My Travel Story : Eurotrip (1) ~ The Preparation

Hola!

This time I'd like to share my recent travel experience to Europe. I was excited yet anxious about this trip since it was my first time going to a continent outside Asia, and I was all alone. In my following posts, I want to share what I did in planning the trip, going on it and what I think I'd do in my next trip to improve the quality of the trip, especially in terms of time and budget efficiency. I'm sure sharing my experience would help some of you who plan on going on a solo travel. Especially when you're a beginner, just like me.

1. Flight bookings
There are numbers of airline companies so there must be a few of them giving special offers for some popular destinations. Especially when you're looking for a low-season period and ready to make the booking ahead (+/- >3 months in advance). I booked my flights at the end of May this year. I began the search for good deals since the beginning of the year and finally found the cheapest one offered by Turkish Airlines. I paid US$ 713 (around IDR 9.5 mio back then) for a round-trip ticket from Jakarta to Madrid. I usually use Nusatrip.com to browse for tickets but always check on skyscanner and the airline's own web to find the best fare. Once you click CONFIRM and pay the ticket, make sure you have your e-ticket or itinerary sent to your email address.

2. Pre-visa application
When you own a passport from a developing country, you know you have more to prepare prior to your arrival at a more developed country. There are quite a few documents needed for Schengen visa application, but focus on the things you need to prepare months before your application, such as: bank statement. There is not a fixed amount of money needed to guarantee your visa granted. But you have to estimate the number of days you'll spend in Europe with the daily expense you need there. For example, if your holiday in Europe is 2 months, you'll need to show higher amount of money than me who'd only spend 2 weeks there. If you're worried about your bank statement, you can also use your parents' or siblings', as long as they agree to make another official statement (legalized by bank) that mentions that they will bear your all your expenses in Europe. Your also need to pay attention to the expiry date of your passport. It has to be valid at least 6 months upon your day of arrival in Europe. Also the details of your passport, including the your address on it. I had this little issue regarding my address on my passport. My passport was issued at Indonesian Economic and Trade Office in Taipei, Taiwan when I lived there. So I had my address in Taiwan on it. Apparently, the France embassy refuses to process my passport due to this reason. Then, I had my address mutated on it and it cost me another amount of money :(

Special tip:

• Look closely on visa documents required in advance. If anything in your docs don't meet the requirements, fix it as soon as possible so you can do it yourself (instead of having an agency do it for you), to save some cost. 

3. Domestic flights and trains within Schengen countries

I booked my domestic flights and bullet train tickets only 1 month before my departure to Europe, and I kinda regret this. I had no idea that those bullet trains would also cost a lot of money (especially since my currency, Rupiah, has been getting weaker lately).

Make sure you have decided which countries or cities you want to visit. Europe is not as small as you think. Even though the transportation systems are pretty convenient and able to connect you to all big cities in Europe, it's a great idea to book for train and domestic flights also in advance since the price can go up and down just as any flight tickets. From big city to big city, I can suggest to go for domestic airlines like Ryanair, Air Europa and EasyJet. But for some rather remote cities like Lourdes, it's probably a lot cheaper to go by high speed trains. Go to SNCF website to look for deals on high speed trains in Europe. Night buses can also be another option, but since I didn't get the chance to try it so I can't share anything about it. If you are very limited on budget and time, I suggest booking all of these online instead of buying tickets at the station or near before your departure. First of all, you will need all these booking confirmations as supporting documents for your visa application. Second, you will be able to manage your budget and time at each city more efficiently as you know how many places you can visit in that certain period of time.  

What about accommodations? I think the hotels/hostels booking can wait until 2 weeks to a few days before your arrival. There are plenty of choices to look for: hostels, private apartment from Airbnb or even surfing on someone else's couch for free (couchsurfing.com).

4. Currency Exchange

The exchange rate always fluctuates. I suggest to start saving your Euro months in advance. You can buy 100 euro every month so IF, the exchange flies high near the time of your travel, you already have something in your pocket ;) I regret that I didn't do this though, so now I can advise things like this :(

5. Detailed itinerary

After you have your trains and domestic flights booked, you have all the cities & timeline fixed on your rough itinerary. Now, start breaking down what you want to see and do in each city. This is very important so you can plan your budget and schedule in detail. This itinerary will also help you decide the location of your hostel/hotel. 

Special tips:

• Focus on what you want to see: scenery, historical places, art museums, shopping places and others. 
• Don't get too ambitious and target more than 3 places to go in one day. You will need to spare time to find your way to your destination since the metro lines in big cities are quite plenty. Luckily, most tourist destinations are located very close to the metro stations. So the walking from the station to the spot usually doesn't take long. 
• Also browse for special cafe/food near the tourist spots you want to visit. If you want to make the best of your travel, you don't want to eat whatever fast food you find only because you don't know what's good around you. 

6. Visa application

A week prior to my visa application, I went to the bank to request a statement print and a reference letter from the bank. I also had my brother signed a sponsor letter that stated he'd cover all my expenses during my travel. I attached all of these along with other documents needed (you can check all documents needed for visa application online). I asked for a travel agency (Bayu Buana Travel) to help me check, submit my docs and book for the interview. I could go to the Visa application centre myself but I needed a temporary hotel bookings. So, the travel attached the hotel bookings along with my documents and all is set! Ah, and I also purchased my travel insurance at the travel. 

The actual visa application fee cost 60 euro, but I paid 100 euro thru the agency. 

The travel insurance cost US$ 35.  

Special tips:

• Even though Schengen visa is valid in all Schengen countries, but the requirements from each country might be slightly different. For example: Spain & Swiss want a full-paid hotel booking confirmations (not just temporary book), whereas for France and the Netherlands you can put your confirmation from booking.com.
• Decide which country you want to apply visa from: the duration of your stay in each country; and the city from which you enter the Schengen zone.   
• Check for the length of time needed to process the visa application. Try your best to submit your documents 1 month before your departure. Some embassies can issue visa in 3-5 days upon documents submission but others might do this in 14 business days.

7. Visa interview

I applied from the embassy of France and did my interview at its representative office, TLS. There isn't much to tell. The officer just checked my docs. All completed. She confirmed that my brother supported my travel. And also noted that I needed the visa ready within less than 2 weeks. 

8. Packing

I checked on the weather at my destinations 4-2 weeks before. I come from a country that only has 2 seasons. Of course I am more sensitive to temperature changes and I need more clothing if the temperature goes below 18 degrees. I saw that the weather in Spain was mostly warm and sunny. So I packed my summer clothing with light cardigan and jacket. But in France the weather is a bit colder and windy. So it's a good idea to bring some long-sleeves and shawl. 

Special tips:

• Bring clothes with minimum motives and patterns. Neutral colors are also better options. You want to mix and match whatever you have in your suitcase without looking like a lost Harajuku kid. 
• Bring flip-flops, keds/sneakers and a pair of water-proof material shoes. You don't know when the rain would hit you and soak up your comfy keds :(

In conclusion, for Schengen visa, all you need is your fixed itinerary ready (besides your account statement, of course!). Europe is a big continent and it is far far away from Indonesia. You want to make the best out of it since you have spared some significant amount of energy, money and time. Once you get your homework done, you'll be ready to explore and enjoy your adventure in the beautiful land of Europe :)