crazyfamilyof4

Hi,
New post as my other 2 posts had comments past 50!

So after all the changes along the way here is the rough guide for our trip.

We arrive 10th of June in London so

Day 1- Windsor

Day 2-4- Windsor/either drive to Cardiff or somewhere in Warikshire??

Day 4-6-Bath

Day 7-9 Devon

Day 10-16 London

Day 17-23 -Paris

Day24-29- 2 places south of France -thinking Sarlet? So that we get to Barcelona

Day 30-34-Barcelona

Day 35-38- Somewhere in Avignon

Day 38-42- Varenna

Day 43-56- In Italy but not sure where - We are thinking Siena/Rome/Bologna??

Day 57 - Innsbruck

Day 57-59 - Munich

Day 59-63 - Prague

Day 63 - 67 - Berlin

Day 67 -70 -Frankfurt

We will hire a car in the UK and train from London to Paris and then after Paris pick up our lease car to do the rest of the journey.

Looking forward to getting your thoughts and help!

StCirq

It's Sarlat, not Sarlet. And since you mention it, I find it amazing that you are traveling for this length of time and not giving your kids the amazing break that a week at least in the Périgord Noir would afford them, instead of shoveling them through southwest of France and on to Barcelona. Are you not aware of all the amazing things there are for kids to do in the Périgord? Caves, kayaking, hiking, troglodyte villages, castles, trébuchet exhibitions, zip lines, and on and on and on...I guess you're just fixated on getting to the next big city. Doesn't make sense to me, which is why I've pretty much stayed off this thread.

fourfortravel

I've commented before on your exhausting itinerary, but I do hope you will post a trip report (maybe even a live report).

Thanks, StCirq., for the activities list in Périgord; our 11 year-old daughter and I are in the early stages of hatching a road trip once school ends this summer, and the outdoor activities make the area an attractive destination for two of us, more so than for a 2 and 4 year-old.

crazyfamilyof4

Thanks StCirq . . .We had already had booked Barcelona in on this date thinking that a few nights would be enough! We had no idea really and it looks really beautiful! Point taken about SARLET! Sorry! We could cut into our stay in Paris as we are there for 7days (in hope we can do a fair bit of day trips) I really thank you for all the time you have put in to helping me over the past month! I know from your advice that when I arrive I will more then likely kick myself for not staying longer but I guess that's what happens whenever one travels to new destinations! I looked into the places you suggested but they wanted us to stay for longer then a few days .. . so I do still need help in finding short stay places

crazyfamilyof4

At this stage the plan for Italy is something like this

Day 45-50 - Bracciano (visit Rome from this location)

Day50-51 - Mugello area of Tuscany -- rest

Day 53-55 - Peschiera del Garda

Sassafrass

Your itinerary, while obviously not what most people on the forum would attempt with such little ones, is somewhat clearer and more cohesive than at the beginning of your planning - until you get to Avignon where it gets confusing.

There you start putting the same day in two places. You have day 38 in both Avignon and Varenna, day 57 in both Innsbrook and Munich, day 59 in both Munich and Prague, Day 63 in both Prague and Berlin, Day 67 in both Berlin and Frankfurt.

Your itinerary is kind of glossing over the travel times between places. You can make a better trip by nailing those travel times down and including them in the itinerary.

Example:
Days 43-55,Italy somewhere (3 days-3/4nts)
Day 56, Travel from ? to Innsbrook (1 day)
Day 57, Innsbrook (1 day-2nts)
Day 58, Travel Innsbrook to Munich(1/2 day +)
Days 59-60, Munich (2 days-3nts)
Day 61, Travel Munich to Prague (1 day)
Days 62-63, Prague (2 days-3nts)
Day 64, Travel to Berlin
Days 65-67, Berlin (3 days-4nts)
Day 68 Travel Berlin to Frankfurt(most of a day)
Day 69-70 Frankfurt(1 day-2nts if flying out on day 70)
(2 days-3nts if flying out on day 71)

When you see it layed out in sequenced days/nights, you start to see how little/how much time you will actually have in each place and how many days on the road.

justineparis

Just wondering , have you done a road trip like this with your kids yet, I mean even a two or three week one? With 6-8 or so destinations?
I do understand that people have different travel styles, and if you didn't have tots with you it would likely be more of an adventure, but with tots, I really see some serious travel fatique happening after the second week or so .. but you know your kids best I guess ( I know my three would have found your schedule too grueling) .

I do hope it works out, and I do hope you come back and give us a trip report, if nothing else it will be a learning experience for us too! You can prove some of us nervous nellys wrong!

crazyfamilyof4

<<<Sassafrass>>> thanks for that . . didn't notice that! Like what you did !!!

<<<justineparis>>> In western Australia we have long travel times to get to places but then there is not alot of places to go. We have done a 6 week road trip up north with no worries when they were younger and have done a 3 week go go go trip down south which the kids loved!

I PROMISE i will share you the trip with what has worked and hasn't etc

Ackislander

Yuo know, you may want to do this a lot, but the two year old is not going to remember any of it, and the four year old won't remember much. You have to deal with diapers and sippy cups and blankets with names that HAVE to be ready for bedtimes no matter how messy they are, and you will have to deal with washing machines and driers that don't work at all like those at home.

I know it seems like a long time, but if you wait four or even better five years for this grand tour, you all will have a good time.

On this trip, you will _never_ be able to go out to a nice dinner or a concert or a show. Most of the better places to eat in the counries you are visiting don't even open for dinner until after the kids' bedtime. Daytrips from Paris? With a baby and an infant on public transportation?

UNLESS, and here is a way your plan becomes completely possible, unless you hire a high school or college student to come along with you as a mother's helper. What would an additional person cost in relation to what you will be paying for the rest of the trip? I would bet that except for the airfare, the amount will be trivial in terms of the possibilities it would open up. I would be surprised if you would have to pay a lot beyond a free trip and spending money to do this with/for you.

justineparis

ah, I appricieate the long distances in Australia( I am from Canada) , but as you said, theres not alot of places to go. Your Europeon trip is action packed, there will be sites to see almost every single day, musuems, churches, castles, hotel changes, big cities( and some of those cities will have you ushering your tots through crowds, and many of the sites will involve waiting in lines for tickets) so its a more intense experience , for the kids, and for you . I guess once you start you can always decide to "take days off" from siteseeing and that will likely help.

annhig

crazy - when our first child was very small we tried doing a trip like this [in N. America actually] and we quickly learnt our lesson. after that we tended to rent a house or similar and stay put for a week or so, which was must more successful for our kids and therefore for us.


IMO you could still have a great trip and see loads [in fact, IMO you'd see more] if you slowed right down.

you could for example do this:

Day 1- Windsor

Day 2-7- Devon

Day 7-9 -Bath

Day 10-16 London

Day 17-23 -Paris

Day24-29- SarlAt?

Day 30-34-Barcelona

Day 35-40- Avignon

Day 40-47- Varenna

Day 47-53- dolomites?

Day 53 - 57 - Venice

Day 57 - 59 Innsbruck

Day 59-63 - Prague

Day 63 - 67 - Berlin

Day 67 -70 -Frankfurt


it's not perfect, but IMO it's getting there.

crazyfamilyof4

<<<Ackislander>>> thank you for your thoughts .. .there are reasons behind our travel and pnly yesterday I was talking to someone who was telling me that she thank god every day for doing the trip with her 2 small children as her husband died 9 weeks later from there return! Besides flights are paid and we are going! Also both kids are toilet trained, they don't need drinks before bed and are already able to do late dinners etc...in my last two threads I made this very clear that my children will be fine and I look forward to sharing the trip report with you.

We also have a few people along the way to use if we wish to go out for a dinner just the two of us and we know our daughter won't remember .. So thank you for your concern but it's happening.

<<<annhig>>> Thanks again! I like your run down! Do you think we could get to Barcelona from Sarlat in a day? I really don't understand why people like Venice! It was alright but I feel like I've been there done that .. unlike ROme I could go back to time and time again Funny how we are all different! Never thought of the dolomites...might look into that! Again Innsbruck to Prague in a day???? is this doable? Thanks again Annhig ...you have been soooo helpful.

<<<justinparis>>> We are aware of that! That's why we plan on doing ALOT of the Hop on Hop off bus tours! We have one over here and I took the kids on that and they loved it! So we figure we will do that whenever possible etc

Thanks everyone for your help with this trip. Really do appreciate it!

crazyfamilyof4

So which do you think is better for after Paris?

Paris--> Bordeaux--> Pau--> Roda de Isábena--> Barcelona

or

Loire valley ----- >Sarlat ------> Carcassonne ------- > Barcelona

also what do you think is a reasonable amount to pay for 2bed place in France? Is 150euros a night reasonable? I notice a lot of places want a week stay which is fine if it works out for us to be around this amount over the four days ... e.g. one week is $500 euros -

I have gone over all my old threads and have cut and pasted the bits n pieces into an email so they are there!

CAN I JUST SAY AGAIN THANK YOU FOR HELPING ME CREATE THE TRIP OF A LIFETIME FOR MY FAMILY!

Tulips

In case you would want a babysitter in London, I can recommend Universal Aunts. They are very reliable.

Good luck with your trip!

Christina

I'd guess the second route, but don't really know anything about Pau and Roda whatever, I just can't imagine why Bordeaux would be of interest in a family vacation with small children, and other itinerary sounds okay on the surface.

I"m not clear on what you are asking about the 150 euro for 2 beds in France. If you mean a double hotel room, yes, that should be fine. Of course prices vary by location, but even in the most expensive cities (ie, Paris), you can easily get a double hotel room for that rate. I also don't know what you are referring to about places requiring a week's stay. What kind of places owuld those be. The only places that routinely do that which I've noticed are maybe gites or B&B/inns in Provence during high season, something like that. Hotels certainly don't and most apartment rentals don't either.

So 150 euro per night is enough for a double hotel room, but you have four people so that's why I am not clear on why you would ask that. Your children will count as number of poeple in the room and cannot just stay in a hotel room for two adults without some accommodations being made and subsequent costs. No hotel will allow that, although there are many that have special rates for extra beds or whatever.

If you are thinking you will get a hotel room with 2 king or queen size beds (or even double beds, ie, 140 cm), that is very rare in France.

StCirq

I don't think Bordeaux will be of much interest at all. And I don't get the 2-bed question, either. Hotels in France are very strict about the number of people in a hotel room, so you can't expect to cram 4 people into a 2-bed room unless it's already designated as a room for 4 people, and that will cost more than a simple double room. You'll be turned away if you try to take 2 kids into a double room. If you're talking about something other than hotels, you need to clarify that.

Cathinjoetown

While Pau is very pretty, I think your second route makes much more sense and will be enjoyable.

Are you asking about hotels, gîtes (self-catering cottages or flats) or chambres d'hôtes (B&Bs)? Your budget should be fine outside Paris. Family rooms do exist but they go fast.

I would start by looking at what's available in the towns/villages where you want to stop. Options will emerge and people here can help you evaluate. For example, 2-bedroom gîtes in my area, an hour SW of Toulouse, run around 500-700€ per week, but this is not as popular an area as the Dordogne. That said, the prices won't be double the Dordogne, but the more reasonable places will be booked earlier.

Open your search to the Sarlat area, not just Sarlat, similarly for Carcassonne. For example, try Limoux.

janisj

I'm pretty sure crazyf is asking about 2 bedroom <i>rentals</i> (looking at the context where she mentions having to book for a week)

Cathinjoetown

I thought so as well which is why I was discussing gîtes, but wanted her to explore the other options as well.

Possible but not easy to rent a gîte for less than a week in August. But, if I understand her thinking, they would be willing to pay for a full week if the nightly rate for their stay were around 150€.

Actually, just noticied a typo, my post should read "won't be double IN the Dordogne..."

annhig

Crazy - i checked driving times on google maps. [put in your destination, then go to get directions, press button, fill in start point, press button - voila!]

Sarlat - Barcelona is about 5 1/2 - 6 hours drive, Innsbruck to Prague about 5 hours.

viamichelin.com do good directions too.

normally I'd not suggest such long drives, but if you've had a nice long time in one place, a long drive to the next isn't too bad, and with small children is preferable IMO to several short hops.