Guide to visit France - Switzerland – Italy by an experienced backpacker

Visiting famous destinations in all three countries France, Switzerland, Italy is one of the golden roads of European tourism. Here is the experience of a backpacker visiting France, Switzerland and Italy in 2019, which is expected to help you to have the most convenient trip.

How to apply for Schengen visa?

To travel Europe, including: France, Switzerland and Italy, you need a Schengen visa, which allows you to visit 26 European countries. Many people find it be easier to apply for a visa to enter France, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain, as these four countries issue Schengen visas for backpacking travelers without an invitation or a guarantor.

Applying for a Schengen visa to France is good for first-time visitors to Europe, because flying to France has a non-stop flight, air tickets are relatively cheaper than other countries. Swiss tourist visas are often harder to obtain than France and Italy so we don't encourage you to apply here!

Once your passport has been granted a Schengen visa, you only need to do one entry procedure when you enter the first country and exit again in the last Schengen area. In the middle, you can freely go to and from the Schengen countries without reporting anything, but always carry your passport.
How to buy air travel tickets to Europe?
Currently, the flight to France is relatively cheap, you can choose your journey starting from Paris, France by flying straight about 11 hours - 14 hours depending on the type of aircraft. Normally, if you book and hunt cheap tickets, you will lose about 700 USD for round-trip tickets. You can also select airlines that have transit in a third country to check in one more place on your schedule.

How to prepare your luggage?

- In mid-October to mid-November, traveling to Europe is quite good, it starts to be cold but the scenery is very beautiful, because the leaves start to pour gold. It will be cold until early April. If everyone goes during this time, they should prepare winter clothes very carefully.

- Because of backpacking, you should wear a big backpack or an 8-way wheel suitcase to pull gently. Prepare comfortable sports shoes / leather boots for the most comfortable walking.

- Buy in advance from Vietnam sim CT 850,000 VND / 9GB capacity, spend in 30 days but must go to Paris to activate.

- Do not bring too much cash and be extremely careful when traveling in Paris. You should bring a stomach bag with the front of your stomach to hold your money and passport, and hide your stomach bag under your shirt or jacket. Leave only about 50euro outside to hook out spending day.

Book hotel room

When applying for a visa you must already have a KS booking and a specific travel plan, but when you go for real, the plan may change slightly. Therefore, it is advisable to book a hotel first in the first city you enter to prevent travel between cities not as expected. Hotels can be booked at Airbnb, Booking or Agoda if you plan ahead or book just before your travel dates.

Travel experience France Switzerland Italy self-sufficiency 2019

The secret to saving:

Couchsurfing or Airbnb is the best way to minimize costs, especially with Paris, one of the most expensive cities in Europe. Couchsurfing is a 100% stay, and Airbnb is a paid stay (if anyone new to AirBnb can come here to open an account, they will give $ 25 to the account to book a room). If you are not interested in  Couchsurfing, you can easily find a hostel through Booking.com and Agoda, but you should choose hostels / hotels located in the contiguous area between the center and suburbs of Paris, these are the rooms where the price is not too expensive but going back into the city is quite convenient.

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