familyfive

Would love love love some help from all you experienced travellers out there. We are a family of 2 ad and 3 ch ( 13,11,9 ) from Australia and would love to take our kids over to Europe for 9-10 weeks next July 2014

This is what we were thinking originally but are open to suggestions too

Fly BNE - LON ( stay 10 days ) travel to south (5 days) and then stay in Lon 5 days

Lon - Par - Eurostar ( stay 7 days )

Par to South of France ( suggestions on where, how to get there etc needed stay 3 wks)

Thought maybe head then to Barcelona for 5 nights then fly to ROM

ROM ( 3 weeks )
Rom - Home

Our other thought was maybe just to to LON / PAR & France that way taking longer and enjoying more of these 2 countries?

I've just found this site and have been reading other peoples experiences and trips and hoping some one who has does something similar with there family could guide us and suggest places to stay, modes of transport and places of interest. Really appreciate all the help.

Robert2533

First of all, a budget would be helpful, as well as your likes and dislikes. July is high season through most of Spain, so you need to plan ahead (carefully). And it will be "hot" in the south of Spain".

In 9 to 10 weeks you can cover a lot of ground, but you may want to consider some time set aside to relax and enjoy yourselves based on how often you plan on repeating this adventure.

justineparis

With my kids and Europe I suggest scheduling "down time" and "city time" alternately.. in other words ,, after a week in London and a week in Paris , a week in the country ( in your case you have way more time then most people so we can talk in weeks instead of days) , I suggest a week in Dordogne region, perhaps some canoeing, time on the river Lot, seeing some pre historic caves.. no major museums or cathderals.. lol
To enjoy this area renting a car is way to go.. I could suggest that instead of renting and having to drive it out of Paris you could instead take train out of Paris and rent in Tours, tour Loire Valley for a day or two then head south..
Drop car in Nice and then stay in Nice for 4-5 days, from there take public bus or trains to easily visit many seaside towns and Monte Carlo( its only ONE euro to take bus from Nice to Monaco!! ) ..
Then I would fly to Rome or Barcelona from there ( we flew to Barcelona on Vueling ) but you could hit Rome first, do all the city stuff , then fly to Barcelona, few more days city stuff , then hit some beach towns along the Costa Brava coast( check out images of Tossa De Mar or Lloret de Mar, or Girona( not beach) etc..

Man_in_seat_61

Paris-Nice starts at €25 by train, a nice scenic leisurely run, at www.capitainetrain.com

Regular direct departures by double-deck 186 mph TGV Duplex, make sure you choose a top deck seat for the best views as it speeds along the Rhone Valley, then slows for a run all along the coast between Toulon and Nice, wonderful.

Journey time is 5.5 hours, but that is centre to centre with zero check-in - flying will take 4 hours ion total, of train, airport, flight, airport, bus. It's much nicer to train it...

Man_in_seat_61

Oh, and have a meal or at least a drink at the fabulous Train Bleu restaurant inside the Gre de Lyon itself (it was the original station buffet, opened in 1903) before departure, http://www.le-train-bleu.com/uk/index.php

Man_in_seat_61

Oh, and forgot the TGV Duplex video guide, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrXUqOPU9wc

familyfive

Thanks so much everyone for your suggestions so far. We know it will be expensive but we are hoping to find accommodation for 200Euro per night and under would be better but know that may be difficult being family of 5 in certain places. We are travelling then as it's school holidays in Australia and we can take the kids out of school for the whole term. Thats why I thought I'd post on here to see if people have had similar travelling itineraries and maybe able to recommend as well. I am just happy to get information and will definitely take that on board to organise our holidays. It's pretty daunting looking at all these fabulous countries and wanting to visit them all but knowing that we can't.
Do you think 9-10 weeks is doable for the above itinerary?

Gordon_R

In 9-10 weeks you won't have the constraints on your time that most people have and this opens up a whole range of options. One quick bit of advice would be to avoid a common trap that many overseas visitors fall into when visiting Europe - just going from city to city and not taking time to see the countryside areas.

trvlgirlmq

What a wonderful adventure! I travel with 3 children also and here are some things that work for us:

-Apartment rentals: more space, separate bedrooms, kitchen facilities and washing machine (dryer if you are lucky!), swimming pool (country locations)
-www.homeaway.com, www.vrbo.com, www.vacationinparis.com,
many others if you do a search for aparmtent rentals

-Involve the kids in planning: let them look at guidebooks and websites, find children's museums, parks, etc that will interest them
-the zoo in Paris is reopening next Spring and we will be
in Paris as well and the kids are very excited

-Find some good guidebooks for the countries, cities you will be visiting
-I like Rick Steves because they are easy to use, many
come with maps as well

-Try not to get overwhelmed with the planning and itineraries once you have reservations in place, step away sometimes over the next year and focus on life instead

This is a great resource so as you get in to the nitty gritty of your trip plan ask questions. Good luck and have fun.

Ronbid

I do really agree with Gordon_R. Within this times of globalization the real taste of Europe is in the countryside. Considering the trip duration time you are dealing with, do not forget to dedicate several days to visit the amazing towns and villages that surround the European cities you want to visit. Some excursion proposals: London - Bath / Paris - Normandie & Mont Saint Michel / Barcelona - Lago San Mauricio (Pirinees Mountain Range) & Costa Brava. I can't help you about Rome, sorry.

jane1144

I would suggest including either the French or Swiss Alps in your trip as you don't have that kind of scenery at home

RonZ

Speaking of the French Alps, riding the cable car from Chamonix up to the Aiguille du Midi on a clear day is a once in a lifetime experience.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5blRwLXKuUI

familyfive

Thanks everyone. We are looking at apartments as well. I will check out the links you have attached. Can anyone recommend on some french towns. I was looking at Sarlat and Uzes for starters as someone mentioned them in another post. Avignon area too.

Also is it worth just doing Mont Saint Michel as a day trip from Paris ( hiring a car ) or best to stay in that area for a few days?

We even thought we may be doing to much due to finances and may have to scale back the tirp and perhaps leave Rome - as sad as that would be. Who knows when we will get back there. Really appreciate your feedback so far.

clarkgriswold

Apartment rentals can be the way to go for some, but you must plan wisely and research well. Apartments are not hotels where you can leave your luggage with a bellman when you arrive early, or walk downstairs for the key when you're locked out. Apartment-hopping takes some getting used to. And some apartments are full of things that a 9 year old could easily damage running around. And always check the square footage as "sleeps 6" in Paris can often mean sleeps 3 comfortably.

For Barcelona look at Casa Gracia. It's a youth hostel but spotless, and they have some "private" rooms for 5 with private bath.

familyfive

thanks so much clarkgiswold ( funny movie too ) yes that may be the way to go for Barcelona. I will definitely be looking into this. I am loving all this help.. Actually I was feeling over whelmed by all the choices and our limited budget for the duration. We have the choice and we could cut the holiday short and spend more or go longer to spend less on accommodation etc. ( hopefully this makes sense to you ) thank you x a million. If anyone else has ideas on places to go to visit or stay please comment. I would love to hear from you too. All the help is so appreciated as I don't really know where to start.

stevewith

Most families have no trouble at all renting apartments for their first visit any European city. It is a very common thing to do in Barcelona, and the benefits of having a kitchen and washing machine, plus the lower cost for more room for a family -- it really doesn't make sense to go to a hotel out of some fear you will be locking yourself out!

An apartment owner who rents to children doesn't leave breakable items around. Barcelona is such a popular travel destination for traveling families, you can easily find reviews for scads of apartments. The same is true for Rome. If you are staying as long as 3 weeks in Rome, you can probably negotiate a lower rent with a landlord. Your budget of 200e per night is plenty.

stevewith

PS: I wouldn't worry about somehow missing the flavor of Europe if you stay in its cities and take a few inexpensive excursions. Europeans are incredibly urban people and their cities are great jewels. It is a very simple affair to take excursions out of Rome to small hill towns or lake towns or seaside towns, many of them Etruscan caves and other fascinations, as well a vinyards or fishing ports. The same is possible in London and Paris -- not to mention that these cities have myriads of fascinating corners and crannies left unchanged by time. In the case of these cities, globalization has given them new fascinations and aspirations. Barcelona has always been a global thinking city with global ambitions.

There is of course unusual scenery and even Europeans like hikes and swims and flowers, and or course your kids will want some pure outdoor fun. But I wouldn't cut the trip short so you can spend a lot of money moving around the countryside, and I would be particularly careful about heading for those parts of Europe where the countryside has been pickled and preserved as a kind of ye olde Europe tourist attraction if the point is to visit Europe and learn about it, past and present.

Have a great trip!

MonicaRichards

I agree that apartments are the way to go. Besides being less expensive you have room to spread out. Can you imagine 9 weeks with your family hanging out on beds because that's the only place to sit? And eating every meal in a restaurant, man that gets old. The laundry facilities are key too, that you find in an apartment.

SuzanSeattle

If you want to experience mountain landscapes, I'd pick Austria over Switzerland. It's much cheaper & very kid friendly. They'll love hanging out next to lakes, salt mine tours, taking out an electric boat, the 'sommerrodelbahn", gondolas up to easy hikes complete with cows & restaurants.
We also love staying in apartments. It's more relaxing than a small hotel room, makes it easier to do laundry, have some meals at home (restaurants would be very tiring for 10 weeks), and is cheaper than paying for hotels. We've been to Austria twice with our kids & especially love St. Gilgen.

clarkgriswold

We had a big problem with an apartment in Paris when our train was hours delayed and the "office" had closed. In Barcelona we cancelled our apartment due to too many reviews of being "switched" upon arrival to another apartment that was nothing like what was reserved, wifi that didn't work, huge fees for towels or linens or to use the tv, deposits not returned etc. You really have to do your homework, it's hard to deal with "scammers" once you've left the city. So I guess it depends if you have time to do all the research necessary regarding apartments, just to have a washing machine.