jonke

Hi, I'm new to this. I've been trying to come up with a european itinerary for months, I think I need help!Will be flying into London this June. we'll have 11 nights in europe before we depart on a cruise from rome.The plan was to stay 2 nights london, 2 nights paris, rent a car, drive through the south of france(staying in a small town??), and Italy, stay 3 nights around florence, then final 2 nights in rome. It's a little complicated because with three teenagers along, hotels are tricky, usually require 2 rooms, and train and plane fares aren't necessarily cheaper, because there's five. We decided Londons a must,being that we have to fly there to start, and rome at the end is a must, but we're open to suggestion for the in between.I realize that we are barely skimming the surfaceof any given place, but want a good european overview.Any advice would be appreciated.

WillTravel

My kids would have hated (and hate) being rushed along so fast. With 11 nights, I'd divide them between London and Rome.

Viajero2

Sorry, there is no nice to way to say this...YIKES, really bad plan!

I totally agree that, given your situation, you need to split your time between London and Rome. Stay in London for 5 days and then fly out to Rome. There are tons of day trips to do from Rome, RENT AN APARTMENT in both cities.

Another option? Try go-today.com where they have 2-3 city combo packages (London-Paris-Ronme)that take the logistics out of your hands.

highflyer

How about 3 nights in London (one day to clear your jet lag) then take the Eurostar train to Paris and stay 3 nights. Fly to Rome for 5 nights (stay in an apartment to cut costs). If you want to you can daytrip to Florence by train but I wouldn't this is more than enough for 11 days.

My kids hate long car trips especially in the summer! What do your teenagers want to do? I'd try to involve them.

highflyer

Viajero2, your post came up after I typed mine!

Keep it simple jonke!

StCirq

Well, my kids would justifiably hand me my head on a plate if I forced them to go along on an expedition like that! This won't be a "European overview," it'll be a European blur.

London - Rome - cruise.

MAYBE London - Paris - Rome - cruise. Or London - Nice - Rome - cruise.

AisleSeat

What a vision, three teenagers in the car with you for days on end...

I agree, figure out the most painless way to split your time between London, Paris, Rome and then save the rest of Europe for the next trip.

Andre

Hi jonke,

Are you going in late June? That would be an ideal time to go to the Alps, which will give your kids lots of opportunities to get athletic (hiking, mountain biking etc.) and are generally difficult to visit from a cruise ship ;-)

Say: 3 nights London, fly to Geneva or Zurich on EasyJet, 4 nights in the Bernese Oberland or Valais (so many options!), fly from Geneva to Rome on EasyJet, 4 nights in Rome.

Alternatively, you could fly from London to Florence (on Meridiana) or Pisa (on EasyJet) and explore Tuscany for 4-5 nights before heading to Rome.

Otherwise a London/Paris/Rome combo is always great, if a little heavy on the cities. Take the Eurostar train fom London to Paris, fly Paris to Rome on EasyJet or Vueling.

Fares on all these carriers are quite cheap if booked far in advance.
www.easyjet.com
www.meridiana.com
www.vueling.com

Hope this helps,
Andre

tlangenbach

I just happened to be reading this with my two teens - who have been to most of those places when we lived in Europe. They strongly suggested I write to agree with the other posts - split between London and Rome, or maybe add Paris ! Driving across the area may look easy on a map, but it is really difficult to find lodging, food, things that you are used to. Which is helpful with teens. All the places mentioned are really great, but should be saved for another trip. Rome is amazing and there is much to do. I like the Eurostar idea - my kids loved the train as it was so different from flying and quite fun. It can get hot in the summer and many hotels may not have A/C (just a warning if that is impt to you). We also had to get two rooms - even with just two kids. Most hotels will not allow 4 to a room. good luck and have fun. Our family mantra is to let everyone pick just ONE thing that they really want to do. If you make it to that one thing - then the trip is a success !

nytraveler

Just a couple of suggestions:

1) Cut back - cut way, way back - what you have is the Bataan death march. Leave yourself a moment to breathe, and enjoy the differnt lifestyle of each city

2) Get the kids involved now in what there is to see and do in each place - so they're eager and interested

3) Prepare to break up into smaller groups so everyone gets to see/do what they want most. (On out first trip with my step-daughters - 11 and 14 - they went off shopping one afternoon in Paris while we toured a small museums and sat in a cafe.) This way everyone is happy - and you don;t get tired of looking at each other every moment.

By the way - we did 2 weeks - one London and one Paris (each with a one day trip outside) and at the end there were still more places we all wanted to see.

janisj

Agree w/ everyone else. If you are only going to be there 2 nights you might as well skip London. But wait - you really can't since you are flying there. Day one - at least some of you will be jetlagged. And as soon as you get your bearings, you are off to another major city.

I would do 4 days <u>minimum</u> in London - 5 is better. Then 3 or 4 days <u>minimum</u> in Paris. Then I'd fly to Rome for the rest of your time.

Driving will be a false economy because picking a car up in France and leaving it in Italy will cost a fortune in drop off fees.

There are many low cost carriers in Europe so you can fly to Rome w/o breaking the bank.

OR - my second choice would be just to divide the time equally between London and Rome.

In all three cities - but especially in London - you will save a lot if you rent an apartment instead of booking 2 hotel rooms.

USNR

You need a little help with geography. Did you know that France is about the same size as Texas? I'd knock off any idea of driving. Expensive, exhausting, and a lot longer than you think.

jonke

Wow, thanks for all the honest opinions. I realized my plan seemed like a lot, but as a first timer,I wasn't sure.I think we'll go with the london-paris-rome plan. Now the tricky part will be to find shortstay rentals in those locations. I've seen Citadines, and they would have availability at the trafalgar square location. Is this a good place to base ourselves? Is 230 pounds an normal rate for 5??

janisj

Trafalgar Square could not be a better location for a first-time visit. You would be in the very center of everything. And &pound;230 is not bad. You could find something a bit cheaper - but the advantage to Citadines in your situation is while they are apartments, there is still a front desk and hotel services/assistance.

AisleSeat

London is one place where you can get a good deal on Priceline (see biddingfortravel.com ) Paris and Rome are not as good. Check GateOne Travel for a 3 city deal.

bardo1

Yikes! I must strongly agree that you really need to stick with just London and Rome for this trip (you could easily spend 11 days in EACH and still get shorted!).

Five one-way flights between London and Rome on a budget airline will cost only a fraction of five one-way train tickets and take up much less of your very limited time.

bardo1

Also, I agree that London is a great Priceline city (do NOT use it for Paris or Rome).

Here are some well vetted, inexpensive (enough to get 2 rooms!) places in Rome.

http://www.eurocheapo.com/rome/

mkdiebold

You do not say how old each teenager is, but if they are on the older side, like 15-19, AND you stay in or near the heart of each city, they will be able to be somewhat independent, which they will very much like...and you will, too! I would eliminate the car travel completely.

We've done Europe several times with 3 teenage sons. Each trip has included a good deal of driving, but we've had the luxury of 21-days, nearly doubling your 11. I'm sure the boys would say that the driving part was the least enjoyable part of the trip. And, I'm sure they would say that the time they spent on their own without their dad and me was the best.

janisj

sorry - but while Priceline is great for London, it really won't work for you. You would have to bid for three rooms since PL only deals w/ double rooms -- no triples, no rollaways moved in - just doubles and possibly twins. Since there are 5 of you, PL isn't won't work. Well it <i>could</i> but, say you got rooms for $120 each, when you add taxes and fees they would be over $150 - so approx $450 / &pound;230 - same as citidines. And the rooms would probably not be all on the same floor nor maybe even in the same wing.

dina4

Hi Jonke,

We took a similar trip with our teens in 2006. We flew into Paris, stayed 5 nights, and then rented a car and drove to Rome. It was fast-paced, but amazingly fun! We had a fabulous time!

Many people on this board will advise you to stay longer in places (which is a great idea), but if this is a once-in-a-lifetime type trip, and you want to make the most of it, i understand &quot;rushing&quot; through to get a taste of several places.

Here's a link to my trip report, if you're interested.

http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=34832782

I disagree that teens don't enjoy a quicker pace They actually loved moving on to new places, and didn't mind long drives, relaxing in the back seat with their ipods.
**Make sure to get a big enough car, so you can fit everything in the trunk!!

however, with 11 nights, I would probably skip the south of france and do something like this:
London - 2 nights
Paris - 3 nights
fly to Venice
Venice - 1 night
train to Florence
Florence - 2 nights
train to Rome
Rome - 3 nights

The only problem is that this is all cities. My teens loved the relaxing places where we had a pool or beach to hang out...