Planning a trip to Europe? Great, you’re going to have a wonderful time! But you may want to put aside just a little bit of time to plan the whole thing out. Don’t worry, it doesn’t take much. With these five simple tips, you can make the whole thing so much easier and more enjoyable, not to mention that you can save yourself a lot of time and likely even money. So let’s go over the basics of planning this kind of trip and see what you need to be aware of when you’re visiting Europe.
1. Book accommodation in advance
Don’t wait for the last moment to book your accommodation. Set everything up in advance for your peace of mind, and you may even get a better deal. If you’re coming during peak season, not only could there be no vacancies, but the prices will be through the roof. Websites like Villsy.com offer a simple way to reserve the perfect accommodation for you and your family, friends and/or spouse, so in just a few clicks you can have a fantastic villa in Croatia all ready when you arrive. Booking in advance also allows you to browse your options, analyse them in great detail and then choose the one that suits you best, thus ensuring a perfect holiday
Istria offers you beautiful nature and older historic towns. If you decide to go to Istria, Opatija is a city worth visiting. There you can book a villa with a pool for an even more pleasant holiday.
2. How to get to your destination
Obviously, large cities in Europe have their own airports, but if your destination is a smaller place, there may be some planning required when it comes to getting there. Smaller airports can sometimes be well connected with one country and not connected with another country at all, so you may have to switch flights. However, there are cities in Europe (Frankfurt being the prime example) which serve as flight hubs from which you can catch a plane to pretty much any airport on the continent. So, if you’re coming from outside of Europe, you may want to think about in which city you want to land – it can make reaching your final destination so much easier.
It should also be mentioned that many European countries have great highway networks, so buses or cars can also be considered if you want to save a pretty penny.
3. Which documents do you need to get to Europe?
It goes without saying that you will need a passport if you’re a resident of a country outside of Europe. However, it may be worth keeping in mind that the European Union does NOT cover the whole continent and so you may need additional papers to get in the country you’re planning to vist. This is particularly important if you’re traveling to the United Kingdom because that country is currently in the post-Brexit transition period after which the legal requirements will be changed. Additionally, most of eastern Europe is not in the EU either. Check the website of the embassy of the country you’re planning to visit to get the full info or visit that country’s government website. Ministries of interior affairs are usually responsible for this.
4. Get travel insurance
Peace of mind is extremely important when you’re traveling, and another way of achieving it is travel insurance. No matter what the issue is, whether you lose your baggage or you have to deal with a medical emergency, it’s always good to know that you have someone you can talk to who will help you solve the problem quickly and efficiently. Not to mention that getting travel insurance can save you a whole lot of money if you have to go to a hospital in a foreign country. When you compare the costs an accident can incur to the costs of actually purchasing travel insurance, you will see that it’s very much worth it to be covered.
5. Research your destination
Before you get there, try to research your destination as much as possible. See which restaurants are good, how the public transport operates if you need it and what the main sights are. This can save you a whole lot of time and bring you additional benefits. For example, you may learn that the city you’re visiting has discounts on public transport if you get yourself a whole-day ticket or that you can get into some museums for free. Check if there are queues in front of the main attractions, and find the restaurant that can provide you with the right atmosphere in addition to the right meal. All of this will make you trip so much better. An excellent tool you can use in order to research your sestination is seatourscroatia.com, this will help you make your trip much easier and enjoyable.