Hi, we just saw a deal from Norwegian airline. Round trip to Europe seems to be such a good deal. Direct round-trip flight per person turns out to be about $500 tax included. But the catch is that we have to travel between Novemberand March and we have to book it by next Wednesday. Only one week to decide.

We have never been to Europe before but have been dying to go. We have two small kids seven and 3 years old. We can take two weeks off my work is flexible. My concern is the weather. Should we take advantage of the deal don't care about the weather. Or with two small kids it's better to save it for the summer time? Please advise. Also my husband's concern is the pricing of lodging over there Airbnb Hotel Etc. Any recommendations regarding places to go, itineraries etc. would be greatly appreciated.

November to March is a broad period of time. Weather will vary quite a bit. Even more so when you consider it's a big place ranging from the far north to the southern cities.

If you avoid the weeks between December 15th and January 6th lodging will be low season and much cheaper when compared to summer. If Venice is on your list you'll need to check when Carnevale is. Lodging prices will soar.

Which gets to the question. WHERE do you want to go? Hard to give any solid suggestions without an idea of your interests and possible destinations.

In general if you aren't looking for a beach trip and don't melt in the rain those four months are a good time to travel. Smaller crowds. Cheaper hotels. Less risk of heat stroke --)

People travel in Europe between November and March all the time. There isn't a continental "weather." It varies, like anyplace else.

It's an entire continent. You need to start reading about the many, many possibilities. No one can say where you ought to go - there are too many choices.

Lodging "over there" comes in all categories. You have control over how much you spend, as with anywhere.

Get guidebooks and maps and start researching. "Going to Europe" is far too big a concept to work with. Narrow it down and state your interests; otherwise no one can be of any use in helping you.

Thank you for your time and responses. As mentioned I have never been to Europe so I'm pretty much open... I do want to visit Paris London Spain Italy Greece etc. Sorry I didn't give this information earlier I totally forgot about it. And I will be traveling from Los Angeles.

With only a two week trip you'll have to narrow that down ALOT.

If you're mainly thinking of a city trip weather isn't a big issue. Touring a museum for example isn't weather dependent.

You forgot about it? Well, that will be impossible in just two weeks, so you still have tons of research to do. You can reasonably visit about 3 places (NOT entire countries, obviously) in that short period of time. It doesn't matter where you'll be traveling from, except for details regarding what you might be capable of seeing on Day 1 of your trip - but you're far, far away from getting into that kind of detail at this point.

BTW if you go to something like booking.com you can check what lodging prices will be. Input the dates you're thinking about and search.

One suggestion is to pick hotels in the city centre. Don't be tempted to stay outside the city to save a bit of money. What you save on the hotel you'll spend commuting and the frustration will be priceless.

What a wonderful opportunity for you and your family!

With the two young children in tow, I would suggest choosing two cities to visit. Perhaps London or Paris or Rome or Amsterdam. If you’re interested in seeing the countryside, you can always make a day trip outside the city. Cities will offer you more indoor things to do in case the weather is inclement than smaller rural villages or towns.

Moving between locations pretty much means losing a day to packing, travel, checking in to the next place, and settling in - so limiting yourselves to only a couple moves is a good plan. Each of the cities mentioned above will have more than enough sights to keep you busy for a week.

Check with online line agencies for vacation apartment rentals - you will be much happier with a kitchen and a bit more room to spread out than a hotel room could offer. Be sure that the apartment is legally registered if you book in Paris.

Are you looking at this page? https://www.norwegian.com/us/flights...oast/to-europe
Have you actually plugged in trial dates and destinations and read the fine print terms and conditions?
If you are traveling as a family with small children, be sure you have considered seat assignments, checked luggage, etc, you need to travel as family. Also consider risk premium, that is having only one scheduled flight per day only on selected days per week from LAX -- meaning, alternate flights are hard to come by if there is a foul up.
Legacy carriers are not immune from flight foul-ups. Last year, my flight to ATH via AMS became no go with 8 hours notice because the plane to AMS would be arriving too late to catch the last the AMS-ATH flight of the day. Because I was flying Delta, they had other flights to ATH via CDG, so that was what they put us as a replacement with only one hour delay arriving in ATH.
You can go to Southern Europe to improve your chance of better weather.
You can also take advantage of the season by visiting late fall or winter festivities, for example, German Christmas markets in early December.

While it might seem like a great opportunity, spending limited time and money to go to a place that you aren't sure you want to see -- and then either having to spend a LOT of money getting from wherever to anywhere that you DO want to see, or losing the opportunity to go somewhere that you really do want to see -- doesn't strike me as a good decision. Frankly, it seems to me that some of us spend a LOT of time advising people who book what seems to be a great airfare without having given due consideration to what they want to see.

My advice: Don't book this flight unless you are absolutely sure that it meets your needs. In the meantime, do some research. Actually, do a LOT of research.

Hope that helps!

Generally you need to choose between countryside and city scapes. City scapes offer you the chance to dash into large shops and museums, theatres etc when the cold and dark gets to much so northern climes make sense while country scapes suggest the few warm places and snow places. I suggest you look at

Warm cities in Spain; Grenada, Sevilla and Cordoba or Barecelona (not Madrid its elevation can make it very cold)
Northern cities; Paris, London and Amsterdam
Snow; Look at the Alps (so Switzerland, Austria, Eastern France, Slovenia or Scandanavia)

. I do want to visit Paris London Spain Italy Greece etc>

2 weeks like others say not possible.

I'd suggest landing in London
4 nights
Take train to Paris - 2 hrs - thru Channel Tunnel.
Paris 3 nights
Night train to Venice or fly - too long for day train
Venice 2 nights
Train to Rome -3 nights

and that is very rushed but all that is possible for those cities at least.

To save a few bucks on airfare, going in winter when your most do-able choices are large cities ... and weather dictates that you'll be mainly going to "inside" sights (i.e. museums, stately homes, palaces etc) that are NOT that interesting to 7 year-olds and not at all to 3-year-olds.... As a battle-hardened Mom, I just find myself saying NO NO NO. If you wait a few months, you may find a similar bargain for MAY ... and then you can go to Greece, and you children can frolic on a beach, and go with you to outdoor wonders like ruins, and hilltops and forts, and you can have picnic lunches, and in the evening eat outdoors by the waterside, where waiters will welcome your kiddies and give them extra treats and let them run around the premises while you sip your coffee.

Every May I see families like yours having a wonderful time in places like Naxos (a shallow beach right by a fascinating port town) or Nafplio (a gorgeous town on a peninsula, with a marble-paved main square where children play ball by moonlight). Compare this with a rainy day in London waiting for a bus... or waiting in line at the Louvre while your 7 year old whines for ice cream, and your 3-year old whimpers I'm tired pick me up.

Mom, resist. Step away from the Computer. Or look at some May "eye candy" Keep an eye out for May bargains instead ....
NAXOS --

Flickr Slideshows (Photostreams)