jeninpr

I have a one-month sabbatical I can take anytime January-December '07. Please send suggestions for great places to travel (and ideal timing) with kids aged 3 and 5 years.

LoveItaly

jeninpr, how fun. But you will need to give a lot of information in order for Fodorites to give you good suggestions.

Where do you live now? What interest do you have such as art, museums, mountains, seaside, large cities, small towns etc.

How do you plan on travelling. By rental car, by train and/or busses.

Do you want to stay in one location for the month or do you want to travel from one location to another. And so forth.
I think you must be so excited to have a month to take a sabatical with your little ones and I am sure there are a lot of Fodorites that will give you tons of information and their thoughts once they know what you are looking for. Also, will you have another adult with you or will it be you and your two little ones travelling on your own?

Since you have posted on the Europe Board I assume to you are interested in visiting Europe. What particular countries in Europe interest you?

I would suggest that you post back here on your thread with information that will help us help you with this exciting time in your life. Best regards.

jeninpr

Oops..sorry it's my first posting. Thanks for the advice!

We live just outside the city of Chicago in the historic district of a small town (just 20 minutes from city) and I work in the city. Our interests are very diverse. We have visited Paris many times (once with our 9-month old) and I've travelled throughout Italy and adore the countryside there. While I love Italy and France, I think I'd like to venture somewhere new (Greece? Spain? Portugal?).

I am thinking of a restful villa we could use as home base for the month and then do day-trips (we'll rent a car). I am concerned that we might get bored if we are too remote from towns, sites, etc

The kids love to swim, be outdoors, take walks. They are very active boys (imagine two bear cubs wrestling) and I can't imagine they'll have much patience for museums, shopping, etc

I hope this is helpful. Thanks

chewy1

jeninpr,

Going to Portugal tomorrow with my kids. Have a high school buddy who lives in Lisbon who is American and gets great reviews with a couple of rental properties he and his wife operate (www.visitingportugal.com and they have a 10 year old so know the kid issues). We're looking forward to the area near Sintra, it sounds fantastic. Also Obidos, and certain areas of the Algarve....

nessundorma

With kids, I think I'd pick Ireland or Scotland, Northern England or perhaps Wales, if you can stand the rain. My main reason for suggesting it is that the kids will be able to play with other English-speaking kids, plus get to see castles and sheep, watch fishing boats, run their legs off and be doted upon at pubs. The adults can find plenty of historic sites of interest. I'd go in September.

If you are intent on warm weather and swimming, I'd pick Greece. If you want access to a wide variety of fabulous day trips, try Andalucia

ben_haines_london

Two weeks ago I posted here a note on a town that will suit you well. I said this:

A recent newspaper piece reminds me that I want to tell you of good things from May to September in Keszthely, a town at the western end of Lake Balaton, eight hours by train from Vienna. I have known it ten years, have liked it from the start, and find it is improving steadily. During the (limited) season attractions include
A competent tourist information office, Tourinform
The museum and palace of the local, progressive, prince
A museum of farming from about 1750 to about 2000, with early machinery, and good examples of the equipment of the agricultural revolution, including a steam traction engine from England
A small regional museum, the Balaton museum
A traffic-free centre with cafes, open-air tables, strollers, young couples, and gypsy bands by night
A range of hotels, including lakeside
Fresh water swimming in water kept warm by the shallowness of the lake
Watersports, fishing, yatching, hill walking, bike hire and bike tours, riding
Wine tours
Decent food and drink, though you need a guide book to find the best meals
A spa town, Heviz, 15 minutes away by bus, with many good hotels, and coffee and cakes to replace the weight visitors have come to lose
Tihany peninsula, picturesque, with walks and old churches, in the lake a boat ride away
Other boat rides

Germans of both east and west used to hold family holidays here when they could not get East German visas to meet in Germany, and the town is still accustomed to Germans and Austrians. They are getting used to Britons now that there is a cheap no-frills Ryanair flight to a former air force base, now Balaton Airport. Americans are still rare. Keszthely and Heviz are the quieter, more contemplative, part of the lakeside: ninety minutes away by train Siofok is centre for rowdy nights for young people. Costs are a third those in Austria and a half those in France, but will rise as Hungary prospers. Plenty of people use English, especially the young.

Flights from the States often land in Munich and in Vienna, so I show a few of the many trains that can take you to Keszthely. With most of your travel done asleep try Munich 2344, sleepers with light breakfast (take a sandwich), Gyor 0741 to 0750, Celldomolk 0854 to 0900, Keszthely 1047
Keszthely 1700, Celldomolk 1813 to 1938, Gyor for supper 2108 to 2151, sleepers, Munich 0621.
Otherwise the rather long Vienna West 1003, restaurant car, Gyor 1131 to 1219, Celldomolk for lunch 1210 to 1314, Tapolca 1422 to 1428, Keszthely 1500
Keszthely 1055, Celldomolk for lunch 1245 to 1324, Szombathely 1355 to 1420, Sopron 11528 to 1540, Vienna South 1656.
Budapest to Keszthely is just 3 ½ hours by train, but I think flights from the States to Budapest cost more than those to Munich and Vienna.

You could ask the local information office, at [email protected] to tell you of suitable villas. You want something on the lake or near a park. The same office can tell you how to rent a car in the town or nearby.
If you set Google to Rent a Villa Keszthely you will find that there are plenty.

Ben Haines, London
[email protected]

jeninpr

Thanks for everyone's help. Lots of time and research later we've confirmed our 5 weeks in Spain .. starting in Madrid, train to Seville, car to a villa near Ronda, Granada, Malaga. Then flying to Barcelona and headed to Costa Brava for a few days and then a final 3 days in Barcelona. Last 12 days on a cruise to Itay and Greece. Can hardly wait but .... is it true that family rooms (for 4) are nearly impossible to find in the places we are visiting? We've been told we need to get two rooms in each hotel ...and that's adding a lot to cost of our trip! Kids will be 4 and 6 year old boys then.

Thanks!