Long-term travel in Europe is a dream that many travellers have, which is perfectly understandable. To say that Europe is a culturally and gastronomically rich travel destination is a massive understatement. From Paris in France to Reykjavik in Iceland, there is so much to see and experience that a couple of months may not be enough to properly experience everything. With long-term travel, even if you’ve saved some money for the trip and mapped out your travel route, there is also the issue of dealing with visas, accommodation, travel costs, and other unexpected factors that might catch you by surprise. So, if you’re thinking about travelling to Europe for a long-term trip, here are some important tips you might want to consider.

What does long-term travel mean?

Before anything else, it is important to identify what long-term travel is. While there is no exact definition of long-term travel, many travellers will consider it to mean travelling more than three or six months, while others consider it to be a year or two of travel to the same destination e.g. Europe. There’s a lot of advantages to it but it can be tricky to organise and put in place.

Do your research about long-term stay requirements

Now that you have an idea of what a long-term stay is, the first step in planning for this type of travel in Europe is to ensure that you’re fully aware of the rules about how long you are legally allowed to visit any European country. For example, if you’re thinking about staying in one country for more than 90 days, you might have to deal with various visa issues, and your research should highlight some of them. If you’re considering residency, permanent stay, or citizenship, you should know about the requirements involved there too. For example, if you’re interested in acquiring British citizenship, you can try here for a test preparation course. Each country will have their own rules and requirments and you’ll need to be fully across these. There are lots of long-term travel planning tips online that can help you with this.When should you go?

Thankfully, long-term travel can be great all year round. So if you’re considering a trip like this, get your house in order, pick an ideal date and set off. The longer you wait for everything to fall perfectly in place, the longer it will take for you to realise your travel dreams. Regarding timing, the most important thing to consider is what time of the year you want to visit and how that will affect your budget, your packing, how much daylight you’ll experience, and even the tourist crowd you might have to deal with. For example, travelling at high seasons might attract higher expenses. Setting off during the winter season will determine what type of clothes to pack. Europe is also known for its fewer hours of sunlight, so your travel time will determine how much daylight you’ll experience. Finally, major cities like Paris, London, and Rome can be very crowded during peak travel seasons.

Create a budget

How much you can expect to spend will depend on where you’re going and what activities you have planned during your stay. After deciding which part of Europe will be your travel destination, take the time to calculate your pre-trip expenses, including your visas, travel insurance, vaccinations, and so on.

Next, prepare your budget, working out how much you can expect to spend daily, from your accommodation needs to food and planned travel activities. You need to know how long you intend to stay and your activities during this. After creating your budget, have a contingency plan for the unexpected, as you can never be too sure what will happen. Even though you may have travel insurance, it is best to set some money aside to take care of unexpected emergencies.

Cash and money

Speaking of spending money, you might also want to consider the banking options available at your destination. Even with various e-payment options available across Europe and credit cards etc, you’ll still need to carry a little amount of cash. Although many European countries use the Euro, some countries still do not, so ensure that you know before you set off. It would help to research the currency used in your preferred destination and what electronic transaction options are available for you. The last thing you want is to attempt to move around with too much cash.

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