• When buying tickets at a kiosk, look for the language option and switch it to English (or your language of choice). It's on there somewhere, often marked with a British flag.

• Kiosks have an itinerary option, as well. Look up the times of the trains and print it out to keep with you.  

• Go into the ticket or tourism office and ask for help. Someone there will be able to speak English and explain your options and will even help you buy the ticket and print an itinerary for you. This is a great place to find out if the rail line you're using has any sort of discount ticket - sometimes you can get an entire weekend pass for close to the same price as a day pass. Do a little research before you go and ask questions. Make sure you know which types of trains you can travel on with your ticket and ask how to identify them (they are usually marked on the side).

• Don't accept help from beggars on the street when purchasing tickets from a kiosk. They expect you to give them your change as a gratuity and are hoping you don't understand the exchange rate so they walk away with more. Also, beware if one adult is "helping" tourists buy tickets and has several small children with him or her... you might get pick pocketed. Watch your belongings.

• Watch your belongings on trains. Most Europeans are very honest and would never think to steal, but of course, there are a few bad apples - just like anywhere else. Be smart. Don't take a nap while your purse is on the seat across from you wide open.

• Don't open the little garbage container. People pee in those sometimes. It's not common but we learned the hard way traveling from Florence to Rome. Please just trust me that this is not an experience you need to have to feel your European vacation is complete. Save your trash for a big open container so there are no surprises.

• A few of my favorite links: SNCF (my absolute favorite site for buying tickets for France), Deutsch Bahn, and Interrail. Google will provide you with a lot of options (like the Rail Europe Blog, which is pretty fantastic) but those are just my favorites. 

• With both planes and trains, look for the best deals 60-90 days out (yes, this requires some planning). Sometimes you can get some great last minute deals, but they are harder to find.

• One more tip, and this has to do with your mindset - As Americans, we are programmed to gogogo and sometimes it's hard to slow down and enjoy the journey. But please try to. Things may go wrong, you might miss a train or a connection, but it's ok. It's an adventure and having a good attitude will go a long way towards making your trip a happy memory rather than something you never want to do again.

Hitting The Open Road

• It's not terribly difficult to drive in Europe on the main highways. The signs take a little getting used to so I'd recommend studying those a little bit before your vacation. In small towns and villages, the roads do get very small at times so keep that in mind when choosing a vehicle. 

• I don't recommend driving in large cities... or pretty much anywhere in Italy. Paris is a nightmare to navigate even when you've done it a few times and you've heard about the stereotypical "traffic-laws-are-for-others-Italians," right? Yeah, it's totally true. I would never attempt to drive in London, either - navigating around in crazy traffic while trying to drive on the other side of the road and not run over any pedestrians?! No, thanks. The good news is all of these places are very walkable and have great metro/tube access. Use that and thank me later.

• On the other hand, I do think Ireland is a great country to drive across, as is Poland. There are so many more beautiful places to see that just aren't as easy to reach by train. It's a perfect place to slow down and take your time and not feel rushed to get to the next stop. And if you ever get a little freaked out (it'll probably happen on Ireland's west coast near the cliffs), there are tons of gorgeous places to pull over and take a break. Keep some picnic foods and your camera handy, just in case.

• If you plan to drive to Eastern Europe, let your rental company know. It will limit the vehicles you can choose from as car theft is more common there so rental companies don't allow their premium vehicles to go there. We've driven around Poland, Czech Republic, and Croatia with no problems at all, though, so don't let the statistics scare you. Prague is amazing and absolutely worth the drive.

• When budgeting, keep in mind that parking is crazy expensive in Europe. A two hour shopping trip could cost 12 euros easily and I've seen 24 hour parking for 30 euros before. That adds up quickly. Your best bet for parking near a major city is usually a Park & Ride (a parking lot on the outskirts of the city near a metro station that will take you to the center). A quick internet search can help you find one near your destination or you can email or call your hotel and ask.

• Another tip about parking: parking spots are very, very narrow all over Europe. It's entirely possible you may come back to your car and have to climb in through the back because there is no room to get your doors open. I strongly recommend renting a hatchback style car because of this. And possibly bringing a very limber child to help. ;)

• Gas is crazy expensive, too. Diesel is much cheaper in the long run.

• It's worth it to get the extra insurance coverage (depending on your personal insurance policy, of course). No one thinks it's a big deal to bump a car so scratches and scrapes happen a lot. Cars also get broken into frequently, so don't leave valuables laying around.

• Speeding tickets happen by camera and they can be very expensive. They will catch up to you eventually. We recently received a ticket from the Netherlands from over 6 months ago. Speeding tickets in France are extremely expensive, too, so really watch your speed there.