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Erwin posted:Heads up for the two goons heading to Rome after me: Trevi Fountain is shut down for repairs. You can still see it, but the water is not running, and there's scaffolding all over. The Colosseum also has some scaffolding on one side, but it's not the side you'll want to take pictures of, so it's not a big deal. One day I want to make a glossy coffee table photo book called World Monuments Obscured By Scaffolding.
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Sep 8, 2015 07:02
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A lot of trains between major cities in Italy require mandatory reservations. These can be purchased well in advance, or at the station itself - if I leave myself the travel flexibility and just try to reserve at the station, am I going to be okay? Or am I going to find myself sitting in a train station waiting for a spot? e: I want an answer to that question, but it also kinda comes down to this other question. Do I want to travel as the first thing that day, mid day, or at night? Right now I'm thinking first thing, but I'm wondering if there's an argument for doing it at the end of the day? MC Fruit Stripe fucked around with this message at 08:03 on Sep 8, 2015 |
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Sep 8, 2015 07:52
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MC Fruit Stripe posted:A lot of trains between major cities in Italy require mandatory reservations. These can be purchased well in advance, or at the station itself - if I leave myself the travel flexibility and just try to reserve at the station, am I going to be okay? Or am I going to find myself sitting in a train station waiting for a spot? For piece of mind you can book online ahead of time and make sure you have your seats. However, I never had any problems taking the busiest high speed routes and buying tickets the day of travel at the train station. I think over a period of 2 months of travel in Italy I never encountered a completely sold out train. The only thing slightly close I encountered was a Frecciarossa with about 30 singles seats, but none together. As for your second question its all down to personal preference. I always did the first because I found it better to just check out and head to the next location instead of leaving bags at the hotel or train station and seeing some more things. However, going with the above benefit of flexible train ticket purchasing, if you have something extra you wanted to see in a city, leaving later could give you the chance to see something you might otherwise miss. MagicCube fucked around with this message at 10:44 on Sep 8, 2015 |
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Sep 8, 2015 10:42
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asur posted:I'm so confused. How do the bulk of the people in this thread, who are presumably from a first world country, not have access to a debit card? I don't even think you can open a checking account in the US without receiving one. Various places use different kinds of cards? There is a thing called Maestro in Europe, which is a debit card (not a credit card) but often used as the de facto card that gives you access to your account, and you can pay with it in shops etc. Other countries use Visa Debit/Visa Electron, which is also a debit card, but not necessarily interchangeably accepted alongside Maestro. On top of that, you have the regular credit cards (Visa, MasterCard, Amex), though those do not come standard with most accounts and might require either a monthly or yearly fee, or a minimum of money coming in (and/or going out) each month. Just to blow your ~first world~ mind, IKEA does not accept regular credit or debit cards (i.e. Visa) in most of Germany. They do take Maestro (EC) and cash, however. Also, I can't usually pay online with a Maestro card, but I can pay online with a Visa debit card. Hollow Talk fucked around with this message at 12:19 on Sep 8, 2015 |
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Sep 8, 2015 12:14
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freebooter posted:I've lived in Europe for a year and have never once found that to be the case. Example? It's often the case when you're flying to a capital. The smaller national carriers serve their own nation's capital quite well and have good discounts to make them competitive with the cheap companies. Also, the cheap companies don't always serve the main airport of a country, for example, from Amsterdam you often have to go to Eindhoven for a cheap alternative. The national carriers also have more free luggage, food, better flying times and less hassle in general, and I'm seeing more and more cases where even the cheap airlines charge over €150 for a flight, which is already national carrier prices in some cases.. From Amsterdam I've found that the national carriers were quite competitive with the cheap options to Oslo, Vienna, Bucharest and sometimes to Lisbon.
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Sep 8, 2015 14:55
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asur posted:I'm so confused. How do the bulk of the people in this thread, who are presumably from a first world country, not have access to a debit card? I don't even think you can open a checking account in the US without receiving one. That's what I'm saying. I have an Interac (debit) card, which is the standard in Canada. There's no way to use such a card to pay for flights on a European LCC. If I get one of the Visa Debit cards, the site will run it as a credit card and I'll be charged the extra fee anyway. Since there's no international standard for debit cards, the way there is for credit cards, things are much more difficult. Other reasons to use a credit card: better protection on the things you purchase (many cards will offer some form of travel insurance when you use the card to purchase airline tickets, hotel rooms, etc.), cash-back/reward miles. Also, those miles, which I happen to have a lot of, usually aren't usable on LCCs. I have enough miles for a free return trip between any Star Alliance cities in the world, pretty much -- can easyJet beat that?
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Sep 8, 2015 15:05
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MagicCube posted:For piece of mind you can book online ahead of time and make sure you have your seats. However, I never had any problems taking the busiest high speed routes and buying tickets the day of travel at the train station. I think over a period of 2 months of travel in Italy I never encountered a completely sold out train. The only thing slightly close I encountered was a Frecciarossa with about 30 singles seats, but none together.
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Sep 8, 2015 15:48
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PT6A posted:That's what I'm saying. I have an Interac (debit) card, which is the standard in Canada. There's no way to use such a card to pay for flights on a European LCC. If I get one of the Visa Debit cards, the site will run it as a credit card and I'll be charged the extra fee anyway. Since there's no international standard for debit cards, the way there is for credit cards, things are much more difficult. Didn't realize Canadians get screwed. Visa debit should run without fee on EasyJet though apparently RyanAir has a more restrictive list and Americans get screwed there too. I don't disagree that credit cards have better protections, but it doesn't surprise me that a LLC is passing the fee along to the customer since those protections are paid for by the fee.
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Sep 8, 2015 20:25
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freebooter posted:One day I want to make a glossy coffee table photo book called World Monuments Obscured By Scaffolding. I forgot to mention: even worse than scaffolding on Trevi Fountain is that someone came up with the idea of putting giant ads on scaffolding, so you have stereotypical shots of beautiful buildings ruined like this: 
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Sep 8, 2015 21:06
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Could use some advising. My mom got invited to a wedding in Frankfurt,Germany in the middle of October, and she has no idea how to layer for any weather there as she lives in Florida. She preemptively bought a wool hoodie and the goto marmot precip jacket. She intends to tour the city and nearby areas. Will she be fine with that combo?
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Sep 8, 2015 22:58
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Quixotic1 posted:Could use some advising. My mom got invited to a wedding in Frankfurt,Germany in the middle of October, and she has no idea how to layer for any weather there as she lives in Florida. She preemptively bought a wool hoodie and the goto marmot precip jacket. She intends to tour the city and nearby areas. Will she be fine with that combo? Temperatures in Frankfurt in October are on average between 5.8°C and 14.2°C (42.4°F - 57.6°F), the mean sunshine duration is 3 h 20 min per day and there are on average 8 rainy days in the month. So yes, she should take really warm things with her if she is from Florida.
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Sep 8, 2015 23:30
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I'm from Texas and anything below 65 is sweater weather. I was in Amsterdam this spring and it was definitely long sleeve tshirt + fleece pullover weather, or long sleeve shirt + sweater. Mini umbrella went with me everywhere, although you can get some really good mini umbrellas in european department stores for fairly cheap. Also if you're fatter than skinny that helps a bit but i doubt she will take off that hoodie except to sleep.
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Sep 9, 2015 02:39
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Honj Steak posted:Temperatures in Frankfurt in October are on average between 5.8°C and 14.2°C (42.4°F - 57.6°F), the mean sunshine duration is 3 h 20 min per day and there are on average 8 rainy days in the month.
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Sep 9, 2015 03:58
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Hey, a flight from Venice (marco polo airport) to London Gatwick Airport, direct with British Airways. Australian passport holders (not sure if the lines are different from us). What time should I be at the airport if it leaves at 12:55PM? My normal rule is 3 hours international / 1 hour domestic, but like Italy to UK... is there a lot of security to clear? What time would British Airways close checkin?
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Sep 9, 2015 05:57
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Ryanair has a thing where they have to visually inspect your passport before you clear security if your passport was issued outside the schengen zone, even if you're traveling within the schengen zone, which doesn't take but 20 seconds, but you still have to stand in line with all the mouthbreathers so that can take a while. I flew "Frankfurt" -> Rome and arrived 90 minutes before my flight, NBD
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Sep 9, 2015 06:02
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I'm going to miss the Last Supper in Milan.  (Arriving mid day Sunday, it is closed on Monday, and I'd be giving up too much to see it on Tuesday morning)Kaddish or Erwin, as my authorized agents, please see it on my behalf. Reservations in hand for Vatican/Sistine, Uffizi, got my Roma Pass, etc, but the last minute realization that the Last Supper is closed on Monday put a wrinkle in that one.
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Sep 9, 2015 06:16
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MC Fruit Stripe posted:I'm going to miss the Last Supper in Milan. Get reservations for Galleria dell'Accademia if you plan on going as the line for no reservations is crazy long. You don't need reservations, but I highly recommend the Pinacoteca di Brera in Milan. teacup posted:Hey, a flight from Venice (marco polo airport) to London Gatwick Airport, direct with British Airways. Australian passport holders (not sure if the lines are different from us). It's an international flight as the UK is outside the schengen, but 3 hours seems pretty conservative in general. The Venice airport website recommends 2 hours, I'd personally probably do 1-1.5 hours before. I would guess that checkin closes either 45 minutes or an hour before the flight, and it should say on your boarding pass.
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Sep 9, 2015 08:53
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teacup posted:Hey, a flight from Venice (marco polo airport) to London Gatwick Airport, direct with British Airways. Australian passport holders (not sure if the lines are different from us). EU airports have different lines for EU citizens and all the rest. I don't see any difference in how fast the lines move, though. In fact, I'm not sure there is much difference in flying domestic vs international either. The most important factor is the size of the airport. If you're flying domestic from a huge airport that serves international lines too you should give it equal time. I usually come 1.5 hours before the flight.
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Sep 9, 2015 09:46
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Hadlock posted:Ryanair has a thing where they have to visually inspect your passport before you clear security if your passport was issued outside the schengen zone, even if you're traveling within the schengen zone, which doesn't take but 20 seconds, but you still have to stand in line with all the mouthbreathers so that can take a while. Entropist fucked around with this message at 10:41 on Sep 9, 2015 |
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Sep 9, 2015 10:39
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Canadians don't get screwed in Europe with debit cards, PT6A has just obviously never tried to use his debit card on the continent. I've used mine all over the place to both pay for things I mean, unless he banks with some local tiny place, but my debit card's worked in Europe forever. Hell, my mom used hers once at an ATM on the Lofotten Islands like 15 years ago no problem at all.
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Sep 9, 2015 17:52
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HookShot posted:Canadians don't get screwed in Europe with debit cards, PT6A has just obviously never tried to use his debit card on the continent. I've used mine all over the place to both pay for things Not on websites to buy airline tickets, though, which is what the discussion was about. Unless you know something I don't. I've never had a problem using a Canadian debit card at point-of-sale or at ATMs, but I don't believe there's any way for a Canadian to avoid the lovely credit card booking fee that most Euro LCCs charge unless they're actually in Europe at the time already.
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Sep 9, 2015 18:21
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PT6A posted:Not on websites to buy airline tickets, though, which is what the discussion was about. Unless you know something I don't. I've never had a problem using a Canadian debit card at point-of-sale or at ATMs, but I don't believe there's any way for a Canadian to avoid the lovely credit card booking fee that most Euro LCCs charge unless they're actually in Europe at the time already. Yes you can, you just use your visa/debit card and type in all the info like a credit card, but choose "debit" as your option. Unless you still pretend it's 2004 and don't have a visa/debit card, in which case you're screwed.
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Sep 9, 2015 20:09
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HookShot posted:Yes you can, you just use your visa/debit card and type in all the info like a credit card, but choose "debit" as your option. Why and how would I get a separate Visa Debit card? My bank doesn't offer it, and the only place it would ever save me money, evidently, is with European LCCs, and I'd be missing out on travel miles anyway.
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Sep 9, 2015 20:34
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TD, RBC, CIBC and Scotia all offer them. BMO is in the Mastercard camp, but I couldn't find at a glance if they offer something equivalent.
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Sep 9, 2015 21:03
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PT6A posted:Why and how would I get a separate Visa Debit card? My bank doesn't offer it, and the only place it would ever save me money, evidently, is with European LCCs, and I'd be missing out on travel miles anyway. Debit cards usually (always?) get better withdrawal rates at ATMs than using a credit card. Or you could use an ATM card, but then it's worthless for everything besides using in ATMs. Also yeah in Europe it's pretty common to come across places that don't accept credit cards but will accept debit cards (although they might only accept European ones like Maestro, no idea).
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Sep 9, 2015 21:53
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Visa Debit and Visa Electron aren't exclusive to Europe and are accepted pretty much everywhere that has a card reader at all.
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Sep 9, 2015 22:56
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Saladman posted:Debit cards usually (always?) get better withdrawal rates at ATMs than using a credit card. Or you could use an ATM card, but then it's worthless for everything besides using in ATMs. All of the debit cards I've seen levy a 2.5% commission on forex, just like (almost) all credit cards. Though the matter may still charge you a cash advance fee. For me the breakeven point was around a $300 withdrawal, between the 2.5% commission on the debit card, and the 0% commission + $5 cash advance fee on my credit card (amazon.ca visa). My experience was if somewhere doesn't accept credit, it probably doesn't accept my debit card either, so it's cash or bust. I did encounter places in the Netherlands that only take cards, no cash, and only domestic cards at that.
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Sep 9, 2015 23:03
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MC Fruit Stripe posted:I'm going to miss the Last Supper in Milan. That sucks man. We're sitting in a hotel in Naples trying to sleep but it's not working too well. Had some awesome pizza though.
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Sep 10, 2015 00:34
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spoof posted:All of the debit cards I've seen levy a 2.5% commission on forex, just like (almost) all credit cards. Though the matter may still charge you a cash advance fee. For me the breakeven point was around a $300 withdrawal, between the 2.5% commission on the debit card, and the 0% commission + $5 cash advance fee on my credit card (amazon.ca visa). Where was that? There are card only checkouts at most supermarkets, but there's always an option to pay in cash (I think it would be illegal not to accept cash at all, in fact).
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Sep 10, 2015 00:44
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Shibawanko posted:Where was that? There are card only checkouts at most supermarkets, but there's always an option to pay in cash (I think it would be illegal not to accept cash at all, in fact). I saw that in Amsterdam at a couple of places -- blue PIN ONLY stickers on the door. For instance I had a problem when I had some chocolate at a Chocolate Company cafe bar and I only had cash and American Express card on me.
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Sep 10, 2015 01:34
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Yes we have shops and supermarkets like that and they are becoming more common, it's considered safer not to have any cash on hand. But they don't take only 'domestic' cards, they generally accept at least any Maestro or V-PAY card. Usually they also take other debit cards with a chip, or maybe even credit cards with a chip. In fact I don't think there is such a thing as a domestic Dutch card. They are almost all Maestro cards, which is an international debit card network by MasterCard. And the others are V-PAY, which is Europe-wide. Card-only stores are legal as long as they put a sign up. Just that something is legal tender doesn't mean you are forced to accept it, many places refuse high-denomination Euro notes too (i.e. over 100). Entropist fucked around with this message at 02:11 on Sep 10, 2015 |
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Sep 10, 2015 02:02
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Saladman posted:Debit cards usually (always?) get better withdrawal rates at ATMs than using a credit card. Or you could use an ATM card, but then it's worthless for everything besides using in ATMs. Okay... now I see the disconnect. In Canada, your ATM card is the same thing as a debit card, unless you go out of your way to get one of the Visa Debit cards (which my bank doesn't offer). This works at all points-of-sale and ATMs, domestically and internationally, but not online as such. I believe they work on the Maestro network, but I'm not sure about the specifics. I'm 99% sure there's no way to pay online using them, though. Still, I definitely prefer actually paying for things with my credit card. Depending on which one I use, I get travel miles or cashback, which is basically like getting free money, and I pay it off at the end of the month in full so there's no interest. Why on earth would I prefer a debit card over that? The point is: British, KLM, Lufthansa, etc. all allow me to pay using my credit card, which is the simplest and most beneficial way to pay, whereas every LCC likes to charge me money for that same privilege (among many others), and they make you feel like slightly less of a sardine. LCCs suck.
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Sep 10, 2015 15:25
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I dunno. I flew to loving Morocco from Holland for 10 euros once. That was less than the price of the train ticket to get to the airport.
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Sep 11, 2015 16:05
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It looks like I wildly misunderstood phone use in Italy. I thought I was going to have to get on a Global Data Plan and pick up a SIM card and this and that. But it's expensive as hell and it's all quite stupid. If I say sod it to the whole thing and just take my phone as-is, and help myself to free wi-fi wherever it is, I'm fine right? I will not be placing or receiving calls or browsing Facebook or checking sports scores. I'm on a muh fuh vacation. I want to just occasionally upload a picture, check a map (even though I have offline maps), or maybe check Yelp or Trip Advisor for suggestions on our next stop. I can just roll up on some free wi-fi for that right?
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Sep 11, 2015 21:19
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My mom took a cruise to Europe and spent time in Italy and just did the Wifi thing. She didn't have any problems sending the occasional email or whatever.
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Sep 11, 2015 21:25
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MC Fruit Stripe posted:It looks like I wildly misunderstood phone use in Italy. I thought I was going to have to get on a Global Data Plan and pick up a SIM card and this and that. But it's expensive as hell and it's all quite stupid. Yes you will be fine.
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Sep 11, 2015 21:37
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Okay thank you to both of you. I ended up down some ridiculous rabbit hole. Everything I've wanted to know, I've googled - what to see in Venice, how to get to Pompeii, how to this how to that. So I innocently looked up "how to use Verizon phone in Italy", eeeeep, wrong thing to look up there. I don't need to use my phone, I just need to take an occasional picture with it or check a review. Should have been looking up "wifi availability italy" or something. MC Fruit Stripe fucked around with this message at 21:44 on Sep 11, 2015 |
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Sep 11, 2015 21:41
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MC Fruit Stripe posted:It looks like I wildly misunderstood phone use in Italy. I thought I was going to have to get on a Global Data Plan and pick up a SIM card and this and that. But it's expensive as hell and it's all quite stupid. Work paid for my international plan, but yeah, I've used less data than I expected by just mooching wifi. Most restaurants in the cities have it. Google Maps can save offline maps of areas and you can still see where you are without using data. It's surprisingly easy to get along without data. Also another update on things that are closed and other notes, this time in Florence: -Florence was more crowded than Rome -The Baptistery is covered in scaffolding, but still open I think. We didn't go in. -At the Cathedral, one ticket covers climbing the bell tower, climbing the dome, and seeing the archeological site of the older church below the cathedral. The easiest way to get the ticket is to go in the cathedral (free) then go down to the old church and buy it there, where there's no line. -In Uffizi, a bunch of Botticelli stuff has moved or is unavailable due to renovations. If you were planning to use an outside audio guide (we were using Rick Steves), it won't match the rooms correctly. -Sunset at Piazzale Michelangelo was well worth the climb.
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Sep 11, 2015 21:47
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Do you have an unlocked phone? It should be something like $5 for the sim and $10-15 for data/phone if you want to get something. If not pretty much all hotels should have WiFi and probably a quarter of restaurants and then random other places. - The Baptistery in Florence is open and the Duomo ticket covers it. They have a spectacular stained glass piece that is definitely worth seeing. If anything I'd recommend skipping the Cathedral itself as the line is generally crazy long and the inside is pretty unimpressive except the dome and you get a better view of that when you go up to the top of the dome. asur fucked around with this message at 21:51 on Sep 11, 2015 |
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Sep 11, 2015 21:47
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I've been all around Europe and never felt the need to get a data plan. Offline maps exist, and whatever place you're sleeping at is almost guaranteed to have wifi. For looking things up on the go, there is usually wifi at train stations or McDonalds or city parks or random cafes and such. If you're a university student with Eduroam access it's even easier, auto-connecting wifi in various places in city centers whenever you walk past a building that happens to be university-owned.
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Sep 11, 2015 23:38
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