The Schengen visa is one of the most coveted visas in the world. The main reason for this is that it is one visa that gives you entry into 27 European countries. However, getting this visa can be a long process. There are forms to fill in, documents to submit, and interviews to attend. While the process may feel cumbersome, it is a necessity if you want to explore the European countries that come under the Schengen zone. Hence, you need to follow every step and submit every document to ensure that you get your visa on time. One document necessary to get a Schengen visa, which you might find a bit confusing, is the Schengen visa travel itinerary. What does this document mean, what is its importance, is it mandatory, and what should be included in it? These are a few of the questions you may have. Here is a complete guide on the Schengen visa travel itinerary.

What is the Schengen Visa Travel Itinerary?

A Schengen visa travel itinerary is a document that contains all the details of your travel plans in the Schengen area. This includes the travel dates, the countries you plan to visit, your flight booking or reservations, and your hotel booking or reservations or other accommodation details. You will also have to mention the places or tourist spots you plan to visit and the transportation you choose from one place to another.

Importance of Schengen Visa Travel Itinerary

The Schengen visa travel itinerary is not a mandatory document for all Schengen countries. But it is best to submit one, as it increases your chances of getting a Schengen visa without much delay. The visa travel itinerary serves as proof of your reason for visiting Schengen countries. For instance, if you are visiting one or more Schengen countries, your visa itinerary must include all the flights you are taking, the hotels you will stay at, and the spots you will visit. This will assure the visa officer of your intention to visit and that you will return to your home country before your visa expires. Hence, you must submit a travel visa itinerary for all types of Schengen visas.

What should be Included in Schengen Visa Travel Itinerary?

This travel visa itinerary is also called the Schengen visa day-to-day travel itinerary, which explains the purpose of this document more clearly. Here, you need to provide a detailed report of the countries you are planning to visit, along with the dates, flight details, and living arrangements. You must also provide the tour details for each city you are visiting. Here are the important elements you must include in your Schengen visa travel itinerary.

Flight Itinerary:

Your visa travel itinerary should have your flight details. But this does not mean that you need to book your flight tickets before you get your Schengen visa. Rather, most airlines give their passengers the option of reserving the tickets. Reserving your flight tickets means that you get a flight ticket without paying the full amount. Some airlines allow flight reservations for a small percentage of the ticket amount, and some allow them for free. In either case, you will get a flight ticket in your name, complete with a PNR number.

You can hold this ticket for a few days to a week, as per the policy of the airline. Such flight tickets are also called dummy tickets but are not fake. You can cancel these tickets without losing any money if your Schengen visa application is not approved. Alternatively, these tickets can be converted into confirmed flight tickets if your visa is approved. Your flight itinerary should mention all your tickets, including your return tickets and the internal flights you may be taking with the Schengen zone. You may have to present your original flight tickets on the day you collect your Schengen visa.

Hotel Reservations:

Just like flight reservations, you can also make hotel reservations. Most hotels do not charge their potential customers any money to block or reserve a room for a few days. This way, you can add your hotel details to your visa itinerary. This also minimizes your risk of losing money if your travel plans get canceled due to Schengen visa rejection. Because if you book a hotel room and cancel it later, there is a high chance that none of your money will be refunded. By reserving a hotel room, you need to pay for it only if you use it. Along with the name of the hotel, you also need to mention the address and the phone number of the hotel you plan to stay in. If you are going to stay at the home of a friend or relative in the Schengen area, you must mention the address of the person along with his/her contact details.

Daily Activities or Tour Details:

Daily activities means the list of places you are planning to visit and the activities you want to do in the Schengen country. This will require you to do some homework, as you cannot mention the places randomly. You need to check things like timings, entry ticket price, the number of hours you need to spend at each place, etc., before you include it in your itinerary. You need to check if you will be able to manage to see all the places you want to see on a particular day and whether the entrance tickets for the places you want to visit fit your travel budget.

You also need to check details like whether a particular tourist spot is open on the day you plan to visit. Your day-to-day activity list should be thoroughly researched and detailed. Once you are sure about all these factors, you can include them in your itinerary. If you find it difficult to create such an itinerary, you can consult a tour agent and choose a tour package that appeals to you. This will make your job easy.

Important Schengen Travel Visa Itinerary Tips

• Make sure that your travel itinerary is as detailed as possible.
• Ensure that the dummy tickets you submit are real. The visa officer is trained enough to recognize fake
• dummy tickets generated through a ticket generator of an airline’s website. These fake tickets are not acceptable.
• It is important to ensure you can afford all the activities you have mentioned in your itinerary. As part of the visa documents, you will have to submit your bank statements for the last 6 months. If there is no consistency between your financial resources and the places you want to visit, your visa application may get rejected.
• You also must ensure that the information you provide in your itinerary matches with the information in your Schengen visa application. For instance, your travel dates match with your leave approval in the NOC provided by your school or place of work.

When to Submit Schengen Visa Travel Itinerary?

You can submit the Schengen visa travel itinerary along with the other documents while sending your visa application. But it is important to carry one with you when you attend your Schengen visa interview.
Schengen visa travel itinerary may require some time and patience to prepare. You need to focus on the details just like you follow all the other visa rules and regulations, such as the Schengen visa photo size guidelines. When you do it diligently, not only are the chances of visa rejection less but you may also receive the visa on time without any roadblocks or hassles.