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What are Some Fun Places Outside of Schengen Europe

Good Travel Strategy for Europe to Not Overstay Visa, What are some fun places to visit outside of the Schengen zone? — Hello John, I highly commend you on your proposed travel strategy for Europe — it is very  good and well thought out. It is true, your tourist visa to the Schengen zone is [...]

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Good Travel Strategy for Europe to Not Overstay Visa, What are some fun places to visit outside of the Schengen zone? —

Hello John,

I highly commend you on your proposed travel strategy for Europe — it is very  good and well thought out. It is true, your tourist visa to the Schengen zone is good for 90 out of 180 days, so you can bounce in and out of the region and not overstay your visa.

My biggest recommendation is to keep a log with you of the dates you enter and exit the Schengen zone, where the entrance and exit points were, and a count of how many days you stayed in and out each time from Schengen to non-Schengen countries. You may also want to correlate this long to indicate what pages of your passport the various stamps are on.

In point, it is my impression that many immigration officials all over the world are often a little cloudy about the visa laws of their own countries. These people can not be taken as defacto authorities on the rules they are suppose to uphold. So if you plan on jumping in and out of the Schengen zone repeatedly throughout your six month stay, keep a log and a print out of the official Schengen rules with you to show if you are given any problems.

I can pretty much state with 90% assurance that you will not need to use this backup plan, but it would still be good to have it just so you are not digging through your passport finding stamps and counting days in front of a cross eyed immigration inspector.

About your actual question:

What are some fun places to visit outside of the Schengen zone?

As you are planning on being in Barcelona, Morocco is a good place to spend at least two months. It is true, it is a Muslim country, but there are many places to “go out” and have a good time. Chefchaouen is a cool place to hang out, as is Essaouira. As far as going out at night, the larger cities are accommodating.

In the east of Europe, where drinking is more of a part of the culture than Morocco, nightlife is a little easier to come by. Belgrade is an awesome city, Sarajevo is interesting, and Croatia is a great country for drinking and having fun. Parts of Istanbul are also full of bars and nightlife fun after dark. I am sure the same can be said for the more northeastern European countries, Romania, and Russia as well.

Man, there is an entire world of fun out there besides Schengen Europe, I am real glad you asked this question! I can keep going with giving these suggestions about good places to travel near Western Europe, but I think you have the ideal.

I wish you a good trip, and please let us know where you ended up going and what you did there. If you find any real good and cheap places, bars, etc . . . it would be great if you could upload them to Wiki Vagabond.

Thanks!

Walk Slow,

Wade

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Original question about traveling in Europe without overstaying visa —

Wade,

Thanks for making such a great website. I check it out almost daily. I am planning to do a six month backpacking trip in Europe starting in late April. I will start in Barcelona and hopefully pick up a cash-in-hand job to fund some travels elsewhere during my stay.

That said, I do not want to overstay my Schengen visa so my tentative plan is to bounce in and out of the Schengen a few weeks at a time. My question is: what are some fun places to visit outside of the Schengen zone? I’m looking for places that are fairly cheap to travel to and that can provide a good party from time to time( I like to go out).

Do you have a Schengen visa question?

If so, then take a look at our Schengen visa community forum. It’s a community just for people who have questions or concerns related to Europe’s Schengen immigration zone.
Filed under: Europe, Schengen Visas, Travel Help, Visas

About the Author:

I am the founder and editor of Vagabond Journey. I’ve been traveling the world since 1999, through 91 countries. I am the author of the book, Ghost Cities of China and have written for The Guardian, Forbes, Bloomberg, The Diplomat, the South China Morning Post, and other publications. has written 3699 posts on Vagabond Journey. Contact the author.

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  • Wade April 26, 2010, 10:02 pm

    Update: The time you spend in Romania and Bulgaria will soon count towards your Schengen total.

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    • John August 2, 2010, 2:14 am

      The trip is going great so far! I have traveled to Barcelona, Madrid, San Sebastian, Pamplona, Naples, Rome, Pisa, Nice, Provence, Athens, Agistri(Greek Isle), and I am currently in Istanbul. I leave for Bucharest today! When will visiting Romania and Bulgaria be counted against my Schengen total?

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  • Dave July 22, 2011, 2:45 am

    So, it sounds like although UK/Ireland are technically not Schengen the time spent there does still count to the 90 days (conversely it does NOT count towards 90 days out of Schengen)?
    Cheers,

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    • Wade Shepard July 24, 2011, 5:11 pm

      No, time spent in the UK and Ireland DO NOT count towards your Schengen total.

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  • Cucu May 21, 2012, 7:04 pm

    Romania and Bulgaria are not in the Schengen zone today May 2012. There are small chances they will enter the Schengen zone from 2013.

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  • Melissa P July 5, 2017, 10:58 am

    Hello thank you for this article. It helped a lot. I have a question about the Schengen Visa. When it says 90 days in Schengen Europe, what counts as a day? For instance, if you left Paris on Monday afternoon to London and came back from London on Wednesday night, would all Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday be considered to have been spent outside of Schengen Europe? Or is only Tuesday considered spent outside of Schengen Europe? I have a tight schedule, and it would really help if anybody can help answer this question. Thank you!

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