- For carrying money, passport, rail pass, airline tickets, it’s best to have a money belt or neck pouch that you wear under your clothes. You must remain aware of your valuables AT ALL TIMES.
- Backpacks are more useful than suitcases, and they should have locks everywhere! Consider the size carefully. Big packs are heavy, hard to get around in.
- You’ll need a small day pack as well—don’t take it already full!
- A sleep sack is a good idea, silk ones are very compact. Essential for hostels.
- Take at least $100 in dollars and $100 in traveler’s checks for emergencies. By far the most useful way to access money is through a debit card. You can then directly receive Euros from cash machines. Check that your card will work in France. Call the bank!!
- Travel is hard on clothes, so don’t take lots of new ones! Dress for students is casual as it is here, but do take one nicer outfit for going out with your host family or for invitations we may receive as a group. You need some sort of pajamas and slippers or flip flops are nice for homes and hostels.
- Take a small bath towel for hostels & some detergent for washing.
- Good shoes for lots of walking are essential.
- It will still be cool and rainy in Rennes, Paris, and Lyon (as here) so take some warm clothes—layering is best.
- You need to buy or share a copy of Let’s Go or Lonely Planet for traveling in France (or Europe). They are essential guides for logistical information, hostels, inexpensive ways of seeing sights.
- Take a good novel to read on the plane and to trade later.
- If you have favorite toiletries, by all means take them, but France has everything.
- If you are taking any medications with you, make sure they are in the original containers. Vitamins and aspirin can be dumped into plastic bags to save space. Take a small bag of first-aid items including band aids.
- You must have health insurance.
- Make copies of your passport and leave one with family here, take one with you and keep it separate from your passport.
- You can buy a phone card in France at post offices or tabacs. Public phones don’t take cash. They are for a given amount, and you will watch the amount diminish as you speak! You can use them for domestic or international calls. It is far less expensive for family and friends to call you from the US at established times when you’ll be with families. One inexpensive service is 10-10-987. The next numbers are 011-33 and then the city code for Rennes () or Lyon(6) and the home phone number.
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