We planned for six months, read every guide, and still got several things completely wrong. Here is the version we wish we had read before we left. This was our first trip to Europe — fourteen days, five countries, two very tired people. We are not travel experts. We are a couple from Hyderabad who saved for two years for this trip and wanted to make every day count. Here is what we learned. Schengen Visa: Start Earlier Than You Think Apply at least 8 weeks before your travel date. The consulates of France, Germany, and Italy tend to process faster, but demand is high. We applied through the German consulate for a trip starting in Paris — this is perfectly legal as long as Germany is your main destination country by number of nights. Documents matter enormously. Bank statements, ITR, leave letter, hotel bookings, travel insurance — gather everything before you start the application. Do Not Try to See Too Much This is the mistake every first-timer makes and we made it too. Five countries in fourteen days sounds exciting in planning. On the ground, it means spending a significant portion of your holiday on trains and buses, arriving somewhere exhausted and having to leave before you have actually settled in. If we did this again, we would do two countries maximum. Spend five days in one city, really learn it, eat where locals eat, get slightly lost, and let something unexpected happen. Train Travel in Europe The Eurail pass sounds appealing and can be good value if you are doing many routes. But book individual trains in advance for specific high-speed routes (Paris to Amsterdam, Rome to Florence) — these are often cheaper and always faster than generic passes for fixed itineraries. Carry a small offline map app. Google Maps works but drains data. Maps.me works offline and is excellent. The Food Reality Check European food is wonderful. It is also expensive by Indian standards. Budget ₹1,500 to ₹2,500 per person per day for food if you are mixing restaurant meals with grocery store lunches and bakery breakfasts. The best meal we had was a €6 pizza from a takeaway window in Naples eaten standing on the street. Skip the tourist restaurant on the main square. Walk one street behind it. Prices drop by 40 percent and the food improves. Money: Cash Is Not Dead Carry some euros in cash. Small museums, local markets, and many cafes in smaller towns are cash only. Card machines that do not accept non-European cards are more common than you would expect. We got caught twice. What We Would Do Differently Fewer cities. More time in each. One slow afternoon in a neighbourhood we stumbled into rather than four rushed museum queues. Europe rewards the unhurried traveller. We did not quite manage to be unhurried, but we are going back — and next time we will be. Total spend for 14 days including flights from Hyderabad: ₹1,95,000 per person.
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