pherkenhoff

We are looking at traveling to Europe this summer with our kids (28,24,22) and their significant others-8 total. We would like to visit France, Italy, and Germany. Looking for suggestions on the best way to accomplish this. Have never traveled to Europe. Suggestions for hotel, must see itinerary, how long should we be plan on visiting each? We will be flying out of MN.

thanks,

Envierges

Sounds like you're going to have a delightful time. Also sounds like you have to plan some in-group discussion of what members want to see. "Why are we going to Europe?" "What do we want to get out of this trip?" "What are our interests?" You get the idea. The next step would be to consult guidebooks, websites, and then read a few books about your chosen destinations. Then to make it YOUR trip YOU do the planning. And then come back to this forum with specific questions that are more easily answered in a limited space.

A lot of the fun of travel is in the research and planning.

Enjoy.

nukesafe

That is simply too broad an question to answer, Pherkenhoff. We are willing to help, but you need to give us more particulars, such as length of time you intend to spend in each country, particular interests of your group, budget level, etc., etc.

I suggest you each read a travel guide for the countries you intend to visit and then come back with more specific questions that we can get our heads around. Using the search function on the site can uncover earlier threads that may be helpful, as well.

bjl

Just some general thoughts for you.
- Consider flying into one city and home from another in order to avoid backtracking.
- Learn the common courtesy words in languages of the countries you will be visiting. And if you will be driving, learn some of the road sign language as well.
- Get at least a little history reading done about the countries you'll be visiting as this makes for a much richer experience.

nytraveler

First, you need to tell us how long you have for this trip. Do not look at tour books and see how many counties they see in a couple of weeks - that is based on spending long days sitting on a bus and minimal sightseeing.

Second, what are your interests - in general. City or countryside, adventure, fine dining, clog dancing, archery???? Give us a clue.

Third, and this is a question for each of you - if you think of europe what are the first 2 or 3 things (no countries, but specific things) you think of? If you don;t all have answers to this get started on travel guides right away. Your youngest might want to look at the Let's Go Student Guides (usually under 26 in europe) to see what young people reco and where they hang out.

And finally, do you have a price range? Not an exact number, but an approximate - $15,000? $20,000? And do you expect to trvel aat super budget, cheap and cheerful, moderate????

Sassafrass

Do you mean Summer of 2017?

Visiting Europe is super easy, easier than US in many ways because of great train and bus systems.

How much time will you have on the ground once in Europe? 10 days, three weeks, two months? That is crucial. Impossible to advise on travel or sights or itinerary without that.
No point recommendations of any hotels without an itinerary.
Probable dates? Weather may affect choices.

Italy, Germany and France are large countries with lots to do. What do you like? Mountains, medieval hill top villages, castles, cities, museums? You could ask each person to tell you their top three dream destinations or things to do, so perhaps they could get one of them, but unless you have a month, or most of the group chooses some of the same places, you won't be able to do it. If they all agreed on one city, say Paris, that would be a great start. Whatever you do decide on will be wonderful. Of course, you want them to enjoy it, and you want some input from them, but I can say with certainty that the more you discuss it, the more likely it will be that at least one person will be less than excited about it.

That many people and their luggage requires careful planning, transportation wise. It will take more or less about 1/2 a day each time you change locations by train or plane. Lots of cheap airfares in Europe. Trains run often, city center to city center. Buy weeks ahead for discounts on longer rides. If you rent a car for any of the time, you will need two.
Needing 4 rooms, you need to book several months ahead.
Plan down time and times for people to do their own thing.

This is personal, but are you paying for everyone? If not, sometimes a person paying gets annoyed if they do not get the trip they want. Sometimes, the SO this Fall is not the SO by next summer. Seen that happen more than once. Sometimes the SO hangs in for a free trip. You also don't want to pay a lot upfront and have someone cancel at the last minute, leaving you holding the bag.

I do plan trips with family and friends, but I plan what I want, then tell them what we are doing and they can come or not. Except for DD, they must book and pay for tickets, etc. themselves.

StCirq

I don't know how anyone can really help at this point. You are all adults. The world is more than full of guidebooks, maps, and internet sites. Get busy and do your homework. It's not really much harder than planning what to have for dinner tonight. When you actually have a plan, people here wil be more than happy to help you refine it.

jamikins

I have done this many times and these are my hints:

1. Less is more - spend a week per place. Moving that many people around is a logistical nightmare - luggage, people moving at different paces, some like to sleep in, some like to get moving etc. Rent an agriturismo for example and stay put for a week.

2. Don't expect everyone to do everything together. People move at different speeds and too much togetherness will wear on people. Don't get one big vehicle, for 8 you may want to get 3 cars so people can break into smaller groups.

3. Organizing this is a thankless job. There will always be someone that doesn't agree with you, or wants to do something else.

Some places that have worked for me over the years:

1. Positano - we rented a villa from www.summerinitaly.com and everyone loved it. People didn't need to rely on vehicles to get anywhere so they could go off on their own and just meet up for dinners etc.

2. Tuscany - we rented a few villas from http://www.santantonio.it/ and had several cars.

3. Naxos Greece - each couple rented a room in a resort within walking distance of the main town and was able to do their own thing during the day.

Good luck - after doing this for many years I have sworn that I will never do it again. It is too much trouble for me to take on as it is not fun for me as the organiser. I hope you enjoy the process more!

Gretchen

Having done this with our 3, everyone above is right on. We need a LOT of info.
But for us, it was one week in Paris and it was wonderful. I engaged Michael Osman for 2 of the days--one for an "overview" of the city in which I was NOT the tour director even though I had been to Paris and Europe multiple times an "could" have. The other day with Michael was for museums and his good company.
BUT when travelling with your adult family or friends on such a trip, I think ground rules help--not everyone HAS to do everything together every day. As has been said, these are adults and they can both plan some things and go off on their own. One of our sons and wife wanted to do a lot of shopping. Another, I thought, would not want to be "on tour"--wrong about that one--LOVED Michael and we all wanted him to come another day.
Plan dinners--your group will require reservations.
Again, don't know how long, but I wouldn't make this a forced march through these countries--choose one and do it with some depth.
We had previously taken our 3 on a 3 week trip to Europe as teenagers which was fun and eventful--a loop through your countries plus Switzerland, but usually at least 3-4 days in each stop.

Fussgaenger

A German Rail pass now covers free-wheeling train travel not just in Germany but to several destinations in Italy and other countries as well. A 7-days-wwithin-one-month "twin" pass would cover each couple for major train journeys, plus a day outing or two... cost per couple is E408: https://www.bahn.com/i/view/overseas...ss-flexi.shtml

Here's an example of how you might use it:

Berlin - Dresden - Berlin (day trip)
Berlin - Rhine Valley
Rhine Valley - Strasbourg FRANCE
Strasbourg - Franconia (Nuremberg, Rothenburg, Bamberg)
Franconia - Munich
Munich - Salzburg AUSTRIA - Munich (day trip)
Munich - Innsbruck AUSTRIA - Venice ITALY

(You can buy separate tickets for a trip from Strasbourg to Paris if Paris is in your sights.)

You'll have too many people involved to have a flexible, negotiable itinerary. It needs to be booked in stone to avoid decision conflicts while you're underway.

Sassafrass

Start with two or three places for 3-5 nights. Everybody has the same home base, but free to do day excursions, museums, tours, etc. as they wish. No one-night stays. Once you have pretty much set an itinerary, then decide on transportation. You might end up using trains, but might instead take some cheap flights.