Anyone here who has done (organized) a multi-country, multiple-people, Europe trip without a travel agent i.e. booking local train tickets and hotels on their own? Would appreciate if you can answer few questions.

We have been to Italy for 4ish weeks and did all planning and booking ourselves including trains, planes and cars. 2 adults, 1 kid - not multi country but happy to help.

2 folks only, yes

@loud-glass-33663 @swift-pilot-25722 thanks. Please have a look at these questions. I am planning a 2wk+ trip covering 7 countries, 4 people. • Which visa agency did you use to book? Or did on your own? I am thinking of thomas cook. • Any surprises I should be aware of if I am going with a family (age 55, vegetarians). • How did you do inter-city / inter-country travel? Thinking of trains for inter-country and inter-city and uber/bus for intra-city? Let me know if I am wrong. • For trains, should I get first class or second class? Worth getting EURail for the cheaper 1st class? • Does EURail guarantee 1st/2nd class tickets when I want to travel?  • Where to get the mandatory travel insurance for the trip? Otherwise might go with what the visa agency sells me. • Best place/website to book train and flight tickets? Should I get some pass or card to get these cheap?

did on my Own via German visa forms etc, had my brother's Visa resident as supporting main doc Less veg in general Flixbus - best and decent - for anything <5-6 hours - which is most europe if you do close countries No EU Rail - seemed too expensive and a time waste both , but some routes really good with train - needs research Flights - skyscanner Any insurane but 50-100K$ limit is must, check that

Thanks @swift-pilot-25722. Didn’t knew about Flixbus, it’s quite cheap. 😃 These are the places we are looking to go - Rome, Florence, Venice, Switzerland, Munich, Paris, Amsterdam, Athens, Santorini (greece). Anything that this list is clearly missing?

@rough-autumn-89795 1. Booked Visa ourselves. 2. We took trains in Italy throughout our stay (except when we went to Tuscany - had to drive there. No trains) 3. Inside Italy, we mostly booked Business Class train tickets. The difference in fare is not substantial but the quality of coaches and comfort were worth it. 4. We rented a car with a driver once who picked us up from the airport. Was quite expensive. (km wise) but sometimes you may need to do it. Don’t think much about it. Better to be comfortable when traveling with older folks. 5. Train & flight tickets we booked directly from the airlines / train website. Easier to cancel and generally lowest rates. 6. Depending on country & city, vegetarian food will be a problem. Rome, Florence should be fine (pasta / pizzas), Venice is super expensive and all restaurants are fine dining - which means no veg food. There are some places which do serve veg food (a few options) but they will be expensive as well. Be prepared. 7. Travel insurance - anywhere reliable. I got ours from ICICI Lombard online. Straight forward. I generally get the highest slab because saving the extra 2-3K is not worth it. Best to have as much coverage as possible ($500k) By the looks of it, seems like you are traveling with parents for the first time? I would highly recommend going with one of the tour folks who will do a private itinerary for you. I would not risk experimenting when I am traveling with my folks (too much drama otherwise as well). They will arrange for all hotels, pick up and drop & train tickets. Overall, it may cost you the same if not cheaper.

Thanks for the reply @loud-glass-33663. It is very helpful. Not travelling with my parents for the first time (had a self-managed SEA trip in 2018) but Europe is harder, yes. Didn’t knew about private custom itinerary, will look into it. I assumed they only had fixed itineraries. Thanks for suggesting this option.

@rough-autumn-89795 something like: https://www.coxandkings.com/flexihol/ We used Cox & Kings to book a Maldives vacation when I got married via Flexihol - it had turned out well. But YMMV. A relative who went on a group Europe tour with them hated it. My parents generally book from Thomas Cook (flexi hol type packages) and they have always had a great experience.

Thanks, I also have always had a pleasant experience with Thomas Cook. Also, Black Swan seems interesting. Looking into them.

@rough-autumn-89795 It seems you're trying to cover too much in 2 weeks. Switzerland alone has so much to see and it's easy to spend 5-6 days there. Do keep in mind that bus travel can get really tiring even though the buses are great and have washrooms. I haven't traveled with parents but it's not hard to manage everything by yourself. It does take some time but you will have a better idea about what to expect if you do your research well. Booking tickets, accomodation, etc. is the easy part. The hard part is to plan an itinerary that's fun and not taxing. Also, if you wish to cover all these places, you will have to take some flights, long bus journeys are just not worth it.

Thanks @calm-noon-73911. Yes, I am aware 2 weeks (17 days to be exact) might be less time for the places I have planned (have removed Greece since I last posted). However, I have 2 options - either increase the number of days which increases cost OR only travel a few places. Current game plan is covering the key, touristic places in Europe like Effiel Tower along with some less known places for more culture. For visa, thanks for the info. We are actually getting it from netherlands after all because we got an invitation letter from there.

Ok sounds good. But TBH, Europe is too big and there's too much to see so covering key places in 1 trip is not possible. And I'm surprised you're not visiting Prague. I haven't been to a ton of places but have spent a lot of time in Prague and it is a dreamland. And I know a lot of Europeans and it's almost a consensus that Prague is one of the best places to see in Europe.

Recently came back from a 3 month solo say in EU - self managed. • You can get an agency to do things for you, but IMO not worth it since the Schengen embassies already delegate everything to an intermedieary (VFS global) and all the instructions and all are laid out pretty clearly already. • Donno about aged companions. But if you're gonna be in touristy areas no biggie (except things can be expensive). I'm veg too. You can find a few veg options in all tourist-area restaurants. For longer stays, all cities have some 'vegan-only buffet' style places that came in handy. • Inside country + nearby countries: Train is best. If you don't already know: https://www.seat61.com/ is THE guide that you need. Book early for better tickets. Book from the right website (eg. Germany -> Czech: Can get better prices on the czech-railway-system-site compared to Germany, for the exact same train). Reservations optional but I go for them for peace of mind. Esp during peak season. • For within-city travel, I guess if you have aged companions, perhaps Uber - tho it's expensive. Otherwise public transport is excellent in all cities. Same ticket for bus/subway/tram. Go to relevant city's transport website, download app, buy day/multiday/week/month pass. • Not too much difference between 2nd and 1st class - perhaps depends on train system. I usually got 2nd class but did a 1st class for my last Munich->Berlin journey (since 2nd/1st prices were comparable). That last journey, the train got cancelled and switched to another train. Reservation became, find-any-seat on new train (but still 1st class). Was strangely super crowded - some people had to stand until someone got off. Earlier in my Prague->Vienna trip, I had booked 2nd class with reservation. I guess it was a slow day and my carriage of 30-40 ppl capacity had only 4 people in it. • The EU Rail pass is only worth it if you're travelling every few days. Otherwise way cheaper to get relevant tickets and be clever about which country's website you buy it from. Again - seat61 is your bible. • I just got the minimum HDFC ergo travel insurance within a few minutes online on their site. • Train: seat61 will tell you. Flights: skyscanner. • PS: If you have connecting flights, remember immigration happens at first point of entry into the Schengen region. I had 1 hour time to catch my connecting flight. I missed it because of immigration (but thankfully was put on next flight by the carrier.

@calm-noon-73911 hearing the same about Paris recently. What are things to do/see in Prague? Quick research shows it's a lovey place to live and spend time but not so much to see and do (for family).

If you go to Prague, which is a small city, you could do a quick day trip to Kutna Hora which is a tiny city 1 hour by train with a couple popular attractions. If you're in Czech longer, you could check out other cities like Karlovy Vary, Cesky Krumlov.

https://remoteindian.slack.com/archives/C6M8YKK96/p1581849889101000?thread_ts=1581576918.089700&amp;cid=C6M8YKK96 Oh there's so much to see and do. Tourist hotspots like the Charles Bridge and Prague Castle are definitely worth seeing. But besides those, the old town is full of beautiful buildings, museums, shops, cafes and everything else you'd want on a holiday. Then you can opt for a cruise on the Vltava river. And like Aravinda mentioned, all those places are worth visiting with Karlovy Vary being on the top of the list.

Prague is huge and amazing, second that - I need 1-2 months there to cover everything properly indeed, was there for a week and was packed with castle tours, beer tours Sandemans have great guided and walking tours and quite epic with pay as much as you want sometimes too. Beer tour is a must Czech is the #1 country in the world for beer, NOT the us, not germany - they even have "beer" in their national anthem 😛

@calm-noon-73911 @shy-salesclerk-56315 thanks guys, looked into Karlovy Vary and Cesky Krumlov. Both are impressive and many interesting family friendly things to do. Added to my list. 🙏

You're welcome. If you have to choose one, go for Karlovy!

Thanks @loud-glass-33663, @swift-pilot-25722, @calm-noon-73911 and @shy-salesclerk-56315. This thread has been very helpful.