How to Travel Europe Without a Visa

Have you always wondered how people were spending so much time abroad with no visa ?

Because I did, but in 2019 I figured out how to stay in Europe for longer !

For US citizens, the limit in the Schengen Area is 90 days without a visa, but what if you want to stay longer than the 90 days ?

First of all, what is the Schengen Area ?

Schengen Area

The Schengen Area consists of 27 countries that have eliminated boarder controls. Four of these 27 countries are not members of the European Union.

I usually fly IcelandAir between the United States and France and these flights always stop in Iceland. I always go through passport control in Iceland, but not in France. This is because both Iceland and France are members of the Schengen Area. Although Iceland is not a member of the European Union, it is a Schengen Area member.

Essentially, going between member countries of the Schengen Area is like driving between states in the US. You go through passport control when you enter the US from another country but not going between states. Same for when you enter the Schengen Area, the passport control is when you enter and then you can move from country to country.

How to Travel Without a Visa

I turned 30 in 2019 and I wanted to be in Europe when I did. I am an archaeologist and was working on a project in Austria.

The problem was, I arrived in Europe at the end of May and my birthday is at the end of September. I tried to apply for a Visa but was unsuccessful.

That’s when I learned about the Schengen Area !

Any US citizen can stay in the Schengen Area for 90 days without a visa. Staying until my birthday still put me over the 90 day limit. That’s when I looked at member countries and non-member countries. At the time, Croatia was not a member (it is now). At the time, I had only been to Croatia once, but I loved it.

I decided my way to stay in Europe was to spend some time in Croatia.

Because I learned about the Schengen Area, I could spend my 30th birthday in Paris with my (now) husband. I traveled to four countries during the time : Austria, Spain, Croatia, and France.

If you want to spend more time, it is required that once your 90 days are finished in the Schengen Area, you have to leave the Schengen Area for 90 days.

Schengen Area Members

• Austria
• Belgium
• Croatia
• Czech Republic
• Denmark
• Estonia
• Finland
• France
• Germany
• Greece
• Hungary
• Iceland
• Italy
• Latvia
• Liechtenstein
• Lithuania
• Luxembourg
• Malta
• Netherlands
• Norway
• Poland
• Portugal
• Slovakia
• Slovenia
• Spain
• Sweden
• Switzerland