7 Things To Know While Planning Your First Trip To Europe

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7 Things You Should Know When Planning Your First Trip To Europe

If you plan to travel to Europe for the first time, it may be an unforgettable experience. Where should you spend it? How many places can you visit? Do you sound familiar?

Every day, we receive emails from people who want to advise on their first European trip. We see the same problem over and over again. Therefore, we wrote this article to answer your questions and provide you with some thoughts when planning your trip to Europe.

How To Plan Your First Trip To Europe

Do Not Try To View Everything When You First Visit

I can not tell us how many emails were sent like this: “I have 10 days in Europe and I plan to go to Rome, Venice, Paris, London, and Belgium. Do you think this is too hasty?

We understand. Europe is vast and full of “must-visit” places. Paris, Rome, Barcelona, ​​London, Amsterdam, and Venice are many must-visit places for the first time in Europe. All the attractions are great. With so many attractions to browse, it can be very difficult to narrow your list to a few destinations.

First Trip To Europe: Dont rush

First Trip To Europe: Don’t Rush

If you do not try to reach a new city every day, you will have a better time. The more time you spend everywhere, the more you know. Some cities, such as London, Paris, and Rome, can keep you busy for five days or more.

Here are some basic tips, based on how long you spend visiting many locations:

  • 7 days: two cities or one city traveling every day
  • 10 days: 3 cities or 2 cities with a daily itinerary
  • 14 days: road or train travel in 4 cities or one or two countries

If you check you’re itinerary and want to know if you are too fast or trying to squeeze too much, it is probably the case.

If you have 10 days and plan to visit 4 major cities, you can do so, but it will be a hasty and stressful experience. Most of the time will be spent on trains and planes. Do not forget that in addition to packing, unloading, and checking in at the hotel, you must also spend time traveling between destinations.

The following are examples of itineraries in London, Amsterdam, and Paris:

  • Day 1: Arrival in London.
  • Day 2: London
  • Day 3: London
  • Day 4: London
  • Day 5: Train to Amsterdam in the morning, sightseeing in the afternoon
  • Day 6: Amsterdam
  • Day 7: Take a train to Paris in the morning and sightseeing in the afternoon.
  • Day 8: Paris
  • Day 9: Paris
  • Day 10: Go home

On this track, you will reach three major cities. Even such a trip is urgent. You can spend an extra day in each city because each city has many attractions and activities.

Don’t Forget To Consider Travel Time

Suppose you stayed in Europe for 10 days and reduced the itinerary to 3 cities. How to navigate?

It depends on where you go. For nearby cities, such as Barcelona, ​​Madrid, and Seville, the train will be your best choice. If you visit Stockholm, Copenhagen, and Amsterdam, you will use a mixture of airplanes and trains to move around.

Of course, the migration from one city to another is. Remember this, not only when planning a trip, but also when choosing a trip.

First Trip To Europe: Time Travel is important

First Trip To Europe: Time Travel is important

 

It is roughly estimated that travel between the two cities takes about 4 hours (or half a day). This time, if the cities are far apart, you can climb up. Therefore, if you want to visit three cities, traveling from one place to another will only cost you nearly a day.

In general, we plan to move between cities in the morning. Taking the morning train, we can usually check into our hotel in the afternoon and enjoy the whole afternoon sightseeing. If we want to spend more time in the departure city, we will take the evening train from time to time.

Professional travel advice: What about luggage? Suppose you arrived in Florence by train at 11 am. It is still too early to check in at the hotel, so how should you handle your luggage? You have two options. You can store your luggage in the luggage storage area of ​​the train station (and pack your luggage at the end of the day) or let the hotel store your luggage for you. Also, emailed the hotel in advance to ensure they can store our luggage.

Use The Train To Get On The Plane

In some cases, you can choose to fly or train to transfer from one city to another. In terms of travel time, a one-hour trip seems to be more efficient than a three-hour high-speed train, but not always.

Check-in takes longer (we usually check in two hours before the flight departs). For train travel, in most cases, you can arrive before the departure time, although some high-speed trains require you to arrive 30 minutes before the departure time.

First Trip To Europe: Local transport

First Trip To Europe: use of local transport

The train station is in the city center. From the station, your hotel can be reached in just a few steps or by subway. The airport is outside the city and may take 15 to 30 minutes (or even longer in some cities) to reach the city center. You will have to do it twice. If you plan to travel, this may increase the time you travel.

We tend to travel by train whenever possible. It is fast, cheap, and more environmentally friendly than air travel.

Professional travel advice: Book a train at night and you can save time (and money in the hotel room). If you plan to jump from one city to another, holding a rail pass may also be useful.

Increase Your Time With Open Jaw Travel

Jaw-opening flights arrive in one city and then depart from another city (for example, arrive in London and then depart from Paris).

By booking different arrival and departure cities, you can save a lot of time.

Suppose you want to travel to Rome and then return to your hometown from Venice. You want to visit Rome, Florence, and Venice (unattended). You will save about half a day, which is the time required to return to Rome.

First Trip To Europe: flights in two different cities

First Trip To Europe: catch flights in two different cities

 

In many cases, this is not expensive. We flew the chin several times at the same round trip price.

In some cases, detonating with an open jaw may be more expensive. If so, then you need to determine whether it is worth spending some extra money to save some time. It may be worthwhile to spend more money to return the train to Rome in Venice (and do not forget to calculate the cost of the train that decided to travel publicly).

Having A Jet Lag?

Obstacles to long-distance flight are fatigue caused by crossing multiple time zones. Some lucky people will experience mild symptoms, while others will feel tired for a few days.

If you travel from the United States to Europe, you may make an overnight trip in the morning or noon. On the first day, you may feel tired, but if you have trouble sleeping on the plane, you may feel unconscious.

First Trip To Europe: Tackle Jet Lag

First Trip To Europe: Tackle Jet Lag

In order to quickly cope with the turbulence of long-distance flights, it is usually best to stay awake on the first day and go to bed early.

However, it is usually best not to arrange the piles of things that can be done on the first day of the trip. Of course, you will be excited and energetic in a new place, but for most people, it is still difficult to work 100% on the first day.

Should You Rent A Car in Europe?

Some places in Europe are very suitable for road trips. Norway, Ireland, Slovenia, and the Balkans are our favorite places to explore car rental freely. But before renting a car, you need to know some knowledge before leaving.

First Trip To Europe: Rent a car

First Trip To Europe: rent a car

How Do Plan A Road Trip?

 

You must conduct some research before planning your trip. In the decision-making process, travel costs, time of year, hotel availability, and availability of travel must be considered.

Suppose you decide to stay in Ireland for 10 days. What do you want to know before you start booking? We first investigate flight costs. If you have the flexibility to schedule appointment dates, you can save money by flying midweek and on weekends.

After obtaining the flight dates, we will plan the trip within these specific dates. If you plan to visit or visit major attractions, please make sure these dates are consistent with your itinerary.

You can also conduct a quick hotel search to ensure that there are no surprises in hotel costs or availability. If you booked your flight in advance (4 months or earlier), then this will be a minor issue. But in destinations such as the Isle of Skye, Lofoten Islands, Cinque Terre, the Croatian Islands, and the southern coast of Iceland, hotels can be sold months in advance, without leaving anything that is usually unavailable or scary.

First Trip To Europe: go for road trip

First Trip To Europe: go for a road trip

In our article, we tell you what you need to book in advance to avoid disappointment. Another task may be to book tickets in advance, but in today’s world, you must see some of the most popular locations in the world.

Photographs Credit Goes To:

  • Iamaileen

  • Psmag

  • Independent.co

  • Entrepreneur

  • Latimes

  • Nomadparadise

  • Thepleasantforecast

Enjoy planning your first trip to Europe! If you still have questions about the itinerary, please leave a comment below.

 

Saba Ghani
Saba Ghani

Since 2017, Saba Ghani has been serving as the talented and dedicated chief content writer for Pakistan Tour and Travel & EMHI Solutions. With her exceptional writing skills and in-depth knowledge of the travel industry, she has been instrumental in crafting engaging and informative content that captivates the audience. You can catch her at [email protected] or Twitter

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