The European Union is adding two new entry requirements for visitors (who can still get in without a visa) so you will have to jump through a few more hoops if you’re visiting in 2026. Here’s the latest on the ETIAS and the EES:
— The EES (“Entry/Exit System”) is a new registration system whereby most European nations make visitors register upon their first arrival into one of the E.U. countries. They record your personal data (name, date of birth, passport number), date and place of each entry and exit, and they take your “biometric data” (facial image and fingerprints). It’s being implemented gradually throughout airports and cruise ports, and you only have to do it the first time you enter. See the website (linked above) for more information.
— The ETIAS: the “European Travel Information and Authorisation System” is an online registration system for non-E.U. citizens traveling to the European Union but they keep pushing back the activation date and it’s not planned until the last quarter of 2026. Please refer to this link as your trip approaches to see if you need to register.
Other tips to make your European trip go smoothly:
- take a photo of your official documents (passport, drivers license, travel insurance) and keep them on your phone in case you lose something and/or for easy reference
- ask your cell phone provider about their international plans, or get an e-Sim to access the internet as you travel: we’ve been using Saily and Airalo but there are lots of others, like Jetpac and Holafly, etc.
- load the WhatsApp messaging app on your phone as most people in Europe use this instead of phone texting (SMS), and it’s a great way to keep up with friends and family; you can also create group chats so you can share photos and travel details to many people at once
- download the Trainline app on your phone to access rail options around Europe, or if you’re traveling in Italy, download the Trenitalia app so you can buy tickets on the go (and also Italo, which is the private high-speed rail competitor to Trenitalia)
Contact us for more tips on traveling through Europe!
Buongiorno and welcome to our NEWS page!
We’re going to use this space to post updates, share changes in global travel, tips and tricks, and fun stories from around the world. For our first post, we’re celebrating THREE YEARS in business! 🎊🎈💃
We just celebrated our 3rd Birthday and we can hardly believe how much we’ve done since signing our baby into being at a Notary’s office in Viterbo on January 10, 2023. Here are some of the key moments in our history so far!
* December 2022: we came up with the name Wild Sage while hiking in a primeval forest in Puglia. It was hard to find something that wasn’t already taken, and we were given the advice to choose something that had nothing to do with the travel business, so we tried to find something that evoked nature, cuisine, and some feminine charm. 😍
* January 2023: we had to choose an image for our website so we took inspiration from Tuscany’s vibrant spring green
* March 2023: our first tour was in Sicily! What a beautiful way to start!
* By May we were with a group in Sardinia and Corsica, and our tours continued into the Fall
* February 2024 we went to our first trade show, the BIT in Milan
* In the past 3 years we’ve taken almost 300 people on tours throughout Europe — and beyond!
* We’ve run tours throughout Italy: from Puglia to the Dolomites mountains to Venice, Tuscany, the Cinque Terre, Sicily, Sardinia, Umbria, Lake Como, Lake Garda, Piemont and more!
* We began with tours in Greece, Croatia and Corsica and then added Portugal, Morocco, Cuba, and Slovenia… where are we going next??
