iPad to Vienna? Yes or no?

Thanks Steve (if you're "the" Steve). This is helpful and reassuring. I'll be careful and I'll be visiting your travel store. Your "Vienna, Salzburg & Tirol" book is amazing and filled with great tips. Just the Introduction is worth more than the cost of the book. Wonderful on PBS. Keep it up!

When you get your iPad be certain that your "international roaming" is off. :-)

I can't wait to walk the streets of Vienna, past all of the magnificent buildings of the Inner Stadt, just as I did when I was a student. Exciting. Thanks again.

There are still honest people in the world mixed in with the pickpockets. I once lost a money belt on the street in London (faulty catch) that had several credit cards, my passport, and about £60. After I got home (after the painful process of replacing my passport and getting add'l money), the landlady at my B&B called to say that a student had found my money belt and returned it to the police. She then mailed it back to me in the states.

I guess what I'm saying is that you don't need to be ultra-paranoid...just be careful and use common sense (i.e., don't flash your expensive items around), and you should be fine. Remember, people actually live in Europe and they certainly don't keep their electronics locked up every day. :)

John, we just returned from a trip to Italy, which is "supposed" to be more populated with pickpockets and thieves than Austria is. Between us, we had my iPad, our daughter's expensive digital SLR, a Blackberry, an iPhone, and 2 small digital cameras. We were careful but not paranoid, and had absolutely no problems or even the hint of one. The girls and I carry top-zip bags but use a zipper lock on them while moving around in crowds or on trains.

At one point in Milan our daugher forget and her bag was open (with nothing in it but water bottles). A very kind Italian woman reminded her to zip the bag.

Just use norma precautions and you'll be fine. It's nice to be in touch and have the cameras, so go ahead and bring your electronics if you like (and don't forgeet the chargers like my husband did for his camera!)

John,

One point to note is that Rick Steves (the author of the Guidebooks and PBS TV person) very rarely ever posts any comments on the HelpLine. The replies here are posted by other travellers.

I've just returned from Europe and packed a variety of electronic products with me, including a Netbook, dSLR Camera & Lenses, IPod Touch, etc. and had no problems at all. I usually left the Netbook locked up in my luggage in the Hotel room, while the Camera and IPod Touch were always with me. On a few longer day trips, I use an ETBD Civita Daypack, which is certainly not "thief-proof" and again had no problems. I've found that taking reasonable precautions is usually all that's necessary.

I encountered a few people with IPads and Kindles, and they didn't seem to be having any trouble travelling with them. In some cases, they were carrying the IPads out in the open.

As you've noted, it's not a good idea to use the 3G option in the IPad with a North American based cell network, as the roaming charges could be horrendous.

Cheers!

I have made 3 trips to Europe since Feb of 2006. The first two trips I packed around more electronics than I needed (full sized laptop, couple cameras etc etc).

On my last trip I decided to leave the laptop at home and only took my iPhone and pocket sized digital camera with a hand full of extra memory cards.

I was able to use the wifi at our hotel and the free wifi at the Potsdam Hauptbahnhof to check e-mail, make VOIP calls back to the states and to update my travel blog. Plus Wordpress has a pretty good free app for the iphone that I used to update my travel blog.

I enjoyed my trip a lot more the final time around because I wasn't so worried about my extra electronics back at the hotel room or all the extra weight in my carry-on while running to make my connecting flight.

I strongly suggest blogging (either via iPad, iPhone/iTouch or internet cafe) or good old fashion paper journal. Just last week I went back and read over my entries and it helps bring back the small details of my trip.

Just be careful and use common sense. Keep your backpack with you at all times (I would set mine at my feet with the strap wrapped around my leg when sitting at tables). Zipper locks are cheap, and if you buy one make it a nice bright eye catching color. If someone sees it before attempting to open your bag they are more likely to move on to an easier victim.

Thanks everyone. These have been great replies and I'm armed with a lot of good knowledge and reassurance. I'll be careful with my camera and phone, and I may bring along my iPad as it's not terribly heavy.

I've only kept a journal one year--so I'm a big believer in journals and blogs for special events. I did want to blog "live." Unfortunately, I can't do this to my current blog (it's a desktop app) but I will add a new section called "Vienna--39 years later" (just to keep in character) when I get back.

Thanks again to you all. I now envy all of you for the travels you do. My only regret is not traveling more to Europe. Wouldn't the greatest job in the world be to spend a month in each major European city (with your iPad or Netbook) and write that great novel you've always wanted to write? (That's why I asked the question, though I would need a lottery winning to fulfill that dream. :-)

Good travels. -- John
Steve - I did think you were "the" Steve. :-)