We’re finally going to Europe. The visa is issued and we could not be more grateful, excited and giddy. Although part of the planning had gone into creating an itinerary in order to get the visa, it was very basic. There was so much more to do still. Here’s how we went about planning our first Euro trip.

Pre-bookings & Visa Application

To apply for a Schengen visa, you need to give your entire itinerary. It doesn’t have to be 100% fixed but the skeleton needs to be there. We had to provide:

1. Return tickets to the major countries we are visiting. So for us it was Greece and Italy. Since Greece was our first stop, we applied for the visa through their consulate in Bangkok.
2. Hotel bookings. These we simply picked any random hotels in the city center with option for free cancellation. This is critical.
3. You also need to provide travel and health insurance.
4. All supporting documents such as work permits, bank statements, etc.

Actual bookings

After we got our visa, we decided to add a few more destinations to our trip. We added Barcelona and Paris – each 2 nights only. So our new plan was:

Bangkok — > Athens — > Mykonos –> Athens –> Barcelona –> Paris –>

— >Milan –> Sorrento –> Rome –> Bangkok

All this we had to fit in a mere 2 weeks.

I know what you’re thinking. That is crazy!

Well it is but we were ready for it and we didn’t have any other way. It is our first trip and who knows when we would be back. We wanted to see as much as we could. If we could take off work indefinitely and had the opportunity to travel for longer, we would.

So now we went ahead and started making all the actual bookings. From hotels to flights to trains to even ferries.

Flights: Bangkok to Greece | Greece to Barcelona | Rome to Bangkok

Ferries: return trip Athens between Mykonos

Train: Barcelona to Paris to Milan to Sorrento to Rome

For accommodation, we mixed it up between staying at hotels and AirBnb.

Using GoEuro for travel

At first I was merely doing Google searches for transportation schedules. I even used kayak and skyscanner but as I dug deeper, I found out about GoEuro. It made my life so much easier.

Not only could I search and book flights through it, the platform also compares trains and buses.

Once you plug in the details, the first page shows all the information you need to make an informed decision. It is however important to note that the prices do not include the tax, luggage fees and such but it is a good starting point.

The website and app are pretty straightforward and very user-friendly. Saved me a lot of research time and headache.

Planning what to see and do

For this what I first do is open up Google Maps on my computer. I create my own map and start plugging in locations – points of interests, hotel(s), bars, restaurants and anything else I want to see.

I actually book my hotel based on where it is located around the POIs, restaurants, and bars. We don’t like to stay too far from them.

The list of places we want to go and things we want to do is created through a combination of Google searches, friend recommendations, blogs, and reviews.

Update: GoEuro is now known as Omio, a search and booking platform with tickets for trains, buses, and flights. Omio offers mobile tickets for several of the 36 countries in Europe, with plans to expand globally. With over 800 transport providers, Omio makes the ticket booking experience more seamless and straightforward.