My First Trip to Europe

An evening in Paris

Hi All,

I am writing this blog almost after a gap of 10 years, was busy in my job during this tenure. Completed my MBA from IMT Ghaziabad in between and now employed with Reliance Jio since 2015.

Anyways, this is not a job portal where I need to mention the time-based events of my life.

Coming back to the subject, last year four of the family members made a plan to visit any international destination for holidays. We scratched our minds, had explored every country, city, continent we could explore- but everytime there was one name which was striking across our minds was none other than Europe or some of you call it Majestic Europe.

It was an enthralling experience for all of us from the point when we zeroed down to Europe and finally selected this as our Holiday Destination for the year 2019.

Being an internet guy, I thought to give it a try this time to do Self-Bookings/Check-ins without involving any agent/middlemen as our budget was limited. Few of my friends who are tourist agents, won't like this though! but writing a blog gives you that freedom at-least where you can express your own views hence I am least worried.

Things to keep in mind-

1. Always book a refundable flight, I know this can cost you dearer but pay extra for that last min comfort, I made a mistake here- due to which the return flight costed me 23k extra which I could have saved easily otherwise.

2. Always make your plans six months in advance. Don't be uncertain, prepare an excel/word file and pen down each and every requirement of yours pertaining to the tour in that document. Mark my words, this would ease your comfort and satiate your demands accordingly.

3. Don't forget to buy Travel Insurance. I bought it from Policy Bazaar- https://travel.policybazaar.com/?iss=1&utm_content=home_v5

4. Till now, we are done with the Flight tickets and Travel Insurance, now the next step is to book an accommodation- If you're travelling with family then I would suggest you to book an AirBnB and experience the best Home Experiences ever with AirBnB- it gives you complete peace of mind. Just ensure that, you book the right property as per your itinerary.

And if you are travelling solo or with friends then you may also look to stay in Youth Hostels- not a bad choice at all! I chose to stay in two Youth Hostels at different locations ofcourse :) And I booked those hostels through Booking.com- got some good deals.

5. Khaane ka kaise karenge, paraaye desh mein- For the ones who are rich and are extravagant then don't read this recommendation as Europe is full of Multi-Cuisine Restaurants, hence you will get umpteen opportunities to empty your pockets there but for the Middle Class like me who knows the true value of money- I chose not to dine out each day, we went to 4-5 restaurant during our entire stay and for the remaining days, we reheated the Ready to Eat Meals which we took from India. I swear, if we were not carrying those Ready to Eat packets then we could be in serious trouble as all of us are Vegetarians. Go to any Hypermarket and buy those packets from India itself- I would call them Saviours here.

6. How to carry Currency- A questions that keeps cropping up before every International Trip-

How much Cash to carry- Go to any Agent like Thomas Cook/Yatra and get some cash converted, we first went to Swiss hence, we took CHF (Swiss Francs) and Euros (For rest of the Europe). Digital Currency is the real growth driver there hence don't carry that much cash with you. For rest of the amount, do load the same in your Prepaid Forex Cards which are issued by the Banks- Currency in loaded card is as safe as your Debit/Credit Card, as eveytime you need to feed-in the 4 digit code to process any transaction.

Please note that, do not use your Debit Cards/Credit Cards which you have at present, as you end up paying more as Markup Fee and Conversion Fee is charged everytime you swipe your card.

Rookie Mistakes to avoid-

1. Booking a Cab- Most major European cities have reliable public transportation, so use it as much as you can, We did the same and booked a rental car after reaching there which proved to be a cost effective/time saving. Don't raise your Eyebrows here questioningly- as Indian DL is accepted there, no IDP is required, only if your current DL is printed in English.

Yes, we took a self-driven car there- It's the wonderful feeling- you start the Car and your real adventure begins..                   

2. Don't Settle for the First Restaurant You See- Do extensive research then only step-in. We made this mistake in Venice, we stepped in to a restaurant where you're forced to order meals basis number of members accompanying you and they also charge 8 Euros per member as a Dine-In Fee. Have you ever heard of this in India? I have not, certainly!!

3. Don't Buy Mineral Water- Their fountain water is as good as our RO water, hence while walking through the Historic Streets, quickly fill up your Water Bottle and start walking again. Don't spend unnecessary on buying a Mineral Water each time.

That's all folks!

Allow me to stop here, please! This is a never ending description, do let me know what interests you the most, I would think to write a descriptive blog on the same.

For any further queries/clarifications- please post your comments in the comment box.