Practical tips for planning a trip to Europe for the first time

menorca chaturvedi January 7, 2018

9 min read

If you are travelling to Europe for the first time and wondering where to start or what to keep in mind while planning your Europe trip, here are some practical tips, coming from over six years of experience of living here. Some of you might only be planning a 2 week Europe trip, some thinking of a quick 10-day trip and yet others might have a month or more to explore multiple countries. But, irrespective of that, here are some things that I feel might benefit you, once you have decided where to go and are finalizing your itineraries and logistics. If you need help with your plan or have any questions, feel free to check out my Europe trip planner and get in touch. Here are 7 tips to help you plan a trip to Europe:

Don’t Rush

Planning your first trip might get overwhelming. I would suggest not cramming up too many activities for every day of your trip, but leaving time for yourself to be flexible. It would be a good idea to keep some buffer time on hand for locating your accommodation, resting after the tiring journey, etc. So, don’t make a lot of fixed plans for your first and last day, especially if you have a long flight to take. You never know what unprecedented delays you might face.

Staying connected during your Europe trip

I have realized that a lot of time can be spent in simply looking for things like a new sim card, water etc when arriving at your destination. It would be better to find out these things beforehand and in fact, even order things like sim cards, travel passes at your hotel. For instance, there are a few sim cards that offer data plans all across Europe. If you order one of these, for example, MTX, they will deliver it to you for free and you can load it up online. Recently, the roaming charges on networks across EU have been removed. So, even if you buy a sim from your first destination, you should have a certain amount of data usage for several other countries. Of course, you will find free wifi in a lot of cafes, restaurants, public places and some railway stations too.

Read: Travel accessories I found most useful

Also: Wifi on the road: My Webspot

Do your research

Find out things like what currency is used in your destinations, what food is recommended, if tap water is drinkable or not and what to ask for if you’d like to buy a bottle of water from the local supermarkets. In Germany and Switzerland, all tap water (and even fountain water in Switzerland) is drinkable and in restaurants or supermarkets, ask for wasser ‘mit kohlensaure’ if you’d like it sparkling or ‘ohne kohlensaure’ for a bottle of still.

Read: Vegetarian food in 25 countries across Europe

Also: Cheapest ways to travel in Germany

Get familiar with language basics

It is helpful to get acquainted with at least a few basic words in the language of the country you are planning to visit. It not only eases your conversations but also often brings a smile to strangers you approach for help. Apps like Duolingo or Babble, for instance, could be helpful.

Read: Here are some tips on visiting Paris when you don’t speak French

Also: Some Swiss-German words to help you out in Switzerland

Staying Organized

With all your tours, bookings and plans, it can get difficult to manage all the information. I like using trip planning apps that can synchronize all your travel information and also make it easy to share your itinerary with your family/friends. Tripit is one such app that I have been using for a few years now and I’ve also tried Tripcipe for planning itineraries. A new app I came across recently is Ya3, although I haven’t got the opportunity to try it out as yet. I also recommend noting down important phone numbers, hotel addresses etc on paper, so in case your phone is not available, you would still have the info essential to get around/reach your destination/get in touch with your friends.

Having a personal travel journal can be a fun way to record memories! Picture before my trip to the Cheese factory in Switzerland

Info and Maps

If in doubt or in need of suggestions, remember you can walk over to any tourist information office and ask for maps, info etc. In most European cities, the tourist info office is at or near the Central Railway Station. Before your journey though, it would be a good idea to download offline maps, so you can still get around even if you don’t have internet access.

Meeting Locals

Visiting a new place is all the more fun and enriching if you get to meet some locals and learn more about the place from them. Some ways you could do is via Couchsurfing – whether writing on the forums in advance requesting meetups/insider tips or using their Hangout App. If you stay in a shared Airbnb flat or Couchsurf, you will likely have great company. There are also ways to explore a city like a local, by booking customised private tours through sites like City Unscripted. Another option would be to visit a local’s apartment for a meal- through sites like VizEat!

Read: Exploring Venice like a local with Wanderjack

Most importantly, have fun, stay safe and enjoy your trip.

And if you are travelling or living solo, here are my thoughts on the magic of being alone and happy, not lonely.