Wondering Out Loud

After some research, I have learned I can take the family on a 10-day trip to London and Paris for $1,600 (airfare from East Coast, hotel, breakfast, chunnel). That's $8000 for the five of us (plus meals, etc). <BR><BR>Am I crazy to think of paying this much for a week and a half in Europe? The youngest child will be 5. Is there a cheaper and better way to introduce the kids to Europe? Is the whole idea a big mistake?<BR><BR>Thanks.

xxxx

YES!

Barb

Yes...that's ridiculous...take the kids to Epcot they can pretend they are in a bunch of different countries for a traction of the cost. No 5 year old belongs in Europe they would be bored to death. Kids can go backpack after college on their own on the cheap. Take you and your wife. Leave the wee ones home with friends & family.

good

Hmmm. That depends. Will you be bringing them back?

Bob Brown

That is a tough one to answer. I can understand your wondering out loud. I would, too. <BR><BR>As a child I like to travel. Even today I have memories of visiting the World's Fair in New York when I was 6. <BR><BR>I think the key question is this: Do the children want to do it? <BR>I know I would be reluctant to risk $8000 if it promises to buy mostly misery. <BR><BR>I am reminded of a friend of the family from Greenville, Ala, who pinched and saved to take his family of 4 to Yellowstone. After arrival, the daughters were bored stiff and his wife could care less about that dirty water squirting out of the ground. Finally, to culminate a period of complaining, the oldest daughter said she had rather be back home at Thompson's Slop Shop slurping sodas with her friends. The father's reaction was in the extreme. He commanded that everyone get in the car right then and there, went to their cabin, threw the luggage in without packing it much, and proceeded to drive all the way back to Greenville with minimal stopping.<BR><BR>On the other hand, I have seen families with several children who seemed to be enjoying the trip. Often the oldest child had taken charge of the youngest one, and off they went. <BR>

jane

no, you are not, crazy... i think that you should take them because it is a once in a lifetime experience. the little one is five, right? How excited do you think she would be to see such beautiful buildings and the majestic eiffel tower? My vote...YES (but you could probably get cheaper air fare than what i think you are paying.....)

xxx

Au contraire, Barb. We took our five year-old to Europe many years ago for six weeks. He returned solo in the summers of 2000 and 2001 and fondly remembered some of the places he'd been as a tot. Brought tears to my eyes. He loves to travel now (as do his parents), and I believe that this first trip had a lot to do with it. I am so very glad to have helped instill in him the love of seeing the world and meeting people who live in other countries. An invaluable education.<BR><BR>Wondering, I think you could do it for less, but it will take a lot of research on your part. That's part of the fun for me.

Christina

I am skeptical this is a legitmate question, it has all the earmarks of a troll. Number one being your budget doesn't make sense, it won't cost that much unless you stay at the Ritz and dine in expensive restaurants. I thought kids got 1/2 airfare under a certain age? You can always get deals on air tickets, anyway, if you search and are willing to take other than nonstop flights, so assuming $600-800 airfare each in high season (which is generous), that still leaves $800-1000 per person from your projected budget for 10 days expenses, or about $100 a day each. So I gather your family of five is going to be blowing $500 a day in total, not even counting meals?????? Given you have kids and room costs will be split between persons, you are talking about $50-$75 a day outside of room costs for chidren to spend on breakfast and a train trip? And you aren't even including meals or sightseeing or anything in that amount except hotel and breakfast, it appears? So, your numbers don't add up. In any case, yes, I think you would be really crazy if you would consider spending that kind of money on children and it would be a big mistake. Unless you are very wealthy in which case that amount of money isn't much, and then, sure, why not. But I still don't understand your accounting.

nina

Wondering, I wondered the same thing until I did a few "test runs". I had this fantasy about doing Rome, Tuscany and the Amalfi coast with my 9 and 12 year olds. I made hotel reservations, got their passports, then decided to do a day in NY and Boston to see how they would hold up on sightseeing in cities. Their limit on strolling the sidewalks is about a half hour. Shopping, 3 minutes. Museums were better, provided they were hands on and had "cool" (read gross or dead) things in them. Having a display of artillary buys an extra hour as well. (did I mention that they are boys?) After cries of when can we eat/swim/stop walking all day I decided to postpone our trip for one more year. We are going instead to the caribbean this March with a few other families to a resort with a great kids program and lots of watersports. It will cost less, be more relaxing and enjoyable for everyone, IMO. My husband and I will go to the Amalfi coast alone in May. More romantic that way too! <BR><BR>Perhaps you could "test their limits". See how long a 5 year old can sightsee without being picked up or whining and whether YOU can tolerate it. The other alternative is to pick one nice spot in Europe, rent a villa with a pool and stay local. That's the kind of trip I think a family with small children can tolerate.

Cece

I think it depends - if the kids are 5, 6, and 7, and this is going to be a one-time thing, then I think they would get more out of it in five years or so. If the kids are 5, 11, and 16, then fine ... this may be one of the last times you have a chance to go as a family. But, as someone said above, do try to determine whether or not the older kids want to go. <BR><BR>1600 per person (I'm assuming that's USD)doesn't seem terribly unreasonable, alhtough I think you could probably find cheaper. It sounds, though, like there's no discount for the kids, which doesn't make sense - airfare and hotel will normally be cheaper for childen under 12.

Pat

Hi Wondering!<BR>NO, you are not crazy to take your family. I think it is wonderful. Our son started traveling with us when he was a few months shy of 5 years old. He is 11 now and has been to Europe 12 times. We started with England and he loved the castles and the double decker buses and the Changing of the Guard. Also there are great museums in London that have special guides that you can pick up that design a trail to follow with the children. The V & A has this as well as the National Gallery and the Courtauld and Tate Britain. There are a lot of family friendly restaurants where you don't have to spend a fortune and traveling around on a family travel card on the underground is easy. Paris also has a lot of charms for the children with the Eifel Tower and Notre Dame and great neighborhood parks and museums.<BR>To do it cheaply have your travel agent use an airline consolidator for your air tickets. Your children (under age 12) fly for 75% of the adult fare. I would also look into apartments for your stay instead of a hotel in both cities. Do a search on this site and you will find lots of references to apts in both cities.<BR>Have a great time.<BR>Cheers,<BR>Pat

nina

Maybe wondering is thinking of going in summer, which is very expensive. Don't forget that European hotels can usually only accomodate 2, so each night they will need two hotel rooms or a large suite, not cheap plus there is no discount for kids. Another good reason to rent a villa or apartment with kids. Also, if you buy airfare now for summer it is VERY expensive.

3kids!!???

Pat, You may have only taken one child, which is very manageable with 2 parents. Taking three is a whole other ballgame and LOTS of work. Perhaps someone who has taken a larger family can comment on how easy/difficult such a trip would be?

family

Why no, Clark Griswold, why would anyone think your family European Vacation is crazy? Just watch the teenage girl and the phone bills, don't videotape yourself and your wife making whoopee, don't drive into any roundabouts, and don't ask any strange furriners to take your picture for you, lest they run off with your camera. Bon voyage!

Grasshopper

I joined up with my sister's family (3 kids, age 9-14) for part of their two weeks in Italy. The kids had a great time. If you were going to see just London and Paris for that amount of time there are far more than enough things to do to keep everyone interested and having fun. For some people $8,000 is the moon, for other's a drop in the bucket. Only you can say whether or not that's a serious dent in your budget. But overall, I think Europe is great for kids. It teaches American kids to see the world much more globally.

Rex

I think that you are NOT crazy - - though it would help to know more about the ages of the two other kids.<BR>

Wondering Out Loud

No, I'm not a troll. Here's some additional info.<BR><BR>The kids will be 10.5, 8 and 5 at the time of the trip. The youngest can walk all day (he did Disneyland without a stroller). I have no idea how he'll handle the time change though, so that's a huge risk factor. <BR><BR>As far as cost, the $1,600 was the lower of two prices I got (the other price was about $1,800). The difficulty is that summer airfares are expensive, there is a chunnel trip involved in getting from London to Paris, and we have to have two hotel rooms. I'm seeing airfare prices from the East Coast to Paris of around $1,000; the very lowest I've found was $880.<BR><BR>The older two desperately want to go, and it really isn't practical to propose leaving the youngest at home. So it is all or nothing. We've done Disney, so we won't be going there again anytime soon. <BR><BR>Anyway, thanks so much for giving me your opinions. I'm really stumped about whether to do this. Our previous most expensive vacation was $6,000 for a one-week trip, so popping $10,000 to do 10-days in Europe is a lot more than we've ever considered spending on travel.

Anonyimouse

I am the oldest of 3 children, and my parents took us everywhere. The first time I was in London, I was 8, my brother 6, and my sister 3. We had a great time. I was 5 the first time I was in Puerto Rico. You'd be surprised how mesmerized children get when they go to the Tower of London and hear the beefeaters tell the tales of the past. With Harry Potter being so popular, I think a trip to the UK would be a blast for your family. Since your children are older than we were, I think that they might even appreciate it more. If you and your wife decide you want a night or two on the town, many of the hotels can arrange for a sitter in the evening to watch your children. Instead of staying in hotels you might consider renting apartments in both London and Paris, or staying in B&Bs in London to cut down on your costs. Make sure you pick fun things for your children to do. They won't want to get stuck in museums all day. <BR><BR>Fodorites have suggested wonderful things for parents with infants and toddlers to do in Europe, so I really don't see why you should not take your children that are older to Europe. <BR><BR>

jack

While I was reading the replies, I was at the same time digging through our expenses from a family trip (for 3) we did last June (for 2 weeks). Airfare from a mid-west airport which is not really a major hub for most airlines, cost us $2600 (peak summer fare), 1 week farmhouse rental $700, hotels for the other 8 days cost us about $950. Meals (we didn't go to any fancy restaurants) 2x/day for 15 days ~$1200 ($80/day for the 3 of us, excluding breakfast), car rental in Italy for 2 weeks (compact, manual)~$500-600 (I can't find the receipt so I'm just guessing on this). The total is already ~$6,000. Shopping, bus fare around Rome and from hotel to town in Sorrento etc, miscellaneous expenses like gelato, snacks, museum passes (2 museums) probably cost us maximum of $1,000. That's $7,000 for the 3 of us so it is not unreasonable to spend $8,000 total for 5 of you. BTW, we stayed in 3 star hotels/property. Bottom line: The amount you will spend is not unreasonable for the 5 of you because it will buy all of you a lifetime experience. Good Luck on your decision!!

xxx

"You'd be surprised how mesmerized children get when they go to the Tower of London and hear the beefeaters tell the tales of the past."<BR><BR>I had to laugh at that comment. Our experience at the Tower of London with beefeaters and some yawning American teenagers is something I'll never forget. We were listening to a special lecture topic in a Tower room when the beefeater walked over to the teenage girls and slammed his pointer stick down next to them on the bench as hard as could, smiling all the while. Guess he was tired of the yawning and fidgeting (as was everyone else) and it worked. Those girls perked up fast.