No telescope is needed or even wanted. Just find the darkest place you can with the fewest trees and tall buildings blocking your view of the sky, get a blanket and lay on the ground or a lawn chair that lets you recline way back and just look at the sky. Give it at least half an hour before you give up. You may go many minutes without seeing a single meteor even at the peak of the shower. Viewing is usually better after midnight because that puts you on the "front" side of the Earth in its orbit. Looking for meteors in the early evening is like looking for bug splats on the back window of your car. The bugs usually splat on the windshield in front.

Watching a meteor shower consists of lying back, looking up at the sky ... and waiting. When you sit quite still, close to the rapidly cooling ground, you can become very chilled. You wait and you wait for meteors to appear. When they don't appear right away, and if you're cold and uncomfortable, you're not going to be looking for meteors for very long! Therefore, make sure you're warm and comfortable. Heavy blankets, sleeping bags, groundcloths, auto cushions, and pillows are essential equipment.