BootsnAll Travel Community

Amsterdam pickpocketing....

Seriously, these people are amazing.
I've been pickpocketed in Chicago twice before, and both times, I knew (in retrospect) exactly when it happened.
In Amsterdam, some master thief removed my wallet from the inside breast pocket of my coat somewhere between the easyInternet cafe on Damrak and the Leidseplein train stop. I have no idea where exactly it happened, I have no idea how. I am convinced that someone saw me snap the wallet into my coat in the cafe and followed me. I was carrying my computer bag, and I was more worried about that... so I wasn't paying attention...

Yes, watch yourself very carefully in Amsterdam, especially in and around the central train station, and on the train route between Amsterdam and the airport, and secondarily in the touristy areas, which is a large part of the city. I lived there three years and never had a problem, but have heard plenty of stories like yours. Sorry to hear they got you -- those pickpocketers give the city a bad rap.

holy crap i got pickpocketed by easyinternetcafe in damrak...that must be a bullseye on our back... I got my debit card taken out of my breast pocket and my video camera...Be very careful in Amsterdam it ruined the last leg of my trip...

Be very careful in amsterdam, don't take anything you don't need with you...

Watch out for the nightclub Tiger Tiger in London's Piccadilly. I was out with a friends who lives there and some other people when I had my drink drugged.

http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/content/2006/s1604540.htm

A documentary produced by a Canadian team, already aired in UK and now here in Oz last night indicates that not only petty theft occurs in Europe.
Though as a traveller/backpacker you may not be a prime target for this brutal traffiking, the extent of it and experience of travellers clearly warns you to keep aware of situations.

Barcelona warning

Thought this might be the right place to put this.

I am a coach driver and done a day trip to Barcelona, on the Spanish Med last year. ALL my passengers were warned that when we stop outside the Sagrida Familia ( a VERY famous church), the area is well known for pickpockets. All jewelery should be hidden, and all pockets should be zipped up. Any pockets with no zips should have everything taken out of them. We were only parked there for about ten minutes, enough time to get some photos and guess what.... one of our passengers ignored this warning, the wallet had about fifty pounds in it.

Be warned

Devonian

Living in Edinburgh at the moment and have heard many warnings about the Caledonian Backpackers Hostel on Queensferry Road. It is a very lively hostel with a bar and there's always a party happening, which can be good. But there are no locks on any of the doors between the street and the beds. I've heard many stories of people waking up in the middle of the night to find strangers standing over them watching them sleep. Also, no luggage lockers or storage room, so I've also heard many stories of theft (possibly by random people from off the street). People do have a good time here if they're looking for a party, but be aware of your surroundings and think about it before you leave something in your room.

I've just had a really bad experience at the Freestyle Hostel in Rome. The trip was planned by a friend, using websites, and it became apparent as soon as we arrived that the hostel had seriously misrepresented itself online. It lists, among other things, a lounge area, DVD player, PS2, kitchen and breakfast with a large assortment of foods specified. It also touts 24-hour hot showers and free maps.

Well, the lounge area, dining area and reception are all one room, packed with furniture and barely enough room to turn around (the only seating also doubles as the night clerk's bed, and he leaves the bedding on it all day long). There is no DVD player or PS2 (not that that's why we chose it, but it's the fact that they blatantly lie about it in their listings). The only flat surface is a narrow shelf that acts as a 'breakfast bar'...essentially, it holds the kettle, mugs and plate of limp supermarket pastries that are the 'amazing' breakfast. Showers are forbidden after 10 pm, and the ensuite shower in one room is treated as a public shower...essentially turning that room into a public area as well. Which isn't surprising, as the doors to ALL the rooms are left unlocked, with the doors often propped open. And the night clerk (who likes to stare creepily at female guests) also sees nothing wrong with wandering into rooms during the night. The beds themselves are the standard rickety bunk-beds, but the linen is pretty dirty, and you don't get anything to separate the unwashed old quilts from your body which is pretty unsanitary.

Oh, and when I tried to get a receipt from them I was told flat out that they didn't give them, so as to avoid paying taxes. Nice.

Romania warning

Bucharest, February 2004.

I was on an trip with a friend of mine. We were in Bucharest and wanted to get a Mini Bus to Targoviste. It was snowing, and really cold, with streets covered in ice, making walking a really difficult task (guess the first warning about Romania, is better avoid it in the winter - especially if you come from a warmer climate...)

We were kind of lost around the Bucharest Mini Bus stations (which in themselves are very confusing - there are different little stations for different sets of destinations, and it is quite tricky to find out the one that serves yours).

So, after strolling un and down a big, but not very busy street for around and hour, with our backpacks on and our noses frozen, there are two guys approaching us. They claim to be tourist police and ask for our passports.

The thing is, i have read about this kind of scum in a Lonely Planet guide. Of course i did not expect this to happen to me. And tired as i was, the last thing that i needed was two crooks after me. But anyway, i knew it was a trick. So i paid no attention to them.

My friend though, was already reaching for his wallet. I shouted at him not to do anything, because they are crooks. I asked them for an ID, and, yes, they presented me with a pathetic plastic sheriff budge!!! I couldn't stop laughing. But they were very persistent, and slowly irritated that their trick was not paying off. And although the Lonely Planet guide stated that these people will probably stroll off if you just don't pay attention to them, these two didn't. Instead, they asked us to go in a car with them. One of them actually kind of grabbed me from my sleeve to try and get me in the car. This was the point that i totally lost my temper and started shouting at him to take his hands off me. And i made a fake phone call from my cellphone to a police station, asking them to send somebody over.

The two guys, stayed with us a few more minutes, and then walked away.

So, the lesson: first of all, the obvious - you don't hand your passport to some person on the street, even if they claim to be the Pope himself.

The second: stay calm initially but make a scene if things get rough. People who harrasse you on the street, count on you to be afraid. Prove them that you are not. Generally, they are not very dangerous anyway.

And third, try to over-trick them.

Afterwards, go on with your journey, and have a great time!

quote:

Originally posted by Leif, God of Thunder:
Avoid RyanAir all together. There are a dozen hidden charges and surprise fees (this is how they recoup for selling seats for 99P). The staff are poorly trained and sour from being yelled at every day by irate travelers who got stung by the hidden fees. Their network is weak. In some cities they fly out of airports that are so out of the way and cost one so much to reach that one could have paid for a First Class regular plane ticket in the end for the same price, particularly after the hidden fees get factored in.

EasyJet is infinitely better. More destinations, less hassle, less sneaky charges, more chipper staff.

Sorry that I won't agree. I'm gonna say thank God for Ryanair...I mean what do you expect when you pay 20£ for your flight? And what hidden charges? You surely know how much they will charge you when you book it online. Sure, problems happen- but they do with other airlines as well- and Ryanair is much cheaper then easyjet. I fly with them all the time.

Never had any problems with Ryanair either. Except for a flight to Venice being cancelled once because of loads of snow in Charleroi (it hardly ever snows in Belgium! just my luck) but that's hardly their fault and the staff was very friendly and helpful and got me on another flight 2 days later (I could've flown standby the next day but that sounded too risky). Never experienced any "hidden" charges either, their bagage rules etc. are quite obvious on their website, as are the exact locations of their airports.

I just wanted to warn all other travelers about my experiences with Eurorail to warn everyone else from being totally ripped off like I was...

My "inclusive", $510 pass cost this much in fees over the course of my three week trip to Europe:

Schedule of Fees:

Charles de Gaulle Airport to Lyon: 3 E
Lyon to Chambery: Free
Chambery to Milano: 10 E
Milano to Anacona: Free
Anacona to Patras: 16 E
Patras to Corinth: 5 E
Athena to Patras: 6 E
Patra to Bari: 16 E
Bari to Roma: 23 E*
Additional 8 E fee after being told by station attendant that I could “just hop on a train”. After boarding train, told that needed to have reserved a pass despite what station attendant said, and was charged an additional 8 E above the 15 E of the ticket.
Roma to Naples: 5 E
Naples to Roma: 5 E
Roma to Firenze: 15 E
Firenze to Paris: 25 E
Paris to Rennes: 3 E
Rennes to Paris: 3 E

135 Euros total (about $175)

Beyond that, the rail tickets were not all the expensive purchased separately (between 5 and 70 Euros), and plane tickets are really cheap as well. I cannot imagine a case in which a Eurorail pass would be a good idea.

I was also displeased with my experience on the trails. I found the trains to be filthy (a cab I was in stank, many of the bathrooms were smeared in fecal material), the trains were slow (the supposed "high speed" trains that I was billed supplements for traveled at about 25 mph), and when I complained about this to Eurorail headquarters, I did not even receive a response.

This doesn't mean that all national train lines stink. When, prior to my trip to Japan, I purchased a J-Rail pass, I was pleasantly surprised. For the cost of about $200 U.S., I had free travel in immaculate trains (both high speed and otherwise) throughout Japan for the length of my stay. The pass was all inclusive, covering everything from the local commuter rails to the shinkansen, and to book a ticket, all that I would have to do was talk to the front office, get a seat, and hop on board a train. Pity that Eurorail doesn't work that way.

Oh yeah, and for customer service? Still haven't replied to the complaint I sent them (it's been a month!).

Just so it's clear, a railpass acts as your ticket on trains, but it's often required to purchase a reservation as well. The reservations are inexpensive, and sometimes avoidable if you can spare the time to take slower trains - the high-speed trains almost all have reservation requirements. The "fees" you mention here are right in the range of reservation costs, so I'm assuming that's what they were.

Railpasses are often a great deal, and sometimes they're not. If you've got questions before you go, give BootsnAll's Eurail Expert Dave a call (866-549-7614) and he'll help you figure out if a pass is right for you, and if so, what kind would work best.

I agree there's often cheaper ways of travelling around Europe than with a rail pass - budget flights, busses, cheap local trains or local rail passes, hitch-hiking. But if you do have a rail pass (and it can be worth it if you want to travel often and far in expensive countries), you usually needn't take the trains that require reservations or supplements. It all comes down to planning - know what trains you need to pay a supplement/reservation for, know what alternative trains you can take. For example, if you go to http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de , you can select no ICE (which you always need to pay a supplement for with an interrail pass, don't know about eurail) or also without IC/EC (which you need to pay a supplement for with an interrail pass in some countries), and they will also tell you which trains require reservations.

Be very careful when travelling by train between Venice and Nice, especially if you're travelling at night. I had a bag stolen, and afterwards learned that that stretch is infamously bad for robberies.

I totally agree with the Eurail pass poster, and try warning everyone against it. It's sold to Americans who don't really get the idea of train ticket vs. train reservation, it's LOADS more expensive then buying point-to-point tickets, the customer service is terrible, and there's no benefit whatsoever. They say it's easier because you don't have to deal with buying tickets once in big, bad, scary Europe - but you still need to make reservations (almost all the time) - which requires waiting in the same types of lines and having the same type of interactions that Eurail will claim you'll avoid.

If you buy a pass ahead of time, you'll miss out on any deals that pop up while you're in Europe, which happens all the time. The Paris train service has HUGE sales every week - I think right now you can get a ticket to Amsterdam for 10 Euro. you can find flights that cost way less and take a fraction of the time than a 9-hour ferry ride which will only grant you a seat on the deck (and a 12 Euro reservation fee). for people backpacking through Europe, staying at hostels or with friends, there's just no advantage to using Eurail whatsoever. The reservation fees really add up after a while, and I hate how Eurail says "oh they're so small!" Like the original poster stated, $175 US dollars is not a SMALL amount.

At least, that's my opinion.

--Tami

Quick tips of things i ran into...

1. Don't drink like your at home. You're not, drinking heavily is just fine, but there's no need to take your camera out with you on a night you know you're hardly going to be able to walk at the end of.

2. Don't take out much money, i learned this the hard way, i needed to buy a towel, and this italian dude on the beach was selling them, well it should've cost me 20E i think, he ended up basically taking 30E cuz i couldn't understand him.

3. Don't be afraid to walk around in scrubby places if you've got a group, i went on our trip with 4 of my buddies so the 5 of us never really felt in much danger. Odd stares and things in places where people aren't used to tourists is off-putting and unsettling, but not really dangerous.

4. Be firm. 3 of us were walking across a small bridge over a canal in amsterdam and this crackheadish guy who pulled on 1 of my buddies arms who was 2 steps behind me. He asked for money, naturally we politely said we had none. He then said "look either you give it to me, or i'll take it." Well by this time, my and my other friend both saw what was going on, so we approached him, he didn't have any obvious weapon so we just stayed firm saying something to the effect of "get lost or you'll be swimming in that canal full of piss in about 2 seconds." Funny end to the story was we got away from him and crossed the bridge, and 2 guys sitting on the bench said "you guys okay?", "sure" we said "does that happen a lot?", "all the time naturally with all the tourists, especially at night here in the red light district, but we would've helped out if we thought you were in trouble", "good to know thanks guys" we said, they then replied "no problem, uhh by the way, want to buy some coke?"

bad hostel in amsterdam

don't stay at the Amigo Hostel, we found it to be really sketchy. one of my friends stayed in for the night and someone who works at the hostel opened our room and came into it (said he was fixing the tv, but there was nothing wrong with it) just basically was suprised to see someone in our room while he was in it.

Also watch out for Vienna, it may not seem bad but i got my wallet stolen there just as i was boarding the metro.

Bad hotel in London

I got scabies at the Marble Arch Inn, so don't go there unless you want this infernally itchy rash. Also, there was mold on one of the walls so the smell was pretty interesting.

quote:

Originally posted by Moen:
Never, ever, go to the Youth hostel in Thessaloniki (although i think it was the only hostel i could find in this town). The hostel itself is on the third floor, while the showers are in the basment. basment means, dark and dirty. The beds aren't clean either. Only the location is good.

Agreed... this hostel is unfortunately the ONLY hostel in Thessaloniki with no other budget options available... but it is the crappiest place I've been in.. the beds are seperated by a shower curtain, the showers themselves are 3 stories down in a dank scary dirty basement... plus the prices are waaay too high in comparison, around 15 euros a night... which is bad in greece for any place!