should i plan for a multi-country long trip in may/june or hold off until next year?

Wow. I traveled quite a bit in 2021, and plan a lot in 2022 - but this list all at once kind of blows my brain. I have tentative plans for 7 countries this year but not in the same trip, with potential quarantine time in between trips, everything cancellable/refundable, and an annual insurance policy.

However, if you have the mental energy to plan, be prepared to change plans, be prepared for quarantine should it happen (and is still required), be ready to scrap any piece of the plan, have things cancellable, and to stay up with restrictions- then go for it. No one has any idea where everything will be in April-June, so we aren’t any help with that. Maybe cut any short stops? They might not be worth the trouble. Right now I see 12 countries in a bit less than 12 weeks. I know it will give you an overview but this might be the year to slow it down a bit and visit 2-3 places per country in a more leisurely way.

As far as a Covid test for each country - who knows right now, but that wouldn’t bother me any more than mask wearing or filling out PLF forms…..

Twelve countries in about twelve weeks would be way too much moving around for me even if COVID had never existed. That would pretty much turn out to be a capitals-of-Europe trip, and I like to see secondary and smaller cities as well as the biggies.

I don't see any need for you to cancel your trip or shorten it at this point (obviously, things could change before April). However, I would recommend that you plan to spend more time in fewer countries. That will mean much less need for constant research on COVID policies across the continent of Europe. Reducing the number of countries you visit this year will not make the trip less interesting. I've spent about 4-1/2 months in Spain since 2016, and I haven't gotten to the Balearic Islands yet (or quite a few places on the mainland that I'd like to see). As for Italy, it's my contention that Sicily alone needs at least 2 weeks--and that's if you have a car.

I am hoping to do a long trip myself this year. I'm starting in Italy in late April (COVID permitting) and plan to stay in that country until it warms up enough in northern Europe to satisfy me. I'll monitor the COVID situation, and at some point I hope I'll feel comfortable buying an airline ticket to a northern city (Oslo, Stockholm, etc.) My very rough calculation is that I'll ultimately want to spend close to 4 weeks each in Norway (if I can afford it) and Sweden. The other northern countries will each probably need less than 4 weeks. I'll do as much as I can during the warm months this year, given the 90-day Schengen limit. Between Schengen and my hatred of chilly weather, northern Europe would be a multi-year project for me with or without COVID.

Even if I wanted to spend all my time in Italy (which gets too hot in the middle of the summer), I wouldn't be able to cover all that I want to see there in 90 days.

It's not 12 weeks, it's actually just under 14 and that's a really long time and when I say 12 countries, I'm not exactly seeing an entire country. I listed it that way because I'm entering them. The Russia part is 6 days between Moscow/St Petersburg. I'm not traversing the entire Russian continent. Finland is 2 days in Helsinki. Demark is just 3 days in Copenhagen and 1 day trip from there. England is 5 days in London. Other places are more in depth like it's 16 days in Spain and 16 days in Italy. Anyway, it's fine. I know some people can do 90 days in Italy alone and barely scratch the surface but I honestly don't know how that's even possible unless you actually want to see the entire country head to toe. Anyway, don't worry about that part. I'm just worried about the possibilities of covid derailing things. Having to go through quarantine anywhere would be really bad since that obviously would screw up future train tickets/hotel bookings etc.

Anyway, thanks so much for the replies, I really appreciate them.

Be sure your risk of being made to quarantine is under 1%. After that, temporarily putting aside the pandemic, considering something that would apply without a pandemic, the general rule is, don't put off until next year what you wish you could do this year if you are healthy and able to do it this year.

I took my first solo trip outside the USA when I was 32. Now I have enough difficulty getting time off work and I have close to no paid vacation. I didn't think to travel sooner. I was too worried about finding a job and/or running out of money or worse. Since I started my current job I have taken trips of not more than 13 nights at a time. Others are right that there are advantages of seeing fewer countries and seeing some smaller towns and not just the biggest cities.

I would go for it. I believe more restrictions will be relaxed or eliminated. Most countries can’t afford another lost tourist season. Wear your mask when needed, keep reading up on rules for each country, and be flexible. No one is guaranteed next year. A dear friend and his wife were set to retire June 31. They were talking about taking their first trip back to Europe since 2002. He just had a stroke last week. He survived but will need a few weeks, maybe months of rehab.

there are some "small towns/secondary cities" involved like 2 days in stavanger norway, 2 days in porto portugal, 1 day rothenberg germany, 1 day ronda spain, but it's true that other places are literally just the capital (denmark, sweden, finland, england). The trip as originally planned two years ago was 96 days. It's not like I'm spending 2 weeks running around all Europe. Another poster said he'd want to spend 4 weeks in just Sweden. If I was that thorough by the time I die I'd miss out on so many significant places.

Maybe I should start by doing hotel bookings and making sure they're refundable and hold off on train/flight tickets. Or maybe just wait another year. It's possible Covid will never end though.

Barbara, I'm saddened to hear about your friend. I hope he has a full recovery and that this summer is able to take the trip he and his wife wanted to take

Next year would be better for such a complicated itinerary. There are still tons of kinks in the system - even RS has cancelled some upcoming tours due to kinks like staffing shortages. People on this forum are constantly complaining about upcoming flight cancellations. And then there are the rules that will affect your freedom to cross borders, etc.

I have an over 100 day trip planned leaving in July - including 6 weeks in Europe on land and 2 cruises.

Obviously - I say go for it. And others have mentioned delaying to next may bring all sorts of unknowns, you may have a serious health event, there may be a new disease, war may break out in parts of Europe. There is always uncertainty - just be flexible and plan for it.

But don't go if you think "one positive test will ruin everything" . Get travel insurance and be very clear what it will cover. Of that list of countries I'd say the least likely to be open is Russia - and I'm thinking of the situation in Ukraine when I say that - not the virus.

Our list currently includes countries that are not open to us (Hungary), countries that require us to have every night reserved (Croatia), countries that maybe unstable (Bosnia and Montenegro) I'm not even worried about the details of Covid tests at this point LOL

I would make refundable hotel bookings anyways - why lock yourself in. YOu aren't travelling peak season. Trains will not be available for part of your trip yet anyways 60 days prior I think. Unless you are determined to have the most expensive/fastest trains - you can book a train the day before (I'm thinking particularly of Portugal and Spain).

As described so far, your trip is approaching the limit of 90 days in the Schengen zone within any rolling 180-day period. Of the countries you've mentioned, only England, Scotland and Russia are non-Schengen, and you've clarified that the full length of the trip is just under 14 weeks (98 days). If you're able to do the trip as designed, you'll be OK, but you may need to adjust your itinerary on the fly if COVID kicks up its heels again. Therefore, you must be mindful of the need to count days very precisely. Partial days count. The day you arrive in the Schengen area counts even if it's 11 PM. The day you leave the Schengen area counts even if it's 1 AM. The penalty for overstaying the 90-day limit can be a substantial fine and a ban on returning for multiple years.

Are you aware that you'll need a visa for Russia? I believe the cost is over $150, but the fee isn't easy to find on the consular website, so I'm not sure. You can avoid the need for a visa if you take one of the participating ferries that go just to St. Petersburg, but going beyond that city requires a visa. It is said that Russia's visa process is non-trivial.

Thank you for the kind words. And yes, acraven is always spot on with her advice.

Hi,

Look through your itinerary and see how your planned activities would be affected if you had to take a Covid test between countries. I like to move around a lot faster than most on our forum, so that would really impact my planned activities for the last location in a country before switching countries. If you’re staying several days at that last location, it wouldn’t be such an impact since you would likely have some buffer time.

But, I would consider it similar to transportation time. I’d much rather be at a location having fun than sitting for hours in a train, etc. so I really work to keep transportation time at a minimum. Covid tests sound similar - If you’re needing to possibly take several Covid tests, that’s also taking away from valuable “vacation fun”.

Are you okay with winging it for lodging accommodations, depending on which countries are fully open and switching around your itinerary? Again, to me, that’s lost time when I’m there to have fun; I don’t want to be stopping & planning, so I would limit it to three countries. Your own personality to disruptions & change will give you an idea whether your current plan is feasible for you.

Remember that when you see these kinds of itineraries on tours that someone else is handling the logistics and has lots of experience minimizing the travel time between locations. And with what appears to be about to happen in the Ukraine, it is not a good idea for Americans to go to Russia. I assume you have a spreadsheet with the Covid regulations for each of those 12 countries that you update continually?

My experience is that planning an extended trip anywhere puts a lot of pressure on you, especially when you get past a couple of weeks. It's just not possible to see everything everywhere on one trip to Europe.
We prefer to stay 4-5 days in one place, take in the important travel sights and then move on to another city in relatively close proximity.
And over the years, we've been to all the places you're wanting to travel to.
Just remember there's just so much art, culture, history and food that you can take in at one time. Move too fast and your trip will be just one big blur.

Check the covid rules now. Odds are they will only be easier before you start your trip. Be prepared to make some adjustments along the way and go enjoy.

If these past 2 (3?) years have taught me anything it is to go do things while you can. You never know if a new variant, or a personal health situation, or some other problem, will prevent you from going next year. So if you can go this summer, I'd say go. Yes, it seems like things will be easier next summer, but we just never know.

In general, it might be easier to limit your number of countries. Partially for covid reasons, and partially because even pre-covid that might be overwhelming. But if you look closely at the logistics, including covid test stuff when it is closer - regulations are changing quickly - and can be flexible if things change while you are there, then go for it.

I take long trips. I traveled at the end of last year/begining of this year and leave again in another 8 weeks.

If you want to go, go. The real difference I saw were the Covid restrictions in place and the need to make itinerary changes during the trip.

It's expected that things, Covid-wise, should be better in the spring and summer but no one really knows. There seems to be a lightening of required covid tests but, again, no one really knows what will happen

And yes, a positive test will throw your plans out the window. And that's another reason to give yourself extra time in Schengen. Having Covid is not an excuse to go beyond your limits.

Unlike many people here, I don't make plans 6-9-12 months in advance. On my last trip, it was at most a week ahead of time. Of course, nowhere was crowded and it was easy to make reservations. That will probably be different in May and June.