Planning a Trip to Europe can be nearly as exciting as the travel itself. The thrill of finding new places, discovering amazing foodstuffs, finding hidden gems that your friends never heard of.
I say nearly as exciting – it will never compare to actually being there.
Planning, while essential to a smoothly organized trip, is not as easy as it is exciting. It can get difficult researching stuff and figuring out what makes sense. It can also get quite frustrating when you discover that that beautiful beach that everybody says is the best in the country is actually miles away from everywhere else you want to go.
This guide to planning a trip to Europe is the pattern I follow with my travel consultancy to help my clients plan an itinerary that really suits their needs.
I offer it here for anybody who prefers to plan on their own.
What you need to plan a great European adventure
To plan the perfect trip to Europe, you need to concentrate on a few basic aspects of the trip. To plan the perfect trip to Europe, you need to concentrate on a few simple aspects of the trip.
- Know where you want to go
- Know what you want to see and do
- Have a clear idea of your budget
- Understand your personal travel style and that of your travel partners as well
Keep these in mind as we plan the ideal itinerary for a European vacation.
Let’s work through them step by step.
Choosing a Destination in Europe
You probably have a destination or destinations in mind already.
If not, then check out my article on choosing the best destination in Europe.
Here’s the short version:
- Figure out what is most important to you about the trip (food, history, local culture).
- Decide which country or major cities you want to see to cover your interests.
- Think about how much travel you want to do on the ground – do you want to see multiple destinations or explore a region in depth?
Everybody has a different goal for their travel and different ideas of what is best.
Let’s assume for now that you have a specific destination in mind and continue with the planning.
Figuring Out Your Travel Style
Now that you know where you want to go, it is time to settle on your travel style.
Knowing your travel style and needs is an important part of itinerary planning.
Will you travel in luxury or on a tight budget? Drive or go by rail? Do you need a local guide for everything or just some parts of the trip?
Your travel style has three important aspects:
- How will you get around – independently by car or on a train?
- Where will you sleep – hotels or Airbnb’s where you cook for yourself?
- How long you plan to travel or your budget are big constraints.
Before we get to that, one more question.
How much time do you need to relax? Are you going back to work after a couple of weeks of non-stop travel, or are you retired with time to recover when you get home?
Remember to leave time to relax. This includes just wandering, looking at strange shops, and absorbing the places you visit.
Depending on your destination some choices might be made for you. For example, in Ireland, you are unlikely to travel by rail and in Rome or London, you won’t be driving – unless you are crazy. However, for a 10-day trip to France, you would have the option of traveling by rail or hiring a car.
Are you going to be a slow, immersive traveler, checking out every nook and cranny of the city you visit, or are you going to get an overview of multiple destinations and learn a little bit about a lot of places?
Neither style of travel is better or worse. It depends on you.
Here are some tips on local transport and accommodation to help you hone in on your travel style.
Is Car Rental or Rail Travel Better in Europe?
Like I said, in Ireland there isn’t a great train network, so renting a car makes the most sense for tourists. A lot of the most beautiful areas of the country are difficult to reach with public transport.
This is true of a lot of countries but in Italy, for example, there are many more places accessible with public transport. Getting off the tourist track is quite easy without a car.
You need to look at the most important places you want to get to and see what is best.
Cars offer flexibility in the countryside and are difficult to find parking for in cities. Sometimes you don’t want to drive and arrive at a destination tired.
Train networks are great across most of Europe, but sometimes you just want to get somewhere a little bit out of the way. Car rental offers a bit of flexibility.
Cost can be a deciding issue. Booking trains in advance is almost always cheaper, but if you are a larger group then a minivan might be better value.
I most often recommend train travel for most of your trip and hire a car on specific days if you need it. I do personal travel consultations if you need help deciding what is best [end shameless plug].
Hotels or Airbnb in Europe?
Old-school Airbnb was definitely a great service. Meeting locals and getting to know people from around the world has always been at the core of travel experiences.
Today though, a lot of Airbnbs in Europe are just businesses that push up the prices for the locals as the apartment owners make more money from short-term stays. The meet-the-local aspect is missing a lot of the time.
That said, there are plenty of valid reasons for an Airbnb. If you are staying somewhere longer it is better value. Being able to cook for yourself is also a top selling point. Going to a farmers’ market in France and getting beautiful fresh foods that you might not get at home is a great way to experience local culture.
Hotels are, of course, an option, and a valid one for most people. Europe also has a lot of small independent guest houses. They have fewer facilities than hotels but are often a much more personalized experience.
Choose where to stay based on four aspects:
- Location – Accommodation should be close to where you want to visit but also take into consideration if it is easy to access. Near the train station if you arrive by train, or is it possible to park nearby if it is a city center hotel.
- Budget – Make sure that if you need to pay for parking, you consider the cost per night. Sometimes you might get a slightly better deal further from the city center but have to pay for a taxi to get back to your hotel at night. Does your chosen lodging still stay within your budget when you take this into account?
- Comfort – Make sure the comfort level truly suits you. Don’t get a beautiful large room if you are not going to spend time there. Is the Airbnb apartment really worth it if you have no intention of using the kitchen?
- Length of Stay – If you are staying somewhere longer I recommend a smaller guest house or similar. This way, you can build a real relationship with your hosts. For overnights, don’t sweat the accommodation options. Most things are ok if you get a good night’s sleep.
Leave accommodation in the background for the moment, and once you have the outline fixed, return to looking for exactly where you want to stay.
For Hotels, I use booking.com. Despite its sometimes underhand business practices, it offers good pricing and the most extensive list of hotels available for almost all destinations. You can always check availability and prices with booking.com and then book directly with the hotel if you want.
Best Length for a Trip to Europe
Each stage of planning your trip is very interdependent. To figure out the best length of a trip to Europe you need to know your budget (next step), but you need to know how long you will be there to budget properly.
Most people have 2 weeks holiday at any one time. This is a decent amount of time for a vacation in Europe. You can see quite a bit without too much stress.
However, you might want to see more, or you might be more limited in your time.
Most of my itinerary suggestions tend to be for 10 days. This is not because 10 days is an ideal travel time, but more because it is a good compromise and a good starting point for most plans.
10 days allow you to fit it into two weeks comfortably, adding a day at home to recover from jet lag if necessary or an extra couple of days to stay somewhere a bit longer somewhere you really like.
Before you fix your daily budget and travel style, knowing how long you want to travel, or how long you can travel, is important.
For Retirees, time is often more flexible. For workers, though, increasing your budget can help you use your time more efficiently.
If you have more time available, keep in mind that staying somewhere longer and getting to know it better can often lead to a better trip, rather than rushing through multiple cities which often (in a region) have quite similar sights.
I will always schedule a couple of extra days for relaxing and slow exploration, but the choice is up to you.
Budgeting for Your European Vacation
Flights and accommodation are big parts of your budget and your destination, and the duration of travel will define these.
Know what you absolutely want to see before you start budgeting. Mark off the bucket list items. Eiffel Tower – is a trip to the top a must or do you just want to see it from afar? Maybe a hotel with a view of the tower is what you have always dreamed of.
These are things to keep in mind as you build your itinerary.
I suggest building a list of sites, museums, cities etc and labeling them with a priority. Then sort them from most to least important. That way anything that is expensive at the bottom of the list can be dropped if your budget needs it.
The important things for your itinerary planning is the total budget and your daily budget.
The daily budget is your total less the price of flights, insurance, visas, etc. divided by the number of nights accommodation you need.
This average will allow you to decide on how much you want to spend on accommodation and so allow you to move forward with the planning of your itinerary in more detail.
I have a complete article for this but here are the salient points:
- Figure out what your accommodation costs. Varies widely depending on the country and luxury you need.
- Count your meals. Do you get breakfast at the hotel? Are you cooking for yourself in an Airbnb? Do you need lunch or is coffee and a local pastry enough?
- Add a morning tour or museum and an afternoon visit to a lesser known museum.
- Add an expensive item once a week (Private guide, a special dinner or maybe a gondola ride in Venice)
- Include the transport – car hire and fuel, or train tickets.
- Add some beers or cocktails
- Think about what you want for souvenirs
- Add your flight, insurance and other fixed costs
- ADD 10-20% (to cover what you forgot)
Building an Itinerary for Your Trip
Finally we get to putting it all together. Your European itinerary is starting to look like an real trip.
You now know where you want to go, for how long, and how much you can afford to spend there. Your local transportation should be decided on, and also what accommodation style you will need.
You also should have a long list of things you want to do. The next step is to verify what you can and cannot do. Start with the larger level and work down.
Lets say you want to go to Italy. Start with the regions and cities, Rome, Florence, Pisa, Milan, Como, Cinque Terre, Venice.
Put your destinations onto a map – old fashioned pins work well, and so does Google Maps. Save your destinations as favorites and look a the distances between places.
Pro Tip: Use directions in Google Maps to make sure you are using a short path and not back tracking. Use the ‘add stop’ feature to keep on adding destinations.
Add in anything small that is along the way, (sticking with Italy maybe a few villages in Tuscany).
If you need to trim something, now is the time to do it.
Then you can do the same for each city. For example, in Rome, take your list of places to see, Colosseum, Vatican, Trevi Fountain etc, look at the maps and see what places are near by one another.
As you can see my route in the image below is all over the place, but you get a good idea of what things to do on the same day, or same morning.
At this point you can start looking for accommodations that suit. From the map you can see the areas that would be best for accommodation.
Once you know where you are staying you can look for more specific things to do such as lesser known museums, local tastings, concerts and so on.
Choosing Unique Activities in Each Destination
Lets go back to our Italy example. For a short trip you might visit Rome, Florence and Venice (my introductory Italy itinerary is here).
This includes the Vatican and Colosseum in Rome, The Ufizzi Gallery and Duomo in Florence and St Mark’s in Venice. These are all places everybody knows well.
However, you need to personalize your trip. We need to find things to do that really resonate with you.
There are bound to be things that the Italians do that suit you more than the average tourist. Do you love football (Calcio in Italy)? Then try to get tickets to see an Italian League game.
Check out Get Your Guide or similar websites/apps to see what is on offer. You don’t have to book there but they give more ideas of what is possible in an easy to view manner. You can book on official sites later.
Let’s say you are in Rome. On Get Your Guide that you might find a simple walking tour that shows you street art for example. That might be more of your thing.
Obviously browsing Instagram is a good way to get some ideas. You will see pretty pictures and see what the locals are doing.
For personalized recommendations always google “Top Ten Prettiest Villages in Italy Blog”, replacing ‘prettiest villages’ with what you want to see. You can always go more local as well. Using Blog in the search normally will get you a personal blog rather than a sales site trying to push tours.
This trick will show you some bloggers and some massive media sites. The bloggers often have some lesser known objects that they just happened to come across, where as the big media sites often only show instagram ready mass tourism spots that draw clicks to their posts.
Fitting everything into the itinerary is not easy, but remember some fun activities like cooking courses are quite repetitive across a region. Italy has a lot. If you see a good course on Get Your Guide in Florence, maybe there might be an equally rated version in Sienna that suits your timetable better.
Finding Cultural Activities in Each Destination
If you are looking for something less ovbisoulsy touristy then the best thing to do is learn the local language – or at least search out the local English language newspaper if there is one.
Local Newspapers (their websites nowadays) all have the information you need. If you use Google Chrome you can just right-click the local-language version and get it translated in your browser. Translations aren’t perfect but good enough to find places to visit.
There are plenty of small local concerts where people are playing the music they love. In Vienna anything with Mozart music is for tourists!
If you are planning to stay in a city for a few days then find out what the best small music venues are and devote a couple of evenings to just checking out what is on. You might find some gems.
Something you can do (though it isn’t exactly planning) is wander around smaller towns and see what is on the local noticeboards. Plan to leave time for this.
Even when you don’t speak the language going to a play or something can be worthwhile. The body language is often enough to get the story. Again listings are normally on a local language website or in the newspapers.
You can always send a quick email to the tourist office to ask what is going on during the dates you are visiting.
Eating and Drinking While You Are in Europe
Food and drink is an important part of travel. Tasting new items, discovering new flavors; it is all part of getting to know the local history and culture.
However it is not part of the planning process.
How do I convince people that planning food stops is the antithesis of travel? Hunger is the best sauce and you can’t plan hunger. Expectation is the mother of disappointment and one persons idea of a great restaurant isn’t the same as someone else’s.
The most disappointment I see among travelers is connected to food.
There are many, many great dining experiences in Europe, not least in Italy or France.
While there are some special restaurants, Michelin stared ones that need reservations and planning, unless this is the goal for your trip you are better off not planning so much.
I always just wander the streets and find a place that looks good for dinner, or I ask someone I interacted with during the day, maybe the staff in your guest house.
In some places reservations are necessary for dinner, but outside of a Friday or Saturday these can normally be made on the day.
During the planing phase do look up places to eat on Instagram or TikTok and get ideas, build a list of places that look appealing so that you are armed with something when you get to Europe.
Also you should be building a list of local foods you want to try. Make sure though that you ask the locals and your waiter what they eat as some internet food fads are actually tourist traps. For example, Trdelnik in Czechia is not eaten by Czech people and is all over social media as a “must eat when in Prague”
Finalizing Your Trip Itinerary for Europe
Now we have a plan.
Put it all down on paper (or digital), prepare for a change or two and stay flexible. Don’t forget to add a day or two somewhere to rest, chill out and do laundry.
- Review your itinerary to ensure balance and flexibility.
- Plan rest days to avoid travel fatigue.
- Be prepared for last-minute adjustments.
Now that you have everything in place it is time to get some feedback.
Post the trip to a Facebook group and ask for ideas. Be prepared to have your itinerary ripped apart unfairly. However you should know by now what is good or bad feedback.
Some people will tell you that things you have dreamt about for years are just not worth it. Don’t be discouraged that your plan isn’t good. Everything is personal taste.
Hopefully, though the online community will suggest reasonable edits. Beware of people who say you must or must not, in black and white.
Sometimes you will find some people who have some genuine hidden gems to offer which you might not have found before.
Edit as necessary, and then you have a working plan. Congratulations!
At this point you will have the following:
- Destinations: cities or towns
- Transport plans: Know how you want to get around and from A to B
- Dates: how long you will spend in each area
- Accommodation: Know where you want to stay (have a selection of options for each destinations)
- Activities: Know what you want to do and if there are specific days you cannot do this.
From here the next step is booking and then your trip becomes a reality, not just a dream.
As I stated at the start of this article: I offer itinerary planning services for a fee. You obviously haven’t opted for this if you have planed your own itinerary.
I also offer consultancy on an hourly basis if you feel like your itinerary needs fine-tuning.
Booking a Trip to Europe
It is now time to book your trip. There are tons of online portals to help you book.
My favorite is Google – but I prefer to book direct and have a lot of experience dealing with hotels, who speak bad English, and where I only have a couple of words of the language.
Platforms like Booking.com, Expedia.com and others are all good options. They all have their benefits and downsides, but they do the job.
If you are renting a car often rentalcars.com or similar sites have a better deal than booking direct, with Hertz or Europcar.
Often when booking direct with hotels, they will allow you to hold a reservation for a few days until you confirm everything. Just ask nicely if they can hold until you get your flights booked. Be more careful with booking platforms and read the cancelation policy carefully.
However booking the flights first makes most sense as there are many other options for hotels in most areas. Always check availability in the destination first though, in case there is a big festival or event at the time you want to travel.
The best time to book a trip to Europe is about 3 months in advance, though up to six months if you want accommodation in popular areas during the summer. Think Rome, Amalfi Coast, South of France etc.
After Booking
There are some small things you need to take care of before you travel.
Make sure your Passport and Visa (if necessary) are in order three months before travel.
Other considerations:
- Consider getting an esim for your phone to avoid unnecessary roaming charges.
- Create a packing list so you don’t forget anything – My regular packing list for Europe is here.
- Prepare a list of things to prepare your home – water the plants, switch off water etc.
Remember the planing trip should be fun and exciting – Not stressful. Of course it won’t be as exciting as the trip itself.
Take your time with planning, start a well in advance and take lots of notes. Build up your itinerary over a period of weeks, getting ideas and suggestions along the way.
