If you want to make the most of your journey and truly immerse yourself in the local scene, here are six essential tips to help you become a social butterfly during your Euro trip:

1. Embrace Hostels and Seek Out Erasmus Friends

you won't meet anyone by staying in a resort or hotel. Hostels are the stomping grounds for travelers looking to branch out and make local experiences. Additionally Erasmus is a colloquial term used to refer to young adults traveling around the continent searching for experience and education. Consider trying to find Erasmus friends to find a more local experience.

2.Party with the Locals at Festivals and White Nights

The best parties are not necessarily at the local bar or club, but during a festival or note blanca, meaning white night. It is best to check the local traditions to point you in the right direction of larger festivals, when the community goes out all night long. Unlike the United States, you are allowed to drink on the streets, with limitations, so many of these parties may not be located in the places you expect. Popular Plazas, or seaside malacons can occasionally turn into an all-out nighttime events.

3.Adapt to Late Nights and Prolonged Aperitivos

Your european friends want to stay out late. Unlike in the US Europeans like to go out until the break of dawn and bars will usually stay open later to accommodate. It is common to start your pregame around midnight or maybe even later depending on what you are up to. Additionally, drinks with friends, or "aperitivos" can last quite a while and locals will want to relax for sometime and chat as they wait for the night to turn up.

4. European Weddings are a Marathon, Not a Sprint

Weddings do not end early. In the US weddings are constrained by event rentals and the seniors' bedtimes. In Europe venues expect you to rent the place until the wee hours of the night and guests tend to stay until then. Usually guests will even go to after parties of the weddings and party on into the next day.

5. Seek Hidden Gems, Avoid the Overcrowded Tourist Traps

Overrated=overcrowded. If you think that a location is probably over rated, or it just seems like it gets way too much attention, it probably does. There are 100% still reasons to check out some of the hot spots, after all you may not get another chance. That said, if you want to branch out and take on a more local approach to your travels, consider off the beaten path destinations, as the locals will take more interest in a traveler who decided to stray from the mainstream.

6. Take Your Time and Dive Deep into Local Cultures

Not everything can be done in one sitting. Don't expect to get the full picture on your first trip. In fact plan on skipping destinations or tours that you are just not very excited about. In the end you will save yourself a ton of hassle and having a bit of free time to connect with a smaller area or community will provide you with more knowledge and memories than just passing by major landmarks and antiquities without any in depth conversations.

Part of your dive into Europe should be about learning the local customs and cultures. Take a nap during the day, stay out until 6AM and get up in the afternoon or alternatively get up at 8AM and play wall ball at your neighbor park. There are plenty of experiences that don't involve the tourist traps and revolve around the typical vacation time zones.