<p>Didn’t bother reading the entire post, so apologies if this is being repeated or if some consensus has already arisen.</p>
<p>If Italy’s a must (and, after spending a month there quite recently, I can definitely understand why!) I’d suggest they take RyanAir from “Paris” (plane departs from some city nearby, can’t remember which) to Pisa and then take a train from there. I’d highly recommend Florence (Pisa/Florence roundtrip train tickets are less than $15; about 4 euro each way as of two weeks ago), but that’s a little hard to see in just a few days, plus cost of living there is quite high. </p>
<p>If they’re not dead set on Florence and are looking to do Italy for a little cheaper, my absolute FAVORITE long weekend while in Italy was to Cinque Terre, the Italian riviera. Have them fly into Pisa then take the train to La Spezia; the train ride’s about an hour long and will probably cost 5 euro each way. From La Spezia they can take the train to Riomaggiore (1.50 euro each way) and hike to Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza, and Monterosso. Spending the night in La Spezia and then taking the train to Riomaggiore (only a ten minute ride) is definitely the way to go; the hotel where we stayed was about 70 euro a night and it was perfect.</p>
<p>Trust me on this one! I just spent a month in Italy based in Florence, and with only a little time there, you seriously can’t go wrong with the riviera (which is cheaper and more beautiful than the French alternative!)…Cinque Terre’s a somewhat unknown locale, not super expensive, absolutely breathtaking, near France, and worth every penny. They’ll love it!</p>
<p>My daughter just came back from a month long summer study program her college runs in Siena. She and a friend went to Cinque Terra for a weekend. She figured out the train and bus schedule. She found that people were very willing to help. She loved everything about her trip. Even the things that did not work out smoothly became part of the adventure.</p>
<p>We live in Washington State and my D was initially reluctant to put Rice on her college list because she doesn’t like hot weather. That said, last summer she and I took a two week trip, traveling from Rome to Paris by train. Yes, it was hot in Rome, but absolutely fabulous and it would have been a shame to miss it. </p>
<p>As for safety, there’s nothing like the peace of mind that comes with a money belt. I kept my passport, an extra credit card and any euros that I didn’t want to carry in my purse in there. I always knew that even if my purse were lost or stolen I would be able to get home. </p>
<p>Your D is very lucky to have this opportunity and it will be the trip of a lifetime.</p>
<p>We have traveled a lot since our girls were babies, but always as a family. I just asked D1 if she would have wanted to go to Europe on her own when she was 18 (she is 20 now). She said, “It’s a really nice concept, but no.” She went to London to visit a friend on her own a year ago. There was no priority boarding for her, and she was pulled over, searched both ways. What’s worse she was on a budget!! </p>
<p>In 3 days she is off to Australia for a semester. She asked me if she was going to get a budget for travel. I told her to do a power point of cost and benefit analysis and we’ll talk. We are going with her to check out the new dorm. We have lined up 2 family friends to check up on her if necessary. I guess we are the other extreme.</p>
<p>I wasn’t aware of that site, but it looks good. When I traveled I used hostelworld.com and found some other people who used hotelbookers.com</p>
<p>I will save that site… if I can’t get a job after AmeriCorps and end up going to grad school, I might have to take another trip to Europe while I can still use the under 26 eurail pass…</p>
<p>OP: please tell your D and BF to be ultra-careful of passports, wallets, and D’s purse. My good friend had purse stolen in Prague and my two nephews had their passports and debit card stolen last month in Amsterdam. They need money belts or small pouch to wear under clothing!</p>
<p>I saw Rick Steves on our local PBS station during a telethon presentation of his travel shows, with call-in questions about traveling in Europe. Someone asked about the heat in Italy in July-Aug. and he felt it was mainly an issue for older travelers, that they are most bothered by the heat, humidity and lack of air-conditioning combined with the rigor of travel. The young-'uns can probably deal with it, esp. if they’re Texans!</p>
<p>Today my 20 year old daughter is at the 4 week point in a 6 week trip to Europe with 2 of her girlfriends, and so far it’s gone without a major hitch. There have been some ‘hiccups’, but they’ve been able to deal with them.</p>
<p>The one bit of advice though, is they really need to reserve hostels in advance. The good ones book up fast. They also should get a Let’s Go guide (or similar). My daughter refers to hers regularly. They had one hostel cancel on them (due to family illness) so last minute they needed to find another. With book in hand, they found one (on a Greek Island) and it turned out to be one of the best rated hostels around.</p>
<p>They chose not to go the Eurrail route, just because their itinerary didn’t work well by rail, and there are inter-Europe flights that are very inexpensive (RyanAir, Easyjet, Aegean Air). They booked their flight connections in advance as well.</p>
<p>We also purchased a phone from [International</a> Cell Phones, World Phones, SIM Cards, Satellite Phones](<a href=“http://www.Telestial.com%5DInternational”>http://www.Telestial.com). There’s no monthly fees, you just prepay for minutes. There are different plans depending on the type of usage. We opted for the one where calls from the US to Europe are cheapest (19 cents/minute). Calls from Europe to here are more, so if she calls us, we hang up and call back. Being able to communicate has put me at ease, and having a phone she could use in Europe comes in handy as well.</p>
<p>I want to thank everyone for the thoughtful advice you have taken the time to post here. I’ve actually had my daughter reading this! One issue we’re trying to resolve is that of money…how much to carry around, how and where to exchange it and whether credit cards are widely accepted. My limited experience in Europe is in big cities – London and Paris – where ATM’s are on many corners and I’ve never had a credit card or debit card turned down. D is planning on travelling through some rather remote areas, particularly in Italy (Val D’Aosta) and I have no idea how to advise her on whether she needs to have plenty of Euros before she heads to these small villages, or if places there take credit/debit cards as well. Does anyone have any experience with this?</p>
<p>My daughter has traveled through Europe and has lived there (is there now) several times. She uses a debit card. She has never had a problem. She even traveled through remote parts of Cambodia and Laos this past winter and used her debit card. </p>
<p>I second the advice on having a cell phone over there. I could not do this without that. My D has one and like another poster says, it is cheaper to call her than her to call us and so when she calls, we hang up and call her back. </p>
<p>I don’t think my D travels with a LOT of money but she uses the debit card at ATMs I believe. She also has traveled throughout Italy as she did a semester abroad in Italy as well.</p>
<p>We were in Italy, Greece and Croatia a few years ago in June. First few days had record heat of over 100F! D and I still had a great time :)</p>
<p>The STA Student travel site has some good links for international cell phone sim cards. You can buy a cheap unlocked phone off eBay and get the international sim card. It really works great.
Debit cards do work most everywhere. Just make sure to notify her bank she will be overseas. Check what the daily withdrawal limit is as she may want it raised. </p>
<p>I understand the urge to micro-manage as I am the same way! They will have a wonderful time I am sure :)</p>
<p>Make sure she notifies the bank/cc company that she will be traveling. Some will put a freeze on the card if they see unexpected overseas sharges.</p>
<p>My S traveled around Europe before/after his summer study abroad program and absolutely loved his time in Italy. They should have a great trip.</p>
<p>This is very good advice. I would strongly advise your D to not carry a purse around town if it can be avoided. What I did is put credit cards, ATM card, cash, and passport into my money belt. Before you leave in the morning, put enough cash for the day (you should have an idea, depending on what you’re going to do) in your front pocket. Fold the bills in half and put them there and you are good to go. No one is going to pick pocket your front pocket without you noticing. Also, you can steal the stuff from a purse by slicing the bottom with a knife while the owner is preoccupied.</p>
<p>The downside to this is that going from Paris to London at the end of my month long trip, the machine didn’t want to scan my passport, and the lady was like “you really need to keep this flat.” I told her I carried it in a money belt for a month, and it worked finally. On the other end as everyone was exiting, I did get pulled out of the blob of people and questioned by the security/immigration person. He asked me how long I would be in London and what I was going to see. Apparently he was satisfied… I mean, by that point I could practically recite the Lonely Planet book of London attractions from memory, lol.</p>
<p>When traveling on public transportation, if you are carrying a bag, you should put your leg through the strap. Do not set it on the seat beside you. It can be gone in 3 seconds you are looking the other way. My uncle’s backpack with his camera stuff disappeared on the Paris Metro</p>
<p>phones - My normal phone is verizon, and they have a deal with vodaphone. I got a european phone that was free for the first month. Only pay for the calls you make. They mailed it to my house before I left, and when I returned I just mailed it back. That might be an option for you.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Remember that each time to you take money from an ATM, you are <a href=“1”>most likely</a> paying an exchange rate fee, and (2) paying a fee to use an international ATM. So, the fewer times you can use the ATM, the better. That said, if you are traveling outside the eurozone (Switzerland, England, Czech Republic, Poland are popular destinations that don’t use the Euro), you don’t want to be stuck with the wrong European currency. You don’t want to chance your USD into Euros, and then your Euros into Swiss Francs.</p>
<p>Everywhere I went had ATMs, but they were mostly big cities. The farthest I got “away” was Lauterbrunnen in the Swiss Alps, and they had an ATM in the town. Some hostels do not accept credit cards. You should make sure to check this information when you book them. They will happily point you toward the nearest ATM, assuming there is one. Some stores do not accept credit cards, and many have a minimum amount that you have to buy to use them. Tourist attractions (like gondolas and ski lifts) will probably accept plastic.</p>
<p>I just googled some to look for ATMs in that area… if you go to [Google</a> Maps (.it for italy, .com might also work)](<a href=“http://maps.google.it/]Google”>http://maps.google.it/) and type in “Valle d’Aosta banca” it looks like there are some banks… “Bankomat” (german, I think) should be a familiar word to the travelers… appears to be “bancomat” in Italian. These words mean “ATM”</p>
<p>Just returned from several weeks in Italy, travelling to towns big and small. Had absolutely no problem with finding ATMs. We traveled with very little cash, Amex, Visa (and ATMs!) and other credit cards taken at the smallest restaurants and shops. Banks everywhere accepting international ATMs. It’s seamless. Weather was very pleasant through the first week of July, even in Pompeii. Glorious! Much of Europe having a heatwave, Italy has been cool!</p>
<p>Downside for the young–very expensive now. Our kids couldn’t believe prices of food and going to teenager hangouts, even compared to NYC and London.</p>
<p>For calls, we sware by Skype. I always travel with a tiny laptop that fits in my handbags, but you can just bring a headset and use it at the many internet cafes.</p>
<p>Scan the passport and other id and then email the scan to yourself using a web-based email method. That way, if needed, you can print out a color-copy from any internet cafe.</p>