After my last post, I realized I missed a few things!
Funds
In addition to planning my itinerary and making the necessary reservations for hotels and attractions, I had to make sure I had enough money to last all 4 weeks. I calculated a rough daily budget based on accommodation, food, and incidentals (e.g. attraction fees), and came up with a worst-case estimate. Obviously, I wasn't going to carry thousands of Euros in cash - that would just make me a target for those petty thieves (more on them later)! Therefore, I devised a strategy that combined funds from a credit card, traveller's cheques, and cash.
First - the credit card. Most credit cards will charge (in addition to the currency conversion) a foreign transaction fee which is 2.5%. However, there are cards that do not charge this extra 2.5% - the one that I ended up getting was the Amazon.ca card offered by Chase. An added bonus for this particular Visa is that you earn 1% cashback, which will be credited to you after you accumulate $20. I'll also bring a couple of back-up credit cards just in case my Visa gets compromised. A couple of tips I received were to call my credit card companies to let them know when I'd be travelling (so they don't accidentally cancel my card because they think it's been stolen) and to write down the numbers to call in case my cards do actually end up getting stolen.
For the traveller's cheques, I decided to use USD because I was advised that USD are more commonly accepted in Europe. Also, if I don't end up using the traveller's cheques, I can always cash them into USD afterwards - much more useful than Euros.
Another thing that I considered was how to withdraw more cash if I do run out of money. If you try to withdraw cash from an ATM in a foreign country, you could incur up to 3 charges: the cost of currency conversion, the ATM transaction fee, and the fee from your bank for withdrawing funds abroad. Nothing can be done about the first 2 charges - there's no point in having currency that is not converted to the local currency, and the ATM transaction fee is unavoidable. The last charge varies depending on which bank you use. I learned that most major banks in Canada charge a flat $5 fee per withdrawal in Europe, but there are other banks that charge a percentage of the withdrawal amount (e.g. 2.5%). One more thing to keep in mind is that ATMs could have limits to how much you can withdraw per transaction. Obviously, with all the charges, it makes sense to make as few withdrawals as possible; so if a withdrawal is necessary, it should be for the maximum amount possible. If you do the math, the flat $5 fee is a much better deal than a percentage of the withdrawal amount.
Theft
OK - funds are now taken care of. What else did I miss? Theft.
It's a common perception that Italy is crawling with pickpockets and gypsies out to make a living off the unaware traveller. I was told that they are easy to spot once you know what to look for - typically, they gather around tourist spots with lots of crowds where they can jostle you around without drawing attention. Public transportation - buses and trains - are also magnets for thieves. With so many cases of reported theft, I figure going to Italy with the mindset that everything will be stolen is best - that way, I'll be more prepared in case it does happen.
How did I prepare? I decided to pack as little as possible - see the packing list from my last post - and carry nothing in my pockets. This means that my valuables (money-related items and ID-related items) will be plastered to my body in multiple places. Separation is better than having everything in one place - just in case they grab the money belt. My backpack will also be equipped with a padlock for the zippers and a cable lock to secure it to a railing/shelf while I'm on the train. Also, I made photocopies of all important documents and credit cards - this will make it easier in the event I need to go to the embassy and get new documents.
Travelling Light
Another thing about packing as little as possible - I did end up purchasing a few items that were compact:
Other stuff that I did in preparation was:
Funds
In addition to planning my itinerary and making the necessary reservations for hotels and attractions, I had to make sure I had enough money to last all 4 weeks. I calculated a rough daily budget based on accommodation, food, and incidentals (e.g. attraction fees), and came up with a worst-case estimate. Obviously, I wasn't going to carry thousands of Euros in cash - that would just make me a target for those petty thieves (more on them later)! Therefore, I devised a strategy that combined funds from a credit card, traveller's cheques, and cash.
First - the credit card. Most credit cards will charge (in addition to the currency conversion) a foreign transaction fee which is 2.5%. However, there are cards that do not charge this extra 2.5% - the one that I ended up getting was the Amazon.ca card offered by Chase. An added bonus for this particular Visa is that you earn 1% cashback, which will be credited to you after you accumulate $20. I'll also bring a couple of back-up credit cards just in case my Visa gets compromised. A couple of tips I received were to call my credit card companies to let them know when I'd be travelling (so they don't accidentally cancel my card because they think it's been stolen) and to write down the numbers to call in case my cards do actually end up getting stolen.
For the traveller's cheques, I decided to use USD because I was advised that USD are more commonly accepted in Europe. Also, if I don't end up using the traveller's cheques, I can always cash them into USD afterwards - much more useful than Euros.
Another thing that I considered was how to withdraw more cash if I do run out of money. If you try to withdraw cash from an ATM in a foreign country, you could incur up to 3 charges: the cost of currency conversion, the ATM transaction fee, and the fee from your bank for withdrawing funds abroad. Nothing can be done about the first 2 charges - there's no point in having currency that is not converted to the local currency, and the ATM transaction fee is unavoidable. The last charge varies depending on which bank you use. I learned that most major banks in Canada charge a flat $5 fee per withdrawal in Europe, but there are other banks that charge a percentage of the withdrawal amount (e.g. 2.5%). One more thing to keep in mind is that ATMs could have limits to how much you can withdraw per transaction. Obviously, with all the charges, it makes sense to make as few withdrawals as possible; so if a withdrawal is necessary, it should be for the maximum amount possible. If you do the math, the flat $5 fee is a much better deal than a percentage of the withdrawal amount.
Theft
OK - funds are now taken care of. What else did I miss? Theft.
It's a common perception that Italy is crawling with pickpockets and gypsies out to make a living off the unaware traveller. I was told that they are easy to spot once you know what to look for - typically, they gather around tourist spots with lots of crowds where they can jostle you around without drawing attention. Public transportation - buses and trains - are also magnets for thieves. With so many cases of reported theft, I figure going to Italy with the mindset that everything will be stolen is best - that way, I'll be more prepared in case it does happen.
How did I prepare? I decided to pack as little as possible - see the packing list from my last post - and carry nothing in my pockets. This means that my valuables (money-related items and ID-related items) will be plastered to my body in multiple places. Separation is better than having everything in one place - just in case they grab the money belt. My backpack will also be equipped with a padlock for the zippers and a cable lock to secure it to a railing/shelf while I'm on the train. Also, I made photocopies of all important documents and credit cards - this will make it easier in the event I need to go to the embassy and get new documents.
Travelling Light
Another thing about packing as little as possible - I did end up purchasing a few items that were compact:
- lightweight, absorbent towel
- Travelon body wash/shampoo sheets and laundry sheets
- inflatable neck pillow
- dry sack for vaccuum packing clothes and waterproof protection
Other stuff that I did in preparation was:
- set up all my bill payments for the time I'd be out of the country
- make arrangements to ensure my car battery doesn't die
- download maps to my cellphone (and verify GPS functionality)
- prepare online account to upload photos
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