1. Detailed Planning, Flexible Actions.
To have a convenient trip to Europe, you need to prepare a detailed tour itinerary for yourself, so you can calculate the transportation and accommodation costs in each country you visit.
Here are 4 cheapest and most convenient European travel routes that Mytour has compiled:
- Western Europe Route: France (Paris) - Germany (Frankfurt - Cologne) - Belgium (Brussels) - Netherlands (Amsterdam)
- Mediterranean Route: Southern France - Spain - Portugal such as: Milan, Venice, Rome, Vatican, Florence, Pisa, Monaco, Cannes, Barcelona, Madrid,...
- Eastern Europe Route: Germany - Switzerland: Frankfurt, Prague, Bratislava, Budapest, Vienna, Munich, Zurich,...
- Northern Europe Route: Copenhagen, Stockholm, Oslo, Helsinki,...
2. How to Apply for a Visa for Traveling to Europe
To undertake a self-guided trip to Europe, you need to apply for one of two types of visas: Europe Tourist Visa and Schengen Visa.
For short-term travel purposes in Europe, you typically need to apply for a Schengen visa (type C - short-term visa). The Schengen Visa allows you to enter and travel freely in 26 Schengen countries.
With the powerful Schengen visa, you can stay for up to 90 days. In reality, France is considered the easiest country to get a visa. Besides France, you can apply for a European tourist visa to enter Italy, the Netherlands, and Spain first.
The visa application fee is 60 euros (~ 1,469,526 VND). Children aged 6 to 12 are charged a fee of 35 euros (~ 857,224 VND).
*Note: The fee will not be refunded if you fail to obtain a Schengen European Tourist Visa. Therefore, if you lack experience in applying for a visa independently for the first time, you should seek assistance from reputable services.
3. Choosing the Best Time for Budget Travel
Spring is a bustling time for European travel, welcoming many tourists to enjoy the romantic and serene scenery. Spring brings gentle, warm weather to the temperate climate, knocking on the doors of flowers, causing them to bloom. Awakened flowers vie to showcase their vibrant beauty and alluring fragrance. All blend together into a vibrant painting with a variety of bright colors, illuminating the splendid beauty of spring. The spring months with cool weather and beautiful natural landscapes adorn European life. Architecture and cultural festivals are lively and radiant amidst the spring sky. Therefore, spring is a bustling time for tourists to come to Europe. Hence, spring is quite crowded, and travel costs are relatively high.
Summer brings sparkling rays of sunshine across European countries, making the scenery even more ancient and majestic. European summer is the perfect time to head to the beach to enjoy the cool air, sun, wind, and sand. The summer atmosphere is lively with countless entertaining activities and attractive beach tourism. To answer the question of when is the cheapest time to travel to Europe, it is undoubtedly the vibrant summer. Perhaps because the weather seems hotter, tourists will seek out beaches, rivers, lakes, or parks to escape the heat. However, Europe does not lose its wonderful experiences in hot weather. Tourists can visit ancient architectural structures imbued with European charm under the seemingly sun-soaked days.