiking shoes we live in while on tour.
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👖 Avoid denim: It's heavy and slow to dry. We’ve swapped in travel-friendly fabrics instead—except one pair of jeans Becky regrets taking on this trip. (But they were so cute.)
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🧳 Use compression bags: They maximize space and keep things organized.
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🧼 Laundry is always an option: Your guide will share when and where.
Remember: you don’t need to pack for every scenario—just be ready to adapt!
Two guides our bus driver and Mark trying to figure out the laundry with us!
RS Village Italy 2019
Tip #2: Travel Tech That Works for You
Part of Mark & Becky’s Smart Start Travel Tips
These are the apps and tools that made our trip smoother, more connected, and even a little more fun:
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📍 Google Maps:
Download maps offline, star your hotel, and never get lost—even without Wi-Fi.
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🗣 Google Translate:
Speak or snap photos for instant translations. Great for menus and signs.
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💸 Cost of Living App:
See fair prices for local goods and avoid tourist markups.
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🧮 Currency tools (XE Currency or iOS Calculator):
Know what you’re spending with quick conversions.
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📲 WhatsApp:
Easy, free communication with guides and hotels via Wi-Fi.
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📶 Airalo:
Affordable eSIMs for local data (if your phone supports it).
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📷 Google Photos or iCloud:
Backup your photos over Wi-Fi—no lost memories!
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🎧 Rick Steves Audio Europe App:
Free walking tours and museum guides for dozens of destinations.
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📚 Rick Steves Guidebook E-Books:
Lighter than print, just as detailed—great for quick access.
A little prep goes a long way—download before you go!
Tip #3: Arrive Early and Hit the Ground Running
Part of Mark & Becky’s Smart Start Travel Tips
Arriving at least a day before the tour offers breathing room and a bonus travel day.
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🕓 Buffer time in case of flight delays
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🛬 We don’t nap—we stay up until local bedtime to adjust faster
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🗺️ Becky has pre-planned free time with lists, maps, and walking routes ready to go and ease us into our tour.
Arriving early means you're not rushed, not stressed, and fully ready to enjoy the tour from day one.
Arrival adrenaline keeps us going til bedtime
RS South Italy 2024
#4: 📲 Before We Fly—Prep for Peace of Mind
Part of Mark & Becky’s Smart Start Travel Tips
A little digital prep can make your travel day smoother—and keep your loved ones in the loop.
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🛫 We text ourselves our flight number before we head to the airport. On iPhones, that becomes a clickable link for real-time flight updates
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📤 We share the flight info with family so they can track our progress (and worry less!).
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🖨️ We print hard copies of the essentials:
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Passports
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Tour itinerary
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Flight confirmations
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Front and back of credit cards
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Rick Steves emergency contact info.
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Enroll in the US State Department's Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) to receive alerts and be located in an emergency.
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Location of US Embassies near our destinations
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Phone numbers for airlines, Rick Steves, insurance
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Having both digital and printed backups gives us confidence and flexibility, whether we’re navigating a delay or just needing quick access on the go.
Tip #5: 💶 Money Matters—Spend Smart, Stay Safe
Part of Mark & Becky’s Smart Start Travel Tips
Managing money wisely while traveling can save you both stress and cash. Here’s what works for us:
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🏧 Skip the numerous and convenient tourist ATMs! Use bank ATMs instead (usually attached to a physical bank) and always decline the currency conversion—your home bank will usually give you a better exchange rate.
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💵 No need to bring euros from home. Wait until you’re out of the airport and withdraw from a bank ATM for a better rate. It’s easy, and you’ll avoid overpriced currency. We return home with a small amount of euros for the start of our next trip.
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🕵️♂️ Watch your wallets. Pickpockets love crowds, public transit, and distracted tourists. Keep valuables in front pockets or zippered bags, never in back pockets. Carabiners or safety clips on backpack zippers add a layer of deterrence. We always use our Rick Steves money belts—they're secure and discreet.
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💳 Let your bank know you’re traveling. Notify credit card companies and banks in advance to avoid declined charges.
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🌍 Not all countries use the euro. On this tour, you may visit countries with their own currency (like Hungary or the Czech Republic). Most places accept credit cards—but it's good to have a small amount of local cash for snacks, tips, or small shops.
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💡 Bonus Tip: We keep a few small euro notes and coins handy for things like public restrooms, small purchases, or local transit.
Paying for dinner in Murren
RS Germany, Austria, Switzerland 2009
Tip #6: 👵 Seniors—But Not the High School Variety
Part of Mark & Becky’s Smart Start Travel Tips
Many cities and attractions offer senior discounts, usually starting at age 60 or 65—so don’t miss out!
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🚌 In Prague, for example, public transportation is free for seniors over 65 with ID.
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🎟️ Museums, tours, and local transit often have discounted rates—just ask or check online.
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Always carry your ID to prove your eligibility—although we were never questioned. (Is that a good or bad thing?) 🤔
A little planning means more money for gelato (or wine)! 🍨🍷
More money for gelato—
chocolate+hazelnut if you need to know—
RS Southern Italy 2024
Tip #7: 🌍 Say Yes to Adventure!
Part of Mark & Becky’s Smart Start Travel Tips
Travel is the perfect time to try new foods, new words, and new experiences. Here’s how we embrace the adventure:
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🍽️ Try foods you’ve never had before!
Over our travels, we’ve sampled everything from blood pudding to smoked salmon, and fish that needed to be skinned and debone. This trip marked Becky’s first taste of duck (spoiler: it tastes like turkey). -
🍷🍺 Sip local-wines, brews and shots.
Sampling local drinks is part of the culture—and a great way to toast to new experiences!
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🗣️ Learn basic phrases in the local language.
“Hello” and “Thank you” go a long way. Add “Goodbye” and “Excuse me” to your mini vocabulary. Since we didn’t know the languages on this trip, we made a tiny cheat sheet that fit right in our phone case. -
🚶♀️ Get off the beaten path!
When crowds overwhelm the main streets, explore side alleys or relax in quiet parks to recharge and soak in the local vibe. -
🤝 Connect with locals
Most people are happy to chat and share their culture—just ask questions and listen. It’s the best way to gain fresh perspectives and create lasting memories.
Adventure awaits—say yes to it!
Sip the local stuff
RS Ireland 2022
First time deboning my own fish! —Becky
RS Greece 2023
#9: 🚉 Transit Smarts
Part of Mark & Becky’s Smart Start Travel Tips
European trains and buses can be efficient—but also a bit confusing at first. Here’s how we stay stress-free:
✅ Some tickets must be validated (stamped) before boarding—look for the small machines on platforms or near the doors. 💸 Fines can be steep for skipping this step!
🎟️ Not all seats are fair game—check for reservations. If someone wants your seat, they’re probably not being rude—it’s likely been assigned!
🪙 Coins come in handy—especially for transit kiosks, lockers, and even 🚻 restrooms.
📷 We take a photo of our railcar number and stop info to keep things straight when station announcements or signs are hard to follow.
How to remember your stop
RS Central Europe 2025
Public Transport is clean and efficient
RS Central Europe 2025
#10: 📷 Capture & Reflect
Part of Mark & Becky’s Smart Start Travel Tips
A few small habits help us savor every moment—and remember them later!
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📝 We jot a few lines in a daily travel journal or phone note—just the highlights, best laughs of the day, or what we learned on the bus from our guide.
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📸 Snap photos of things we might forget: hotel room numbers, local bus signs, 🧾 receipts for where purchases were made.
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😢 The bad news? Halfway through the tour, Becky lost her journal—so all her notes were gone. But that forced us to come up with alternative methods that were helpful.
📱 She switched to her phone, which felt a bit more cumbersome—but at least it was something. The phone also captured gps of the photo locations.
💳 Once home, we used our credit card bill to jog our memory of where we dined, bought tickets or made purchases.
Becky makes a printed scrapbook of every trip—pre digital they were handmade, so losing that journal was huge for her...HUGE! But no tears were shed. So that's good.