A trip to Europe

 

Explore Europe

Second smallest continent 

Among the continents, Europe is the second smallest. Below you'll find tips and ideas on how to travel in Europe, as well as more detailed information on where to go on your European vacation.

How about you? What are your plans for Europe? Have you been to Europe before or will this be your first trip there?

Do you live in Europe and want to see more of the continent of Europe?

We hope to be able to help you with any aspect of travel in Europe, from this article.

We can’t write a single blog post and call it “Europe Travel Blog” so you’ll find dozens of individual blog posts below, detailing individual destinations and experiences in Europe.

It was best to have this page as a general guide for travel in Europe, with more detailed posts leading from it and to it. We hope you find what you need here...

Europe Travel tips

Europe Travel Tips

We hope to be able to help you with any aspect of travel in Europe, from this article. You'll find dozens of individual blog posts detailing individual destinations and experiences in Europe.

Avoid peak times and the summer school holidays to keep your prices down. Be aware of Schengen area visa restrictions.

You can get around Europe cheaply by budget airline, train, bus, hire a car, or bike. Be prepared for anything and check the weather outlook.

Driving around Europe is a dream, with good roads and highways connecting most countries seamlessly. Flying around Europe using budget airlines has been ridiculously cheap in recent years.

Flying is super affordable on the short hop budget routes in Europe, but be aware that the airports may be outside major cities.

There are plenty of options for water-based vacations in Europe, including canal boat holidays, coastal sailing adventures, and grand river cruises.

We would drive from Romania to London and back every year and explore Europe by camper van, motorhome or even motorbike or bicycle.

Travelling Europe by train is easy, with a rail network covering most of Europe's main destinations. Special passes exist for extended train travel in Europe and can offer great value.

Europe is divided into three areas: the European Union, the European Economic Area and the Schengen Area. Most nationalities require a Schengen 90-day visa.

The Schengen area is the largest area in the EU with 26 countries and includes all EU countries except the UK, Romania, Bulgaria and Croatia. People of most nationalities are awarded a 90-day visa.

To reset your Schengen visa, you'll need to leave the 26 countries and travel to a non-Schengen country for 3 months. You can only do this once every 6 months or 180 days, twice a year.

In Europe, border crossings go almost unnoticed, but in non-Schengen countries you may encounter border formalities.

Austria, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Switzerland require vignettes for drivers. However, our experience is that you don't need them on every road.

You shouldn't run into too many language difficulties in Europe, especially in cities and popular tourist places. However, if you're venturing into remote, less-visited or rural areas, you possibly will.

We drive freely between countries in mainland Europe, within the European Union, without stopping or queueing. Post-Brexit, we will have to stop in non-Schengen countries.

Europe is an awesome destination at any time of year, but spring or autumn outside school holidays is my pick for sightseeing.

Most of Europe has round, two-pronged power sockets and plugs, but the UK has 3 prong square pin plugs and sockets.

European travel costs are higher than most of Asia, slightly higher than the US, lower than Australia, with Eastern and Central Europe being much cheaper than Western Europe.

In cities and popular tourist places, you shouldn't run into too many language difficulties in Europe, but if you venture into remote, less-visited or rural areas, you possibly will. Kids learn English. It's just the way it is.

We have been able to drive freely between countries in Europe, except for non-Schengen countries, and post-Brexit and post-pandemic things will change for us.

Europe is good to visit in summer and winter, depending on what you want to do. In spring or autumn outside the school holidays, you'll avoid the crowds while avoiding weather extremes.

Most of Europe uses round, two pronged power sockets and plugs, and the UK uses 3 prong square pin plugs and sockets.

European travel costs vary a lot, with Eastern and Central Europe being much cheaper than Western Europe. Buy your own food in supermarkets to keep costs down.

We hope you find what you're looking for in our Europe Travel Blog section.