Navigating the Schengen Area: What You Need To Know (Free Tracker Included)

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Almost every time we’re talking about how we spent almost 11 months travelling around Europe, someone will ask us: “but what about the Schengen area?”. More often than not, someone else will jump in with “wait, what’s the Schengen area?”. We’re here to answer both of those questions and more, to help you navigate the Schengen area with ease on your next trip to Europe. While the Schengen area restrictions won’t impact most people while travelling around Europe, it’s something you need to be aware of. It’s particularly important if you travel to Europe frequently, or if you’re going on a long trip like we did.

Navigating the Schengen Area: What You Need To Know (Free Tracker Included). Krissie and Katherine back to back in a snow covered park with snow covered trees all around them. They're wearing puffer jackets and beanies and there's a tall tower in the background
In Oslo, Norway

In this post, we’ll go through everything that you need to know, including:

  1. What is the Schengen Area?
  2. How Long Can I Stay in the Schengen Area?
  3. Who Does the Schengen Visa Apply To?
  4. How Did We Stay in Europe for 11 Months?
  5. How Do You Keep Track of Days in the Schengen Area?
  6. Our Free Schengen Area Tracker

Even though it can feel overwhelming, it’s not too hard to navigate the Schengen area once you understand the basics. Don’t forget to keep reading to the end to access our FREE tracker! It will help you keep on top of your 90 day limit.

What is the Schengen Area?

The Schengen area is a political area within Europe where there are no border checks between countries. Contrary to what a lot of people believe, the Schengen area is not equivalent to the EU or the EEA. There are countries that may be in the Schengen area and not the EU or EEA, and vice versa. As of the 1st of January 2025, there are 29 member countries in the Schengen area. These are:

  • Austria
  • Belgium
  • Bulgaria
  • Croatia
  • Czech Republic
  • Denmark
  • Estonia
  • Finland
  • France
  • Germany
  • Greece
  • Hungary
  • Iceland
  • Italy
  • Latvia
  • Leichtenstein
  • Lithuania
  • Luxembourg
  • Malta
  • Netherlands
  • Norway
  • Poland
  • Portugal
  • Romania
  • Slovakia
  • Slovenia
  • Spain
  • Sweden
  • Switzerland

Countries can be added to the Schengen Area. Most recently, Bulgaria and Romania joined, and their final border controls were lifted on the 1st of January 2025. Prior to that, Croatia was the last country to join on the 1st of January 2023. Make sure to double check which countries are current members at the time you are planning to visit Europe!

Krissie in a big purple coat standing in front of the impressive Hamburg town hall in Hamburg, Germany, with its glorious green roof "Navigating the Schengen Area: What You Need To Know (Free Tracker Included)"
In Hamburg, Germany

How Long Can I Stay in the Schengen Area?

Visitors to the Schengen area from certain countries are eligible to enter visa-free. These visitors may stay in the Schengen area for up to 90 days in any 180 day period. This 180 day period is rolling, meaning on day 181, day 1 no longer counts, but days 2 through 181 do.

Each day that you are in the Schengen area for any amount of time counts towards your total. For example, if you arrive in France on the 3rd of March at 9:00pm, and leave on the 6th of March at 7:00am, you have spent four days in the area. Despite spending less than 72 hours in France, you have been in the Schengen area on four separate days.

It is your responsibility to make sure you don’t overstay past 90 days, so we would recommend aiming for no more than high 80s. We tried to keep our days at around 85. This meant we had a bit of flexibility in the case of cancelled flights, or other delays to us leaving.

Katherine smiling and standing in front of some water with lots of boats in it. Behind the water is the town of Hvar, Croatia with white buildings with orange roofs and big green hills "Navigating the Schengen Area: What You Need To Know (Free Tracker Included)"
In Hvar, Croatia

Who Does the 90 Day Limit Apply To?

The 90 day limit in the Schengen area (while travelling visa free) applies to visitors from certain countries. There are a lot of countries on this list, which you can check here (scroll down for the countries that don’t require a visa). On the list are some countries where travel to Europe is popular, including Australia, the UK, USA, Canada, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea and Japan.

Keep in mind that Europe is introducing the ETIAS (European Travel Information and Authorization System) some time in 2025 (no date has been announced yet). This will require visitors from visa-free countries to apply for a visa waiver before entering. The countries covered by the ETIAS will be all of the Schengen countries as well as Cyprus. This is subject to change at any time though, so make sure you’re checking what you need to apply for, based on your passport and destination. The ETIAS will not change the 90 day Schengen limit.

For the majority of people travelling to Europe, the Schengen area won’t make much difference to their trip, as they won’t be staying more than 90 days in total. If you visit Europe often though, or if you’re on a long trip, you’ll need to make sure you know how long you’re in the Schengen area for.

Krissie walking up a staircase in the Fisherman's Bastion in Budapest, Hungary. It looks like a white castle made of stone with a pointed tower in the background "Navigating the Schengen Area: What You Need To Know (Free Tracker Included)"
In Budapest, Hungary

How Did We Stay in Europe for 11 Months?

Once you know that not every country in Europe is part of the Schengen area, it’s easy to understand how we stayed for 10.5 months. We spent one month in the UK, followed by what we refer to as “Schengen One”. During this time, we spent 84 days in the Schengen area (with a small gap in the middle). We then headed back to the UK and Ireland, where we travelled around for a little over 3 months while we waited for our first stint in the Schengen area to fall more than 180 days in the past. Once this happened, we headed back into mainland Europe for “Schengen Two” for another 85 days.

While the UK and Ireland are the most common countries to visit while your Schengen days reset, other options include many of the Balkan countries such as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania and Serbia. Some people head towards Western Asia as well, using visits to Turkiye, Azerbaijan, Georgia or Armenia to break up their time in the Schengen area.

Krissie and Katherine hugging and smiling with puffer jackets and beanies on. Behind them is tower bridge in London, England which has 2 giant stone towers with blue metal strung between them "Navigating the Schengen Area: What You Need To Know (Free Tracker Included)"
In London, England
Katherine standing on a cobbled path with Kotor Bay, Montenegro behind her. There is a large stretch of water with big hills behind it and some little towns along the edge of the water "Navigating the Schengen Area: What You Need To Know (Free Tracker Included)"
In Kotor Bay, Montenegro

How Do You Keep Track of Days in the Schengen Area?

Unfortunately, it is the responsibility of each individual to make sure they don’t overstay their welcome in the Schengen area. While it would be great if there was a way it was tracked for you, you’ll have to manage it yourself. If you’re just heading over on one short trip, it won’t be too difficult. But if, like us, you’re popping in and out of the Schengen area over the course of several months, it can get tricky to keep on top of your days.

It can get particularly challenging if you have periods in and out of the Schengen area, followed by a long stay. For example, we spent 43 days in the Schengen area, then 18 days outside, and returned for another 41 days. Six months later, we wanted to go back for 90 days but had to consider that the previous 180 days included those 18 days outside. To ensure we had enough time for an uninterrupted 90 days, we had to wait at least 198 days after our initial entry. This meant our first 43 days had reset, and the 18 days outside also fell outside the 180-day count.

We knew this was going to get confusing, and we didn’t want to find ourselves in a situation where we were unknowingly breaking immigration laws. Instead of trying to count by hand, we used a spreadsheet to track for us!

Krissie walking along the water in Ghent, Belgium. Behind the water is a huge sandstone coloured building with glass windows and some big spires along with some other similarly incredible looking buildings "Navigating the Schengen Area: What You Need To Know (Free Tracker Included)"
In Ghent, Belgium

Our Free Tracker

Our first Schengen tracker that we used was based off other information in our extensive spreadsheet. It worked perfectly for us, but we wanted to make something that was a little easier to use, that required less input from the user. We’ve taken the idea of that original Schengen tracker and improved upon it until we were happy with the result.

What we now have is a single sheet tracker. All you need to do is input the entry and exit dates of your visits to the Schengen area, and the spreadsheet does the rest.

You will be able to see how many days you’ve been in the Schengen area in the 180 days prior to today, or the 180 days prior to any date you choose. The tracker will also let you know the maximum number of days that you have spent in the Schengen area in any 180 day period, so you can make sure you won’t be overstaying your welcome.

You can use this tracker while you’re on your holiday and also while you’re planning, to make sure everything is above board. Don’t forget as well that anything within the last 180 days counts, so be sure to include past trips within that timeframe. With our tracker, you can enter up to 20 entry and exit dates.

Download your own copy of the spreadsheet here. You’ll be immediately prompted to make a copy, which you can save to your own Google Drive. You’re then free to add your own dates and check your Schengen area details.

A screenshot of our Schengen area tracker with a pink table to put your dates in the Schengen Area and then a pink table telling you how many days you've been in the area up to today, and another one with how many days to any date. Plus there's a little blue box with a Schengen area overview "Navigating the Schengen Area: What You Need To Know (Free Tracker Included)"
A screenshot of the information that our tracker provides

Please let us know if you have any questions or need any help with using the tracker! The best place to reach us is on instagram or on our contact us page.

Our favourite travel planning resources

Flights: When planning a trip our favourite websites to compare flights on are Google Flights and Skyscanner. We then personally prefer to go through the airlines official website to book flights.

Travel Insurance: Once you’ve booked flights, the very next step should be travel insurance. We highly recommend booking travel insurance for every international trip no matter the length. For our Australian readers, we use and love Travel Insurance Saver, as they accept one way trips.

Travel Items: We have some favourite travel items that we’ll never set off without. We wrote a post here about the best items that we recommend for all travellers!

Accommodation: For everywhere we stayed, we booked on either Airbnb or Booking.com. Both websites allow you to filter to only show you places in your budget, and pick from inclusions such as kitchen and laundry so it’s really easy to find exactly what you need!

Travel SIM: We used Airalo e-SIMs for data while overseas and loved them. You download the app, pick the plan you want and install it on your phone in less than 10 minutes. Our referral code KRISTE3325 will get you $3USD off your first purchase.

Tours & Activities: We booked all our day trips and some activities through GetYourGuide.

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