What you wish you knew on your first ABD

[pinksand]

Hi All! We are booking our first ABD trip ever. Wondering about what you wish you knew before your first ABD trip! Basically, I'm asking for any tips or advice (although I know that the point of an ABD is that everything is taken care of! ). Thanks!

 

[OKW Lover]

The biggest surprise for us was just how busy the adventure is. You are up early and the days stretch into the evening as you spend time with your new friends.

My suggestion is not to start your trip in sleep deficit mode. Get to your starting city a day early and acclimate to the locale, time, weather, etc before the Adventure starts.

 

[MeeskaMomma]

Following!

 

[Rapunzellover]

Agree with OKW...be ready to move. Don't expect to stay in any one place very long.

 

[Cinderella's Slipper 2015]

Definitely expect to be going non-stop from the moment you get up until late afternoon/evening. We did the Southern California trip and most days we started at 7 with breakfast and went through until about 4pm or later. It was not as laid back as I thought a trip to Hollywood and Disneyland would be. We flew in a day early and got to do a few things not included on the trip, including acting like a local and going for a hike through Runyon Canyon which was a 15 minute walk from our hotel. It also allowed us to do a bit of shopping in Hollywood before the trip started

 

[Sarabi's Cubs]

Adding days on the beginning of the adventure is better than adding days on the end. As others have mentioned, it helps to get use to the time difference before the intensity of the adventure starts. Also, you get spoiled by the guides and the camaraderie. When we added days on the end of our Germany ABD, it was a shock to the system to have to figure out on our own how to get around and schlep our bags on the train and to the hotel. We missed our ABD family and started inviting random people to eat with us, which I'm sure they thought was weird.

Laurie

 

[Cinderella's Slipper 2015]

This isn't an ABD specific tip but it's a tip that is good for any travel. When you arrive in your destination, don't give into the desire to go to sleep. Immediately adapt yourself to the new time zone. If you arrive around noon in your destination, then the first order of business after getting to your hotel should be to get lunch and then proceed with the day as you would normally. Grab lunch, tour, have dinner and go to bed at whatever time you would normally go to bed. If you do this, it helps you adjust to the time change faster. We did this in California on our Southern California trip and our recent trip to Disneyland. Will be doing the same thing when we hit Prague in September. Our flight arrives around 4:30pm. We plan to grab dinner and then heading to bed around 10pm, as per our normal routine, even though to our bodies it will only be 10:30am when we arrive in Prague.

 

[Rapunzellover]

The time change thing is real. Do this for sure.

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

Definitely go at least a day, two or more if possible, early. Sometimes ABD doesn't cover all the sites you want to see. Same goes for after the adventure ends. Study both the arrival and departure cities (if you are going early and staying after the trip) so you can navigate when you are there and make the most of your time. I usually read DK Eyewitness Travel guides - they are very helpful and have nice color photos.

Bring enough $US to tip the adventure guides. While local currency is nice, I have found most prefer $US. It' easy to get local currency while you are overseas, but not so for $US.

ENJOY! The ABD trips are amazing and the other travelers are lovely. You will make friends that will last for years and years. Perhaps even travel with them again (we have traveled with two families from previous ABD trips!).

 

[OKW Lover]

Bring enough $US to tip the adventure guides. While local currency is nice, I have found most prefer $US. It' easy to get local currency while you are overseas, but not so for $US.

On our Viva Italia ABD we had one US based guide (Dusty) and one Italian guide (Marco B). I think we tipped Dusty in US dollars and Marco in Euro's. Might be wrong about that. I know that Dusty had flown over just for that trip and flew back the day it ended so dollars were convenient for him.

 

[Rapunzellover]

Yeah, I try to tip in the most convenient currancy. European based guides get Euros, American based, dollars.

 

[Cinderella's Slipper 2015]

Yeah, I try to tip in the most convenient currancy. European based guides get Euros, American based, dollars.

We're heading to Central Europe with ABD in September. Should we tip the local guide in Euros?

 

[acndis]

Only bring US Dollars to SE Asia!

I completely agree with no post days; pre-days are wonderful. Arrive one day before your adventure begins. Don't make a lot of "on your own" plans before you go. Mine have always ended up to be a bust. Just go with the flow and plan the on-your-own time during the adventure.

 

[carpenta]

If you are going to the Grand Canyon trip I would strongly suggest making reservations for dinner (El Tovar) before hand. The restaurants get really busy and ABD will not have enough reservations for the whole group.

 

[Cinderella's Slipper 2015]

Always grab a bottle of water or always make sure you have a full bottle of water with you, no matter where you are. We had one lady on our Southern California trip who was suffering from dehydration on the final day at DCA because she never took the free bottles of water and never had the water bottle we were given at the start of the trip with her. She relied solely on the water fountains and we barely ever stopped long enough or often enough for anyone to search out a water fountain.

 

[Rapunzellover]

Drink water and go to the bathroom when you can, not when you have to.

 

[Cinderella's Slipper 2015]

Also, try to be prompt. If the guides tell you to be somewhere at a certain time, try to be there on time.

 

[pinksand]

These are great tips! Thanks so much!

 

[wdwtheplacetobe]

We're heading to Central Europe with ABD in September. Should we tip the local guide in Euros?

On the Two ABDs we have done so far, we take the Guides' Tip Money in the Envelope provided. That way you know it's done and you don't have to worry about it during the trip. OKW Lover..We had the Same Guides on Viva!!! We loved those two!!!

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

I completely agree with no post days; pre-days are wonderful. Arrive one day before your adventure begins. Don't make a lot of "on your own" plans before you go. Mine have always ended up to be a bust. Just go with the flow and plan the on-your-own time during the adventure.

I respectfully disagree with this statement.

In Prague we had a walking tour of the city with ABD that lasted half a day. Had we not gone 3 days early I feel that we really would've missed so many incredible places and never gotten the "essence" of the city. My son and I had such a good time together exploring and made wonderful memories. Same goes for our post-days in Vienna. We took a river cruise down the Danube for the day and then took the local train back -- an experience that I am so glad that we did but that ABD did not cover.

Research all the cities before you leave. If you have an afternoon free in a city make sure you have an idea what you want to do there. Planning and being prepared are critical for maximum enjoyment of any trip and pre and post days on an ABD trip are no exception. Heck we booked the Sydney bridge climb months before we left (the popular times to climb book up fast).

I booked our private guide (for our 2 full pre-ABD days) in Beijing 4 months ago and have already done a complete itinerary with her. I have studied the subway system so I feel comfortable navigating it at night (we want to go to a Chinese opera 1 of the nights) and researched the restaurants we will eat dinner at (I am going to at least 1 of the restaurants my fellow foodie, Cousin Orville, recommended). For our post days in Hong Kong and Shanghai we have already drafted a plan of action (which included Shanghai Disney for 1 day). For reference we leave in late June. But I am a Type A researcher by trade......