Whether you need a Visa to travel to Europe or not will be determined by what country you are from and which European country you are traveling to. Most European countries—with the exclusion of five including Bulgaria, Cyprus, Ireland, the United Kingdom, and Romania—have opened their borders to the nationals of 34 countries. This means there are no Visa requirements for nationals from these countries if they plan to stay for 3 months or less. The United States is included in the 34, which allows U.S. citizens to travel and roam the inclusive countries of Europe freely without a Visa.
The Schengen Agreement and the Amsterdam Treaty in 1999 are responsible for this open border hospitality. So if you are visiting Europe and plan to visit multiple countries like Italy, Spain or France go for it, you’ll just need a passport and a few other documents that border personnel might ask for such as: a travel itinerary, return or round-trip airline ticket or boat ticket, a letter of invitation and hotel or motel accommodation confirmation. The reason for all the extra documentation is so that they can determine that you do plan to move on out of their country within your allotted 3 months.
If you aren’t from the United States then check on Europa.eu for the list of 34 invited countries to see if you can get into the EU without a Visa too. It provides such a luxury to be able to cross multiple borders without having to wave your Visa around, it makes Europe seem so much friendlier.
To those hailing from the United States, before you head out for your European vacation it is advisable to definitely get some travel insurance. Cheap travel insurance is easy to find and a travel insurance policy like travel medical insurance can give you the peace of mind to enjoy your trip knowing you are covered in case of an accident that sends you to the hospital or worse yet, has you being medically evacuated back home for care. Just imagine the nightmare of debt you would have to pay just to get out of the country if you weren’t covered with a good travel medical insurance policy. Another way to get covered when you first plan your trip and pay all the upfront monies on your flight and hotel is to protect yourself with a travel cancellation policy, just in case something unforeseen comes up and you have to back out of your trip—this coverage would save you thousands of dollars you might have lost.
