Are You Planning To Visit Europe In 2024?? START PLANNING NOW!!
Are You Planning To Visit Europe In 2024?? START PLANNING NOW!!
As I start to get requests for travel in 2024, I continue to see the same trend that I saw in 2023, and that is requests for Europe Travel. Generally my bookings are a good mix between warm weather Caribbean Getaways and European (and beyond) travel. However, the scales are changing and I am seeing only about 15% Caribbean Travel and 85% Europe and Beyond travel requests.
So, are you planning to Visit Europe In 2024??? Start planning NOW to get the best choices and options for flights, accommodations and excursions. Start planning too late, too close to your travel dates, and you risk getting the left overs from those early planners. A good rule of thumb for planning a trip to Europe is to start planning at least six (6) months in advance. And if you really want to benefit from early preparation….. a year out, may be even better. That ample time can play a vital role in helping us create the trip of a lifetime for you.
If you are planning your first trip to Europe, it can be an overwhelming experience. Where should you go? How much will it cost? How many places can you visit? Does this sound familiar? We get emails every day from people who want advice planning their first trip to Europe. And, we see the same questions over and over again. With that said, we are writing this email and subsequent blog post to answer your questions and give you some things to think about as we help you plan your Europe itinerary.
HOW TO PLAN YOUR TRIP TO EUROPE
First Rule Of Thumb: DON’T TRY TO SEE EVERYTHING ON YOUR VISIT
I can’t tell you how many times we have conversations with clients that go something like this: “I have 10 days in Europe and I am planning to visit Rome, Venice, Paris, London and Switzerland. Do you think that’s too rushed?” It’s just like saying “I have 10 days in the United States. I would like to visit Boston, New York City, Washington DC, Miami, and Los Angeles. Do you think that’s too rushed?” And our answer, “Yes, It Is!!”
We get it. Europe is huge and it’s loaded with “must-see” spots. Paris, Rome, Barcelona, London, Amsterdam, and Venice all make the must-see list for many first time travelers to Europe. They are all amazing places to visit; and with so many fantastic sites to see, it can be very difficult to narrow your list down to just a few destinations. In order to see everything your European destinations have to offer, is going to require multiple trips so you are not rushed and your truly get to immerse yourself in the destination. You will have a much better time if you don’t try to get to a new city every day. The longer you spend in each place, the more you get to know it. There are some cities, like London, Paris, and Rome, which literally could keep you very busy and very entertained for a good five or more days.
Here are some basic guidelines for how many places you can visit depending on how much time you have:
With 7 days: 2 cities OR one city with day trips
With 10 days: 3 cities OR 2 cities with day trips
With 14 days: 4 cities OR a road/train trip through one or two countries
If you look at your proposed itinerary and wonder if you are moving too fast, or you are trying to squeeze too much in, odds are, you probably are. If you have 10 days and you plan to visit 4 major cities, it can be done, but it will be a
rushed, exhausting experience, and you will be spending most of that time on trains and planes traveling from city to city. Don’t forget that you will have to spend time traveling between destinations as well as packing, unpacking, and checking into hotels.
DON’T FORGET TO FACTOR IN TRAVEL TIME
So let’s say that you have 10 days in Europe and you’ve narrowed down your itinerary to 3 cities. How do you get around? That depends on where you are going.
For cities that are close to one another, say Barcelona, Madrid, and Seville, the train would be your best option. If you are visiting Stockholm, Copenhagen, and Amsterdam, then you will use a combination of planes and trains to get around.
Getting from city to city takes time, of course. And you need to factor this in, not only when planning your itinerary but also choosing where to go.
Just as a rough estimate, it will take about 4 hours, or half of a day, to get between two cities. This time can go up if the cities are far apart. So, if you are visiting three cities, you will lose about one day in total just traveling from place to place. We usually plan to transfer between cities first thing in the morning. By taking an early train, you can usually check into our hotel by noon and have the entire afternoon for sightseeing. Occasionally, we will have you take an evening train if you want to have a little extra time in your departure city.
Before we plan out your itinerary, we need to do some research first around flight costs, time of year, hotel availability, and tour availability all need to be factored into decision making.
We start off by researching flight costs. If you can be flexible with your dates, you might be able to save money by flying mid-week versus the weekend. Once we have our flight dates, we plan out your itinerary within those specific dates. If you are planning a tour or a visit to a major attraction, we need to make sure those dates align and work with your itinerary, and tour availability of your site. If you we are booking your trip well in advance (6 months or earlier) this will be less of an issue. Hot Europe destinations like Cinque Terre, Croatia, and the South Coast of Iceland, hotels can sell out many months in advance, leaving either no availability or hotel options that we would not consider for our clients.
Once the land portion of your trip is worked out and secured, we book your flights.. With the increase in tourism, it also helps to research the main sights you are visiting and then book your tickets in advance. Tickets for the Colosseum, Eiffel Tower, and the Vatican can all easily sell out in advance. During our planning phase, we let you know what you need to reserve ahead of time to avoid disappointment.
There are a lot of moving parts and things to consider when planning a European vacation, and your knowledgeable and experienced Trasformativa Travel Agent is ready to help!!
Are you ready to start planning your Europe Getaway, Contact Your Trusted Trasformativa Travel Advisor Today!
Happy Travels!!
Alison
TRAVEL IN COLOR – NOT BLACK AND WHITE
ABOUT TRASFORMATIVA TRAVEL
Trasformativa is a US based travel company with offices located in Durham, NC and Clarksville, VA. We are focused exclusively on transformational travel. Our experienced and qualified travel agents offer many different types of transformational travel opportunities. We work with individuals and groups of many sizes to help them find a true difference. Most of the people who contact us are luxury travelers and leaders of groups who are traveling together. This includes, yoga or fitness instructors, health and wellness professionals, human resource directors, sales managers, CEO’s, church group leaders, corporate trainers, personal chefs, wedding planners, brides, corporate travel professionals, and also individuals looking to plan an exciting and out-of-the-way trip for a group of their friends.
Our transformational opportunities include Exotic Group Travel, Jamaica Travel, Caribbean Travel, Europe Travel, Incentive Travel Reward Programs, Destination Training Events, Autism Travel, Girls Getaway
To learn more, visit our website or call us at (919) 616-3780.
