Hello!
If you're reading this, then that means you are considering, or at some point in your life, have considered packing up your bags, and heading west to visit the beautiful continent of Europe. If so, then I am writing this blog for you, in the hope that you find it useful.
So here's how you get started on that life-changing trip you've always wanted.
1. Convince your parents
As I mentioned in the title, this is a blog-post mainly for Indians, and therefore, let us deal with the most basic Indian issue. You can be as radical-minded as you want, but good luck taking a road trip to Goa, let alone across Europe, if your parents don't approve.
Now the trick here is time. Parents need time to get used to the idea of their kid travelling across a foreign continent; and if you happen to be planning on doing it just by yourself like I did, then they will need a lot of time. So plan ahead, and start dropping those hints and suggestions today. Even if you have no immediate plans of going anywhere, it will come in useful when you do.
2. Pick your country / countries
3. Plan everything yourself or go for a tourist package?
Obviously. both have their advantages. The main advantage of going for a prepaid tourist pack is that you don't need to plan anything. The main disadvantage is that you don't get to plan anything.
Personally, I wouldn't go for one ever, because I found the planning of the trip to be (almost) as much fun as the trip itself. It takes a while longer, but trust me, it will be worth it.
I would, however, recommend using an agent for getting the visa, because it involves a lot of paperwork, isn't particularly fun (in fact, can be quite frustrating), and a good agent can greatly relieve you of this particular headache. I went with Riya travels because a relative of mine works there, and I was quite happy with the way they handled things.
4. Paperwork for Visa
Every country has different requirements for its Visa approval. In Europe, a large portion of the countries are covered under a common visa called the Schengen visa. The list of countries covered, as well the other information needed can be found here.
Here's a rough list of documents that you should certainly have ready with you, before applying for Visa.
A. Valid Passport ( valid upto more than 6 months after your duration of travel). Please don't wait till you have a trip at hand to renew / apply for a passport. If your passport is nearing expiry date, or if you don't have one, I strongly suggest that you apply for one immediately. A new passport can take anywhere between 2 weeks to 2 months to arrive, depending on police verification and other formalities.
B. Income tax returns - This is routinely asked for during all Visa submissions, so keep your salary slips (of the last 6 months before travel), bank account statements showing sufficient balance to cover the cost of your trip, credit card status, and IT returns documents ready.
If you are a student and not earning a salary, or you are on a stipend and have no IT returns to show, then you need to show that your trip is being sponsored by your parent / guardian ( for example, your dad). In which case, you will need to submit his letter of endorsement on his professional letterhead (saying he will sponsor your trip), along with his IT returns and bank statements.
C. Travel tickets - Ideally, you should book these as far in advance as possible, to get the best deals and cheaper rates.
Important tip : Book round trips with the same airlines to get better rates. This holds even if your arrival and departure destinations are different.
You need to submit copies of your booked tickets when applying for visa. One option is you can ask your visa agent to simply block the tickets, and submit a copy of the ticket reservation, and then pay for those tickets after your Visa is confirmed.
D. Proof of accommodation - You need to specify where you will be staying each day of your vacation, and submit proof of the same. If any of your nights will be spent in travelling, for example in over-night trains, this needs to mentioned here as well.
E. Covering letter - Essentially a letter from you to the Embassy of the country of arrival, stating the purpose of visit, duration, and travel plans in brief.
5. Where to stay?
To cut a complicated story short, there are 3 main options for you with regards to places to stay.
A. Hotels:
We are all familiar with staying in hotels, and that is actually its biggest advantage. Also, assuming you are staying in a good one, the room service, and the complimentary breakfast.
The main disadvantage of hotels is that they are the most expensive of all the options, and there is zero interaction with anyone else apart from the people you are travelling with.
A standard room for 2 people in a decent hotel can cost anywhere from 7-10k INR per night. If you are travelling on a budget, or being sponsored by your dad, maybe not the best option.
B. Hostels :
This is my personal favourite, especially when travelling alone or with friends. There are hostels all across Europe, and some of them are truly wonderful. Up for special mention are the Flying Pig hostel in downtown Amsterdam, House hostel in Zagreb and La Banda rooftop hostel in Seville; my stay in these places actually became the highlight of my experience of those cities.
The main advantages of hostels are the affordability (between 800 - 2000 INR a night for a dorm bed) and the warm friendly atmosphere, which if you happen to be travelling alone, feels very welcome. Also, hostels arrange party nights, pub crawls, walking tours, and they also help you plan your way around the city as you like. Also, most good hostels have free breakfast (or at a nominal price, between 1 - 3 euros) and free wifi.
The only possible disadvantage is the lack of privacy in a dorm room, having to share restrooms with fellow hostelers, and sometimes being kept awake by loud party games. And somehow, if you're travelling with an open mind, and looking to interact with others, these things don't really seem that big a deal at that time.
There are plenty of websites that you can use to search for and book hostels. So far, I've used hostelworld.com, and found it quite satisfactory. Be sure to read the reviews of a particular hostel from at least a couple of places (including Google reviews) before booking. Usually hostelworld takes 10 % of the total fees as deposit, and the rest you pay on arrival at the hostel.
C. Airbnb :
If there ever was a perfect middle ground between the two previous options, it is this. Airbnb is a fantastic service, wherein you contact someone who is a local staying in the place you're visiting, and depending on your choice, you can take an entire apartment on rent, or just one room in a house that you will be sharing with your host.
It is more expensive than hostels, costing anywhere from 3k to 15k per night depending on the type of place you pick. But the advantage is that you get your own place, with your own kitchen, and you are immediately in touch with locals who can and do tell you all about their city, and the best places to eat and ways to get around.
Also, some of the Airbnb houses on offer are spectacular, to say the least. Like this one I stayed in at Hvar island, off the Dalmatian coast of Croatia. (Cost 6300 INR per night)
To book an Airbnb, you first need to register yourself on their website, https://www.airbnb.co.in/, and follow their verification process.
D. A 4th option is couch-surfing, wherein you stay with someone for free, and people can come and stay with you if they happen to travel to your locality. It is a wonderful concept, and I have friends who have tried it, and they speak fondly of it. However, I haven't tried it yet, so I'm afraid I don't have much to share on this topic.
6. What to pack?
This may sound obvious, but bad packing can really ruin a trip. Before dealing with what to pack comes the question what to pack it in. You can either carry a backpack or use a suitcase (the kind with wheels). I used a suitcase for both my trips, and I was quite comfortable with it, although majority of the people I met during my stay there were using backpacks.
For what it's worth, I feel if you're going to be hiking / walking around a lot, then backpacks would be better. On the other hand, if like me, you plan to set up base at a particular city for a few days, and then move around locally, a suitcase and a small shoulder bag would be a better option. Again, this becomes personal choice.
I have made a quick checklist of stuff you might consider taking with you on your trip. Most of this is optional, depending on your preference and also the kind of trip being planned, and are mentioned here just so that you could go over them quickly and decide if you are for or against taking it.
You can go through the checklist here.
7. How to get around in Europe?
Europe is an extremely well-connected place, and there is a world of options on how to get around between countries, between cities, and within cities.
Between cities / countries, the two main options are flight and rail. Surprisingly, air travel in Europe is often times cheaper than rail, if booked early. So if you know your travel plans in advance, and you are short of time and/or money, air travel may suit you better than train travel.
That being said, there's something really enjoyable about travelling across Europe by train, whether it be the comfort of the ride, or the highly scenic views outside the window. So take your pick, and plan well.
For any information on rail travel, I've found this website to be quite useful. http://www.seat61.com/
A small note on Eurorail passes. It's a tricky thing, and you need to be really sure about your travel plans to know for certain whether it is a good idea, or if you'll be wasting money. Also, long-distance trains and inter-city trains in Spain need additional reservation (with extra payment) even if you have a Eurorail pass, so take that into account as well.
A third option is of course, by road, and there are long distance buses and over-night sleeper buses running. But I've found these too often to be more expensive and less comfortable than booking a flight.
Bla-Bla cars is a ridesharing service that offers cheap transportation, provided you don't mind sharing space with strangers in a car. Like couchsurfing, I've been told that this works great, but since I haven't tried it yet, I thought I would just mention it.
Renting your own car is a great option if you like driving. I rented one in Croatia, at Zagreb airport itself, from Nova car rental agency. I didn't have any prior reservation, but I got a lovely Toyota Aygo, and I used it comfortably for 5 days, covering almost 1100 km by road. While I did have some misgivings about this prior to the trip, I would now happily recommend this to anyone, especially those visiting East and Central Europe, where local transport, while good, isn't as super-convenient as it is in, say, Barcelona or Amsterdam.
For intra-city travel, the best option is Metro lines, provided the city has one. Try and get a metro pass which makes it very convenient. Some cities have 1 /3/ 5 day city tourist passes which allows for free travel across all public transport, along with free entry into museums and public attractions. Whether this is worthwhile again depends on your travel choices, if you'll be visiting any of those museums otherwise, or if you decide to, say, rent a bicycle. Buses and taxis are the other options. All taxis I've travelled in so far run by meter.
8. How to manage your budget?
This is the trickiest part, deciding how much cash to carry and how to spend it. As a very rough estimate, I would say 50 to 100 euros per day of travel should cover most of the expenses, but this could very much go up or down depending on choices.
To give you an idea, a meal comprising a Mcdonalds burger and coke can be as cheap as 3-5 euros. A meal at a good restaurant with pasta, wine and a dessert will cost between 20 - 40 euros.
A useful cost cutting tip is to shop at supermarkets, and buy bread, cheese, eggs and maybe even some easy-to-make pasta or noodles. 10 - 20 euros and you're covered for 3-4 meals.
Of course, since it's not all about saving money, I would recommend doing what I did, which is to treat yourself to a good meal from a nice place once a day, or atleast once in two days.
Carrying around a lot of cash is both inconvenient and unsafe, especially if you're visiting highly touristy areas like Barcelona, where pick-pocketing is rampant. (2 people from my hostel group had their wallets stolen while we were out for a drink at night) It is advisable to leave most of your cash along with your passport in the hotel room / hostel locker, and carry around only spare cash. A safety pouch (the kind you wear under your shirt) can be useful if you do happen to be carrying more.
I used an HDFC forex card during both my trips, and found to be extremely convenient. While it could also be used as an ATM card, I used it only for swipe transactions as those don't have any extra surcharge on them. Also, it is comforting to know that in case you do run short of cash while over there, someone in India need only deposit the amount in your account here and it becomes immediately available for your use there.
Conclusion
I'm sure there are lots of points I've missed out on, and I promise I'll keep updating this post as when I think of more stuff, or if I learn something more the next time I travel.
For now, I hope you found this useful; and if you felt like trying out a Eurotrip because of reading this, even better! Let me know if there's anything you need to know about the countries I've visited, and I'll help in any way I can.
On another note, if you've travelled to Europe, and you have any additional tips of experiences to share, please do. I would love to hear about it.
So cheers! Take care, and happy travelling!
If you're reading this, then that means you are considering, or at some point in your life, have considered packing up your bags, and heading west to visit the beautiful continent of Europe. If so, then I am writing this blog for you, in the hope that you find it useful.
So here's how you get started on that life-changing trip you've always wanted.
1. Convince your parents
As I mentioned in the title, this is a blog-post mainly for Indians, and therefore, let us deal with the most basic Indian issue. You can be as radical-minded as you want, but good luck taking a road trip to Goa, let alone across Europe, if your parents don't approve.
Now the trick here is time. Parents need time to get used to the idea of their kid travelling across a foreign continent; and if you happen to be planning on doing it just by yourself like I did, then they will need a lot of time. So plan ahead, and start dropping those hints and suggestions today. Even if you have no immediate plans of going anywhere, it will come in useful when you do.
2. Pick your country / countries
As you can see, Europe is a pretty big place, with around 50 countries in it. You can find the whole list here. And every single country will offer a completely different experience. So before anything, you need to pick.
Now this is at once, quite difficult and simple. Difficult, because no matter how cramped and tight a schedule you manage to work out, you could not possibly see more than 4-5 countries in one trip (preferably less than that in a 2 week vacation), and still have at least a reasonable amount of breathing space to enjoy your trip.
At the same time, it is simple, simply because there are no wrong decisions. Wherever you go, whichever country you pick, you will invariably love it.
Now, as to the question of whether to visit several countries or just travel across one country at length, I confess that remains an entirely personal choice, with again, no wrong answer. I tried both; in my first trip, I travelled across Spain, Belgium, Amsterdam and Berlin over 15 days and loved every bit of it. For my second one, I spent 10 whole days just in the beautiful country of Croatia, and loved that as well. So.. #yourchoice.
3. Plan everything yourself or go for a tourist package?
Obviously. both have their advantages. The main advantage of going for a prepaid tourist pack is that you don't need to plan anything. The main disadvantage is that you don't get to plan anything.
Personally, I wouldn't go for one ever, because I found the planning of the trip to be (almost) as much fun as the trip itself. It takes a while longer, but trust me, it will be worth it.
I would, however, recommend using an agent for getting the visa, because it involves a lot of paperwork, isn't particularly fun (in fact, can be quite frustrating), and a good agent can greatly relieve you of this particular headache. I went with Riya travels because a relative of mine works there, and I was quite happy with the way they handled things.
4. Paperwork for Visa
Every country has different requirements for its Visa approval. In Europe, a large portion of the countries are covered under a common visa called the Schengen visa. The list of countries covered, as well the other information needed can be found here.
Here's a rough list of documents that you should certainly have ready with you, before applying for Visa.
A. Valid Passport ( valid upto more than 6 months after your duration of travel). Please don't wait till you have a trip at hand to renew / apply for a passport. If your passport is nearing expiry date, or if you don't have one, I strongly suggest that you apply for one immediately. A new passport can take anywhere between 2 weeks to 2 months to arrive, depending on police verification and other formalities.
B. Income tax returns - This is routinely asked for during all Visa submissions, so keep your salary slips (of the last 6 months before travel), bank account statements showing sufficient balance to cover the cost of your trip, credit card status, and IT returns documents ready.
If you are a student and not earning a salary, or you are on a stipend and have no IT returns to show, then you need to show that your trip is being sponsored by your parent / guardian ( for example, your dad). In which case, you will need to submit his letter of endorsement on his professional letterhead (saying he will sponsor your trip), along with his IT returns and bank statements.
C. Travel tickets - Ideally, you should book these as far in advance as possible, to get the best deals and cheaper rates.
Important tip : Book round trips with the same airlines to get better rates. This holds even if your arrival and departure destinations are different.
You need to submit copies of your booked tickets when applying for visa. One option is you can ask your visa agent to simply block the tickets, and submit a copy of the ticket reservation, and then pay for those tickets after your Visa is confirmed.
D. Proof of accommodation - You need to specify where you will be staying each day of your vacation, and submit proof of the same. If any of your nights will be spent in travelling, for example in over-night trains, this needs to mentioned here as well.
E. Covering letter - Essentially a letter from you to the Embassy of the country of arrival, stating the purpose of visit, duration, and travel plans in brief.
5. Where to stay?
To cut a complicated story short, there are 3 main options for you with regards to places to stay.
A. Hotels:
We are all familiar with staying in hotels, and that is actually its biggest advantage. Also, assuming you are staying in a good one, the room service, and the complimentary breakfast.
The main disadvantage of hotels is that they are the most expensive of all the options, and there is zero interaction with anyone else apart from the people you are travelling with.
A standard room for 2 people in a decent hotel can cost anywhere from 7-10k INR per night. If you are travelling on a budget, or being sponsored by your dad, maybe not the best option.
B. Hostels :
This is my personal favourite, especially when travelling alone or with friends. There are hostels all across Europe, and some of them are truly wonderful. Up for special mention are the Flying Pig hostel in downtown Amsterdam, House hostel in Zagreb and La Banda rooftop hostel in Seville; my stay in these places actually became the highlight of my experience of those cities.
The main advantages of hostels are the affordability (between 800 - 2000 INR a night for a dorm bed) and the warm friendly atmosphere, which if you happen to be travelling alone, feels very welcome. Also, hostels arrange party nights, pub crawls, walking tours, and they also help you plan your way around the city as you like. Also, most good hostels have free breakfast (or at a nominal price, between 1 - 3 euros) and free wifi.
The only possible disadvantage is the lack of privacy in a dorm room, having to share restrooms with fellow hostelers, and sometimes being kept awake by loud party games. And somehow, if you're travelling with an open mind, and looking to interact with others, these things don't really seem that big a deal at that time.
There are plenty of websites that you can use to search for and book hostels. So far, I've used hostelworld.com, and found it quite satisfactory. Be sure to read the reviews of a particular hostel from at least a couple of places (including Google reviews) before booking. Usually hostelworld takes 10 % of the total fees as deposit, and the rest you pay on arrival at the hostel.
C. Airbnb :
If there ever was a perfect middle ground between the two previous options, it is this. Airbnb is a fantastic service, wherein you contact someone who is a local staying in the place you're visiting, and depending on your choice, you can take an entire apartment on rent, or just one room in a house that you will be sharing with your host.
It is more expensive than hostels, costing anywhere from 3k to 15k per night depending on the type of place you pick. But the advantage is that you get your own place, with your own kitchen, and you are immediately in touch with locals who can and do tell you all about their city, and the best places to eat and ways to get around.
Also, some of the Airbnb houses on offer are spectacular, to say the least. Like this one I stayed in at Hvar island, off the Dalmatian coast of Croatia. (Cost 6300 INR per night)
To book an Airbnb, you first need to register yourself on their website, https://www.airbnb.co.in/, and follow their verification process.
D. A 4th option is couch-surfing, wherein you stay with someone for free, and people can come and stay with you if they happen to travel to your locality. It is a wonderful concept, and I have friends who have tried it, and they speak fondly of it. However, I haven't tried it yet, so I'm afraid I don't have much to share on this topic.
6. What to pack?
This may sound obvious, but bad packing can really ruin a trip. Before dealing with what to pack comes the question what to pack it in. You can either carry a backpack or use a suitcase (the kind with wheels). I used a suitcase for both my trips, and I was quite comfortable with it, although majority of the people I met during my stay there were using backpacks.
For what it's worth, I feel if you're going to be hiking / walking around a lot, then backpacks would be better. On the other hand, if like me, you plan to set up base at a particular city for a few days, and then move around locally, a suitcase and a small shoulder bag would be a better option. Again, this becomes personal choice.
I have made a quick checklist of stuff you might consider taking with you on your trip. Most of this is optional, depending on your preference and also the kind of trip being planned, and are mentioned here just so that you could go over them quickly and decide if you are for or against taking it.
You can go through the checklist here.
7. How to get around in Europe?
Europe is an extremely well-connected place, and there is a world of options on how to get around between countries, between cities, and within cities.
Between cities / countries, the two main options are flight and rail. Surprisingly, air travel in Europe is often times cheaper than rail, if booked early. So if you know your travel plans in advance, and you are short of time and/or money, air travel may suit you better than train travel.
That being said, there's something really enjoyable about travelling across Europe by train, whether it be the comfort of the ride, or the highly scenic views outside the window. So take your pick, and plan well.
For any information on rail travel, I've found this website to be quite useful. http://www.seat61.com/
A small note on Eurorail passes. It's a tricky thing, and you need to be really sure about your travel plans to know for certain whether it is a good idea, or if you'll be wasting money. Also, long-distance trains and inter-city trains in Spain need additional reservation (with extra payment) even if you have a Eurorail pass, so take that into account as well.
A third option is of course, by road, and there are long distance buses and over-night sleeper buses running. But I've found these too often to be more expensive and less comfortable than booking a flight.
Bla-Bla cars is a ridesharing service that offers cheap transportation, provided you don't mind sharing space with strangers in a car. Like couchsurfing, I've been told that this works great, but since I haven't tried it yet, I thought I would just mention it.
Renting your own car is a great option if you like driving. I rented one in Croatia, at Zagreb airport itself, from Nova car rental agency. I didn't have any prior reservation, but I got a lovely Toyota Aygo, and I used it comfortably for 5 days, covering almost 1100 km by road. While I did have some misgivings about this prior to the trip, I would now happily recommend this to anyone, especially those visiting East and Central Europe, where local transport, while good, isn't as super-convenient as it is in, say, Barcelona or Amsterdam.
For intra-city travel, the best option is Metro lines, provided the city has one. Try and get a metro pass which makes it very convenient. Some cities have 1 /3/ 5 day city tourist passes which allows for free travel across all public transport, along with free entry into museums and public attractions. Whether this is worthwhile again depends on your travel choices, if you'll be visiting any of those museums otherwise, or if you decide to, say, rent a bicycle. Buses and taxis are the other options. All taxis I've travelled in so far run by meter.
8. How to manage your budget?
This is the trickiest part, deciding how much cash to carry and how to spend it. As a very rough estimate, I would say 50 to 100 euros per day of travel should cover most of the expenses, but this could very much go up or down depending on choices.
To give you an idea, a meal comprising a Mcdonalds burger and coke can be as cheap as 3-5 euros. A meal at a good restaurant with pasta, wine and a dessert will cost between 20 - 40 euros.
A useful cost cutting tip is to shop at supermarkets, and buy bread, cheese, eggs and maybe even some easy-to-make pasta or noodles. 10 - 20 euros and you're covered for 3-4 meals.
Of course, since it's not all about saving money, I would recommend doing what I did, which is to treat yourself to a good meal from a nice place once a day, or atleast once in two days.
Carrying around a lot of cash is both inconvenient and unsafe, especially if you're visiting highly touristy areas like Barcelona, where pick-pocketing is rampant. (2 people from my hostel group had their wallets stolen while we were out for a drink at night) It is advisable to leave most of your cash along with your passport in the hotel room / hostel locker, and carry around only spare cash. A safety pouch (the kind you wear under your shirt) can be useful if you do happen to be carrying more.
I used an HDFC forex card during both my trips, and found to be extremely convenient. While it could also be used as an ATM card, I used it only for swipe transactions as those don't have any extra surcharge on them. Also, it is comforting to know that in case you do run short of cash while over there, someone in India need only deposit the amount in your account here and it becomes immediately available for your use there.
Conclusion
I'm sure there are lots of points I've missed out on, and I promise I'll keep updating this post as when I think of more stuff, or if I learn something more the next time I travel.
For now, I hope you found this useful; and if you felt like trying out a Eurotrip because of reading this, even better! Let me know if there's anything you need to know about the countries I've visited, and I'll help in any way I can.
On another note, if you've travelled to Europe, and you have any additional tips of experiences to share, please do. I would love to hear about it.
So cheers! Take care, and happy travelling!
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