Getting Ready to Go: International Travel Basics

A few things we tell everyone heading out on their first Getaway abroad. Quick, painless, and your trip goes a whole lot smoother because of it.

A few words go a long way

You don’t need to be fluent. You don’t even need to be good. But five phrases in the local language — said with a smile and a little effort — go further than almost anything else you can pack. Locals notice. Strangers warm up. Doors open.

At minimum, learn how to say:

• Hello
• Goodbye
• Good morning / good evening
• Where is the restroom (trust us, this one’s a winner)
• Thank you

That’s it. Five phrases. Practice them on the plane.

Money: always spend in the local currency

This one little decision will save you more money than you’d expect. Whenever a credit card terminal or ATM asks if you want to be charged in U.S. dollars or in the local currency, always pick the local currency. Every single time.

Here’s why it matters: when you pick dollars, the merchant or ATM does the currency conversion at a worse rate with hidden fees baked in. When you pick the local currency, your credit card issuer does the conversion at the best rate available. Same purchase, real difference in cost.

A couple more money habits we recommend:

• Use a credit card with no foreign transaction fees if you have one. Most travel-rewards cards qualify — check yours before you leave.
• Turn off “Preferred Currency Pricing” in your Uber app. Settings → Preferred Currency Pricing → off. Leaving it on adds a 1.5% conversion fee on every ride. Little setting, real savings over the trip.
• Grab some of the local currency from your bank before you leave the U.S. It’s usually cheaper than the alternative, and having a little cash on arrival means you’re not hunting for an ATM the second you land. Plan ahead — foreign currency orders usually take about 10 business days to come in. If you’d rather skip this step, you can still pull cash from a local bank ATM once you’re there — just expect to pay slightly higher conversion and convenience fees.

Your cellphone overseas

Don’t be the person who finds out about international roaming when the bill shows up. Before you fly, call your cell carrier and add a short-term international travel plan. Almost every major U.S. carrier has one. AT&T’s, for example, is around $12/day for unlimited calls, texts, and data abroad. Verizon, T-Mobile, and the rest offer something similar.

Why this matters: you’re going to want your phone working for maps, ride apps, restaurant reservations, sending the group photo you just took to the group chat, and the occasional “hey, made it!” text home. Skipping the plan means either spending the trip in airplane mode or a heart-stopping bill when you get back. Neither is the vibe.

Call your carrier a few days before you leave so you have time to confirm everything’s activated and ready to go the moment you land.

One more app worth installing before you fly: WhatsApp. It’s free, and most of Europe (and much of the rest of the world) uses it instead of regular text messaging. Your Getaway hosts, drivers, and tour guides will almost always reach you over WhatsApp rather than SMS — install it ahead of time so you’re not setting it up on hotel Wi-Fi.

Power adapters

Here’s the deal with European outlets: they don’t look like ours. To plug anything in, you’ll need a Type C travel adapter, and for some things (powered appliances especially) you’ll also want a voltage converter.

For Portugal specifically, you’ll want a Type C or Type F adapter (the two round-pin standard used across continental Europe). Our travel partner recommends the VINTAR International Power Plug Adapter — it includes USB-A, USB-C, and two US outlets, so you can charge your phone, your watch, and your laptop all from one adapter. If you’d rather grab something that works everywhere in the world, this universal travel charger on Amazon is a solid pick and will travel with you on every future Getaway too.

One honest warning: even with a converter, most U.S. hairdryers and flat irons just don’t perform well in Europe. They sputter, they overheat, sometimes they straight-up die. Most experienced travelers leave the hair tools at home and use whatever the hotel provides instead. One less thing in the suitcase, one less thing to worry about.