Favorite Trip-Planning Links
Here are some helpful websites for European travel. Choose one of the categories below, or simply scroll down the page.
Travel Tools
Currency converter, passports and visas, calling, and itinerary planning.
Transportation
Air, train, bus, ferry, transit, and car travel.
Accommodations
Search tools for hotels, plus camping, castles, villas, apartments, convents, monastaries, home exchanges, and hostels.
Special Interest
Backpacking, biking and hiking, cooking schools and garden tours, living abroad, seniors, religious travel, students, socially responsible travel.
Travel Tools
- Oanda: Currency conversion tool
- Country Calling Codes: International calling made easy
- HowtoCallAbroad.com: Instructions on dialing internationally from any country
- Bureau of Consular Affairs: US State Department's official travel site, with foreign entry requirements (passports and visas), travel warnings, and more
- Google Translate: Easy-to-use language translator
Itinerary Planning
- Time Out: Event listings for major European cities
- Weather Channel: Worldwide weather predictions
- World Climate and Weatherbase: Weather and climate averages worldwide
- SportsEvents365: Tickets to sports events and concerts
Transportation
Air Travel
- Kayak: Top site for checking a full range of flight options to and within Europe
- Skyscanner: Best search engine for cheap flights within Europe
- Flycheapo.com: Shows which budget airlines fly between any two points
- Elizabeth Holmes Travel: Personalized full-service travel agency
- US Transportation Security Administration: The latest on the TSA's rules and regulations
- Seat Guru: Guide to airline seating
- Sleeping in Airports: Budget traveler's guide to the sleeping in airports
- World Travel Guide's Airport Guide: Arrival information for most of Europe's airports, including how to get into the city center
Trains, Buses, Boats, and Transit
- Deutsche Bahn: German Rail timetable, ideal for checking train schedules for anywhere in Europe
- Rail Fan Europe: Links to every country's own national rail website
- The Man in Seat Sixty-One: Personal website on train travel, with detailed info on sleepers
- Eurolines: Europe's most extensive bus network
- A Ferry: Ferry connections throughout Europe
- Urban Rail: Metro info for major cities
Driving
- Auto Europe: Car rental
- Via Michelin and Google Maps: Online maps for all of Europe, plus a reliable route planner with good estimates of time and distance for your journey
- AA: Britain's Automobile Association, which includes route planner
Accommodations
These hotel-booking sites are good for initial research (but once you find something that looks interesting, it's best to book direct)
The following search engines check multiple hotel sites at once:
Castles, Villas, Farms, and Apartments
- Celtic Castles: Castle and manor accommodations in the UK
- Cross Pollinate: Online booking agency representing hand-picked B&Bs and apartments in Paris, London, Rome, Florence, Venice, Barcelona, Lisbon, and Istanbul
- Italyvillas.com: Villas and apartments throughout Italy
- Agriturismo.com: Accommodations at over 550 farms throughout Italy
- France Homestyle: Apartment, farmhouse, and villa rentals in France
- Paradores de Tourismo: Luxurious, government-sponsored, historic inns in Spain
- Pousadas de Portugal: Elegant, government-sponsored, historic inns
Convents and Monasteries
- Saint Patrick's American Community in Rome: List of convents in Italy from the American Catholic Church
- Monastery Stays: Booking service for monasteries and convents in Italy
Home Exchanges and Home Stay Programs
- Servas: A non-profit home stay network
- HomeExchange.com: Home exchanges
- International Home Exchange Network : Home rentals and exchanges
- The Friendship Force: Network of hosts welcoming travelers
- Global Freeloaders: Travelers share their homes at no charge
- Couchsurfing: International network of free home stays
Hostels
- Hosteling International: HI's official website
- Hostel Bookers: Find hostels, B&Bs and budget hotels
- Hostels.com: Worldwide network of private hostels
- YMCA Europe: Inexpensive accommodation for YMCA members
Special Interest
Backpacking
- Backpack Europe: Resources and tips for backpackers
Active Travel
- Cicerone: Reliable guides for walkers, bikers, trekkers, and climbers
- TrailDino: Links to hiking trails around the world
Cooking Schools and Garden Tours
- Shaw Guides: Worldwide cooking school directory
- Gardenvisit.com: Worldwide garden tour directory
Family Travel
- Delicious Baby: Blogger Debbie Dubrow shares her travel experiences and best travel advice on how to make travel with kids fun
Living Abroad
- Transitions Abroad: Living, working and studying overseas
- Escape Artist: Articles and forums on ex-pat life
- Vocalist: Busking (being a street musician) in Europe
Religious Travel
- Papal Audience: Tickets to see the Pope at the Vatican
- Santiago de Compostela: The Spanish pilgrimage route
- Sacred Destinations: Catalog of religious destinations worldwide
Seniors
- AARP Destinations: Travel guide for seniors and slow walkers
- Smarter Travel: Seniors on the Go column
- Road Scholar: Non-profit organization providing educational travel for those 55 and older
Students
- International Student Travel Confederation: Student and youth ID cards and resources
- STA Travel: Student and youth travel
- Council on International Education Exchange: Work and study abroad programs for students and teachers
- Semester at Sea: Study abroad on a ship
- IIE Passport: Study-abroad programs
Socially Responsible Travel
- Global Volunteers: Volunteer work overseas; also try Volunteers for Peace and Civil Service International
Tour Guides
- Denmark: History Tours offers guided Walking Tours in Copenhagen
- Greece: Faye Georgiou ([email protected]) is the local guide for Rick Steves' tours in Athens
- Greece: Niki Vlachou, Rick Steves guide in Olympia, offers tours and transportation for cruise ship passengers from the port of Kataklolon
- Italy: Valeria Biasi, Rick Steves guide in Verona, operates aguideinverona.com
- Portugal: Cristina Quental, a local guide in Lisbon recommended in Rick Steves Portugal, operates lisbontourguides.com
- Spain: LeTango.com: Rick Steves guide Carlos Galvin leads private tours of his home city and area: Barcelona, Madrid, Segovia, and Toledo
- Turkey: SRM Travel: Rick Steves Turkey guides Lale Surmen & Tankut Aran lead tours of their home country
Travel Journaling
- Globejotter Tours: Rick Steves tour guide Dave Fox leads small-group tours in Asia and Africa with a creative writing theme