Help us pick a European destination using FF miles
 

Calling all experienced European travellers! Our family of 5 (kids 21, 11, 7) has an intriguing opportunity. We have 12-14 days available in which we can fly into either Madrid, Dusseldorf or Zurich in late July. From there, we'd like to travel around in a rental car and explore nearby cities.

Question: What region or itinerary would you suggest, given those gateway cities?

My biggest concern is finding accomodations with less than 10 weeks before departure, and with July/Aug being high season, more competition for good lodging.

We're flexible re:lodging (prefer smaller, family-run B&Bs), like to immerse in country's culture, food, historical sites, also love nature & hiking. Kids have medium to low tolerance for museums.

Have already been to Madrid/Sevilla, northern Italy, & Geneva/Montreaux/Zermatt.

Oh, add Amsterdam to Madrid, Dusseldorf or Zurich as gateway cities. Which one of these cities would you use as jumping point for 2-week European tour?

Amsterdam or Madrid. re Madrid I would head N as opposed to S given that you have visited Seville. ..or Amsterdam..so close to everything..great for bike trips.

I'd avoid Spain in mid-summer. Either Amsterdam or Dusseldorf would be fine. Many good and inexpensive lodgings available throughout Benelux and Germany.

<< Oh, add Amsterdam ... >>

There you go - - two great countries, neither of which you have seen - - Holland, and easy to head into Germany.

Do try to make it as far east as Lübeck.

Best wishes,

Rex

In July & with kids there is no question--see the Alps and the lakes of Italy--Berner Oberland, Luzern, Lugano, Bellagio ! Have fun !

If you expect to use FF miles for five tickets to Europe this July, you'd better get to work on it right this minute.

I started to look into a Barcelona-Andalucia-Algarve or Lisbon sweep, mainly because of greater familiarity with Spanish & Portugese language & culture, but you've given me food for thought.

Rufus -- perhaps a dumb question, but can you share why you'd avoid Spain in late July? Is it unbearably hot & crowded? Holland sounds intriguing; what cities would you recommend if arriving in Amsterdam & departing from Dusseldorf?

Bob -- I've always found your posts & advice very helpful in the past, so glad to see you respond. Liked your suggestion, but Zurich just got scratched--nonstop flights from Atlanta all taken. Would flying into Stuttgart or Frankfurt put me within driving distance of those areas, given that I must fly out of Dusseldorf? What cities would you recommend -- is Stuttgart- Salzburg -Insbruck -Luzern doable? Is there a better itinerary for an Alps tour? Am I correct to assume lodging would be more expensive compared in this area compared to Spain/Portugal?

Thanks everyone for sharing your thoughts!

Yep, Kayd, I'm workin' it! Just gave up 5 tix & villa to St. Lucia, because DH said he'd rather take advantage of his Platinum status on Delta to go farther afield. Little does he know the stress & time it takes to pull it off...

I also would head for Swiss mountains as my first choice, although I wouldn't bother going as far south as Italy.

My second choice however with kids would be Amsterdam, a great city for attractions, and outside the city bike rides among the windmills and cheesey cows, and easy train access to Belgium and other destinations in Europe.

This info may be a little premature, but if you end up in Bavaria be sure to look at www.bensbaurenhof.com for smaller family-run B&Bs mentioned in your first post.

Betsy, the site link wasn't working. Can you confirm it or give me a phrase or name I can google? Thanks

Its www.bensbauernhof.com

Oh shoot! Thanks, Rex.

Just wanted to agree that Madrid and surrounding area in late July is not a good plan.

If I understand you correctly, I'd go about this the oppoosite way: I'd start by finding out for which destinations I would be able to get 5 tickets using FF miles.

Stuttgart is well-located for the start of a nice trip through southern Bavaria (castles and the Bavarian Alps), south to Innsbruck, and then west to Luzern. On your way back north to Düsseldorf, you could include Alsace or the Rhein area (more castles). Salzburg is a bit off this route; I think you would have to choose between that and Switzerland (and my vote is for Switzerland).

As for reservations, I don't think it's at all too late to make them. A few small places, particularly the kind that people return to year after year, may be booked, but you should still have plenty of choices.

If you love nature and hiking, Garmisch-Partenkirchen offers a great variety, including spectacular gorge hikes, and a very doable "Klettersteig" across the face of the Alpspitz. You'll look up at the peak at the end of the day and can't believe you did that. I would not recommend this for the seven-year-old, however. You can also hike or ride a lift to the top of another peak, Wank, and watch the paragliders take off.

Stuttagrt changes things but still good. Look at Bavaria, Dolomites, lake Garda, and Salzburg as 4 possible destinations. Avoid Spain in July.

I too also have a kazillion FF miles I would like to use. Two months ago I tried cashing in 1 - yes one - FF trip. I tried many times a week for over 6 weeks to fly out of ANYWHERE in the US to Cairo, but I could never find a free seat. Then the tour I wanted in Egypt sold out. So the next day I tried to go anywhere in the world, to no avail. Note I was extremely flexible on my dates - anytime June thru August. I tried Istanbul, Amsterdam, Venice, Rome, London, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Johannesburg, Capetown. I finally found one free seat to Lima, Peru and back home. But I had to be gone 3 weeks. Spouse said that was too long. If you have FF miles, good luck cashing them in.

dadof3, the secret is of course to plan ahead. I have never had a problem cashing in my AA FF miles -- I've done some 12 or more trips for free on miles -- to Europe, Australia and New Zealand, and to Asia.
Of course, I play the game and book 11 months ahead. I'm not surprised if you can't get the flights you want by trying a shorter time ahead of when you want to go.
I'm going to be very curious if traveladventurer can get much of anything on this short notice and during the height of travel to Europe season.