EuroCheapo's Practical Info Articles

Note: This article is part of a series on Using an American iPhone in Europe… without Going Broke. So, say you go with the $30 data package. What exactly does that mean? How many emails can you send and receive with 1200 MB of “data transfer”? How many web pages can you browse? Which applications » Read more

Note: This article is part of a series on Using an American iPhone in Europe… without Going Broke. Since 2011, Verizon has offered the iPhone to its customers. Verizon’s international rates are comparable to AT&T’s, but Verizon’s data plans are a bit pricier. Making international phone calls on Verizon’s iPhone 4S For the international traveler, » Read more

Note: This article is part of a series on Using an American iPhone in Europe… without Going Broke. AT&T offers a number of international phone and data packages for Americans taking their phones abroad. The day before take-off, I called and spoke to a customer service representative about my options. Two weeks later I’m still » Read more

Feb 22 Because the French railway network extended its tentacles only slowly north from Paris to the ports, there was a spell in the mid-19th century when the Channel port of Boulogne remained conspicuously isolated from the rest of France. Brits could get there easily from London, using the new rail routes to the Kent coast and » Read more

Feb 15 Railways breed euphemisms. We always smile when we hear railway staff at London’s Paddington station refer to “the lawn.” There is nothing green about the lawn, but that’s what they call the concrete concourse where travelers gather, scanning the list of upcoming departures, at the inward end of the platforms. Another old Paddington euphemism, one » Read more

Feb 08 The great majority of our many rail journeys across Europe work perfectly. Most trains really do arrive punctually. But from time to time Europe’s railways do have bad days, particularly when bad weather rolls in and plays havoc with schedules. When winter strikes In three of the last five winters, we have had at least » Read more

Jan 25 Cast back to just 18 months ago, and the departure boards at Thessaloniki railway station were rather interesting. The city boasted direct train services to ten different European countries. In those days, one could hop aboard a train in Thessaloniki and travel, without once having to change trains, to distant Prague and even-further-distant Moscow. No » Read more

Jan 19 New York business owners and workers consider foreign tourists notoriously bad tippers. To be fair, many tourists are visiting from countries that don’t expect substantial tipping. And face it, eating, drinking, traveling and getting beautiful in New York is already pretty expensive, even without the gratuity thrown in at the end. Although tipping can stretch » Read more

Jan 10 By Nina Derham in London— London is a costly city in many ways, but public transport prices are really ludicrous. For Londoners and commuters alike, January is an especially sore point and outrage spreads on an annual basis when the January 2nd price hikes come into force. 2012 is no exception, as this year the » Read more