bijusamuel1970

We are from Mumbai, India. A family of 5 (myself 42, wife 35, 2 children of 11 and 12 and one year old infant!) planning a Europe trip. We are flying into London on 12th April (after a 4-day stopover in Dubai) and return from Zurich on 2nd June (all by Emirates). I have my brother in UK and another close relative in Zurich. So, the itinerary for both these countries are taken care by them. I have to plan the itinerary for other countries in Europe and looking for suggestions, ideas, tips on it especially taking into consideration the family.
We will be in UK from April 12 to 30 and plans to reach Switzerland by 20th May. The European itinerary need to be finalized for travel from 1-May till 19th May for the in-between countries. I understand that the coach travel (4 country bus package tour types) will be tough and tiring for the children and infant and many of these package tours I checked do not allow children below 12. Price-wise, such tours were looking more attractive.
We want to plan a value-for-money 18-day itinerary which is at a leisurely pace. As we are first time travellers to Europe, our interests will be the typical European attractions rather than anything out of the box. As of now, thinking of France, Spain & Italy.
When I search on hotels with 2 adults and 2 children, generally it picks up "not-so-value-for-money" propositions. Are there accommodation options where the pricing is not on a per person basis? Do we have options like we book a one bedroom apartment and we can all manage with that with a pricing which is not worked out per person? Are hostels really the cheapest option? When I searched for some with our full family details, it also ends up becoming expensive as the rates are per person which when multiplied for something like 4-5 nights is not so "low cost"! Sorry, if I am sounding too unrealistic :-}

adrienne

I would ask that for future posts you break your thoughts into separate paragraphs to make reading easier.

As to the hotels - it would be good if you provided links so we may see the type of hotels you're looking at and perhaps identify if you are reading the pricing incorrectly or requesting incorrectly. Are you asking for quad rooms with a cot for the infant? A room sleeping 4/5 people is generally more expensive than a room sleeping 2 people as the room must be larger. Typical European hotel rooms are not large.

Apartments give much better value and more space than a hotel room would and are good choices for families.

Trying to cover 3 countries in 19 days with 3 children (even without the children) is way too much. That's only 6 days per country. This is not leisurely travel.

I would keep to the countries between the UK and Switzerland - France, Belgium, Germany. This will make things easier for you if you're not always in a car or on a train. You'll have more sightseeing time.

bijusamuel1970

Thanks adreinne for the response. I will be make the postings less taxing to readers. Will keep in mind in future.

So,you suggest that in hotel booking searches i try 2 double rooms than for one room which accommodates more pax. we will be using trains and buses though we are not that studious in working out meticulous plans on them.

annhig

hi bijusamuel - welcome to fodors!

by the sound of it most of your time is already being planned by others [may be a good or a bad thing, let's hope the former] and really we're only looking at the time from May 1st to 19th. And I agree with adrienne that given your family's profile, you're going to want to keep moving around to a minimum, so i would think of a maximum of 3 places in that time.

where in the UK will you be coming from? if it's london, or you have easy access to London, then I'd think of getting the Eurostar train to Paris and making that your first stop; then you might like to do something completely different and go to Germany to spend some time on the Rhine - lots of castles and boat trips that I'm sure your kids would enjoy. that would leave you in the perfect place for getting to Switzerland to meet up with your relatives.

I know that's only 2 places but 10 days in each would give you a great feel for each destination , plus time for some days trips. you could stay in apartments which would give you a lot more space and freedom for a lot less money, and make catering a lot cheaper too, as feeding 2 adults and 3 children for 19 days in hotels in europe could get pricey.

hope that helps a bit.

adrienne

<< you suggest that in hotel booking searches i try 2 double rooms >>

I was suggesting you search for a quad room (sleeps 4 people) and request a cot (small bed) for the infant. Quad rooms are rare but usually less expensive than 2 double rooms. You may need to book 2 doubles in certain places. Or apartments, as suggested, if you are staying several days.

Before you start booking hotels/apartments you should firm up what towns you'll be visiting. You haven't said if you are planning mostly major cities but with children 11, 12, and 1 year old perhaps family friendly locations with sights that interest them would be best.

In Belgium you can explore several smaller cities such as Bruges or Antwerp that would have a very different look and feel from your home area and different from the UK and Switzerland, giving some diversity to your trip. The area is mostly flat and you can rent bikes and allow the children some outdoor activities. You'll see narrow, brick building, canals, and windmills. Belgium has great fried potatoes and beer!

The small towns of southern Germany offer castles and half timbered buildings which are charming.

In between you can visit Paris which is a major city offering a large variety of sightseeing opportunities for both adults and children. And lots of parks and gardens for the children.

justineparis

Please if you book a hotel in Paris be very clear about your numbers of people. There was a family that arrived at their hotel in Paris last year, a couple and one child who was 18 months old. They had booked a double room. They were turned away at the desk with the baby because they hotel would not let them take the double room with three people( and had no empty triples for them to take) , the baby counted as a person, not for money( some hotels do let small children free you must ask) but because fire occupancy codes are very strict in Paris and if a room is a "double" they may not by law let more then 2 people in it unless it has the required larger size , obviously in a budget hotel the rooms will be small.

I agree with others to not travel so much, and no, I would not take bus tours with a baby , bad idea! If child is sick or crying everyone will be most unhappy .

I agree take Eurostar to Paris ( bring food onboard you are allowed and everyone does) and then I would fly from Paris to Rome ( look at prices on Easyjet or Vueling NOT Ryanair). Budget airlines can be very good if you are CAREFUL and do not take too much luggage explain this carefully to whole family. Travel is much much easier with light small bags too much will only make everyone unhappy . If you rent an apartment for a week many places have laundry machines so you can wash clothes.
Then from Rome perhaps fly or train to Zurich sorry this area I am not so familar with.

I think london paris and Rome are good starts.. I wouldn't add too many others unless you like stress.

Hostels are usually not a good deal for families of five as they price by head .

In Paris there is a hotel that is like a hostel but price diferently , you can look at it anyways..

www.hotel-marignan-com/

they have rooms for 5 but I would email and ask if you can take room for 4 plus the baby in a cot ,, may be same price though. Unfortunately I see April prices are high its so popular ..

bijusamuel1970

annhig, i will have easy access to London. brother lives in Ipswich and hence some of the UK plans will be anchored from there. but we will in London for at least 4-5 days.

adrienne, actually, our baby sleeps in the same bed with us only.

we had a desire to visit Vatican and Rome also. but it will go against your valid geographical planning of France and Germany on the way to Switzerland. Initially, without thinking too much we did have a Spain plan too. But your suggestions currently inspire me to re-think.

also, we thought of city tours but beyond a point the "wow" span of children will give way to impatience; now i'm scared of that especially in the light of thoughts aired by you! which are the other family-friendly locations with sights which can be appealing to children?

the initial thought of including many cities came up as these kind of trips might be once-in-a-lifetime affair for us.

what is your thoughts on going with a package tour? we thought of that initially but dropped it later. but again tempted due to the economies of cost. any suggestions of any family-friendly (esp child-friendly) package tour?

bijusamuel1970

thanks justineparis. your words have completely closed out our temptation about the bus tour. I have send my details to this hotel which you have suggested. many thanks.

nytraveler

You don;t have 4 people - you have 5. And the averge hotel room in europe is one double bed for 2 people. With 5 - even with one an infant you really need to be searching for family rooms - and be open about the number of people and that will will need (or have) some sort o crib or whatever for the baby. There is no way this will cost the same as a basic room - so to keep the saem budget you will have to go for much simpler places. OR, you might consider getting an apartment (more room) in a couple of places for a week at a time. A much simpler and more convenient way to travel with 3 kids.

(And you;re correct, very few tours allow infants - and even older kids are usually bored stiff.)

bijusamuel1970

nytraveler,
any idea do these apartments also have strict norms on the number of persons?

StCirq

Apartments will specify how many people are allowed and what the sleeping arrangements are.

I would absolutely not book a packaged tour with children of those ages. It's generally NOT a cost saving, as opposed to planning everything yourself, the kids will likely be bored silly, and you run the risk of annoying other travelers.

Get yourself an apartment in three places between London and Switzerland and settle in and enjoy the local sights. Personally, I would do Paris, Amsterdam, and one other city (maybe somewhere around Strasbourg or Freiburg or Frankfurt, to make a sort of logical progression to Zürich).

nytraveler

Yes - apartments tell you how many occupants you can have based on the number of beds - you can't just try to stuff 5 people in a studio. Hotel rooms and apartments in europe (unless luxury priced) are generally on the small side and you just need to adapt to space and pricing.

janisj

Lots of good info above.

But just to clarify something: "<i>adrienne, actually, our baby sleeps in the same bed with us only. </i>"

That the baby sleep in the same bed doesn't matter re hotel room occupancy. The Baby is still a 'person' and it is up to the hotel whether you willbe allowed to sleep5 in the same room.

An apartment - even a 1 bdrm apartment - will have more space than any quad or 5 person hotel room. If you look at apartment listings, sometimes you will see something like "sleeps 4 +1" which means there are beds for 4 but that a cot (baby crib) or rollaway bed can be added. You would be safe renting a place that sleeps "4+" or 5.