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I'm in the United States Air Force and have been stationed in Germany for 7 years. Needless to say Lisa and I have taken advantage of the opportunity to travel and conduct our own research. It's a two-edged sword, we've had some great times and not so great. Traveling yourself not only gives you the chance to discover family history but also gets you out of the house!
Read up on the country you intent to visit and learn about their culture. Also invest in a good translation dictionary if you are not going to England, the language barrier was the biggest hinderance we encountered traveling abroad. Don't expect a grand welcome everywhere you go, some Europeans don't see the attraction of genealogy and henceforth don't care to help you.
Now, that being said I want to tell you that we've had more successes than failures and most people we've met were helpful. Lisa's ancestors came from Germany, France and Luxembourg and we've visited them all. Print out your information and bring it along with you. Having your family tree to show them can help break the language barrier when talking to government officals or members of the clergy. If you have a laptop, that is even better.
There are two main places to go for records and the first place I'd go is to the local church your ancestors when to. If you are going to mainland Europe, don't expect to see old tombstones, they practice the sad business of Grave Recycling. Your best bet is to look for church records such as birth/marriage/death entries.
Most people don't get the opportunity to travel abroad for the purpose of genealogy and rely on heresay with regards to their ancestors information. This is the chance to discover all kinds of fun things. We visited a small church in Erbes Büdesheim, Germany, trying to confirm the names of the Falter branch for Lisa. We met the local priest (who spoke English!!) and he showed us the original church records from the 1700's.
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