TRAVEL TIPS AND FACTS

I make the mistakes first so you don't have to

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Hi! In this section, I have left a few tips that I learned the hard way but that turned out in the best experiences :)

Worldpackers volunteering

General Travel

Facts about countries

• AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS

• MONTENEGRO

• NORTH OF EUROPE (ESTONIA, FINLAND, DENMARK, SWEDEN)

• SICILY, SOUTH OF ITALY

• MOROCCO AND TUNISIA

VOLUNTEERING

Always choose your destination wisely, even when you’re in your dream country you need to do research if you don’t want to end up kms away from civilization. What happened in Estonia?

Plan how long to stay somewhere. It is better to let yourself go. Plans change fast. You may decide to stay for a month and then want to leave earlier or the other way around. It is key to have flexibility in case you want to leave before or extend your stay.

Learn as much as you can about the other volunteers. Every day you can learn a lot of details about other countries' cultures that will make you decide whether you want to go there or not. Always see if there are other people traveling in the same time frame as you.

Be mindful of the entire experience. Volunteering is not a normal holiday, so it is easy to feel frustrated. You have to allow yourself to take a step back and consider the benefits it brings you.

To lie or not to lie in your profile. I have always been in favour of lying about your skills, as you can learn from YouTube tutorials (that's how we learned how to chop wood in Estonia) and by mistakes. However, it's not always a good idea as you can be told to do something you have no clue about and with little to no time for improvising.

GENERAL TRAVEL

Buying tickets in advance or without insurance. I don't recommend doing either of these. If you have a period of time in which you can travel without a relatively close end date, it is better to wait until you arrive at your destination and see how you feel about the country. About insurance, it is always good to be able to claim something back, and what's better than the hundreds you might spend on your flights?

In case you have a layover you can always stay for a few hours visiting the country or city without having to rush to get your next train or bus tickets as most of them will NOT change their price.

Coach surfing. On our trip to Finland, our friends used this app and saved a bunch of money. More info.

Download Google Translate. You can download multiple languages with wifi and use them without a connection.

Tickets. If you need to make a connection to another country, make sure it is with the same company. If possible, always ask or find out whether or not there are ticket inspectors on public transport.

FACTS ABOUT COUNTRIES

AMSTERDAM

• In most hostels and cafes you can smoke weed in the common areas but without tobacco. You will have to roll it with herbs provided by the hostels.

• There are fast food vending machines that serve freshly made food.

MONTENEGRO

• Buses are the only public transport. There are no stop signs or even a number on each bus. They can leave you in the middle of the mountain for your stop, as it happened to us, and end up having to follow the locals.

• They don't speak English or Spanish. Being from Western Europe is not common in these countries as most tourists are from Eastern European countries, many Serbs and Russians.

• When crossing the border with Croatia by bus, police don't do checks.

• You need to pay cash everywhere.

• Negotiation with taxi drivers is key - don't settle for the first price they give you. If they tell you they'll stop the meter or that the price varies from x to y, it's a scam.

• Clubs are free and don't ask for ID but people don't dance.

NORTHERN EU COUNTRIES

• Prices aren't as high as people think. The only country that surprised me was Denmark where you could find an energy drink for 5 €.

• Saunas are their main way of "socialising". Instead of going to the bar, they buy beers and go to the sauna which can go up to 100°.

• Ikea has the cheapest restaurant.

• Normally you don't need to buy train tickets as they trust you to get them and scan them at a specific place, but there are no barriers and no controls, on the main stations or when crossing from one country to the other one (this might vary).

SICILY, ITALY

• Their driving system is like in India. There are no rules. You can park on a zebra crossing or block the way of other cars, although it probably ends up in up in a fight. If you want to cross you have to jump in the road as they rarely stop at zebra crossings.

• There are no ticket inspectors on the buses unless you get on the buses that all the tourists take.

• There are no proper clubs. Parties are done in streets or squares where restaurants are turned into bars or pubs and they have stalls with huge speakers where you can buy alcohol as well.

• The culture of flirting or dating is still in the '50s, very closed-minded.

MOROCCO AND TUNISIA

• There are almost more cats than people and many street dogs.

• There are no driving rules and people move around on scooters, which they can drive within the narrowest streets.

• Don't follow people who offer to guide you on the street for "free", they always charge you money.

• The number of times you are offered drugs is annoying.

• All of Marrakech is full of cameras, especially in the medina. Apparently to protect the tourists.

• Many families are completely excluded from civilisation. They live in desert areas with the only company of a donkey.