Family Travel ...
 

My wife and I and our 4 children (5,9,12 and 15) are planning to travel to Europe next summer for about 10 days. My wife and I have been overseas a few times before. This will be the first for our children (though we have traveled a good bit in the states). My thoughts are to fly in to Edinburg and spend a couple of days in Scotland ... take the train to London and spend several days there ... then take the train to Paris and spend a couple of days there ... then fly home. For starters ... any suggestions regarding this plan?

My daughter's middle school took this exact trip this summer. I thought it was a great choice for kids that had never been to Europe (though many on this board will suggest London, Paris, Italy - which is another great choice). We spent a week in Scotland on a working farm - and my kids just loved it...

My kids ages 6y, 9y love London. They have been there 2x and 1x to Paris. I have never been to Edinburg, but my 9yr old announced that he wishes to visit that area also. @ years ago we travelled to Paris, the Loire , back to Paris (for a 1day visit to Disneyland Paris) and took the Eurostar to London. We then flew to Manchester to visit friends. The kids loved the trip. This year we spent 2 weeks in Italy and 3 days in London on the way back home to the states. It too was a good trip, but again the kids just really loved London.

Just a note, we stay at the Holiday Inn Kensington, and love the hotel and location plus, since it is a Holiday Inn kids eat free. The hotel is only a 5 minute walk to many museums, lots of resturants and the tube.

Happy planning,
Travelatte

Hi ois,

That's a lot of moving, especially for the 9-yr old.

Have you asked your wife what she thinks about the packing and unpacking?

Keep in mind, each time you move you lose at least 1/2 day.

My suggestion is 10 days in the UK.

((I))

I agree with Ira, too much moving around for only 10 days. Maybe do Scotland and London, but adding on Paris is probably one too many stops.

Scotland is my favorite place on Earth - but to go there for only 2 days I would be tempted to say "Why bother?" Especially with a family in tow.

Might I suggest open jaw into Scotland and out of London. 2 days Edinburgh, 4 or 5 days driving around a bit of Scotland - OR - into N. England for Hadrian's Wall, Bamburgh castle, and Alnwick Castle (Alnwick is a "must" if any of the kids are H. Potter fanatics), then take the train or fly into London for the last 4 days or so.

Save Paris for when you have enough time to do it justice.

Sad to say, but don't include Paris on a 10-day trip - too much moving around.

I like janis's plan.

Do you know how expensive London is these days? Personally, I'd limit my time there as I can't hack the expense of anything there. Really, it's appalling, and I do say this with nods to my London friends, but your city and the exchange rate just don't work for me at all right now. I'm not going anywhere near London until the exchange rate does a huge dive in my favor.
I don't know how Scotland compares, and would be interested to find out, but if it's anything like London, you'd better have plenty of moolah to spend on this trip.

St Cirq: Actually - outside of London, and to a lesser extent, Edinburgh, accomodations are still pretty reasonable in most of the UK. And in rural Scotland a lot of places are downright cheap.

Plus - for a family of six an apartment will save a fortune in London.

It seems weird to me - hotels of the same quality tend to be cheaper in Paris, but flats of the same size/quality are usually cheaper in London. I can get a very large studio in central London for about £60 per night and a 3 bedroom penthouse w/ terraces and 2 1/2 baths for less than £175. Go figure . . . . .

By all means, rent a flat in London and take a day trip to Paris (if you negotiate the price well, you might be able to spend a night in Paris with only minimal luggage, leaving most of it back at the London base). The further from Trafalgar Square you sleep, the further you money will go.

We use the London bus system a lot - passes are £11 per week for adults, and kids fly free. Most destinations are close enough together that going down into the Tube is a waste of time. Here's a map of what bus routes serve which sights:

<b>http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/pdfdocs/tourist.pdf
</b>

And here's a map of the entire downtown area:

<b>http://www.tfl.gov.uk/buses/pdfdocs/centlond.pdf
</b>

I personally see NOTHING wrong with packing up and moving twice during a ten day vacation. I'm all for your original idea of the three places. Each kid is responsible for his own packing in his own suitcase -- how hard can that be when you need to pack up everything you have with you on the trip. Sounds like an &quot;adventure&quot; to me, and I (like most kids) love adventures.

The expense factor hasn't been mentioned (either by oisman or anyone else), but since it might matter...

I've traveled with three children, and I don't believe I've ever found two five-day accommodations for five that were anywhere near as inexpensive as one ten-day one. For a weeklong or longer stay, a multi-bedroom apartment costs about the same as a single room.

Unless oisman can find such lodging (or doesn't care), I believe an open-jaw trip is a non-starter. This would not, however, preclude the possibility of spending two full days and one night in Paris - especially if weekend rates for train and hotel can be negotiated.

The train expense is a constant for one-way or round-trip.

Sounds reasonable to me, I guess oisman knows his budget will cover this.

On the other hand....if Europe is your aim I'd go on the continent and maybe spend a couple of days in the UK if you really want. I wouldn't say the UK is sufficiently different to the states to make it much of an adventure for the kids. Why not take them somewhere completely different and have a holiday of a lifetime? There are so many places much more 'European' (after most of us in the UK think of Europe as that big place on the other side of the chanel and that we are not geographically part of it).

I travel with my 3 kids (, 5, 8 and 10 years old now) every other summer to Europe and elsewhere on the off years. My parents live in the West Country in Bath. A beautiful city.

We have rented a flat in London for 5-7 days and the kids love the city! This time we just stayed two days in London at The K and K George Hotel. Two rooms, 99GBP per room, great brakfast included and internet computer access. On the Heathrow tube link line. Awsome for families very clean and newly remodeled! Also stayed at Savoy on a trip and that works too, just more busy and crowded.


We took the Eurostar from Paris to London and the kids loved it. They also liked Paris but love London. We rented a flat from Chez Vous on Ile St. Lois and it was wonderful.

With losing time in transit and jetlag, 10 days and three places is a recipe for tention in the family!! I'd extend to two weeks or cut something.