Returning to Europe: Planning Itineraries for International Travel

While I have dozens of countries across the world on my bucket list, a number of European destinations have been sitting in the back of my mind for years now. During my year abroad, I was booking trips nearly every weekend. I managed to visit 9 countries outside of Spain using this technique, but I was forced to cancel trips I had booke din the spring of 2020 to 8 other European nations due to the pandemic. Now, fours years later (almost to the date I was sent home on an emergency flight back to Canada), I am finally set to fly back to Europe.

Planning an itinerary for a new country is always a bit of a challenge. You have a limited amount of time and money to see everything the city has to offer. Hunting for the best deals in transportation, accomodations and activities can take up hours upon hours. So I am going to share some of my methods for trip planning, as well as appeal to my audience for their advice or suggestions.

Europe 2024 Itinerary:

• 2.5 days in London, UK
• 3.5 days in Athens, Greece
• 5 days in the Cyclades, Greece (home base: Mykonos)
• 3.5 days in Naples/Amalfi Coast, Italy
• 2.5 days in Rome, Italy

With the jumping between cities we are spending a fair amount of time in transit. London happened to be the cheapest entry point from Canada at the time of booking for our multi-city trip, so we added it to our itinerary. We are meeting a few of my long-distance friends in Mykonos, hence the longer stay there. We want to make the most of our 2 and a half week trip, so each day will be filled. I have yet to book accommodations or plan activities, so if you have suggestions please leave them in the comments!

Booking Transportation

One of the most important aspects of booking transportation, such as flights, trains, or ferries, is knowing how far in advance to book the trips. If possible, it is usually cheaper to book in advance, but each mode of transportation is unique in its time frame.

I always book flights first, ideally around 2 months before the trip. I waited a little too long to book our London to Athens flight (only 43 days) so the flights were more expensive than I’d prefer. Our Athens to Mykonos and Mykonos to Naples flights, however, came in at about $320 CAD combined. These were booked between the 50-60 day window, so this seems to be the sweet spot.

My advice is to start looking early so you can get an idea of trends and book at the lowest price point possible! As well, having flexibility on dates or locations can also serve your budget well as you can use flight deals to guide your itinerary creation. That being said, manage your own stress. If it causes you a great deal of anxiety to have an open itinerary, book earlier. Your mental well-being is worth a few extra bucks.

We will be flying with a variety of budget airlines (not Ryanair this time), so I can review them when I return.

Building an Itinerary

I build my itineraries around affordable transportation and location preference. My partner and I wanted to visit Italy and Greece, but were open to a third location. We explored the possibilities of Portugal and the Netherlands, but ultimately chose London due to flight prices. And while I would like to visit much more of the UK one day, we only have the time to explore a small amount of the capital before heading off to Greece.

Once my flights are booked, I begin to search for accomodations. The last piece of the puzzle is activites, excursions and experiences. I enjoy visiting museums and areas of cultural or historical importance. And while I also enjoy trying local food, my partner’s interest in local cuisine exceeds my own. So that too will be on our list of priorities.

Booking a Trip on a Budget

While I try to include information on prices for various activities in my posts, I haven’t kept meticulous records. On this upcoming trip, I will track all my expensive so I can be fully transparent here about what we spend.

The most useful advice I can give you for travelling on a tight budget is flexibility. Be open to a variety of transportation methods, types of accomodation, and be prepared. In the coming week I will be booking our accomodations for Europe. I will search hotels, hostels and Airbnbs to find the most cost effective options in every location. Hostels often get a bad reputation due to bed bugs and other issues, but rest assured these problems are not exclusive to hostels. It is important that you take precautions regardless of where you stay to ensure cleanliness and an absence of pests while travelling, not matter what your budget.

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If you have travelled to or live in any of the above locations please submit your recommendations – especially for food and activities.