Schengen Visa questions (for touring Europe)

[soulthird]

uhm magkano ba dapat budget ? say a 2 week tour in 3 countires... any rough estimates?

[heymikey]

Originally posted by soulthird
uhm magkano ba dapat budget ? say a 2 week tour in 3 countires... any rough estimates?

Are you going independently or in a tour group? And which countries are you visiting? Eastern Europe (such as Poland, Romania, Hungary, etc.) is ridiculously cheap compared to Western Europe. Even in Western Europe, cost of living varies from south to north. Countries in the south such as Portugal, Spain, Greece, and to some extent, Southern Italy are relatively cheap. Countries in the north such as Finland, Norway, and Sweden are quite expensive. Germany, France, Switzerland, UK tend to vary from moderate to slightly expensive, but not as expensive as the north.

Plus, you have to ask yourself: do you prefer to stay in hotels or hostels? If you'll be staying in hotels, do you want to have your bathroom inside your room or down the hall? You can save like 20-30 EUR a night per person if you choose the latter. A lot of backpackers have backpacked through Europe comfortably with $50 USD a day (excluding airfare and railpass) or even lower. This is probably within the low budget. If backpacking is not your style, try budgeting around $80-100 USD per person per day.

I hope that helps.

[Kirsten_v]

i got my schengen visa from the German embassy last 2002...it was a lot easier to get the visa kasi business trip sya...my company took care of everything - i just showed up there for the interview...i heard that it's not that easy to get a tourist visa in the German embassy - i'm not that sure though...

i agree, marami kaming nakasabay na mga couples (germans na may asawang pinay) during the interview! whew, tagal ng pila!

yup, i think mas mahirap kumuha ng US visa kaysa sa schengen visa. (although nakatulong nang husto yung iba ko pang visas when i applied for the US visa last year)...

[istarbaks]

Originally posted by crescent
I got my schengen visa from the italian embassy. This was way back in 2000. big mistake. sobrang hassle yung naging experience namin kasi madaming tao at naging matagal yung processing. tapos twice pa kami pumunta. i heard mabilis lang sa french embassy.

italian embassy didn't even bother to reply to my inquiry via email. yung sa netherlands naman, andaming paper requirements like, kailangan yung hotel reservation confirmation is sent through fax. pero yung french embassy, modest lang yung requirements nila.

btw, when you already have the schengen visa, kokonti na lang ang requirements to get a visa from the swiss embassy.

[K.I.L.L.]

the schengen visa costs P2,400++ i forgot the exact amount...

it is harder to get the schengen visa at the french embassy... and much easier at the spanish embassy...

[soulthird]

hmmm thanks heymikey. I prefer Western Europe. Although I;ve got a lot of saving up to do. Hehehe. But thanks for the tips... I'll keep it in mind.

[Kirsten_v]

my friend joined a group tour last december and they went to Switzerland, France and Rome (my target this year!!!)...i think he availed of a promo that time...he said only spent about Euros800 (kasama na dun yung fare, accommodation and breakfast and the tour lasted for about 9 days)...i think it's really cheap!...kailangan lang talagang malaman yung mga promos that travel agencies offer...sometimes it's cheaper din if you get to join a group tour during off-peak season...

[Kirsten_v]

my friend joined a group tour last december and they went to Switzerland, France and Rome (my target this year!!!)...i think he availed of a promo that time...he said only spent about Euros800 (kasama na dun yung fare, accommodation and breakfast and the tour lasted for about 9 days)...i think it's really cheap!...kailangan lang talagang malaman yung mga promos that travel agencies offer...sometimes it's cheaper din if you get to join a group tour during off-peak season...

[heymikey]

Originally posted by Kirsten_v
my friend joined a group tour last december and they went to Switzerland, France and Rome (my target this year!!!)...i think he availed of a promo that time...he said only spent about Euros800 (kasama na dun yung fare, accommodation and breakfast and the tour lasted for about 9 days)...i think it's really cheap!...kailangan lang talagang malaman yung mga promos that travel agencies offer...sometimes it's cheaper din if you get to join a group tour during off-peak season...

That's really cheap pero sigurado ka ba na kasama ang round-trip airfare sa price? Well, a round-trip airfare from Manila to Europe, regardless on what season it is, would cost more than 800 EUR. If it's included, then that is a really good deal! The price of the tour itself is lower than the airfare.

[Kirsten_v]

^ yup im sure, but he came from HK and back pala (not manila)...it's still very cheap, aight?!

[mommycow]

Hi there I know may previous thread about this but I cant find it. anyway I'm attending a festival in Germany this November. I went to the German embassy website and read most of their visa requirements. Sino na sa inyo ang naka-apply ng Schengen Visa? madali ba ang processing? should I work on it ngayon pa lang?

Pano kung aattend ka lang naman ng workshop? ano chance na payagan ako? hmm...

after Germany I plan to take the train to Paris, the way I understand it open ang visa to all Union or Schengen member countries pero kailangan ipaalam ko pa ba sa French embassy dito na balak ko pumunta ng Paris for a few days?

any tips? and how much money ba should I have in the bank?

Thanks

[phantom]

Originally posted by mommycow

Pano kung aattend ka lang naman ng workshop? ano chance na payagan ako? hmm...

after Germany I plan to take the train to Paris, the way I understand it open ang visa to all Union or Schengen member countries pero kailangan ipaalam ko pa ba sa French embassy dito na balak ko pumunta ng Paris for a few days?

any tips? and how much money ba should I have in the bank?

Thanks [/B]

Attending a workshop or just being a tourist-- no problem. If you take the workshop reason, you'll need to show them evidence of invitation and acceptance. Most of all, you'll need to prove that you have no financial constraints AND that you have no intention to stay illegally (TNT). In this regard, they'll ask you about your job and might even ask a letter from your employer to prove that you're indeed coming back. Really, pretty much the same requirements when you you go to North America.

If you get a Schengen visa, you don't need to ask permission from all the member states. One representing country is enough.

Good luck!

[istarbaks]

...

[vandolph]

Originally posted by K.I.L.L.
the schengen visa costs P2,400++ i forgot the exact amount...

it is harder to get the schengen visa at the french embassy... and much easier at the spanish embassy...

Baligtad naman sa akin. May konek na nga ako sa Spanish Embassy pero mas mabilis pa din makakuha ng visa sa French Embassy. Maybe it's because Paris ang destination ko.

[makeit_good]

may nakakuha na ba dito ng short stay schengen visa for norway? please spill some vital info. thanks!

[lyra]

I had my Schengen Visa interview at the French embassy recently... Make sure that wherever you are planning to get your visa, for example, French Embassy, make sure that it's your first point of entry in all Schengen countries, as reflected in your itinerary. And make sure that you'll be staying in their country the longest.

I heard of a group who's joining a tour, but they're staying longer Italy, around 8 days as compared to France which is around 6 days. They were asked by the consul to apply at the Italian Embassy instead.

[Triglyceride]

Isn't Italy a Shengen country? Because I've been told by someone that it isn't....

[heymikey]

Originally posted by Triglyceride
Isn't Italy a Shengen country? Because I've been told by someone that it isn't....

Yes, it is.

[Triglyceride]

that's what I thought....but I have this girl who's a flight attendant said that it's not part of it and that her friends who got a shengen visa has to apply for a separate Italian visa...

[istarbaks]

i didn't need a separate italian visa when i went there...