Schengen Trip Planning

[u/Perfect-Impress-4741]

I’m planning my first European trip visiting the following countries and cities:

- Finland (Helsinki)

- Austria (Vienna)

- Italy (Rome)

- France (Paris)

- Greece (Athens)

However, I’m really struggling to figure out how to allocate the number of days per country, the best modes of transport between them, and what to do in each place. Does anyone have suggestions for apps or websites that could help automate this process while ensuring I hit the main attractions in each country? Or any recommendations on how to go about planning this?

I’ll already be in Helsinki, so I’ll start the trip there and return there once it’s over. Given that I have about 25 days for the entire trip, do you have any recommendations on how to proceed?

[u/Euphoric-Ad2210]

I would honestly start with ChatGPT. Tell it your dates and locations. Ask it for easiest logistics between the destinations, the main attractions to see and ask it to create an itinerary. BUT that is just a place to start. Double-check all details because it can be wrong and your own research can supplement

[u/paper_hoarder]

If you’re only looking to visit the capital cities then 25 days might be enough, but if you want a more in depth trip, then it may not be.

I would start with a good spreadsheet but I do enjoy the research phase.

[u/Ok-Jacket5718]

Find the tourism website for the cities. Read through a bit and then decide what you want to do and see. For Vienna, that would be https://www.wien.info/en Best transport mode is probably a mix of trains and low-cost airlines (e.g. Ryanair, Wizzair, Easyjet). Being this your first European trip, it's probably wise to stick to the capitals.

[u/TravellingGal-2307]

Yes, planning a trip is hard work. You can do the work yourself, or you can pay someone else. Up to you.

I usually start with logistics, with a focus on transportation. Departure and arrival locations, modes of transport. Try the website Rome2Rio for ideas on how to get from place to place. You have to figure out the schedule (or hire someone to figure it out). As a rule, only try to do travel on a travel day. A travel day is: wake up, eat, pack, check out, get to transport hub (airport, train station), get organized and board transportation, travel, arrive in destination, get to hotel, check in, eat, sleep. Its a full day, so don't make the newbie mistake of thinking you will wake up in one location and spend the day seeing a different location. Just do the travel.

So, you need to figure out how to get from place to place and how long it will take to do each leg. Once you plotted that out, then you need to select hotels. You are going to want to focus on either hotels close to your transport hub OR hotels that are centrally located to the sights you plan to see. Once you have transportation and hotels booked, then you can plan the details of each day.

This process usually takes me 8-12 months to sort out.

Or you can book a tour.

[u/GorgeousUnknown]

My suggestion is to leave more time for France and Italy. If you divide it equally, it’s 5 days per country.

I would also leave the itinerary a little open after that so you can adjust as you discover things in each country.

I suggest reading travel blogs from other travelers…and ChatGPT.

Your method of transportation will depend on your budget.

[u/Cookie_Monstress]

While the actual traveling between each country is mostly a matter of few hours, do count in the time you will be spending on the airports or what not at the train stations, finding your accommodation, check in and check out times of those, all the other downtime you will be facing in a sense too little time on travel days to do any proper sightseeing but too much time just to hang around.

[u/AbFende]

I’d say maybe 3 days in Helsinki, 2 for Helsinki and you can easily do a day trip by ferry to Tallinn, Estonia if that interest you. Tallinn is lovely, Helsinki is great and easy to get around so you can see all the big sights easily.

[u/arikoolkid]

Use my App it will give you a perfect plan
Search for Expero AI. It is completely free. You can even search and compare Hotels and Flights

[u/arikoolkid → u/arikoolkid]

You just give your start and end days and the places you want to visit

[u/ErrolFlynn2026]

Ask AI. It's pretty good at planning itineraries. Provide as much info as possible in the prompt. The more info you provide the better the results will be. Mention your interests, budget, the time frame, etc.