How to travel more than 10 000 km around the Europe
After 4 years spent in Dubai, I decided to move again. From this point of view, it was probably a much harder decision than one when I moved from Belgrade. Life is unpredictable and you never know what is coming next. Last 3 Months in UAE I decided to use a period between switching jobs for planning an unforgettable trip. For those of you who are considering doing the same, I suggest starting planning at least 3 months before, since plane tickets are much cheaper. This is a story of the full process of travel from day 1 planning to last day of the trip.
Importance of Planning
I knooow that this is something that everyone knows but I need to point out again. Planning is the mother of everything. Every single date, every single transportation, accommodation and rest. I understand that it stress you out but if you start on time you can enjoy your vacay on it fullest. For this stage, I turn to my best friend Excel. Excel allows you to create nice templates where you can budget and plan everything. My templates you can download here.
P.S Good planning doesn’t mean everything will go smoothly, you are just minimizing potential issues.
Accommodation
Living in Dubai helped me to meet plenty of people from different places. Some of them allowed me to stay in their homes during the trip and I am so much grateful for contributing to this magnificent experience. Apart from them, I used different apps like Booking and Airbnb where you can find the cheapest prices for spending the nights. There is a cool way to connect your Booking.com profile with your RyanAir profile so you can get an extra discount for renting rooms. Also, after a few bookings, you can become a Genious user and have an extra 10% discount on renting.
Transportation
For moving around I used 4 types of transportation types. A plane, Bus, Car and Train + kayak 😛 .
A plane like everyone knows is the fastest way of reaching the places but also and the most expensive. That’s why I used RyanAir which is probably the most famous low-cost agency. The only problem I had with them was a strike of employees which causes delays sometimes. It is important to know that I had only a hand luggage ( less than 10kgs) so tickets, in that case, are way cheaper. Also, I used AirSerbia for flights from and to Serbia.
For bus, I used probably the most famous Flixbus . It is easy to book online and I highly recommend.
I never liked to drive but there are people who love it. All of them you can find on a website call BlaBlaCar. You commute faster, having interesting chats and pay way much cheaper.
City Tour/Travel
When arriving at the city first what I want to learn and feel is a culture of local people. Something which normal travel plan cannot cover. That is why I always check ShowAround where you can find locals to show you hidden gems of the city. Apart from that, I like to check articles on CrazyTourists since they always have this TOP 10 things to do when in ___.
Communication with a World
Staying online was one of the biggest challenges I faced during the trip. Since Serbia is not in EU our SIM cards are not covering internet in roaming. That’s why I found out that Vodafone is the network which is basically in every European country and having this SIM will provide you internet wherever you go. It cost around 30 euros for 4GB.
Financials
People will think that for this kind of adventure you need a bunch of money on your account. The truth is that with a very good planning you can decrease your spending to the minimum. How I like to do it is planning by day. So I dedicate a specific amount of money for every day. If I crossed that line I will be alarmed by my Excel if I don’t, I can reuse it in some other direction. Have in mind that all plane and train tickets are bought 2-3 months before the start of the trip. The template you can download here.
CIties/Coutries
Here is the list of countries and places I visited and which I will cover in the next articles:
- Croatia [Split, Omis, Makarska, RIjeka, Pula, Rakalj] – Amazing Dalmatia & Istria
- Belgium [Charleroi, Brussels] – Coming Soon
- Holland [Amsterdam, Hague, Sheveningen] – Coming Soon
- Portugal [Lisbon, Setubal, Lagos, Sintra] – Coming Soon
- Germany [Frankfurt, Freiburg] – Coming Soon
Total distance to travel
By Plane
Dubai [United Arab Emirates] – Belgrade [Serbia] = 3800km
Belgrade – Split [Croatia] = 350km
Pula [Croatia] – Brussels [Charleroi] = 970km
Eindhoven [Holland] – Lisbon [Portugal] = 1815km
Lisbon [Portugal] – Frankfurt [Germany] = 1892km
Frankfurt [Germany] – Belgrade [Serbia] = 1064km
By Train
Amsterdam [Holland] – Eindhoven [Holland] = 127km
Lisbon [Portugal] – Lagos [Portugal]{2x}= 600km
By Bus
Rijeka [Croatia] – Pula [Croatia] = 110km
Brussels [Belgium] – Amsterdam [Holland] = 212km
Frankfurt [Germany] – Freiburg [Germany] {2x} =540km
By Car
Split [Croatia] – Makarska [Croatia] {2x}= 180km
Split [Croatia] – Makarska [Omis] {2x}= 50km
Split [Croatia] – Rijeka[Croatia] = 415km [BlaBla Car]
Amsterdam [Holland] – Sheveningen [Holland] {2x}= 120km
Charleroi [Belgium] – Brussels [Belgium] = 62km
Lisbon [Portugal] – Setubal [Portugal] {2x}= 100km
Lisbon [Portugal] – Cabo De Roca [Portugal] {2x}= 90km
By Kayak
Lagos [Portugal] – Lagos [Portugal] {2x} =4km
By Walk
Appx =100km
Grand TOTAL 12600
