PS - a minimum of four weeks for the above!!

Everyone keeps talking about trains. They are ok, but there are other options. The bus system in Europe is wonderful. It is a cheap way to get around. We spent 70.00(35.00 each) for the two of us on bus tickets from Victoria Station to Brussels. To Paris should be about the same. We got to ride the Channel Ferry, which I enjoyed. When my children rode the ferry several years ago, they really liked it and enjoyed the shopping.

Do not forget Ryanair and Flybe and other puddle jump airlines. They can get you there in 2 hours when a train or bus might take half a day. Sometimes they can be really cheap. The think to watch out for is the transport costs to and from the airport, and the total time spent. The get to the airport and from the airport costs can be more than the flight, and make the bus or train cheaper for total costs. At times, you have to weigh cost vs time. When traveling, I usually fall on the time side. I cannot recoup time, I can recoup costs.

So sorry for the mistaken identity, it's only that your screen name and questiosn are so similar to a poster we used to know here.

oh and that you insulted your fellow Fodor's posters within your first two posts of joining the forum, was the other thing.

Not something most first-time posters get into. People usually stick with questions about their trip, rather than immediately insulting the people here who might be able to help them.

We actually did a month-long trip with our kids, their first trip to Europe, when they were 11 and 13, so I can give you a little advice based on a real experience. Bear in mind that while I don't think it's a bad idea to stay in an apartment for a week in each place, it's not how we usually travel -- we pack in more places than many people think is reasonable, but still less than you were planning LOL!

Our basic itinerary was 10 days UK, 8 days France, 3 days Switzerland, 10 days Italy. In the UK, we used trains and did London (flat rental), York (hotel) and Edinburgh (B&B). We took the Eurostar to Paris. In France, we did Paris (apartment-hotel), then rented a car to drive to Interlaken. We first went to Chartres and the Loire Valley (hotel) and stayed the night in Dijon (hotel). Once in Interlaken (family room in small hotel), we did the Rick Steves "walk" (train to Wengen, lift to Mannlichen, walk to Kleine Scheidigg - cog railway to Grindelwald - train back to Interlaken --- to this day, one of the highlights of the trip). Then we took the train to and within Italy and spent a few days each in Venice, Florence, Rome, ending in Viareggio.

It was a fantastic trip - the trip of a lifetime (although we, and they, have been back a number of times since). The biggest mistake we made was not planning a "rest stop" in the middle (we all looked forward to Viareggio, and doing nothing, at the end, but we should have had a similar rest in the middle). Also, by the end, we were tired of sightseeing actual sights, and two out of four of us would have skipped Rome (it didn't help, or course, that it was really hot, as Italy is in July) on this trip, but the 13-year old said, and I paraphrase, "We're this close to Rome and you want to LEAVE without going there? I don't think so....". So we went to Rome, and we liked it very much, but of course we had far too little time there.

All in all, the trip was great. I probably would have cut out one city/place, and added a few days at the beach.

Have a great trip, whatever you decide.

I thought afterall's trip idea ws great, with about 5 days' stay in London, Paris, Venice, a Greek island and Istanbul. That leave five days for travel if you are staying 30 days. I wish I were going!!

my 2 cents:
include some rural areas with the cities. so, maybe 7 days in a farmhouse in tuscany and 3 days in a city (say, venice). If you plan to drop Amstredam, I'd suggest that you split your time in france between 4 days in the city and country side cottage/apartment rental. Accomodation costs outside a city are usually much lower and should compensate you for the cost of travel.

If you aren't big museum/art people, it makes more sense to spend time outside of cities.

Have fun!

<i>If you aren't big museum/art people, it makes more sense to spend time outside of cities.</i>

Well, that might be overstating it just a little :-) We are urban people. We do not love museums - we like them, we see some highlights, but we would never consider spending all day at a museum -- a few hours is enough for us. That said, we'd still always pick cities, or at least charming villages, over rural areas, or at least, we would tip the balance in favor of urban areas over rural. We once went to Paris and the Wine Route (Strasbourg to Colmar). After a few days on the Wine Road, we returned to Paris, happy to spend a few more days in that lovely city. The &quot;city&quot; doesn't have to be big -- as long as there's a charming and beautiful town to wander in, then I guess it could be &quot;rural&quot; -- my point is that gazing at grapevines is no more interesting to us than art museums!

In terms of unique experiences. I would suggest:

London - with a day trip or two (5-6 days), take the plane to Italy (1 travel day), fly into Rome (5 days)with a day trip to Pompeii / Naples / Capri, train to Florence (3 days), rental car through Tuscany (4 days)

- you can combine Tuscany and Florence if you'd like. Just pick a city and day trip from there - if you aren't in a big city and have a good map driving isn't too bad-

, Italian Lake counties (2 days), and end in Venice (2 days). Fly to Athens. Depending on your choice of islands I'd recommend Naxos or Mykonos for beach and sailing fun. 4 days there tops. Catch the ferry for Turkey (you'll probably have to change at Rhodes - which is a great day over night stop itself)

And then on to Turkey. Maybe arrive at Kudassi and visit Ephesus. Then either fly or take the bus to Istanbul.

I did skip Paris partly because between London, Rome, and Istanbul you'll have a good feeling for European capitals.

Besides it is a good thing to have some thing to go back for.

Just my thoughts.

I don't think the itinerary is that out of line. What I would do, though, is chop at least one of the beach destinations. Maybe Switzerland, as well.

Once you do that, then you aren't really overscheduling as badly as it might seem at first blush. London to Paris, for example is a quick jaunt. With proper scheduling, that means you shouldn't be losing much travel time, and 4 days in each city is a decent amount of time.

If you chopped one of the beach destinations - my vote would be to skip both Croatia and Greece, and just go to the beach in Turkey - then you have 13 days for Istanbul + a beach. Move maybe 3 of those days and spread them among Switzerland (if you keep it), Italy, and London. This gives you 10 days to do Istanbul and to throw in a getaway to a Turkish beach. Easily doable.

Thank you all for your thoughts! I'm getting closer to figuring it all out now (at least the preliminary figuring) and will be back to post the itinerary! Thank you for the Segway idea (my teens boys will love it!) and also the reminder to put in a rest stop - i love both cities and rural/villages so I will definately be mixing them both up. It's hard not to feel a bit intimidated about planning a trip on my own with the kiddos but it will be their trip of a lifetime!

<i>but it will be their trip of a lifetime!</i>

Indeed it will (ours was!)

We just got back from 3 weeks in Turkey ( husband, kids, 22 and 19) and we absolutely loved it!
If you want to give your kids a taste of the rest of the world, Turkey offers a unique mix of East and West.

We spent 10 days in Istanbul alone and did not see it all.
I think your teenagers would enjoy it as much as mine did. Heck they are still talking about it!

If you end up with 10 days you could maybe go to either the coast or Cappadocia for 3 days and have a week in Istanbul.
Believe me, you will be busy and time will fly, but you will have a ball!