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21 Mistakes And Traps To Avoid When Visiting These European Countries, Revealed By This TikTok Account
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Traveling is known to be one of the most interesting, exciting, and popular ways to explore the world, learn about new cultures and make some unforgettable memories. However, sometimes not knowing things or not being prepared properly can spoil the trip and cause some issues that can even end it. Having this in mind, TikTok account @efultimatebreak decided to reveal some of the mistakes that tourists tend to make as well as tips on how to avoid them.
The travel company EF Ultimate Break is known among young adults who like to travel but don’t really want to plan the whole thing by themselves. For such travelers, the company offers packages where every aspect of the trip is already taken care of, so all you need to do is to pack your bags and get ready to have the time of your life.
The company’s TikTok account is full of entertaining and useful information for all kinds of travelers. A lot of videos are based on people’s requests to talk about certain cities they would like to visit but are curious to find out more before the trip.
Do you know any useful tips when traveling abroad? Don’t forget to leave your thoughts in the comments down below!
More Info: TikTok
Image source: EF Ultimate Break
This post may include affiliate links.
Drinking Water In Iceland
In Iceland, there’s really no need to buy bottled water. Just bring a refillable bottle and fill it up anywhere, and it’s gonna taste like bottled water. You can even fill up at the bathroom sink and it’s gonna taste better than bottled water in America.
Bored Panda contacted Arielle Mulgrew, who is a social media manager at EF Ultimate Break, to find out more about their process of creating useful and interactive content for their followers. Arielle shared how these traveling tip videos became interesting for so many people. “There are a lot of creators and brands that offer travel tips, but no one makes a name for themselves by bandwagoning. Instead, we took our travel knowledge in a different direction: all the mistakes our team members have made as American travelers on EF Ultimate Break trips.” The social media specialist revealed that once you find a unique way to provide people with valuable information, it is important to listen to their questions and requests and provide them with answers.
Greeting A Shopkeeper In Paris
A tourist mistake is to not greet a shopkeeper. A lot of tourists don’t know this, but if you walk into a store and don’t greet the shopkeeper, it’s considered extremely rude. You should always say “hi”, “hello", and “goodbye”.
No Pictures At The Red Light District In Amsterdam
Getting pictures of the girls in the Red Light District. You get in trouble with security but also these are working women, not zoo animals.
Receiving A Bill At A Restaurant In Paris
Waiting for a bill at the restaurant. The bill won’t automatically come just because you finished your meal. They’re not trying to rush you out the door, so you have to ask for the bill when you’re ready for it. So don’t wait around for an hour just wondering where it is.
If you’re curious to know where the knowledge for these videos comes from, Arielle was glad to share this. “The material is inspired by stories from our team’s travels! There’s nothing quite like living through a cultural faux pax or not packing something crucial to learn a valuable lesson, but since we want travelers on our trips to have the best experience possible, we’re giving them the ‘cheat codes’”.
Wine Tasting In Italy
Always give the house wine a try. No matter what restaurant you go to, it’ll always be super local, super great quality, and super unique to that specific location.
Ordering Coffee In Italy
In Italy, if you try to order a latte, they will hand you a glass of milk. Latte means milk in Italian. So let’s not do that.
Opposite story here: I was in Italy with my husband couple of years back ( we are American). And I ordered latte (glass of milk, because I can't drink coffee and just wanted milk with my brioche bun) and my husband ordered cappuccino, to my surprise they brought me a latte( as a coffee drink. They thought that I wanted American version of latte and not a glass of milk.
Avoiding Strangers Giving Free Stuff In Italy
In Italy, sometimes someone will come up and tie a bracelet around your wrist and insist it’s free or a present but then later on demand money for it. If somebody offers you something for free, it is not free. Don’t take it.
Now that people are aware of some of the mistakes that tourists tend to make, the social media manager also shared one of the most valuable tips that she wanted other fellow travelers to know: “Put the phone away whenever you can. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been in these beautiful places, and the people around me are looking down at their phones or taking a million pictures. We’re such an overstimulated generation that we feel the need to fill silence and downtime instead of embracing them. So put the phone away until you need it. Bring a polaroid or disposable camera to remember a moment as it was. Soak in where you are, for real.”
Learning Italian Before The Trip
Definitely learn some basic Italian phrases before you get there. Locals are very appreciative when you at least try to speak their language. And they’ll be a lot of friendlier towards you, I promise.
This is true of anywhere I've been, but the Germans are by far the nicest about mistakes, in my experience. Italy is probably second?... Even my 20 basic phrases are a huge help, since one is "I'm sorry, I don't speak your language"!
Taking An Escalator In London
Always stand on the right of the escalator in the tube. Brits take this very seriously and are not afraid to be rude if you’re standing on the left. The left side is the fast lane for walking, the right side is the standing lane.
It is everywhere but a lot of people like to use escalators the same way they drive; slow in the fast lane
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That was my first impression, too. It looks like the escalators in Central.
Load More Replies... Firstly, that photo wasn't in London. It appears to be somewhere in Asia. Second, I live in London and I use the Tube extensively every day. I don't know of any escalators that don't have steps in them. Third, we do not take this bloody silly 'rukle' at all seriously as we have never even heard of it and fourth, we Brits are generally polite by nature and if we are in a hurry and need to get past a simple "Excuse me" is all that would be required.
"English take this seriously". We have no such rule in Scotland, you stand wherever you're not in someone's way, and you say "excuse me" if you want past them.
Same in the rest of England. This is very much a London Tube thing.
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Japan is great: stand on the left in Tokyo, on the right in Osaka. You can spot the Tokyoites at the bullet train station in Osaka 'cos they're blocking the escalator.
Really? I was in Nagoya 10 years ago, they stood on the right.
Load More Replies... Please note that this is for the tube ONLY. Do so anywhere else and people will be making "Londoner" jokes and likely insults under their breath. In other places with a wide enough escalator, this is reversed. In most places you stand only, not walk. Walking on the escalator means barging past people and that is rude.
Same in Korea. You'll get bumped while they are trying to move around you
The same goes for escalators in Stockholm, Sweden, but stand to the left, as we have right-hand traffic over here. Not so much in Gothenburg, Sweden, people are not as stressed out here perhaps. My husband and I live in a small town in Sweden, that only has a few short escalators, and no-one minds this rule. A well-dressed man came up behind us on the escalator, and coughed. We just assumed he had a cold, and stod side-by-side as we always do. If he had asked us, we had of course moved aside. When he reached the top, he hurried away, looking angrily at us. There are no buses, trains or trams that way, only a parking area and a grocery store.
In Australia I was brought up to keep to the left when walking anywhere
In Singapore, left lane is for standing, and the right lane is for walking. In Indonesia, there's no fast lane, everybody will be standing all over the escalator.
no, it's the other way around in London. People stand on the left and walk on the right. Pic is of somewhere in Asia.
In Australia, it's the other way around, stand onthe left, walk on the right
ummmm When I lived in London for 13 years and got the Tube we stood on the left on the escalator; when did it change?
i actually live in the UK and didnt know this one but even so, I rarely take the tube, I'm caustrophobic so I probably haven't seen this often enough to know about it.
Fun fact- studies have shown that if people remained stationary on both 'lanes' of the escalators, the flow rate of travellers would actually INCREASE throughout the whole system by as much as 50 percent! But London Transport didn't go ahead with trying to change people's behaviour because it was judged to be too ingrained into our habits.
I bet you leave your house only to go in London. First time ever?
Man how I would be glad of people in Slovakia started to use this too. Normály i go up or down this kind of escalator i must stop by first man which srands me in the way and they are definetely not in the left nor the right side 🤷🏻♀️
That's not strictly true. This is a London thing not a "British" thing. Also, no-ones gonna get bothered about it unless you are blocking them from getting past you.
This is the rule everywhere I have ever been. FYI, I've been more than three places.
Funny how they don't stand on the left, as they drive left, too. So the left lane should be the slow lane.
That is because this is left over from the Victorian tube company era, where there was a lot of input and financial backing by American financiers. Most notably Charles Tyson Yerkes Jr. of the Underground Electric Railways Company of London - the precursor company to London Electric Railway, which would became the modern London Underground.
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In Australia you will often get escalators that are ramps (usually if there is no lift I guess). Other times there will be the stair ones.
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Knowing The Difference Between Café And Coffee Shop In Amsterdam
The first tourist mistake is not knowing the difference between a coffee shop and a cafe. If you walk into a coffee shop in Amsterdam for coffee, you’re going to be pretty surprised. All I can say is that if you’re looking for coffee, go to a cafe.
Having in mind that for the past couple of years, the circumstances around the world have changed because of the pandemic, it's interesting to know whether people’s traveling habits have somehow changed. Arielle noticed that people now are “more cautious during the actual process of traveling", but it hasn't made an impact on their “desire to explore and experience new places." The woman shared that “travel can be overwhelming during the best of times and now more than ever”, this is why their company is ready to take care of some of the logistics so that people could fully enjoy their travels.
Getting Gelato In Italy
If the gelato looks piled up and fluffy, don’t get it. I know it’s really tempting, but all the fluffiness means that there’s a lot of air whipped into it. Always look for gelato that’s in lidded containers. Lids are always a good sign because it means that the gelato is being kept at the right temperature and that the store owners know that they have a really good product and they don’t need bright colors or flair to get customers in.
Finding A Place To Eat When Abroad
If a host or hostess is trying to lure you into a restaurant, my advice is not to go in and instead ask a local where they like to eat.
No Walking On Bike Lanes In Amsterdam
Walking in the bike lanes. Everywhere you go you’ll see bike paths just like this one next to the sidewalks. And you might be tempted to walk in it but please don’t. You will get run over and nobody wants that.
Also, Dutch people can sense bicycles coming, even if they can't hear them. This is an evolutionary trait, which means Dutch people can cross a road without too many problems, even if there are millions of bikes on that road. Do not try to emulate them. You don't have the genes. (;))
Using Toilet In Greece
Flushing toilet paper on the Greek islands. Greek sewage pipes are about half the size of American plumbing and clog very easily. Instead, place your toilet paper in the little bins next to the toilet.
Comfortable Footwear When Traveling In Greece
Bringing the wrong shoes. A lot of the streets are cobblestone or dirt or lightly paved, and not super ideal for heels. I’m not saying don’t bring heels, I’m saying bring something comfortable too.
Currency Exchange Abroad
Exchange rates. Don’t use the currency exchange at the airport. Just don’t do it. Those companies usually take advantage of the fact that tourists don’t know any better, so they offer really bad exchange rates and have really high withdrawal minimums. Find a bank branch when you get to where you’re going and use the ATM inside instead.
Trying Local Food In London
A lot of people come to London and they try to find fish and chips because it’s what they see in the movies and TV shows. Fish and chips are great but it’s not the only thing people eat there. England is actually really well known for their Indian food. Chicken Tikka Masala is even one of their national dishes.
Also worth noting that the posh up market looking fish and chip shops are going to absolutely rip you off, find a dated, greasy looking place that looks like its been there years, it'll be half the price and twice as good
Overpacking When Traveling To Greece
Overpacking, which I know sounds like a cop-out, but in Santorini, you could be walking up hundreds of steps with your luggage, so you wanna pack lightly.
Traveling Around The City
If you’re going somewhere new for the first time, definitely check how late public transportation stays open. If you’re still out and public transportation closes, cabs are going to charge you 3-4 times their normal fare because I know they can get away with it. And when you’re super tired, it’s that late, you’re just gonna pay it.
Eating Street Food In Paris
One of the tourist mistakes is eating at restaurants and cafes. The best thing I ever ate was a crepe from a food cart just on a random street.
No no no. I am parisian and the best crepes are the ones you get from actual creperies (restaurants specialized in crepes). There are lots of them in Montparnasse area. Paris doesn't have street food culture. The street food in Paris are for tourists, sorry!
Joking Around In London
Don’t make jokes about the American revolution. No one else will think they’re funny.
OK. This totally depends on who you're with. I play a word game tourney on a team mainly consisting of Yorkshire folk. We tell LOTS of American Revolution jokes. Nothing insensitive. The war was over 200 years ago, for heaven's sake! I had relatives die too, but time moves on.
If you are not used to drinking spirits, do not try to keep up with Slavs in pubs/bars. You will regret it. BUT, if someone offers home-brew spirits, drink it and appreciate it, then refuse another one if you are a weak drinker. (Slovakia)
I can affirm this and upvote a hundred times. (Trust this. One shot, and you're done. This stuff makes tequila look like water.)
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#9 that is not an escalator in London!, That image is a moving walkway type thing in either China or Japan,FFS
These are always such rubbish posts. Often written by a person who has travelled for the first time ever and think they're woke
If you are not used to drinking spirits, do not try to keep up with Slavs in pubs/bars. You will regret it. BUT, if someone offers home-brew spirits, drink it and appreciate it, then refuse another one if you are a weak drinker. (Slovakia)
I can affirm this and upvote a hundred times. (Trust this. One shot, and you're done. This stuff makes tequila look like water.)
Load More Replies... #9 that is not an escalator in London!, That image is a moving walkway type thing in either China or Japan,FFS
These are always such rubbish posts. Often written by a person who has travelled for the first time ever and think they're woke
