golferb

Over the last few years, my wife and I have taken our two children (10 and 14) overseas for Spring Break (Italy, Egypt). We are not sure where to go next year (Mid March).

We are wanting to go somewhere where it is not real cold, however a little cold is not a bad thing. Does anyone have any ideas of where we could go for a week? We can take a tour or do it on our own. Our Italy trip was all on our own.

I look forward to everyone's input.

Thank you in advance.

melissa19

we've taken our daughter (11 in november) to paris twice and are going again next spring. there are many, many things for kids to do in paris, as well as some easy day trips. we rent an apartment which works out best for us.

it can be chilly, but not freezing, usually. we were there last t'giving and it was frigid(!), but we still walked all over, and took the buses as needed.

have fun!

Georgine

Mid-March would be a pleasant time of year for either Portugal (Lisbon and the central section of the county), or Andalusia in Spain.

Of the two, Portugal would offer more value for your dollar spent.

melissa19

georgine,

would it be warm in portugal or spain? what about the coast? is it hard to learn portugese?

always looking for a new vacation spot!

thanks,
melissa

missypie

We took our kids to Paris for Spring Break (mid-March) a few years back. We had a great time. Being from Texas, we brought lots of clothes for the cold (long underwear, etc.) but didn't need them. Most days were in the 40s-50s. We had two days in the low 70s!

I'm considering Barcelona for next year (IF my daughter's gymnastics schedule doesn't interfere).

W9London

Spain and Portugal are both nice and warm mid-March. Ditto for Italy. Could be wet or windy in northern Portugal. You can get a few cold-ish days in Paris but it shouldn't be freezing.
It really depends on whether your family would like more beachy kinds of places (if so, Spanish coasts, Portugal) vs city destinations (eg Paris, Rome).
Another nice places in Europe around that time would be Greece, the Balearic Islands (Mallorca, Ibiza), and Canary Islands. Should be definitely warm in the Canary Islands.

jgg

Two years ago for Spring Break (the last 2 weeks in March) we took our kids (now ages 10 and 14 also) to Italy, this past year we did London and Paris. London and Paris were cold so for next year, like you we were thinking a bit warmer. We have decided on 4-5 days in Barcelona and 10 days in Morocco. This will include about 5 days in Marakkesh, a trip to the Sahara desert for 3 days - riding on a camel and sleeping in bedouin tents for a night!!

golferb

Melissa19,

That is a great idea. Can you recommend day trips from Paris?

Thanks.

coldwar27

I think if you go to Paris, a trip to Versailles would be a great day trip. It is very accessible from Paris on the RER trains. Enjoy!

golferb

Thank you for the information. Any other day trip recommendations? We are planning 7 days.

melissa19

if your kids like science museums, there is a big modern one just outside the city: the Cite des Sciences in Parc de la Villette (sp?). easy to get to via metro. there's also the Chateau du Vincennes (castle-like), i believe, in one of the large parks that border the city. we're aiming for Versailles next year as well!

there is so much to do within paris, you won't need many day-trips outside.

you can use ratp.fr for metro and bus routes, and mappy.com for pedestrian routes. paris is very easy to get around.

jgg

I would do a daytrip to Normandy. I know many people think that this is too much for one day, but we did not find this to be the case. It was definitely a highlight of our trip. We went last spring break and at that time of year, the beaches, cemetery and museum were not crowded at all. Here is an excerpt from my trip report about it:

We did our daytrip from Paris to Normandy with www.paris-trip.com. It was the highlight of our two week trip (one week London, one week Paris). Our driver was Lionel and he was excellent! He has travelled all over the world and was extremely knowledgable in French history and current politics. His own family story is quite interesting.

He kept us entertained and informed the entire trip, despite the long drive. They usually only do the trip on Thurs. and Sat. but if you have a group of 6 or more you can schedule any day. We were 6 (my husband and I our two kids (age 10 and 13) and my Mom and Dad), so we scheduled it for a Wed. and were the only ones on the tour. The van only holds 8 people, so that is the max. they can take anyway.

The tour is 160€ per person, not cheap but we felt it was worth it. (The price does include admission to the Caen Peace Memorial, everything else was free, except lunch). He picked us up right at our apt. and returned my parents there, and then dropped us off at a restaurant not too far away. The most difficult part is getting picked up at 6:30am, we were at the restuarant for dinner a little after 8:00pm.

We saw Ponte de Hoc (Omaha Beach), the new and old memorials, the American Cemetery, Arromanches, and the Caen Peace Memorial. He took us to an incredible lunch at Arromanches with views of the mulberries and the best oysters we have ever had.

I agonized for months whether to do this as a daytrip or wait until another time when we could spend more time there. A month before we left I decided to just go for it. I am so glad we did, as I said, it was the highlight of our trip. I admit, I could have spent more time at the Caen Peace Memorial, but with the kids, I think it was just right.

missypie

Golferb, if you take the kids to Paris, think about a day or two at Disneyland Paris. I know that folks may jump on me for this, but after days of musuems and churches, DLP is like having a vacation from your vacation. It's not crowded in March and it's a lovely park. It's interesting to be around parents and their kids from France, Germany, the UK, Spain, Italy, etc. and to observe how they relate to one another.