10 step guide to planning a trip to Europe

By Genevieve S. Brown

updated 5:28 p.m. ET July 5, 2006

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1. Decide on your destination
Is a whirlwind five-city tour what you have in mind? Or perhaps you shudder at the thought of visiting another museum and long for a relaxing week picking lavender in the south of France. The thing about Europe is that with so many countries, cities and sights worth seeing, the choices can be overwhelming. Think about what your ideal vacation is and begin your research. Check out our article Europe on and Off the Beaten Path for inspiration, and of course consult our members' trip reports.

2. Get your documents in order
Is your passport valid? Do you need a visa in the country you are visiting? Our article on passports includes everything you need to know about getting or renewing a passport, including links to forms you can download to expedite the process.

Keep in mind that if you are traveling with a child, a he or she needs a passport too. If you're reading this in a panic because you don't have a valid passport -- calm down -- a passport and visa expeditor can help you get yours fast.

3. Book your airfare
This is, perhaps, the most stressful part of planning a trip. You could lock in a reasonable fare early, but what if there is a major sale? You wait and wait for the sales to start and meanwhile the fares are creeping up. With the number of Americans traveling to Europe at its peak since 9/11, most experts agree that travelers aren't likely to see airfares to the continent take a dip for summer travel. If you don't have your heart set on traveling there this summer, consider going this fall -- the sales are already in progress. Check our Europe Bargains and Features page often -- it's updated daily with the latest sales.

4. Get creative with your flights
Until recently, booking a multi-leg flight required the help of a travel agent. However, the Web sites we have come to rely on for booking our simple round-trips -- specifically Orbitz, Expedia, Travelocity and Kayak -- have progressed by leaps and bounds in terms of booking multi-city flight itineraries -- check out our case study here to see who came out on top. However, because these booking engines don't search results from discount airlines abroad you might end up paying quite a bit more than if you did the legwork yourself and booking two separate trips or booking an open-jaw ticket.

5. Keep in mind that Europe has discount airlines too
Europe, just like the U.S., has discount airlines. The trouble is, most of the search engines we have come to rely on don't account for those flights (just as they don't account for several American discount airlines either). The two most popular of these discount airlines are easyJet and Ryanair -- famous for super-discounted flights all over Europe. Consider flying to a large hub like London and connecting to a smaller city on one of these airlines. Be aware though that you may have to fly into one airport in London and out of another, as Ryanair and easyJet both operate the majority of their flights out of smaller airports. For a crash course on the international discount airlines, check out this article from Traveler's Ed.

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