First visit to Europe, traveling with teens
 

Hello,

Planning a trip to Europe is overwhelming! Based on the research I have done and the feedback I read on this site and others about traveling with teens etc, I have put together the following itinerary. Kindly offer feedback and let me know if I should consider other cities, less time, more time?

Notes:
- None of us have ever been to Europe
- Our teen boys are 16 and 13
- Our oldest son will be spending 3 weeks in Madrid and Barcelona before we arrive to pick him up to start our family vacation
- We will be traveling in August

Itinerary:
- Arrive in Madrid, stay 3 days
- Take train to Barcelona, stay 3 days
- Take train to Paris, stay 4 days
- Take train to London, stay 4 days
- Return to US from London

We are completely open to suggestions. A friend of ours recommended staying in Spain the entire time? Going to Sevilla, Cordoba, Granada, Barcelona, Madrid, Salamanca, Toledo. Thoughts on that?

Kindly let me know and thank you for your feedback

The current itinerary is fine. You might want to look for a cheap airfare between Barcelona and Paris instead of taking the train. This type of itinerary is easier to work out than a tour of Spain with more transfers and transportation changes which all eat up a considerable amount of time. But if your son is spending time in Spain, he might want to extend the experience to learn more about the country.

You want to book train tickets far in advance yourselves online to score deep discounts - www.seat61.com has loads on doing that - general train info - BETS-European Rail Experts and www.ricksteves.com. Paris-Barcelona is several hours so flying may be better but you also on the train see the countryside in between.

Sounds like you prefer big cities, and for a 1st timer to Europe that makes sense as that's where a lot of history & culture is concentrated. For me big cities wear me out whether at home or overseas (because that's where people, noises, smells, cars, buses and trucks are also concentrated), so I now seek out small towns & quieter vacation spots for "slow travel."

For your trip an alternate itinerary could be to look into a few days along the French coast or mountains or countryside en-route to Paris, and save London for another trip.

Hi and Welcome! One thing to note: think of your itinerary in terms of Nights instead of Days. For example, 4 days in a locale equals to 5 nights.

Figure the time getting from city to city in this configuration. Not only time from say, London to Paris, but also time packing, getting to train station (or airport), checking out of hotels, etc. and you will find your time getting even more limited - plus having to contend with a party of 4 people. Also, if your flight home is figured in your final "day," you will not spend any time in that city on that day. Also count on your first day in Europe (Spain?) to be a wash getting from airport.

How many days total do you have for this trip, including days "on the ground?" I count 14 so far - does that include your arrival and departure days?

While I think your proposed time in Paris and London are good base amounts, it also depends on what you and your family want to do in these areas. I will defer to others about Spain. Have you and your family discussed what you want to see/do in each destination? That and will impact your total days and what is feasible.

Planning a trip to Europe is overwhelming when one does not have objectives guiding why one chooses one thing over others.

>>> if I should consider other cities, less time, more time? <<<
>>> A friend of ours recommended staying in Spain the entire time? … Thoughts on that? <<<
Without objectives, you get blown to and fro by one recommendation after another.

If your objective is to see something others mentioned, then anything that can be accomplished within your constraints would do the job.
So your 16 year old would have seen Madrid and Barcelona. What does he want to do afterwards? If it is visiting several places he has been and some more, then your current itinerary is probably ok. If he wants to see Spain in depth, then staying in Spain makes sense. What if he realizes not now but after being in Spain that he would want to visit only other countries instead. Then what are you going to do?

Good comments from Greg, especially the part about you son already having been to both Madrid and Barcelona, will he want to immediately go there again?

Speaking from personal experience, probably yes. He will be able to show mom/dad and brother what he knows and act as a tour guide. This is a good chance for him to act like a young adult do just that. He can show his younger brother places he found, and they don't need to be on somebody else's "must see list." it might be some random shop with weird souvenirs, or some cafe with food he's enjoyed, or anything else relating to his own experiences. The big churches, fountains, museums, palaces, etc will all be there, but the memories of being there are worth giving him the chance to share. And you won't know how he feels until you get there. His first reaction may be "I already went to Barcelona and it sucked, I don't want to go back...." Too late to change plans at that point. Ah, the joys of having teenagers....

One thing to consider is that Spain will be very hot in August.

Yes avoid say Sevile area with avg hi temps in summer at about 95F - Madrid's at high altitude but can still be boiling - Barcelona too but cooler than Andalusia.

I like the suggestion to stop enroute between Barcelona and Paris - somewhere slightly smaller - and skip London. I think it's always good to mix up cities, towns and villages. My son at that age enjoyed places where we could do something active like hike or cycle.

The rest of the continent can wait. “Spain” is somehow regarded as a single entity. But there are vast differences around the country – as the separatist movements in Catalonia and previously in the Basque country illustrate. You won't know Spain if you stick to Barcelona and Madrid. Bilbao is worth at least a couple of days. So is the far southern region, where the Muslim influence was profound. Cultures and cuisines vary from here to there.

Fortunately you have your own guide. Instead of finding different things for him, let him show you around. You will all learn things, adult things, from that dynamic. And the junior member can do research in advance so he, too, will feel he has contributed like an adult. Maybe he can find regional restaurants on the Internet.

The family experience matters a lot more than post cards from your wanders.

(But to be practical, if you are travelling from the US, use a multi-destination search function to fly into one city and home from another. Saves a little bit of money and a lot of time.)

The family experience matters a lot more than post cards from your wanders.>

do folks still send postcards - in my town, Ann Arbor, MI you can hardly find a postcard anymore - smart phones taking over.

I totally agree with comments posted and just wanted to "bold" a couple that I think should be emphasized. Yes, the heat! In August most of the places you are considering are likely to be hot, so I would definitely spring for A/C, not only for the cool, but also keeping windows open in the summer in cities is extremely noisy so it can make it very hard to sleep.

I also agree you will find the planning easier if you count in nights versus days-and especially consider the dates you are arriving and leaving-because those days are generally shot either by the travel logistics or jet lag.

I totally second your idea of flying into one city and out from another-it will save you lots of time ultimately.

Also, what you choose to do may also depend on whether you think you will get back to Europe any time soon again or not.