FareDice / Before you book

FareDice · faredice.com

Before you book a trip in Europe: a checklist

One-way flights on separate tickets are often the cheapest way through several countries in Europe, and they come with catches a single booking doesn't have. Go through these before you pay, and print the list or pass it on.

It fits on one page.

  1. Book every flight in one sitting, first flight first.

    The prices on FareDice are prices seen, not held: fares change and cheap seats sell out. Open each flight's Book link and buy them one after another, without waiting between them.

  2. Leave room for a late flight.

    Each flight is its own ticket, so if one is late the next airline won't wait or rebook you for free. Two nights or more at a stop turn a delay of a few hours into lost time there, not a lost flight. On a same-day change of planes, our trip pages land the short flight at least 3 hours before a long one, and leave 4 hours or more after a long flight lands.

    Look for travel insurance that covers missed connections on separate tickets.

  3. Price a cabin bag on every flight.

    50% of the flights here are on airlines whose cheapest fare leaves the cabin bag out; adding one usually costs €24 to €35 a flight. On another 29%, it depends on the fare or the route: check with the airline.

    Tick “With a cabin bag” in a search and its totals include one, counting €35 where we don't know the price. Every airline's cabin bag rule

  4. Check how far the airport is from town.

    7% of the flights in Europe land at an airport well out of the town it's named for, and every trip here flags one. Check the bus or train in, its price, and the last one if you land late.

    The busiest: Stansted for London (50 km), Orio al Serio for Milan (46 km), Beauvais-Tille for Paris (69 km) and Charleroi Brussels South for Brussels (55 km by road).

  5. Check the entry rules for your passport.

    29 countries share the Schengen area's limit: unless you're a citizen of the EU, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein or Switzerland, your days there count against 90 in any 180, earlier visits included, with a visa or without one.

    Since 10 Apr 2026, the border takes the fingerprints and photo of travellers from outside those countries on the way in: allow extra time (European Commission, checked 11 Oct 2026).

    Count your Schengen days · What your passport needs, country by country

  6. Read the travel advisories.

    Neither Canada nor the US advises against travel to a whole country in Europe, though some advisories name areas to keep away from: read your own government's advice before you book.

    From the Government of Canada and the US State Department, as of 26 Oct 2026.

  7. Check the season at each stop.

    Typical highs of 35°C or more by day: Antalya in Jul–Aug, Yerevan in Jul, Catania (Sicily) in Jul–Aug and Sevilla in Jul–Aug.

    Every trip page names the seasons and the heat at its stops for the days you're there.

This checklist: faredice.com/before-you-book

Planning one now? Find a trip in Europe · How FareDice works