p.s. time of year would anytime January through July, before school starts.

With two small kids I really like the idea of renting a house for the entire time, and doing expeditions from a home base. Someplace in Central or South America sounds fascinating to me. Nothing wrong with the European destinations you mention. Tough (but wonderful) dilemma!

A friend of mine did a road trip with her husband and toddler through Central and South America. I think they had a Westfalia or some other type of camper. They had a great time!

that's a really cool idea - renting a camper and traveling through different areas. Hadn't even occurred to me! Food for thought, thanks!

resurrecting this topic as we're getting into crunch time! We're still thinking about Italy for the month - but South America has a lot of appeal for time zone reasons (I'll be working some remotely).

Would love any other ideas you might have!

You'll get much better response if you re-post your questions on the Europe and South America forums . . .

My girls are 5 and 3, and so far we haven't ventured beyond the Caribbean with them but I'm trying. That said, I've found it really nice to have a home base. Maybe renting a camper for two weeks and renting a house for the other two? Is there anyplace your older DD would like to visit? What interests does she have that you can incorporate? I think anyplace in Europe is great. New Zealand or Australia would also be great. I wouldn't recommend Africa - having been there without kids I wouldn't take a 3yo to the east or south (dangerous animals), and north and west I don't think there would be enough to interest them for four weeks. Central America would be more of a relaxing trip and easy to do with a camper, but then you would have to worry about malaria pills for the little one (that's my biggest concern anyway). South America would be very cool but certain areas have big altitude adjustments. My oldest DD had a major health issue when we traveled to the Bahamas two years ago, so I'm a bit sensitive to making sure we're close to decent healthcare and I can communicate a bit in the language (at least until she is old enough to better communicate what's wrong) so personally Asia wouldn't be on my short list - as eager as I am to take the kids to Thailand!!!

It's so easy to rent a camper in NZ, and there's so much for kids to see there. Same with Europe - you can easily rent a house or two or three and take the train around. Hungary, Croatia, Germany, Sweden, and Denmark are very kid friendly (I've done the research!) and have loads of things to entertain little ones. It's going to be an amazing adventure for all of you!! I don't think anyplace you pick will be a bad one!

come to croatia,it has cleanear sea then italy,its much cheaper,
safe for kids .

I've got to admit, Croatia is very high on my list with kids too! Thanks for posting that! And it's so close to other countries for day trips.

Have you considered a home exchange? I just recently discovered it and I am still in planning stages for our next adventure. But it seems to work with your 4-weeks schedule.

On a different note, Denmark and Sweden are amazingly child-friendly. Very expensive places to stay but very nice and easy to entertain little ones with various tourist attractions and great playgrounds. Stockholm beats Copenhagen (even despite the beautiful Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen), IMHO.

What ever happened here? Your original post is eerie to me as my first thought while planning my family's trip (Myself, wife, 6yo son, 3 yo daughter) was a small island off the coast of Honduras. Then I thought about Italy and Australia. We are going January 2013.

Just a follow-up on this after all the valuable input! We've decided on a week in Spain then a week in Ireland, and then I'm flying back home with the girls while my husband stays in Europe to catch some EPL games and golf. So the best of both worlds for all!