If it’s the football matches, you are traveling for then plan around them. Who do you want to see play? And which Christmas markets do you want to see? You know you will miss the markets in Budapest as they don’t begin until the 15th and in a lot of Europe they can begin on 1 December or sometimes later than that. So, I think you need to research markets too. Then finally special events that might interest you.
Finally, if you really want to be in Europe for 90 days, you will need to duck into a non-Schengen country for a few days. That’s becoming more difficult as so many are Schengen now. If that’s a priority, since you have your ticket to Budapest and because you are going to miss our Christmas markets how about you do a side trip out of Budapest for a week in the middle of the stay so that you can extend your departure date out of Budapest long enough to see the markets here? Budapest is a hub for Wizzair and is also served by Ryan air and there are a few destinations outside of Schengen that are fast and easy (and cheap) to reach ..... okay this is an idea ...
Arrive Budapest 15 October (guessing)
25 October: Put the heavy luggage in storage (I know a place), and travel light to Podgorica on WizzAir. 80 minute flight. Travel really light and its about $30. Spend night in Kotor.
26 October: Tour Kotor Bay. The average high is about 65F and the average low (before sunrise) is about 52F so not too cold). Night in Kotor
26 October a trip to Ostrog Monastery, my favorite dinner deck at the Sokoline Hotel and then up to the Tara Canyon. Night at the Motel Tara MB above the Tara River Canyon.
27 October a day touring the canyon and the surrounding. Night at Tara Canyon.
28 October back towards the coast for Budva, maybe a winery on the way, maybe an olive plantation, maybe a village in the mountains.
29 October Flight back to Budapest. Another $30 and 80 minutes.
30 October – 18 November in Budapest. That gives you right at 30 days in Budapest and puts you in Budapest for the Christmas markets that begin on 14 November. Also, it allows you to remain in Schengen another week as Montenegro is outside of Schengen.
Here is a link to a thread with links to videos of all the places I just listed above: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/montenegro/podgorica-to-dubrovnik-by-car
Then I would head to Vienna (but check the opening dates for the markets), then Cesky Krumlov then Prague, then Krakow and time in Poland. Great markets all the way. Here is a link that has a list of market articles. It’s a good way to get some background on what to expect at each stop. Some are better markets, some are better experiences, some have more history, some might be worth skipping. https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/general-europe/2026-christmas-markets
Then you might want to plan around events. Searching each possible stop is time consuming, but this can help with Budapest: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/hungary/updated-budapest-events-for-january-june-2026 Very little shown for Budapest in October right now, but it will fill up over then next couple of months.
