In this post, we are going to discuss a Europe tour if you are planning from Singapore or any other Asian country for 10 days. We are going to focus on where to visit on a Europe tour in 10 days, what are the countries and cities to visit in Europe in 10 days and what type of visa and planning are required. Here is your The Ultimate 10-Day European Itinerary with Top Destinations and Must-See Attractions for an Unforgettable Trip.
As we had a plan to visit Europe by train, we had to plan and book all our hotels and train tickets from Singapore as those needed to be submitted along with our visa application. You should start planning at least 3 months months before the trip.
Main things to consider for a Europe tour?
- VISA
- Travel Insurance
- Flight ticket
- Hotels
- Train tickets
- Itinerary
VISA for Europe tour:
What type of VISA is required for the 10-Day European Itinerary?
To visit Europe you need a Schengen visa. You can travel to 26 European countries with your visa. These countries are Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.
Do Singapore citizens need a VISA?
There is good news for Singaporeans; no VISA is required to visit the Schengen area for tourism and business for up to 90 days instead, Singaporeans will need to register with the European Travel Information and Authorisation System. It is an easy online process that takes only 10 minutes to apply and the decision will be taken within 2 weeks. More details can be found here.
Do Indian citizens need a VISA?
Although India is one of the biggest markets for Europe tourism with over 10 million Indians travelling to Europe each year, Indian citizens need a VISA for entering the Schengen area.
Who needs VISA to visit Europe:
If you are bearing a passport of any one of the countries listed in the below link, then you need to apply for a VISA separately in advance.
Applying for VISA in Singapore:
As we were residents of Singapore and Paris was the city we wanted to visit first, we have applied for a VISA at the Embassy of France located at 101-103 Cluny Park Rd, Singapore 259595.
You may apply for the VISA online and submit all documents in person to the embassy after booking an appointment. The process is straightforward.
Please make sure to carry all the documents they have asked for including your latest photos, passport, flight and hotel booking.
There was a funny incident while submitting the visa application in Singapore. The person in front of us while submitting the application form, forgot to carry his password and his application was rejected. So, please make sure you carry all documents in original and photocopies.
Buying Travel Insurance for Europe tour
Travel insurance is also another mandatory document you need to submit along with your VISA application. It is very useful too, so make sure you are having good travel insurance. You can always compare various options from Google before buying one. We recommend having travel insurance from our experience. We had a bad incident in Paris losing our mobile and money bag containing some cash and jewellery on a local train but got the money back from the insurance company after returning to Singapore. You may read about that incident here.
Booking Flight Ticket for Europe tour
This is one of the vital things you need to do before applying for a VISA.
Tips to buy flight tickets:
- Please compare several sites before booking the flight.
- Be flexible about the dates. Always try to choose the date in the middle of the week (Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday) to save some money on tickets. Ticket prices at weekends are always higher.
- One more piece of advice is to avoid long holidays.
- While searching for your flight, please use the Incognito or InPrivate browser and don’t log in to the website if you have an account while searching.
- You may save some money booking connecting flights.
We had our ticket booked at Air France. They have direct flights from Singapore to Paris and they took around 13 hours. Our flight was at 10.30 pm SGT and reached Paris the next day at 6:00 am Paris time. It was an awesome experience. The service and food were good. While returning from Paris, we had our flight at 8:50 PM Paris time and landed in Singapore at 3:30 PM SGT the next day. Although there are plenty of other options available, as we have kids with us, we preferred to book the non-stop flight.
Booking Hotel for your visit for 10-Day European Itinerary
For your VISA application, you need your hotel bookings as well, at least for Paris (to your main destination). Once you finalized your itinerary (which we will be discussing soon), the next thing is to book the hotels.
Tips to book hotels:
- Always compare various websites before booking.
- Please use the Incognito or InPrivate browser and don’t log in to the website if you have an account while searching the hotel.
- Another important thing is to check the hotel on Google map how convenient the location is. For example how far it is from the nearest railway station or bus stop or how far it is from the attractions you want to visit. It will be difficult to walk longer with your luggage if it is too far from the station.
Buying Train Tickets for Europe tour for 10-Day European Itinerary
This is the most interesting this in Europe. But again you have to decide your plan, then only you can book the tickets. You have two options – either you can book the ticket in advance (the cheaper option) or you can book at the station before travelling.
Buying the train ticket on the same day of travel might be expensive.
We have bought all our inter-country tickets in advance and the tickets within the city later. We would recommend buying travel passes. You may consider buying travel passes for Paris and Zurich. We booked our ticket from omio.com
Also, we recommend installing transport apps or visiting websites for details – SNCF for France and SBB for Switzerland.
10-Day European Itinerary
You will spend most of your planning time selecting your itinerary.
Always make a list of the places you want to visit and then draw your plan connecting them.
In our itinerary, we had
- France – Paris, Versailles – 4 days
- Belgium – Brussels, Bruges – 2 days
- Germany – Frunkfart – 1 day
- Switzerland – Zurich, Zug, Lucerne, Mount Titlis – 3 days
We wanted to add the capital city of the Netherlands, Amsterdam too, but could not include it due to time constraints. We wanted to visit those four countries in that order. First, We landed in Paris and spent our initial four days there. After that, we took a train to go to Belium and from Belgium, we went to Frunkfart by the German train. We found German and Swiss trains are better in terms of services, foods. Spending one night in Frankfart, we headed to Zurich. Our return flight was in Paris and it was at 8:50 pm. So we caught a train in the afternoon from Zurich and reached Paris airport in time.
Always add some buffer time in between your travel, as the train may got delayed or cancelled so that you have enough time to adjust your plan.