481
© 2022 Fairygodboss. All rights reserved.
Strategies to travel all over Europe without getting overwhelmed!
I reside in the states and have always wanted to head to Europe for an adventure. While it's definitely easier/less expensive to hop across the pond now a days, I want to go and visit a lot of places while I'm there since it's cheaper to travel within the country than going between the states and Europe for multiple trips. I'm afraid I'll get overwhelmed with planning to go to so many place if I plan multiple countries/hotels/locations/restaurants all on my own .
Would it be better to book a tour where my schedule is created for me but it's primarily very touristy things? Or plan it myself to find some diamonds in the rough even if it's more painstaking?
Alice JohnsonComputer nerd-ish, travel lover, connector
649
09/10/19 at 1:43PM UTC (Edited)
1. I think you could do a little bit of both. I would suggest something like AirTreks where all they need from you is the dates of when you want to be in each place and they take care of booking all the flights. (This is usually cheaper than what it would cost you to book all of them on your own as well).
Getting the flights done is a BIG chunk of what you need to do. So getting that out of the way would cause less stress.
2. I would then suggest you start at least booking hostels for the first half of your trip. That way you have choice of good options and don't get stuck with the place with the bed bugs because you waited too late. You can book the others while on your trip. You'll have plenty of downtime. (You'll also save money this way)
3. I would actually wait until you get to the city to figure out EXACTLY what you want to visit, although I do suggest doing quick research beforehand to figure out how many days you would need. Make a fun ritual out of it. On your first day, get settled into your hostel/airbnb/hotel whatever then find a nice coffee shop to go and search for things you want to do and make a loose schedule for yourself.
(This is my advice after traveling for 7 months. It CAN get stressful and this is what worked for me, but you can figure out what will be best for you.) Good luck!
Caroline Clark
481
09/10/19 at 2:07PM UTC
Amazing!! I've never heard of AirTreks but that sounds like exactly what I'd want. All good advice, sounds like you're the expert at this point. Thanks!!
Alice JohnsonComputer nerd-ish, travel lover, connector
649
09/10/19 at 2:27PM UTC
I'd love to follow your trip as well whenever you decide to go so let's connect!
Ashley Stoyanov
1.16k
09/09/19 at 5:17PM UTC
If you do want to do some research on your own - I've found so many little gems on Instagram and YouTube! When hubby and I were planning our trip to Portugal (highly recommend btw, it's amazing, I have lots of recs) that's all we did!
Anonymous
09/09/19 at 5:01PM UTC
Hmm...so this year I've taken a few trips to Europe/Asia and I did most of the planning myself, but I was lazy about it so it was a lot of last minute Googling to read blogs and look at the map once I was in a location. I wouldn't recommend this because it took up too much time/made me feel a bit overwhelmed. The days I had more pre-planned (like, where I was staying, if I was taking a bike tour or checking out a specific location/thing/attraction) were so much more relaxing. I think sketching out your itinerary helps a lottttt, but if that feels like too much work it may make sense to sign up for a tour thing. Alternatively, try out Airbnb local experiences. I did a few of them in Thailand and they were great (like a cooking class, etc, and if you do it early enough in the trip you can get recommendations from the hosts/fellow travelers on what else to do/eat/see).
Stacey K
779
09/09/19 at 3:55PM UTC
In 1987 my aunt, cousin, mother and I took a COSMO tour. We flew to England and then the fairy to Belgium. From there, we took a bus all over Europe, so many countries in 14 days. There were good things and bad things about the bus ride but you were also on the bus with people from all over the world for two weeks and a lot of them became friends along the way. We got to see all the major "touristy" things, The Vatican, the Sistine Chapel, the Eiffel Tower, etc. so it was a very effective way of seeing a lot in a little bit of time in a relatively safe environment (Although there were a lot of pick pockets in the Vatican City and one of our people got their wallet stolen). There is some freedom to walk around but they plan the majority of the meals, etc and tell you exactly where to go for public bathrooms, what type of things to watch for etc. It was well worth it.
Jennifer A
968
09/09/19 at 3:27PM UTC
I guess my first question - what kind of person are you? Are you willing to ask questions and jump on public transit to just go somewhere or are you more comfortable with a more rigid itinerary? When hubby and I traveled to Mexico the first time, we planed touristy things every other day. This was a great way to see what we wanted to see but also have days to look for some diamonds in the rough.
We are now starting to plan for our first trip together to Europe so I am very interested in other peoples replies too!
Caroline Clark
481
09/09/19 at 4:03PM UTC
Most of my favorite trips have at the very least been planned by someone else when there are a lot of logistics. I probably wouldn't mind public transit if signage is in English, I would get pretty nervous about ending up in the middle of nowhere. I don't really want rigidity in the itinerary that would come with a group tour.
I think I just want the transportation issue solved for me, but would like the freedom to go wherever! Kind of like a cruise, where you're going somewhere, but when you arrive, you have freedom, but don't have to worry about how you're getting from location to location.
© 2022 Fairygodboss. All rights reserved.