Tim Leffel’s Cheapest Destinations

Travel Easier in Europe Today On

The Schengen Zone expanded at midnight, meaning it is now even easier to move around Europe with just a passport. This takes in a lot of inexpensive (relatively) destinations, including Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland.

The others joining anew were Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, and Slovenia.

Not that it was any big deal moving between these countries before. I recently took a train from Budapest to the Moravia region of the Czech Republic and the biggest hassle was the rude Austrian conductor who slammed a door in my face and wouldn’t let me board, not the guys who came through to put a little stamp in my passport.

Here’s a cool point made yesterday from Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico: “From midnight tonight you can travel 4,000km (2,485 miles) from Tallinn in Estonia to Lisbon in Portugal without any border controls.” Sweet!

So far this only applies to land and sea entry though. Through March you’ll still need to go through the immigration motions at airports if you’re taking a hop on RyanAir or the like.