Welcome back to Team Tala Travels! Today, we’re sharing one of the most exciting trips we’ve ever taken: our 30-day Europe adventure!

For the first time ever, we traveled for 30 straight days across six different countries. Just thinking about it was mind-blowing. We knew it was going to be ambitious, but we were excited, nervous, and ready for a month of exploring!

Europe had always been one of our ultimate dream destinations, and we were thrilled to finally turn that dream into reality. We dreamed about it, planned for it, prepared for it—and then, finally, we were on our way to Europe!

Now, don’t think this was a luxury trip. Not at all! We wanted to experience as much of Europe as we could while still enjoying a slower-paced vacation. That meant lots of walking, spending time outdoors, exploring parks and landmarks, and, of course, tasting authentic European food!

And this is the story of how our 30-day European adventure unfolded.

Why We Decided to Spend 30 Days in Europe

We decided to finally go to Europe this year for a couple of reasons. First, Emman and I are celebrating 25 long and sweet years of togetherness, counting from the year we became college sweethearts back in 2001. Twenty-five years of choosing each other through ups and downs is worth celebrating! And how else to celebrate it than by traveling to some of the most romantic cities in the world: Paris and Venice?

Since we would already be visiting Italy and France, we decided to explore other countries as well, maximize our Schengen visa, and stay in Europe for 30 days!

Another reason we chose to go to Europe this year is that we felt Tala was finally big enough to enjoy traveling for four weeks straight. She was old enough to endure long walks and was adventurous enough to see the famous landmarks she had only been painting about for years.

You might be wondering why we chose these six countries out of all the European countries we could visit. Originally, we wanted to visit 11 different countries by train. But after talking to a European friend and colleague, we decided to trim the list down to six and include plane rides alongside our train travels.

This trip is very special to us because when we first dreamed of Europe, it was just the two of us imagining ourselves stepping into Vatican City. Now, we are blessed to experience it with Tala, too. We’re not just collecting passport stamps—we’re collecting memories as a family.

Planning Our 30-Day Europe Adventure

Planning a Europe trip with kids can feel overwhelming, especially when you’re trying to see as much as possible without making the trip exhausting. For this specific trip, we decided to go to Italy, Vatican City, Spain, Portugal, France, and a day trip to Belgium.

For us, the most important part of our planning was making sure even Tala will enjoy the trip too! We watched YouTube videos about kid-friendly attractions and chose activities we could all look forward to. We asked her if she wanted to go to Disneyland Paris and Versailles, and she said “no”, but she said “yes” when we showed her the videos of the Latin Quarter and Jardin du Luxembourg.

You might be wondering how we decided to spend X number of days in each city. Well, we planned our nights based on the landmarks in each city that we wanted to see. Italy, for example, got 10 nights because we wanted to explore Rome, Vatican City, Florence, and Venice without rushing.

For getting around, we planned to use trains between cities whenever possible. For instance, we booked Italo train rides in between cities in Italy, and to get to Madrid from Barcelona, we planned to ride the Ouigo train. How about from one country to another? That’s the time that we would fly!

We knew from our research that many travel destinations around Europe get sold out easily. So, once our route was set, we booked popular attractions in advance through Klook, including the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel, Sintra Palaces in Portugal, Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, and the Louvre Museum in Paris.

The last thing that we booked are the accommodations. We stayed in B&B apartments because these give more value to money (cheaper and bigger) as compared to hotel rooms. Also, these options are closer to transport stations, mostly within walking distance to the nearest metro or bus station! 

And as the days became closer to our trip, we started buying practical essentials – from comfortable shoes, to packing cubes, to universal charging adapters, and of course, medium-sized luggages! 

With everything planned, we were ready to enjoy Europe as a family!

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Our 30-Day Europe Route

Now, let’s get to the most exciting part of this blog — the route! We started in Italy, visiting the spectacular cities of Rome, Naples, Florence, and Venice, plus a morning in Vatican City. 

Then we flew to Spain, starting off in Barcelona then moving to Madrid. 

Next stop is Portugal, where we stayed most of the time in Lisbon, and had a day trip to visit Sintra and Cascais. 

Finally, we flew to France, where we stayed in Paris for most parts, except for a day trip to Belgium that we did just by boarding a 1.5-hour speed train from Paris!

🇮🇹 Italy — 10 Nights
Our European adventure begins in Italy, with five nights in Rome. We explored the historic city, enjoyed authentic Italian food, and visited the incredible Vatican City, which also counted as a separate country on our journey. From Rome, we took a day trip to Naples, and also took an Italo train ride to Florence for three nights. From there, we took another Italo train to Venice for two magical nights. 

🇪🇸 Spain — 6 Nights
Next came Spain! We spent four nights in Barcelona and enjoyed its beautiful architecture, lively streets, and historic churches. Then, we took a train to Madrid where we stayed for 3 nights, where we explored the capital, soaked up Spanish culture, and ate a lot of Spanish food! 

🇵🇹 Portugal — 5 Nights
Portugal was next, with five nights filled with Lisbon’s uphill slopes, Sintra’s majestic palaces, and Cascais’s beautiful beaches. Here, we slowed down, admired the city from viewpoints, and discovered more of Lisbon’s landmarks from a river cruise.

🇫🇷 France — 7 Nights
France was our longest stop, with Paris as our home base. We stayed for seven nights because we wanted to explore the city, enjoy French food, and visit famous landmarks as a family along the way. 

🇧🇪 Belgium — Day Trip
To finish our country count, we took a day trip from Paris to Belgium – and added one more country without another overnight stay! 

30 days. 6 countries. So many memories made. ❤️✈️

Traveling Europe With Tala

Traveling around Europe with Tala, was an adventure—and we quickly learned that the key to happy travels was making her part of the journey.

We always made sure Tala knew what was happening and what was coming next. She knew how long the train ride would be, what our itinerary looked like, and even how much walking we had ahead of us. “We’ll walk for 15 minutes, okay?” somehow made a long walk feel much more manageable!

And when those little legs needed a break, we made time for gelato or a refreshing drink whenever our schedule allowed. A small treat in between walks could make a big difference. 🍦

We also had a family rule: trains and planes are for eating and sleeping! Most of our train rides lasted 1.5–3 hours, so we’d grab food at the station, eat on the train, and catch up on some sleep afterward. The same strategy worked beautifully on flights.

Public transportation became part of the adventure too. We figured out train systems, reloaded transport cards, and hopped on trams, buses, subways, and trains together. It wasn’t just transportation—it was an experience.

For cafe stops, Tala always carried a notebook, pen, and two little McDonald’s squishies in her sling bag. These kept her happily occupied while we enjoyed our European coffee breaks. 

We also made sure there was time to play. Google Maps helped us find playgrounds and parks, from Jardin du Luxembourg in Paris to Plaça Sagrada Família and Plaça Gaudí in Barcelona.

Most importantly, we included Tala in the history, culture, food, and planning. We talked about the Colosseum, Gaudí and the Sagrada Família, and even why the Mona Lisa became so famous. We tried authentic dishes together—from Italian pizza and pasta to Spanish tapas, Portuguese pastéis de nata, Belgian mussels and frites, and French beef bourguignon. 

And before every trip, we planned together. We watched videos, looked for kid-friendly activities, and let Tala help choose what made it onto our itinerary.

Because for us, traveling with a child isn’t about seeing everything. It’s about making sure everyone gets to enjoy the journey. 

The Moments That Didn’t Make the Itinerary

Of course, our trip was not perfect, just like other trips we had. We had a lot of funny stories to share, just like when my sandals broke in Naples, or how we were almost blown by the strong winds of the Atlantic Ocean in Cascais!

We also had a share of travel mishaps, when, after settling in our seats on the Italo train, a family approached us and told us we were on their seats. Apparently, we were on the wrong train car! That was embarrassing! 

But what we love the most are our tiny discoveries! Right in the middle of Jardin du Luxembourg in Paris was this spectacular outdoor playground that Tala played at for three hours straight. 

We were supposed to go see the Eiffel Tower light show afterwards, but because Tala was exhausted from play, we had to reschedule it to another day. We didn’t mind it at all, because we were just happy that Tala was happy with her new discovery and her new friend that she made along the way!

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What’s Coming in the Series

This blog will be a series of blogs that will feature different travel destinations and cities that we visited during our 30-day Europe trip. For each blog, we will feature our adventures and itineraries in a particular city. The outline of blogs coming out from this series are as follow:

1. 🇮🇹 Rome 
2. 🇮🇹 Vatican City  
3. 🇮🇹 Naples Day Trip
4. 🇮🇹 Florence 
5. 🇮🇹 Tuscany – Siena, San Gimignano, and Pisa Day Trip
6. 🇮🇹 Venice 
7. 🇪🇸 Barcelona 
8. 🇪🇸 Madrid 
9. 🇵🇹 Lisbon
10. 🇵🇹Sintra and Cascais Day Trip
11. 🇫🇷 France 
12. 🇧🇪 Belgium Day Trip

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What Made This Trip Special

This trip is definitely special because a Europe trip has always been on top of our bucket list ever since we got married. There was no Tala yet, and our trip this year was made even more special because we got to travel not only as a couple, but as a family of three! 

It is amazing to experience firsthand the different landmarks that we once only saw in pictures or in history books. Never have we imagined entering the Colosseum just like the ancient gladiators, or stepping inside La Sagrada Familia that took almost a century to be built. 

At the end of our trip, we realized that indeed, the landmarks were incredible, the food was memorable, and the cities were uniquely beautiful. 

But, the real story of this Europe trip that we would remember is the beauty of experiencing it all together as a family. We navigated each country’s transport systems together, climbed Lisbon’s sloppy hills together until our legs almost gave up, watched sunsets and viewed incredible art works together, and of course, devoured delectable European dishes together. Being on this trip together as a family is what really makes this trip special. 

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Next Stop: Rome 🇮🇹

This marks the end of this blog! Stay tuned because our next blog will feature our first stop in Europe: Rome! We will share with you our experiences in the Colosseum, how we enjoyed our very first taste of authentic pizza, pasta, and gelato in Italy, and how we loved walking and enjoying their piazzas! 

Follow Team Tala Travels as we take you through all 30 days, one destination at a time.

What’s Next?

Traveling around Europe is such a wonderful experience! Just remember to plan ahead, book tours in advance, and involve your kids in planning places  that all of you want to visit! Think win-win, right?

That’s it for our first article in this 30-day adventure in Europe! If you find this article fun and informative, please do not forget to subscribe to our website!

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