Hey guys,

I am doing an around the world travel on my DR 650 starting early summer 2020. My goal is to see most of southern western/eastern European countries by next fall and come back the following spring to see the rest of the northern western/eastern European countries and then into Asia.

So I am looking at the requirements for the paperwork side of all this, especially to ship my motorcycle (Considering there is a lien on my motorcycle there is more paperwork needed).

So far I am tracking what I need:

Renew a passport with plenty of pages left to stamp
Acquire and have (3) notarized copies of original bike title
Acquire and have (1) notarized copy on lienholder letterhead, a letter authorizing me to ship motorcycle overseas
Acquire an International driver’s license
Have vaccinations done and booklet
Health coverage and documentation
Letter showing my military retirement from the Veteran Affairs
Bank statement showing deposits of my retirement
Documentation showing my free flight travel on space A military flights
Motorcycle insurance for Europe




My Questions:

1. Applying is different depending on your situation, but since I am traveling country to country do I just apply to the consulate of the first country I am entering in the Schengen visa area (Spain) and that works for all countries I may visit int he Schengen zone?. That's what I interpreted from what I read. Any experience with this?

2. So I went to Spains website for applying for an entry Schengen visa it says for a tourist:

-Document justifying the establishment of lodging or letter of invitation from an individual, if staying at home, issued by the Police Station corresponding to their place of residence.

-IMPORTANT: In no case, the invitation letter will supply the accreditation by the foreigner of the other requirements required for entry.

-Confirmation of the booking of an organized trip with an itinerary.

-Return ticket or tourist circuit

My question is I am not taking a commercial flight. I am retired military, I am taking a free military space A flight from the U.S to Spain. Do I show them this documentation that I can fly out for free at any time they have flights along with my military I.D?

4. Also, they asked for lodging, I am not staying at one particular place. I had planned one staying place to place each day I make accommodations at. How will this work when I go country to country and I don't have set accommodations? Does my proof of retired income make my case to travel around?

5. For proof of income do I show them a letter showing my military retirement benefits and a deposit bank statement?

Are you from a country that needs a formal Schengen visa, or can you get in on the 90 days in 180 day easy access.

__________________
Tony
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So I just got an e-mail from Spain consulate:

"Good afternoon,



Which Passport are you holder? US citizen?



Us citizens do not need visa to enter and stay in Spain, staying up 90 days per semester.



Regards,



Departamento de Visados/Visa department

Consulado General de España en Miami"


I overlooked a key factor, I am a U.S passport holder, so I don't think I need anything as far as a visa, just my U.S passport.

Now for Morocco and other southeastern European countries, I am going to that are not on the Schengen visa list, I will need visas.

US citizens don't need visas for Morocco, see my 'passports and visas' page on TripAdvisor, https://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g...And.Visas.html

__________________
"For sheer delight there is nothing like altitude; it gives one the thrill of adventure
and enlarges the world in which you live," Irving Mather (1892-1966)

Thank you, this helps a lot! I have my bike mechanical build list completed, general gear list, and so much more, but I am just venturing into the administrative visa research phase of my planning.

As a US citizen, you don't need to apply for a visa. You get 90 days in Schengen on arrival. You also won't be getting stamps in your passport on internal EU borders.

That would work, but they would be happier if you e.g. pre-booked a space on a flight at the end of your 90 days. (Not the consulate, but the border guards when you arrive in Spain.)

As with any visa - you make a hotel booking for your first few days, show it to them as proof. Nobody cares if you cancel it.

That would work, yes.

Question/Comment 1: I am thinking for the Space A, I can print off the flight manifest 90 days out and show them I can return, combined with my income as a back up to fly back commercially if I have to, that should suffice?

Question/Comment 2: I read about canceling the bookings for hotels after you get in online from others too. Truthfully, I will probably book a place for a few days to get my bearings anyways once in Spain and then venture off into the unknown.

After I leave that booking of a few days once in Spain I showed them, can I travel to any country in the Schengen zone without having to book again correct?

Correct. Traveling between Schengen countries is, for most intents and purposes, the same as traveling between American states.

The thing about the military flights is, you're confusing the border guard and telling them something unfamiliar. Just show them that you've got enough money to buy a ticket back to the US after 90 days. That is far less shady than "I am relying on this obscure thing with the US military to which I once had a connection".

I agree on the military flights, I thought about your point as well. Truthfully I don't really want them to know I am ex-military either if I can help it, not that they can't find out my background obviously. I can see how military flights would confuse them or raise unwanted attention. Showing them I have funds to buy a ticket as you said is the best course of action. I want to stay under the radar as much as possible.

You’re making it all too complicated. Always be prepared to tell them you’ve got reasons to return home (a job, family, golf tournaments, or whatever), always be ready to show signs you’ve got money backing you up (couple of credit cards, couple of debit cards), and always have an address you can plausibly claim to be staying at (I never actually stay there, and I never make an actual reservation—just take the first handy hotel address out of a Lonely Planet guidebook). They hardly ever ask about any of this, so it’s all precautionary and not worth spending a lot of time fretting over.

What WILL attract attention is if they ask you a simple question (“How long will you be staying?”) and you launch into a wordy explanation. Just tell them 3 months (or whatever), and you’ll be flying home. Nobody really cares about you, your military service, or anything else—unless you give them a reason to (or have the wrong color skin, an Arabic surname, or a perspiration disorder) Seriously: nobody cares. They WANT you spending money in their country—the last thing they’re interested in is refusing you entry.

Good advice, I am not trying to complicate it intentionally, I am just ignorant of what to expect from lack of experience of overlanding border to border. I am going blind into something I have never done before. It is like anything else, I will do it and I will be like "Oh that was not a big deal". I agree with what you said, no one cares about us unless we give them a reason to, they just want money coming into their country. The only reason I brought up my military background is certain MOS's and skillsets in the military can raise red flags from a counterintelligence standpoint and put more eyes on you, so per a response earlier, I don't need to talk about a space A military flight which they won't understand possibly and start drawing attention to myself. My goal is to make sure I don't miss any administrative aspects of my entry on what I am doing and to stay under the radar so I can just explore around each country.

I am going to keep it simple stupid, your advice gives me a good perception of how I need to handle myself with the border crossings and it makes sense.

Thanks for the advice