21 Mistakes And Traps To Avoid When Visiting These European Countries, Revealed By This TikTok Account

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

#1 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.

Image credits: Daniel Orth

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.

#2 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.

Image credits: ☻☺

#3 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”.

Image credits: Herry Lawford

#4 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.

Image credits: Curran Kelleher

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’”.

#5 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.

Image credits: Marina Shemesh

#6 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.

Image credits: Tony Asleson

#7 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.

Image credits: Nenad Stojkovic

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.”

#8 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.

Image credits: Wohnstuben-Café

#9 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.

Image credits: Jim Rhodes

#10 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.

Image credits: RubyGoes

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.

#11 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.

Image credits: Darren Foreman

#12 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.

Image credits: Amy the Nurse

#13 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.

Image credits: Design for Health

#14 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.

Image credits: jessicahtam

#15 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.

Image credits: Chris

#16 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.

Image credits: NH53

#17 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.

Image credits: Rad Blondie

#18 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.

Image credits: vxla

#19 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.

Image credits: Larry Lamsa

#20 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.

Image credits: satemkemet

#21 Joking Around In London

Don’t make jokes about the American revolution. No one else will think they’re funny.

Image credits: Bowy Gavid Bowie Chan