Check out these do's and don'ts if you want to enjoy a winter holiday in Europe!

As a citizen of a tropical country, it's certainly no surprise if you occasionally want to experience winter in other countries, including Europe. However, to visit a region with a drastically different season, you definitely need special preparation so you can have a safe, comfortable, and enjoyable holiday.

Here are some do's and don'ts you need to know if you want to enjoy a winter holiday in Europe:

1. Don't Skip Packing Thick Clothing

The temperature in European countries during winter can reach 0 °C or even go below zero. Therefore, make sure you bring appropriate clothing, adjusting the quantity to the duration of your holiday. Here are some types of clothing you can bring when traveling to Europe during the winter:

• Puffer jacket. Unlike a motor jacket or a regular jacket, a puffer jacket, or a jacket with goose down filling, is specially designed for winter.
• Thermal wears. Often, a jacket alone is not enough to prevent the cold from penetrating your body. Therefore, thermal wears, or special shirts and pants designed to keep body heat from escaping, are still needed underneath your thick jacket.
• Thick socks, gloves, a scarf, and a beanie. Besides your chest and legs, your feet, hands, and ears also need to be protected from the cold European temperature. Therefore, thick socks, gloves, a scarf, and a beanie are essential.
• Lug-soled shoes. During winter, many European countries experience snowfall. That's why thick, lug-soled shoes are needed to keep you from slipping repeatedly.

Fortunately, these items are relatively easy to obtain now, both in online stores and offline sportswear stores.

2. Don't Forget a Portable Bidet and Travel Adapter

Two important items that must be on your list for a winter holiday in Europe are a portable bidet and a travel adapter. Many winter tourist destinations in Europe only provide seated toilets with tissue as the main cleaning tool. So, you will need a bidet filled with water to clean yourself after defecating or urinating.

Besides a bidet, you also need to bring a travel adapter or the appropriate electrical plug. This is because European countries use a different electrical plug model than Indonesia, so a travel adapter is needed so you can charge your mobile phone and/or laptop smoothly without any problems.

3. Don't Rely Only on Cash (Bring Debit or Credit Cards)

You can indeed travel around Europe using only one currency, the Euro. But, it will certainly be more practical if you bring non-cash payment methods, such as a debit card and a Mastercard or Visa credit card. This means you don't need to carry a lot of cash and can use it anytime and anywhere.

Paying bills with a credit card also has its own privileges, such as being able to collect rewards points or miles that can be exchanged for discounts on flight tickets and restaurants, as well as many other benefits. Especially if you use an Honest credit card. In addition to benefits like the discounts above, this credit card app is also free of foreign transaction fees, unlike other credit cards that charge a transaction fee outside Indonesia of 2.5%–3.25% of the total transaction.

4. Don't Neglect Checking the Weather Forecast

Want your holiday to stay comfortable during winter? Then, install a weather forecast app! Checking the weather forecast is an important thing you need to do so you can get updates on the weather conditions of the related tourist destination and adjust your outfit for that day. This is even more important if you plan to do extreme sports, such as skiing or snowboarding.

5. Don't Leave Without Essential Medications and Skincare

Medication is a necessity that must be fulfilled when visiting European countries in winter. Because the cold European temperature combined with your fatigue can make you fall sick. Therefore, emergency medicines, such as cold medicine, fever medicine, eucalyptus oil, medicated patches (koyo), and antiseptic liquid (obat merah) must be brought.

In addition, you also need to bring the necessary skin care products, such as facial moisturizer, lip balm to prevent cracked skin, and sunscreen to prevent UV ray exposure. This is because winter can make your face feel drier and itchier. So, bringing special skin care is highly necessary.

6. Don't Skip Planning Your Itinerary

Are you the type of traveler who prefers to spontaneously determine your schedule? Well, for visiting Europe in winter, this should be minimized. First, because of the long journey between Indonesia and Europe, you definitely need enough rest time before starting to travel again. Second, not all tourist destinations are open at normal hours during winter. Third, you need to adjust to the shorter daylight hours in winter.

So, create an itinerary beforehand and a backup plan so your holiday time in Europe during winter is not wasted.

In addition to the things above, it also wouldn't hurt to bring rice or instant noodles for your holiday in Europe just in case the local cuisine in the cold region doesn't suit your personal taste.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. When is the peak of winter in Europe?

The peak of winter in Europe is between December and January, which is during the Christmas and New Year holidays. Winter ends in February.

2. Is Europe good to visit during winter?

Most countries in Europe are very good to visit during winter, as the Christmas and New Year celebrations are festive.

3. What are the risks of traveling to Europe in winter?

The risks of traveling to Europe during the winter holiday include the possibility of extreme weather and crowded conditions because it is the year-end holiday season.