Planning Guide For Vacations In The EU

By Nathan Myers

The astounding thing about vacations in the EU is the sheer number of countries that visitors get to see. All the visitor has to do is apply for a Schengen visa to a single EU member state. With this visa, one can move around all over Europe with no additional applications needed for crossing borders.

No doubt this complicates travel planning considerably. There are 27 EU member states, and it is hard to decide which ones to visit and which to skip. Backpackers spend months traveling around Europe, but other visitors will ultimately need to choose a few destinations and decide on how to travel to these places.

A typical itinerary would begin in London, with Belgium as the next country on the tour. From Belgium, the group would move through France, Switzerland, Italy and then back to France for the crossing across the English Channel back to London. Of course, this is just one small trip in Western Europe.

When faced with the full complement of 27 nations, the itinerary gets very complex. How does one decide from amongst nations like Germany, Greece, Spain, Portugal, Poland, Bulgaria and a whole lot of other nations in Eastern Europe? A lot of people end up visiting only a single city and enjoying it in full, or use European rail maps as an itinerary.

For those visiting multiple countries by train or via flights on low-cost airlines, remember to break up the journey into easy and short stages. For example, consider an itinerary that includes visits to London, Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam. A "Chunnel" trip on Eurostar rail is the best choice, with the high-speed underwater tunnel trip under the English Channel taking no more than 2 hours.

Travel between Brussels and Amsterdam takes less than 3 hours. Each leg of the journey is short and each destination can be explored at leisure in a weekend. Those who have more time can throw in a few more legs and visit some more countries. This is so much better than spending 6-8 hours traveling between destinations that are far apart.

If the holiday can be extended to 10 days or 2 weeks, then it might be better to take a themed holiday. This can be a Swiss Alps winter vacation or a Rhine Valley expedition. Visitors can enjoy a wine tour in Tuscany or Burgundy, or relax on the French Riviera. What all this means is that vacations in the EU can be adjusted according to the available time and budget, and it will still be just as much fun.

About the Author:

caravan holidays cornwall and cornwall holiday park