Did We Beat the 90 Day Rule? We Stayed in Europe for 150 Days | The Schengen Shuffle
Bari PortBrazil CountryFrance CountryGuadeloupe CountryItaly CountryMalta CountryMartinique CountryMontenegro CountrySint Maarten CountryTürkiye Country
The Schengen 90 day rule stops most people from staying in Europe longer than three months. We found a way to stay for 150 days without breaking it once, and it took us somewhere we never expected. This is the Schengen Shuffle: how to stay in Europe for more than 90 days by combining Schengen and non-Schengen countries within the rolling 180-day window. We did it across five months and nine countries, from the Turkish Riviera to the French Caribbean, getting within four days of the limit before escaping on the worst-reviewed ferry in Europe to a country we had never visited. This is the Season 2 finale of The Floating Nomads. Here is how the 90 day Schengen rule actually works: if you hold a UK, US, Canadian, or Australian passport, you are allowed 90 days inside the Schengen zone out of every rolling 180 days. That window moves every single day. On any given day, you look back 180 days and count how many of those you spent inside Schengen. If the answer is more than 90, you should not be there. Get it wrong and you risk being banned from re-entering any EU country. These are the non-Schengen countries we used to reset the clock: Türkiye, Albania, Montenegro, Martinique (France, but not Schengen), and Guadeloupe (also France, also not Schengen). We also answer questions we get asked constantly: is Albania in Schengen? No. Is Martinique in the EU? Yes. Is Guadeloupe part of Europe? Yes. Is Sint Maarten in the EU? No - and that was the only morning in five months we actually left Europe. Honest answer: the Schengen rule felt like a problem until we stopped treating it as one. It pushed us to Albania, Montenegro, and the French Caribbean. Without it we would have spent the whole winter in Malta and Italy. We are glad we didn't. We have built a free Schengen Shuffle guide covering everything you need to know, including how we track our days and a full list of which countries are and are not in the Schengen block. Find it here: www.thehonestbritsguide.com/schengen If you are researching the Schengen 90-day rule, how to extend your time in Europe, Schengen exempt countries for UK or US passport holders, long-term slow travel in Europe, travel in the Balkans, whether Albania is safe to visit, what Martinique is like, or how repositioning cruises work as a travel strategy, this is the honest account from two people who lived it across 150 days. Journey Facts: Total duration: 150 days Countries: Türkiye, Malta, Italy, Albania, Montenegro, Martinique, Guadeloupe, Sint Maarten, Azores Closest call: 4 days remaining in Bari, Italy Only time we left Europe: One morning on the Dutch side of Sint Maarten Final leg: MSC Virtuosa repositioning cruise, Martinique to Southampton via Ponta Delgada Original Soundtrack by Adam. All music is original, composed and produced by Adam (PhD in audio-visual composition) to capture the cinematic atmosphere of five months of slow travel across Europe and the Caribbean - with the exception of Space Man by Sam Ryder, which felt too perfect for the journey home not to use and has been fully licensed. 🎵 Copyrighted music licensed from Lickd. https://lickd.co SPACE MAN by Sam Ryder, https://t.lickd.co/l/vQA62m8aA4B Who are The Floating Nomads? We are Rick and Adam, The Floating Nomads. We sold the house, quit the 9 to 5 and now live a life of constant slow travel by train, ferry and water. When not on our UK narrowboat, Serenissima, we live abroad for months at a time. Whether spending 200+ days in Malta (and Venice) or travelling from Buxton to Brazil without flying (as seen on CNN), we share the practical maths of life on the move. Our films combine Rick's marketing strategy with Adam's music PhD to capture the authentic atmosphere of every destination we visit. Support the Journey New Films: Every Friday evening (UK time). Channel Members: Early access every Thursday, starting at just £2.99/month. Members also unlock exclusive B-Side videos. Click 'Join' under any video to help support our work. 0:00 The Schengen Shuffle 0:34 What Is Schengen and How It Works 2:13 What's Coming Up 2:31 Antalya: Cheap Beers and a Waterfall 5:02 Christmas Day on Mount Olympos 5:47 Istanbul: A Surprise European Capital 9:18 Crossing the Bosphorus to Asia 11:04 The Pera Palace 11:47 Malta: The Schengen Clock Starts 15:25 Bari: Five Days Left 16:40 Albania: A Revelation 19:13 Shkodër: A Slice of Venice in the Alps 22:45 Kotor: The City of Cats 23:25 Climbing the 1,300 Steps 25:32 Pushing the Shuffle Further 25:51 Martinique: Landing Back in France 27:27 Boarding the MSC Virtuosa 28:30 Night 16: Was It Worth It? 29:00 The Free Schengen Guide 29:11 Spaceman: Going Home #SchengenShuffle #90DayRule #SchengenRule #HowToStayInEuropeLonger #SchengenExempt #LongTermTravel #EuropeTravel #SlowTravel #Balkans #Montenegro #Albania #Martinique #FrenchCaribbean #Malta #FloatingNomads #TravelEurope #Schengen2026 #ETIAS