One of the main reasons I started this blog to begin with was to capture the memories of my travels this year. I very impulsively planned a five month trip across Europe completely by myself. So today I'd like to share my itinerary with you as well as give you some tips that I discovered as I prepared!
Schedule:
March 11-19: William Paterson University tour with Chamber Choir through Italy
March 19 - April 16: Vienna, Austria
April 16 - May 14: London, England (with a long weekend May 5-9 in Paris because why not?)
May 14 - June 11: Dublin, Ireland
June 11 - July 9: Glasgow, Scotland
July 9 - August 6: Athens, Greece
Preparations:
I was inspired to book all of this to begin with after being invited to tour with the WPU Chamber Choir. I participated in a similar tour as a student there my senior year and was so excited to be invited back as an alum. Since I would already be in Europe and the lease on my shared apartment would be up shortly before I left, I decided very spontaneously to extend my trip and spend most of the year there.
Before I ever started booking places to stay, I made a list of all the places I wanted to see as well as some of the major attractions and experiences there. I narrowed it down to my final five locations and started compiling a Google doc to stay organized. I wrote down the locations, dates, and linked to the Airbnbs I wanted, as well as making lists of popular tourist attractions and hidden gems (this came in handy when I made my final Airbnb bookings).
I started booking Airbnbs over the summer of 2021, and I chose to spend four weeks in every location so I could take my time sightseeing and really get a sense of daily life and routines in each place. There's also some great monthly discounts when you book longer stays via Airbnb! I'm very lucky to work completely remotely so I'm still working while away, just taking advantage of a highly flexible schedule to accommodate my adventures.
Because I would be staying almost a month in every place, I wanted to make sure I had things like a full kitchen so I could cook for myself, as well as laundry facilities easily accessible. I decided to use Airbnb since the cost was comparable to (or cheaper than!) my monthly rent back in New Jersey, and it was super easy to narrow my search based on dates, locations, and amenities. Two of my first choices for apartments were declined for various reasons, but one reconsidered when I explained that I had already confirmed reservations before and after so I definitely wouldn't be canceling at the last minute. (I'll be sharing my exact locations and experiences there as I go!) Using my Google doc "wishlist" of things to see and visit, I was able to find apartments and homes that were either centrally located, or within easy walking distance of the attractions themselves or public transportation.
I started to look into flights but found that booking a year or more out wasn't really a thing, so I decided to hold off til the end of the year when I could more reliably see what flights were available. I used Google to compare prices but booked directly through the airline for the most part, using mostly RyanAir within Europe to keep costs down. As I got confirmations from Airbnb and booked flights, I added all the details to my Google doc and then eventually a spreadsheet so I could see everything at a glance. I kept notes as Covid restrictions changed so I knew what countries and airlines required tests before arriving and what the local regulations were. Eventually I also started making packing lists! This included a shopping list as well, because there were some things I knew I would need that I didn't have yet, such as luggage and travel adaptors for electrical outlets. (I'll have a full breakdown of what I brought with me in another post!)
The last thing I needed to take care of before I left was my phone plan. I happen to use Verizon, which has $10/day international package allowing you to use all the texts, calls, and data you have as part of your normal plan. However, for long-term trips, this is prohibitively expensive. I did a lot of research into SIM cards, e-SIMs, and international phone plans and admittedly got a little overwhelmed. I ended up going with Google Fi because they had a very straightforward and easy to understand package. I bought a cheap Android phone for 50 bucks and for $20 a month, I get free texts and calls to US numbers and super cheap texts and calls to international numbers. Data is pay as you go at $10/GB and I'm very confident in my ability to keep data usage low. Looking back on it now, I probably could have taken care of this slightly cheaper by getting an e-SIM for my Verizon iPhone and just used things like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and Discord for all my communication, but I was worried about being charged for roaming by Verizon so it was just a safer option for me to leave my iPhone on airplane mode the whole time. All my Airbnbs have Wifi, so when I'm home I can stream movies, video chat friends, and go on social media as much as I want. I pretty much exclusively use my Google Fi phone for GPS while I'm out and about, as well as texting friends and family when I'm not on Wifi.
Keep an eye out for future posts about what my packing list was like, what I wish I hadn't brought with me, as well as monthly breakdowns of where I've been staying and what I've been doing in each country!
Tips and Tricks
Make a list. Make multiple lists. Make lists for everything! Differentiate your "must see" attractions and "if I have time" experiences so that you can prioritize on the fly.
If possible, book longer stays so you can take advantage of monthly discounts.
Don't schedule yourself. Allow yourself the freedom to see what you feel like doing that day and what the weather's like. This is where the lists come in handy.
Have a trusted friend or family member back home to communicate with and help handle anything that may come up at home. This could be mailing you forgotten items, filing paperwork, driving your car, etc.
Make sure you have a financial cushion of at least a few hundred bucks for emergencies. (Make sure this is set apart from your travel budget. Not for souvenirs, not for food, not for museums!) If something happens back home, you get sick, or there's a problem overseas, you want to make sure that you can afford an emergency flight home if it comes down to it.
Learn at least a few essential phrases in the local language of wherever you're traveling. Especially in major cities, most people speak at least some English, but it's respectful to know a bit of the local language and if you go off the beaten path, you may not find anyone who speaks English. (I'll make another post on my recommended phrases. I bought a tiny notebook that fit in my wallet and wrote them down with translations and pronunciation just in case I couldn't look it up online.)
Have questions about international trips or solo travel? Leave them in the comments below or send me a message and I'd love to write about it in a future post!
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