3 things:

1. If you plan on using your credit card whilst overseas, make sure that you let your bank know to activate it for overseas use.

2. If you plan on using roaming on your cellphone, make sure you check with your service provider what the charges are. My wife went to Vegas for 2 days earlier this year, and activated roaming just to ensure that should the bank need to contact her to check the validity of transactions, they could. The result? A bill in excess of R2000. This was apparently due to the data usage charges, which are not explained on their website. And even the staff in their shop at OR Tambo did not advise us of this when we asked...

3. Enjoy every single moment!

Yeah man
Roskilde rocks... can get quite muddy

Ditch a suitcase and go with a backpack. Take a good pair of shoes and pack light. If you're on a RSA passport make sure your visas are sorted, and last but not least, try the local lagers and have an epic time pro... goodtimes

Oh.. and if you travel by train, be punctual, if it says the train leaves at 8.03, it really does leave at 8.03.

Watch out for pickpockets and scammers .. they spot us tourists from miles away. I normally carried minimal cash. And make sure your medical aid knows and get a letter from them so you're covered while travelling.. can save you mega headaches

That sounds epic. I can't give you advice, but I can give you a warning... Oslo is reeeeeeeeedonkuliously expensive... as in NOK27 for a 500ml coke at the 7/11 expensive... that's R44.40... for a coke... so ja... ? I'm sure you'll have a super time though...

ftcl wrote: 3 things:

1. If you plan on using your credit card whilst overseas, make sure that you let your bank know to activate it for overseas use.

2. If you plan on using roaming on your cellphone, make sure you check with your service provider what the charges are. My wife went to Vegas for 2 days earlier this year, and activated roaming just to ensure that should the bank need to contact her to check the validity of transactions, they could. The result? A bill in excess of R2000. This was apparently due to the data usage charges, which are not explained on their website. And even the staff in their shop at OR Tambo did not advise us of this when we asked...

3. Enjoy every single moment!

+1 to all of these.
Sometimes your notifying the banks can be unsuccessful though and all of a sardine they deactivate your card, so have a backup.

And yeah, good shoes and good beer are a must. Eat the local food too - where the locals eat it.

And what guido sez about trains is too true.

I find it cheaper to just buy a SIM card overseas. Usually they work in multiple territories, though you may find roaming charges come into play. EG you buy it in Oslo, maybe you pay roaming charges in Copenhagen. But probably still cheaper than enabling roaming on an SA sim.

GIYF. A lot of these things you can find out with a bit of surfing.

Do you HAVE to go to all eight days of the festival? Maybe identify the acts you really want to see and buy passes for those days. You've not travelled before, and there will be lots to see at each stop on your journey, so maybe eight days at a festival means you don't see other stuff that you may not get a chance to see. Roskilde itself has some cool historic attractions.

Are you going to drive? If so, check out local laws in each country. In France you have to carry a breathalyser with you. In Spain if you wear glasses you must carry a spare pair of the same prescription as your driving glasses. It can get complicated - and a PITA.

Plan. You know where you're going. Do some research about each destination and see what there is there. Otherwise you can get to some town or other and blow half a day figuring out what you want to see.

Make sure all your visas are in order. You don't want to get stuck in customs without the necessary piece of paper.

Don't be afraid of the local food! People have been eating it for centuries and it hasn't killed anybody. In most places you will find a McDonalds or a Burger King, but that gets expensive. You'll be with people who know the area and speak the language, so eat where the locals eat and, if you can, outside of the tourist trap areas where prices will be higher.

Sign up for on-line banking if you haven't done so. That enables you to access your local accounts and move money from anywhere where you have an internet connection. If you will have payments to make whilst you're away then most on-line banking facilities will give you a way to set up future payments. Done. No worries.

And yes, notify your bank and find out how fees will work whilst you're overseas. I can't remember the details, but last time I travelled I drew up a little table of what different transactions would cost me on different cards and how that compares to buying cash here.

There is some great advice here, thank you gentleman.

The two main things seem to be money and cellphone. I'm taking my cellphone with me, but I am only going to use it in WiFi areas for email and whatsapp. My Norwegian friend has organised me a cellphone and a pay as you go SIM, so that should work well considering 4/5ths of my trip is in the nordic region.

I do have some questions wrt managing money: is there an international account I can open? Roskilde, for example, is moneyless this year, all payments will be by card. I don't want to be hit by massive fees whenever I use my debit card. Is it worth opening a credit card account? Are there any international-specific options I can pursue?

There is an international prepaid credit card most of the banks offer. It's called something like a travel cad or passport, he different banks have different names for them. I took 40 kids to German, Denmark and Sweden two years ago and most of them had one of those cards, they work great. I didn't notice any ridiculous charges on my credit card, but that will depend on your bank and the account you have.

Enjoy! It sounds like its going t be awesome. Apart from the festival, Roskilde also has the longboat museum and a few other things

Intl checklist

Money - creditcard w/prepaid travel card as a backup
Phone - Inlt sms roaming on SA sim and a spare phone w/one of these for incoming calls : http://worldsim.co.za/ - nice to have a consistent number across borders.
Pack light - A kikoy towel (like a blanket & a hitchhikers guide, it's invaluable), sleeping bag and (max) 5 days clothing. If staying the whole time w/friends, you'll be able to laundry everywhere. A euro summer is usually 3 seasons, especially northern europe - pack some lightwieght rain gear. I pack across two bags - one smallish backpack w/majority of stuff and one small carryon bag w/1 change of clothing, toothbrush, kikoy, snacks & cell charger.
Entertainment - iPod/cellphone, book & instrument. Waiting is a reality when traveling =(. I reckon the best 50E I spent was a ukelele on the last trip.

It is festival season across europe, Roskilde is one of many, many opportunities to see yer favorite performer(s). www.festivalsearcher.com

Just enjoy ..... Plan but don't overthink it .....


And only tip i can offer is "don't wear your wigan football shirt when visiting manchester "

I hav espent much time in israel, nearly moved there permanently...tel aviv never sleeps..never ever sleeps....jerusalem...take time away from yr hosts/ frieds and just spend ti e there on yr own..its a magical place...

I am envious

I cannot wait to be in Israel! My sister is going to be there on birthright, so we're going to stay together in Tel Aviv, and then I am heading up to a kibbutz on the Sea of Galilee for the weekend to stay with a close friend of mine. Not too stoked about being so close to the Golan Heights, but whatever.

I am definitely going to be checking out the various roaming and banking options, and see what suits me best. My Schengen visa application went in last week, so I should hear back next week. I have to focus on studying though, I have my end of semester LLB exams to get through first...yay!

Remember to take something that you can go out in. If you get invited out to a restaurant, you don't want your only option to be shorts and sandals. And heed Bob on the food. If you eat burgers and fries the whole time you'll never know what you're missing. That's a really bad thing. Man, how much would I have missed if I'd listened to people say not to eat the street food in India.

Travelling alone is the best way to go. If you're staying with friends it's not really the same, but between times your loneliness motivates you to make friends really, really fast. It's one of the great discoveries of travelling alone that you can make a new best friend in like 45 minutes. It's really fun, and it's something worth knowing. So be prepared to start talking to people. Just use your common sense. Most people are not dodgy. If someone seems dodgy, they very well might be.

As odd as it sounds, the beer and the food is what I am looking forward to most. I am also a very sociable person, so making friends and such is another expected highlight.

Danny B wrote: As odd as it sounds, the beer and the food is what I am looking forward to most.

Nothing odd about that at all. Well... I'd venture a guess that in Israel a "beer" will be something close to a Budweiser popsicle. Holland will not be a whole lot better - but in Germany! There are local styles of beers all over (Berlin has it's own style of Weissbier which is quite different from the better known Bavarian Weiss) and if I were in your shoes I'd need little encouragement to check them out.

If they ask questions about how well your organs function or how many kidneys you have, run. ?

X-rated Bob wrote:

Danny B wrote: As odd as it sounds, the beer and the food is what I am looking forward to most.

Nothing odd about that at all. Well... I'd venture a guess that in Israel a "beer" will be something close to a Budweiser popsicle. Holland will not be a whole lot better - but in Germany! There are local styles of beers all over (Berlin has it's own style of Weissbier which is quite different from the better known Bavarian Weiss) and if I were in your shoes I'd need little encouragement to check them out.

I'm going to be in Bremen for a week, and Berlin for a day. I am most definitely going to be drinking all the beer I can. And my uncle has told me of some fantastic eateries in Tel Aviv!

Sounds great man.

My advise: bring double the money and half the clothes you were planning on

Brendon "BluJu" Neuhaus wrote: My advise: bring double the money and half the clothes you were planning on

+1

Don't underestimate the benefit of travelling light.

One tip that is good for wherever you go:

If someone tries to sell you any "mind-altering" substance on the streets, don't do it.It's not what they say it is.
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