DominicH

Hi everyone,

me and my girlfriend are planning a trip of about 8 months in Europe starting in May 2018.
This won't be our first time in Europe and we are use to travel but this will be our longest trip so far.
Since it won't be our first time in Europe, our itinerary is a little hard to coordinate and this is the reason i am writing this post.

The thing is, we have 3 important spots we absolutely want to visit and the rest is ''on the way'' stuff.
The 3 are United Kingdom/Ireland, Portugal/Spain/Morocco and Croatia/Slovenia.
They all are pretty far from each other.
So we are wondering if this can be done right or will it cost too much time and ressources?
I mean, should we focus on one or two of those three?

Another thing is that we will be travelling from May to December, so there is the issue of the temperature.

We aren't sure what to do when, for the moment our itinerary looks like this:

May/June : Croatia, Slovenia, Austria, Poland
July/August : United Kingdom, Ireland, Netherlands, Belgium
Sept/October : Portugal, Spain, Morocco
November/December : Work/Stay in France, weekends in Denmark, Sweden, Norway

We would like to receive your opinions about our plan. If someone has already done something like that, itinerary wise, or if you think we miss something, please share your thoughts.
We would also love to hear about must-see/must-do on our itinerary.

Thanks.

janisj

What nationality are you?

Slovenia, Austria, Poland, Netherlands, Belgium, Portugal, Spain, France, Denmark, Sweden, and Norway are all in Schengen so your plan will be difficult difficult since you cannot be in Schengen for more than 90 days within 180.

You'd have to spend the other 90 days in the UK/Ireland/Croatia/Morocco

After the 180 days you could return to Schengen (assuming you are admitted)


>>Work/Stay in France<< - it depends on your nationality if that is legal or not.

Traveler_Nick

1) Those aren't "spots" they're major countries.

2) Every day people hop flights between them. Travel from the UK to either the Iberian peninsula or Croatia isn't an issue. Unless it's a bank holiday.

3) That's not really a plan it's a list of countries. What do you intend to do? Interests? Budget? phobias?

PalenQ

You may want to fly between those three far-removed areas and once there either rent a car or take public transportation - trains are great and in places like Croatia buses can be better however. Anyway for a fix on European rail system and where to go check www.ricksteves.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.seat61.com. If traveling a whole lot on trains check various railpasses.

Why dark Scandinavia in bleak November and not in summer? UK can be enjoyed anytime in its wonderful cities but Denmark and Sweden are much more dark sun-wise then and perhaps rather chillier than more southern Europe.

janisj

Until they figure out the Schengen stay limitation and work issues, discussing which order and where they will be during what time of year seems pretty pointless.

StCirq

Even if they are Schengen residents or have the necessary visas to stay in the Schengen Zone for all that time, finding temporary work for a month or two in France in winter is highly unlikely - a ski resort, maybe....

PalenQ

November/December : Work/Stay in France:

not sure will be helpful but may be- https://www.interexchange.org/articl...udying-europe/

There are reciprical programs you may qualify for or not - au pair positions may be possible, etc.

PalenQ

Is there any way to get around the Schengen 90/180 days rule for someone who is a bonafide tourist wishing to do a long trip?

Guess call some Schengen country consulate and ask? Gotta be a way?

janisj

>>Gotta be a way?<<

Why?

>>There are reciprical [sic} programs you may qualify for or not - au pair positions may be possible, etc.<<

That is WHY I asked their nationality(s). A (very) few countries do have reciprical plans for young visitors. They to NOT apply to US residents.

StCirq

For a tourist? No, there doesn't gotta be a way. Might be a few ways around it, but think about it - November and December in France, looking for work? Even if you ignore the fact that thousands of young and perfectly qualified French and other EU kids will be looking for work, unless you're fluent in French (and they may be; they haven't said) and haven't got some skill set that can't be filled by locals, I'm thinking it's a real no-go, especially short term.

thursdaysd

@PQ - why would you think "there gotta [sic] be a way"?

Is there a way for an EU citizen to do that in the US???

Traveler_Nick

"November/December : Work/Stay in France, weekends in Denmark, Sweden, Norway
"

This sounds like they have a youth worker visa. The posting time might point to the OP being Australian.

But the plan also has them bouncing in and out of the Schengen zone every other month.

rialtogrl

I have friends who go to work in Norway at a ski resort. Apparently there are lots of jobs and the pay is good (they work as bartenders/servers) so maybe that could work out for you if France cannot. You may not get weekends off working at a ski resort anywhere though

Even if Schengen is an issue, just be careful not to overstay in the Schengen countries and you will be fine. It's a rolling calendar and just takes some planning. The work thing, is another story.

cheska15

For Australians, Germany has a visa waiver program. What this means is you can spend three months in Germany without it counting as time spent in the Schengen zone. You cannot work on this visa. You must arrive from a non Schengen country and depart after 90 days. If you are young you may have to prove that you have the financial means to stay in Germany without working.

Lots of countries have a working holiday visa for under 30’s. But for Aussies this has to be arraigned before arriving in those countries that participate.

A way around this is spend every second month in a non Schengen country.

Whatever you decide as long as you comply with the Schengen visa rules you will have a great time. You are only young once, and you are a long time old and responsible. Enjoy the planning.

DominicH

Hi, thanks to everyone for theses responses.
Just finished my finals so i can get back to planning my adventure.

We are canadians and are expecting to get a work/holiday visa for France and I found different programs helping canadian students find work in France.

Scandiviana in November/December isnt a good idea?
I thought northern countries would be nice in winter.

PalenQ

Nice if you want to ski and don't care about much sunlight. But locals survive - rather be basking in sun in Italy or Spain, etc.

PalenQ

Oh the Northern Lights are cool in some northern areas especially - some go there just to see them!

Tomorrow the shortest day of year - I wonder say what time sun rises and sets in say Stockholm? Or does it? Long winter nights has at times been attributed to Scandinavians high rate of alcohol use and abuse.

thursdaysd

Stockholm:

Sunrise Today: 8:43 am
Sunset Today: 2:48 pm

Easy enough to do a little research if you are really interested.

DominicH

We live in Quebec city, Canada, we are used to short winter days and cold temperature.

bvlenci

<i> Long winter nights has at times been attributed to Scandinavians high rate of alcohol use and abuse.</i>

Really? How does that work?

I thought it was the inclination of the earth's axis of rotation.