Travel Around Europe

Europe covers nearly 4,000,000 square miles, with land mass stretching from the Arctic to Africa, and from the Atlantic Ocean to Asia. With such a wide are to explore, it stands to reason that travel around Europe may take a long time.

Thankfully, there are a number of ways in which visitors can enjoy all that Europe has to offer, through different methods of travel in the continent. There are five different regions in Europe, each with a compact size and a very complex history.

These regions are loosely defined, since the border areas tend to be a melting pot between two regions. Likewise, civil wars have been waged in recent years, which have changed the boundaries of some regions. The regions are: Western, Northern, Central, Eastern, and Mediterranean Europe. There is also a European Union, which is compromised of 27 different European states, each of which has different political unions and varying economic stages.

There is not any form of boundary controls in place between many different European countries, so travel around Europe is quite easy in that regard. Some countries have not agreed to the treaty known as the Schengen Agreement, which allows this freedom of travel, so be sure to check the status of your chosen travel destination before departure.

Travel around Europe can be enjoyed by using the Inter Rail and the Eurail, automobile, plane, bus, or cruise ship. In addition, car pooling and hitchhiking is another commonly used way of travel in some portions of Europe, especially in the countries of the former Soviet Union.

It is not expected for hitchhikers in Europe to pay for their trip. Likewise, it is fairly easy to get ride with someone, whereas in the United States travelers are more wary of whether or not they should offer anyone a ride. In most cases it is legal to hitchhike in Europe.