Extended travel in Europe (best, rentals, hotels, Paris)

[martinez4]

My hubby and I, US citizens, are planning that after our two high schoolers graduate we would like to have an extended vacation in Europe of about 6 months to a year.

Do we need a visa or simply a passport??

Can we rent a small apt or home??

I realize that we will not be working...just simply traveling...will that be a problem in renting something??

If we decide to stay longer...what is the maximum??

What are some centralized areas that would be best to stay around?

Thanks in advance for your replies

[BlueWillowPlate]

I am sure that you will get some good answers here.
But for a complicated question like yours, you might want to check out European travel websites such as Slow Travel or Eurotrip.
Slow Travel can be a little bit elitist. The people who use it, I think, have a bit of money.
Eurotrip can be a bit irreverent (it's a backpacker's site, but it's not just young backpackers who use it.)
Both sites offer a lot of good, practical information--Eurotrip is great for finding good airfare to Europe. Slow Travel is great for home rentals.

How long you can stay depends on the country. I think in France it is 3 months.
Renting a home, then traveling around, would be ideal.
You should probably start working on your passports right now.

[martinez4]

Originally Posted by cil

You should probably start working on your passports right now.

LOL....we still have a few years

[BlueWillowPlate]

Originally Posted by martinez4

LOL....we still have a few years

lol...It might take that long
link
Lawmakers have been besieged with pleas for help from constituents who can't get their passports even though they applied up to four months ago.

The surge in applications has doubled target turnaround times for passport applications from six to 12 weeks, and 500,000 applications have already taken longer.

Those numbers pale in comparison to what lies ahead.

[lastra]

You don't need a visa to travel to Europe, being that you two are US citizens. Just make sure you have a valid passport. The maximum length of the stay depends on which countries you go to.

[GreenMachine]

Originally Posted by martinez4

My hubby and I, US citizens, are planning that after our two high schoolers graduate we would like to have an extended vacation in Europe of about 6 months to a year.

Do we need a visa or simply a passport??

Can we rent a small apt or home??

I realize that we will not be working...just simply traveling...will that be a problem in renting something??

If we decide to stay longer...what is the maximum??

What are some centralized areas that would be best to stay around?

Thanks in advance for your replies

You will need to research the countries you visit to see if they require a visa or not...

Greenie

[lastra]

Didn't add that I am from Europe ( moved here 3 years ago ), and I am pretty sure that you don't need a Visa if you want to travel to ANY Western European Country like France, Italy etc. if you have a US passport.

[BlueWillowPlate]

Originally Posted by lastra

Didn't add that I am from Europe ( moved here 3 years ago ), and I am pretty sure that you don't need a Visa if you want to travel to ANY Western European Country like France, Italy etc. if you have a US passport.

Yes.
It's just that each country has different requirements for the length of stay.
I am pretty sure that it is 3 months for France and Italy, 6 months for England.
OTOH, I don't think they go around checking tourists' rental receipts or whatever.
And some countries like to see a return ticket.
I know you need a visa for Turkey, but I think you get it there. We did not need anything special for Croatia, but I seem to remember reading about visas for a couple other eastern European countries.
And if you want to get a job, that is a whole different scenario, even with Western Europe.
Presumably, this is not the case with Martinez.

[martinez4]

Originally Posted by cil

Yes.
It's just that each country has different requirements for the length of stay.
I am pretty sure that it is 3 months for France and Italy, 6 months for England.
OTOH, I don't think they go around checking tourists' rental receipts or whatever.
And some countries like to see a return ticket.
I know you need a visa for Turkey, but I think you get it there. We did not need anything special for Croatia, but I seem to remember reading about visas for a couple other eastern European countries.
And if you want to get a job, that is a whole different scenario, even with Western Europe.
Presumably, this is not the case with Martinez.

Thanks for the input. I am mostly concerned with us being able to rent a small apt/flat in order to have a home base. We really don't want to be in hotels for 6 months!!!! I am assuming that we can come and go through out most other countries with the passport and from what I have read here that as long as we do not stay past the max time allowed at one time we should be ok....am I reading that correctly??

Thanks again for any input at all

[BlueWillowPlate]

Yes--and renting an apartment/villa/gite is definitely the best option for you. It's good to figure out a few practicalities now even though you have a few years down the road. As you do your research, you will be able to rule out what does or does not appeal, and what is or is not feasible.