Top 5 Travel Destinations for FIRST-TIME Explorers: Europe Edition

Paige Molenkamp
Aug 27, 2024
5 min read

Updated: Oct 8, 2024

Are you a first-time traveler and looking for the perfect travel destination to kickstart your adventures? Look no further! Here are five amazing spots around Europe that are ideal for novice travelers seeking to immerse themselves in new cultures, stunning landscapes, and unforgettable experiences.

Ireland

Dublin:

I lived in Dublin, Ireland for six weeks with my study abroad program and traveling

around was so easy!

Ireland was the most comfortable I felt while traveling abroad and heres why:

English: Everyone spoke english here so there was no language barriers which made communicate and connecting with people abroad way easier.
Young city: Dublin has a median age of 26 years old. This made the city feel very young and A LOT of fun.
Night life: Since it is such a young city, the night life was really fun. Lots of drunk people around and fun bars to check out. Shoutout to Bad Bob's which was my favorite bar/club in the Temple Bar area.
Easy to get around: Dublin is pretty small so it makes it easy to walk around or travel by walking when you visit here. If you’re not into walking, their public transportation is super easy to use. Refer to my "public transportation" blog post to learn about how to get around!

This city makes a great starter place to travel to if you are nervous about going abroad. It also is a great place to start if you are looking to just dip your feet into solo traveling.

Germany

Berlin:

I lived in Berlin, Germany for six weeks through my study abroad program. This was hands down one of my favorite cities and is the one place I could live abroad.

Berlin was one of my favorite cities and heres why:

Expressive people: This was one of the most expressive cities I went to while abroad. This is a great place to figure out who you are and express yourself however you want with no judgement. There's most likely someone wearing something way crazier than you!
Night Life: The nightlife here was so much fun! There's such a stereotype around German people being rude and not letting you into the clubs. Although they are more strict here, they do it for good reason. As long as you are chill, have a good vibe, and don't go with a huge group of people you’re good. They want their clubs to feel inclusive, non-judgmental, and fun which is why they are more strict.
Food: OMG the food here I found to be so so good. I miss it a lot. Get there pretzels for sure from the bakery section of the grocery store. Also shoutout to the tempura chicken I got that was AMAZING. Also make sure to check out the food market that happens every Thursday. They have these tacos on bao buns that are so good my mouth is watering just thinking about it now!

Croatia

Split:

This was such a pretty beach town! I went here for three days and two nights. This is also a great beginner place to travel too because you get a lot of tourists and it is pretty easy to get too.

Split was very beautiful and heres why this is a great beginner destination:

Touristy: Split is one of the most touristy places that I traveled to while abroad (and I went in the off season). Don't let this steer you away from going because I think it's a great place to solo travel too for the first time. It's always good to be around people while solo traveling so this is a good place to try.
Easy to get too: From the airport you can either take an uber/taxi or the bus. The bus is only about 3 euros and takes about an hour. I chose this option because I was getting brokeeee. But it really wasn't that bad and was chill. Not sure how much an uber would be but that's always an option! Once you get to Split it is all pretty walkable except for certain beaches. For the beaches I took an uber and it wasn't too expensive.
Beautiful Beaches: The beaches here were so beautiful and the water was insanely clear. When I went it was pretty cold but still went in the water to swim. I'm sure it's super warm and pretty during the summer time.

Spain

Seville: This was the coolest place with the best architecture I've ever seen so far. I also thought this place was overrated but when I went I understood all of the hype. This was my favorite city in Spain and I 100% recommend going.

Seville had the best architecture and heres why this is a great beginner destination:

Architecture: When I tell you I was blown away it truly changed the way I view buildings now. It had the prettiest details on all of the buildings, shops, and even restaurants. The cathedrals and the Palace of Alcazar was so breathtaking. I'm more into the nature aspect and not super into paying to go into old buildings but the cathedral and palace I will say was 100% worth it.
Cheap: The cheapest place I went to while aboard. In general all of Spain was very cheap. I could get a coffee and a croissant for 2.50 euros. So if you are looking to go somewhere on a budget this would be the place to go to.
Orange trees: There was orange trees EVERYWHERE. It was so unique and cool to see. And yes you can eat the oranges (I think?)

Switzerland

Switzerland blew me away with how beautiful it was. I also thought this place would be overrated because everyone goes there but boy was I so WRONG. It was one of the most beautiful landscapes I've ever seen.

Switzerland had the best nature and heres why this is a great beginner destination:

Easy to get around: When I went to Switzerland, I traveled to Diemtigen, Lauterbrunnen, Interlanken, and Speiz. The train is super easy to use here but is a little pricey. These cities were all so beautiful and worth it to go to. Check out my "Switzerland" blog to find out more about these cities.
Beautiful Scenery: Everything about Switzerland was beautiful. I moved to Colorado for school and thought that would be the most beautiful scenery I would see. NOPE... Switzerland blew it out of the park. It made me feel very calm being there and it was all so lusciously green.
Tons of things to do: From hang gliding, hiking, skiing, skydiving, etc. Switzerland has it all. One thing I really wish I did was hang gliding so I definitely recommend doing it! I personally did some hiking that was really fun and pretty. One thing I liked was you could spend all day in a grass patch and stare at the landscape.