MAdams

I have already booked our flights for our European vacation June 2016. We Plan to start in London for only 2 nights then take train to France for 4 days then take the Thello night train to Italy. We are 3 adults and 2 kids age 12 and 15. We will require 2 rooms or a multi bedroom property.

I am okay with a VRBO in Italy someplace central that we could take day trips, and have a home base. I would like to focus our Italy travel to the Northern region. Not that interested in Rome.

While in France I am intrigued by staying in a Castle or Chateau someplace we could take day trips to Paris and Bordeaux by train.

While in England I would love to stay one night at one of the countryside Castles within a few hours of London, but not sure if that is a good idea with our time there short. Although, I could extend days there if we had some place fabulous to visit.

The whole undertaking of planning and booking is a little over whelming. Can someone recommend a service that could help me do this so I can feel comfortable that fun activities for kids are planned along the way.

Any suggestions are welcome! The only thing I have set in stone is starting in London on June 5 and ending in Bologna, Italy on June 21.

Thanks!

Michael

A single castle stay will not allow you to take a day trip to Paris <b>and</b> Bordeaux; it's one or the other, and I am skeptical about the logistics of the staying outside Paris.

Lois2

Paris is not a day trip....really need minimum of 3 nights to take in even some of the major sites. You can try to get some ideas here or maybe go to your local travel agency to at least get some idea of logistics...any travel professional will caution you that Paris cannot and should not ever be a day trip.

bilboburgler

Great question, lets look at the UK

http://www.britainsfinest.co.uk/hote...FYIcGwodXs0EEA offer B&B but not much near London.

This link looks a bit better with three in the south east

http://www.historic-uk.com/CastleHotels/

What you need to check on is if the rooms are actually in the castle or in say a stable block next door (often easier to convert as planning laws restrict some developments.

Hope that helps

Some other thoughts might help, not sure where you are coming from but have you factored in jetlag when you arrive in London? You may find driving out of Heathrow a tad difficult (jet lgged, wrong side of the road etc so take care).

In Italy have a look at Agroturismos one of the better websites is http://www.agriturismo.it/en/

traveller1959

Just a few thoughts:

- As said, you need to stay in Paris, I would say, at least 4 nights.

- Second, I do not know what you really want in Bordeaux. It is not a number one attraction in France. If you love to stay at a castle hotel, I would rather recommend staying in the Loire region for two or three night, e.g. here: www.tortiniere.com

- Third, night trains are nightmares, especially when travelling with family. Rather look for inexpensive flights.

- Fourth, in June, I would choose a base at one of the beautiful lakes in Northern Italy. Lake Garda is beautiful (the northern half, where the coast is dramatic) and you can do day trips to Verona, even Venice and Milano.

Lexma90

You do not have enough time to visit all of the places you mentioned. What is YOUR family interested in?

If you all really like castles, then plan your trip around visiting castles. Castles are generally not located in cities.

The Loire Valley is a good location for chateaux; not quite a day trip from Paris, but you could spend 3 nights (really the minimum) in Paris and 3 nights in the Loire Valley - we did that with our son when he was 10yo. We stayed in a chateau, Chateau de Noizay, outside of Amboise. It was a nice little castle with a suit of armor in the front hall. It was outside of town, however, so we had to drive everywhere, including if we only wanted to spend time in a cafe. And I will say, my son didn't seem to care that much that we were staying in a castle. So you might really check your kids' interest levels before you invest a lot of time/money in the castle stay idea.

Bologna is my favorite small city in Italy. We visited with out DD when she was 10yo, after stops in Venice and Florence, both of which she liked very much. But she liked the less-touristy feel of Bologna. Also, there is very good gelato there!

In terms of activities for kids, what do your kids enjoy, and what do they want to do in England, France and Italy? What have they enjoyed doing on previous vacations - use that knowledge and work from there.

My kids (now 20yo and 16yo) have never been as interested as I am in researching trips (neither has my husband), though they love the trips themselves, and are very into history (as am I). So I take my knowledge of what they like, and start reading up. When I have some ideas, I have them look into the ideas, either with my or on their own. Then narrow down, based on the group response. It works for us.

annhig

if you/your kids are interested in Castles, London has two/three of the ultimate ones, all different i.e. The Tower of London, Windsor Castle, and Hampton Court. [ok that's a palace but you know what I mean].

There are also some great ones within a day trip or so of London - here's a list:

http://www.britainirelandcastles.com...outh-East.html

I suspect that if you drag your kids away from London after only 2 nights they will be seriously upset and I wouldn't blame them.

I would reckon on 4 nights in London, 4 nights in the countryside south of London, then get the Eurostar from ashford to Paris, spend 4 nights there, then head to Lake Garda to give the kids a chance to run off some steam staying by the lake, walking, biking and possibly wind-surfing.

isabel

It looks like your priority is Italy, and so you should spend the bulk of the time there, but since you did book yourself flying into London I would urge you to give it at least one more night. Two nights gives you one arrival (jet lagged) partial day, and one full day. No where near enough. Three nights is still not enough, but it does almost double your time there. I find that if I go to a city for a really short period of time I usually end up not liking it. My first trip to London was was for two days and I was 'eh'. I have since been back 8 or ten times and it's one of my favorite cities. You mentioned castles. I wouldn't bother trying to stay in one (the logistics of such a short trip make it difficult) but if you give yourself 3 nights, and feel after the second day you've seen enough (hard to believe this would happen, but you never know) then you could a day trip to a castle (I have done Dover, Warwick, Windsor, Hampton Court - all as day trips via train from London).

For Paris I would also just stick to Paris if you only want four days. There are day trips you can take if you want a 'taste' of the countryside, but the logistics of moving five people to another hotel for just a night or two would take up more time than I think it's worth.

For Italy, the Lake Garda suggestion is good. You seem to like castles, there is one really stunning one on the lower end of the lake (Sirmione). The norther end is much more scenic and there are a couple castles there. If you go with the upper lake, stay in Maclesine - it has a castle plus a gondola up to hiking trails. Kids would like both of those. But there's also an amusement park on the lower end of the lake. Personally, I wouldn't go all the way to Europe to go to an amusement park, but it is there if you need it. Day trips to Verona, Venice, Milan, Padua, etc are all doable. They are doable by train if you stay on the lower end of the lake, if you stayed in Malcesine you would need a car to efficiently do those day trips (the boat from Malcesine down to Desensanzo where the train is, takes about 3 hours). Alternately, if you based in Verona you'd have tons of day trip options and one of them could be Sirmione/Lake Garda.

http://www.pbase.com/annforcier/italian_lakes (photos of Lake Garda) (There are also galleries of all the other places you are considering)

janisj

Where do you get 20 days? the 5h to the 21st gives you 16 nights/15.5 days on the ground. Your plan is over ambitious by a mile. Dragging 5 people all over at the speed of light. You start with two nights 'in' London but one of those in a Castle. So you arrive jet lagged, have half a day in London, then the next day half a day in some castle hotel, then the next day you are off to Paris.

Have you all been to London before? If not you really should plan on a minimum of 4 nights IN London plus one night if you want a country/castle stay. Paris - 3 or 4 nights minimum, Then you are left with 7 to 9 nights (6-8 days) in Italy.

StCirq

I don't get 20 days, either. Plus, it seems you haven't glanced at a map yet. There is no location, castle or otherwise, from which it's possible to make daytrips to Bordeaux and Paris. And what, exactly, is your interest in Bordeaux?

You don't have enough time in either Paris or London.

You need to hunker down with guidebooks and maps and get this sorted out.

nytraveler

Not sure if you plan on traveling by train (if so look at bahn.de for train schedules to get an idea of travel times) or car (and for that you need to check viamichein.com for travel times).

I rally think you need to get a good map and some guide books so you hae a better idea of what is possible/realistic. It's obvious from your plans that you just don't have a clue.

If you want to visit/tour castles that's one thing and easily done. As mentioned The Tower of London is a massive castle and Windsor Castle and Hampton court Palace are both only about 30 minutes away from London. However, staying in as castle hotel is a whole other thing - VERY expensive and you will need a car to get around from there since they are in the deep countryside. Also what activities do these hotels have that you want to enjoy?
And how can you see ANY of London and also spend a day at a castle hotel?

You really need to decide what you want to see and do - and some checking on how long this will take (look at the appropriate Michelin green guides).

And agree that with your dates you have at most 16.5 days - if that is you are landing on the 5th and returning home on the 22nd. Also realize it takes at least 12 day to travel between any 2 cities.

MAdams

Okay so we are actually arriving in the UK on June 1 and spending several days in Belfast with friends then meeting my husband in London on the 6th. So correction we will be traveling together for 15 days. In that time I would like to spend the bulk of our time in Italy.

My list of stops are all subject to change and are really just places we would like to see it doesn't mean we will visit all of these cities. Bordeaux is not a must but my mom would like the see the city, she will be with us. Our family migrated to the United States from Bordeaux.

I spent several weeks in Spain a few years ago we were based in Madrid, but I loved the time spent in Seville and Segovia.

Sassafrass

The time planned for England, and even France to some extent, is simply not enough to include stays in castles and to see anything else. Did you or the kids want to see anything at all in London - Tower of London, Westminster, the Globe, etc? Personally, I would increase your time in England to at least five nights. That would greatly increase your options.

Without knowing your prior travel experience, I hesitate to offer advice you may already know, so only a bit, hoping it is helpful.

Many flights depart the US in the evening and arrive in Europe in the morning. People think that gives them the first whole day in Europe, but if you do not sleep well on the flight (most people do not), you will be exhausted on arrival and experience some jet lag. The first day amounts to less than a half day. Unless you are used to it, picking up a car and driving on the left side of the road right away to get to the countryside is not recommended.

Based on that and such limited time in London, I suggest seeing some of London that first day, Hampton Court Palace the second day and more of London the third day. At the least, I would stay in London the third night and take the early train to Paris on the fourth day. OTOH, it would be an even more rushed blur of London, but you could head to Paris late the evening of the third day and be ready for Paris the fourth day.

Will get back with a couple of ideas for France.

Don't feel you have to pin things down right away. Read everybody's ideas and opinions. You have plenty of time to enjoy the research and planning.

annhig

well now Bordeaux makes sense! But you can't get a quart into a pint pot. A logical trip would be Belfast -London- Paris - Bordeaux, perhaps squeezing the dordogne in before Bordeaux at a pinch.

if it HAS to be Italy, forget Paris, fly from London to Bordeaux and from Bordeaux to Italy.

janisj

Those details would have helped a lot up front. Seeing Bordeaux makes sense now -- since that is where your family is from.

You still only have 16 days -- so I'd drop London entirely (and London is my favorite city anywhere). Do a few days in Paris (flying from Belfast), two nights/one full day in Bordeaux, and the rest in Italy. That is really all you have time for. Where to spend your Italy time is up to you, it will be about 10 days so Rome/Florence/Venice would be rushed but doable.

annhig

JJ - they have to meet the OP's husband in London, as I understand it, though I suppose that they could travel to the next place independently as you suggest.

janisj

Thanks annhig - totally overlooked that bit. If the hubby will be on business in London or something . . . one option would be for him to jump on a cheap flight to Belfast and travel onward w/ the family.

Or maybe do London but skip Paris. I just don't think there is enough time for London/Paris/Bordeaux plus 'the bulk' of the time in Italy. Trying to fit a 3 or 4 week trip into 15 days.

Kathie

You have made the usual error of novice travelers: you are trying to cram too much into the time you have. You've also made a less usual error: you have overestimated the time you have by a third, you have at most 15 days, not 20. With 15 days (and all of those people), I'd suggest you choose three places. You can do a day tip from each place, but you need to start cutting your destinations. It's time to get realistic.

PalenQ

Eurostar tickets to Paris should be booked as far in advance as possible to nab limited in number deep discounted fares and Thello night train too - www.eurostar.com and www.thello.com are the official sites. Trains in France can be booked at www.voyages-sncf.com or www.capitainetrain.com - same trains same fares - latter is said to be much easier to get to work for Americans.

Thello night train only goes to Milan and Venice and cities in between. For Florence or Rome change in the early morning at Milan.

Lots of good stuff on trains: www.seat61.com - great info on discounted tickets; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com.

PalenQ

http://www.chateaudepray.fr/

Stay in a Loire castle - check out the Chateau de Pray, within walking distance of Amboise' chateau.