tostaky

Hi !

We are slowly planning our next summer vacations ( I know it's still far from now !) and i'm collecting ideas about where to go. Here's our situation:

- 2 adults and 2 kids (4 and 8)
- leaving from Montreal with a budget of 9000-10 000 canada $
- 3 weeks between July 10 and august 22 (we are teachers so those date can't be change)
- Already been to Poland, Czech republic, parts of France (Paris and Alsace) ans Belgium (me only).

At first we thought of going to Germany with wow air (700$ each for Berlin) but the price have jumped since 2-3 weeks. Germany still an option, but a costly one (nothing below 1400$-1500$ each)

Italy seems to be too hot for us in that part of years, the same goes for Spain.

Any ideas for a small family like us who want to combine history, architecture and fun for kids ?

Thanks !

sparkchaser

First, thank you for posting your home airport, potential travel dates, and budget. Not enough people do that.

These are some of the airfares I found (prices in USD, sorry about that):

For Germany, these are the three most inexpensive cities to fly into:

YUL-FRA: $825
YUL-MUC: $869
YUL-TXL: $958


Have you thought about Dublin? YUL-DUB for $767

What about Scotland? EDI or GLA for $821.

I suppose Reykjavik is out of the question. Tickets can be had for around $600 each.

I would not consider England because the higher costs would quickly offset any savings on plane tickets.

bilboburgler

The Netherlands and Germany would be a good start, lots of biking holidays horse riding holidays etc out in the country swimming etc. Frankfurt might be a good target airport.

janisj

Scotland and maybe a bit of northern England . . . Just be sure to visit Edinburgh first since in August it becomes extremely crowded/expensive due to the festivals/Tattoo.

But Edinburgh, a couple of weeks in central Scotland and a few days in Northumberland would be a wonderful family trip. Castles galore, LOTS for children to see/do, and history around every corner. Your kids are probably too young to know Harry Potter but if they do - Alnwick Castle would be a must.

nytraveler

I think Germany is a great idea - both for lots of things kids will enjoy and also based on the fact that costs are generally lower than you would find in the UK, France or most of western eruope. Berlin esp is a really great town with tons to see and do - as is Bavaria - and prices are very reasonable. I would search further for better air fares and pounce when you find them.

You could easily fly into Berlin, Munich, Zurich - if those prices are better.

Sassafrass

With three weeks, you have many options.

My kids at that age absolutely loved the Netherlands. They enjoyed the canals, Maduradam, even the museums. They wore their wooden shoes for months.

A couple of days stop in lovely Bruge would allow a day at the beach in the really neat beach town of Oostende, only about 15 minutes by train.

You could train part way, then take a river cruise going to Southern Germany, or you could stop in Strasbourg or the Alsace for a day or two.

If you spent 4-5 days in a small town near Amsterdam, then a few days with stops moving towards Germany, and a week in Germany, I don't think it would be that rushed.

However, if that is too much moving around, skip Belgium or the travel down and fly from Amsterdam or Brussels to perhaps Munich and just go to one of the lakes in Germany for swimming, boating and seeing a few castles.

sparkchaser

Let's remember that 9-10k Canadian is 6200-6900 Euro. And it is unclear if airfare is part of that budget or not (I hope it's not)

tostaky

Thanks for all your ideas, the give me a lot to think about !

i'm ver thorn between all those places. Being a huge WW2 fan Germany have something very appealing to me (I know that's it's cliché).

I've already been to Amsterdam and Bruges 15 years ago, but i guess i could get back there !

sparkchaser

If you are a WWII history buff (like me), you may be disappointed to know that aside from Dachau and Nürnberg, there really isn't a whole lot to see in Germany unless you want to see the memorials to the local fallen at churches -- some churches in smaller villages have statues to remember the fallen.

Oh wait, there is the V1 and V2 rocket museum up at Peenemünde which is most definitely worth the trek up North. As an added bonus, at "nearby" Stralsund, there is a fabulous aquarium and the island of Rügen has lots of stuff to offer families.

Also, there are around 50 Commonwealth Grave sites in Germany: http://www.cwgc.org/

tostaky

And yes the airfare is part of our budget. Let say that flight cost us 4000 $ (2800 Euro) That leaves us 6000$ (4150 Euro). I cant believe that we cant travel with 200 Euro by day.

janisj

For WWII sites I'd consider eastern Belgium (visited in May concentrating on Battle of the Bulge sites and there are a SLEW of them), Normandy or London/southeast England (Dover Castle, Churchill War rooms, Imperial War Museum, etc etc) .

sparkchaser

Yes, there are lots of great Battle of the Bulge museums in the Ardennes. Plus up on the coast in France, there is Dunkirk and its very, very good museum on the evacuation.

Sassafrass

Have to keep the young kiddies in mind too! How many battle sites or war museums can you logically drag them through?

tostaky

WW2 sites are not mandatory, it,s something very appealing for me only. My wife is not that much into history and my kids don't really care about it !

tostaky

The budget aspect bugs me now, do must of you think I can,t majke it with 200-220 Euro per day for lodging and food ?

janisj

sparkchaser: I was truly amazed and deeply affected by the numbers of memorials and museums in the 'Bulge' -- every little village had a monument or memorial to different units and events during the Battle for the Ardennes. Plus things like the Malmedy Memorial, and the Siegfried Line just across the border into Germany. Because of the train strike my stay was cut a day short so I didn't even make it to Bastogne -- I really could have spend 4 full days in the area.

sparkchaser

I agree, janis. What caught my eye and really gave me pause was that in almost every cafe we went to, there was a photograph of that town being liberated.

tostaky, Germany has an amazing Legoland and a PlayMobile funpark. Both are in Bavaria.

janisj

I had three different people thank <i>me</i> for my Dad's service during the Battle . . . and one of them was probably not alive yet during the 40th anniversary.

StCirq

220 E a day seems a bit spartan to me, not so much for food but for lodging. I am not so familiar with this part of France, but have you looked into Formule 1 hotels/motels? Or Ibis?

My husband and I can eat really well when we plan it out with picnics and random sort-of pick-at-this-and-pick-at-that meals for under 20 euros day for the two of us. If you buy your food at grocery stores and markets and do make-do meals, as we do often, really good food's cheap in France.

bvlenci

Scotland, the Netherlands, and Ireland would be my choices, in that order. If you can get lodging with a fridge and some basic cooking facilities, you can save some money on food.