14 Mistakes We Made On Our Summer Europe Trip

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Embarking on a 4-week summer escapade across Europe was a dream come true for our family and a journey filled with unforgettable memories.

Little did we know that behind the dazzling Instagram photos of flawless moments, our Euro trip was sprinkled with several mistakes and hair-pulling moments.

There is nothing like a painful lesson – one that causes you a loss of money or time. I only wish we had the power of hindsight, so they never happened.

We’re offering that hindsight power to you, by sharing our mistakes, so you can avoid them.

I’d say it’s rare to travel and NOT have something go wrong – we’re travel professionals with 25 years of travel in all its forms and styles across 50+ countries – and we still make mistakes!

So buckle up, fellow travelers, as we unravel the tales of our mishaps and unveil the lessons we learned in the most unexpected corners of Europe. It’s often in the missteps that the most valuable travel wisdom is gained.

Mistakes To Avoid When Travelling Around Europe

1. Catching the Red Eye to Europe from the USA

For those who are unfamiliar with the term “red eye flight”, it’s used to describe a flight that leaves in the evening and lands the following morning. Sounds convenient? Wrong.

Unfortunately, there is no real way to avoid a red eye if flying from the East Coast. They’re all overnight flights plonking you in Paris at 8am, which is 2am East Coast time.

As it’s only a 6-hour flight, and a challenge to sleep on planes, it means you arrive in Paris early in the morning exhausted and you have an entire day before you go to sleep.

You also cannot check into your hotel until 3pm usually, so you have to store your luggage somewhere until then (make sure your hotel has luggage storage).

We don’t advise that you nap as it will mess up your time adjustment and can make jet lag worse over the next few days.

It’s especially difficult if traveling to Europe with kids. All families know a tired kid can destroy a family trip! If you have younger kids or are traveling with babies, it might not be so bad, as they can sleep in the stroller during the day and should recover quite well.

If your only option is to fly overnight like this, plan for a light day of exploration at your arrival city.

In Paris, we wandered the streets, ate…