New Traveller Needs Help!
 

Hi All!

I am planning my family's first visit to Europe and need as much advice as possible for making itinerary.

We (2 adults;1 12 year old) are flying both in and out of Amsterdam. We are also hoping to go to Munich, Paris and London.

Don't know whether we should travel by car, air or Eurail. We are staying with friends in Amsterdam, but other than that don't have any plans. Thanks for your thoughs!

Before anyone can give you useful advice we'd need to know how long you have planned for this trip, what kinds of things interest you, when are you going, etc.

I don't mean this to sound like no one wants to help you etc so PLEASE don't take it the wrong way, but I was just wondering if perhaps your friends in Amsterdam could be of help to you for the best travel arrangements. But of course I am assuming that they are native born or have lived there long enough to know the ins and outs and as you know..assuming is many times wrong. So again, I do NOT mean to offend.

Thanks for the quick response!

Sorry not I didn't include all details.

We are going for three weeks in July, spending the most amount of time in AMS.

Our friends in Amsterdam tell us they already have a jam packed schedule for us, so we are looking for interesting things to do in Munich, Paris and London.

Family loves the outdoors. Since this will be our first (maybe only) trip to Europe, we would like to see the major sites.

We are on a pretty small budget, but if it is something we really want to do, we wouldn't hesitate to spend the funds.

Thanks again!

Ok - three weeks in July w/ most of it spent in Amsterdam. That's a start.

So how much time is left to divide between the other three places? All three are wonderful but they are spread all over Europe. Unless you are talking about a minimum of 2 weeks for the 3 cities, you should probably drop one of them - Munich being the logical choice.

A three week trip, 1 week w/ your friends, 1 week in Paris w/ a side trip somewhere in the French countryside, and 1 week in London, w/ a day trip to someplace like Bath, or Stonehenge, or Canterbury, etc. would be a sensible choice.

BUT that itinerary doesn't get you much in the way of outdoors pursuits. If you want to see the major sites and do outdoorsy things, you could pick one country (England, France or Germany) and spend 1/2 the time in the city and 1/2 the time out in the countryside.

Munich is a great city and the Bavarian countryside is glorious. But to spend time in southern Germany would not leave much for London/Paris.

Thanks so much for your ideas!

Like I said we are still in the very early planning stages. Just bought the tickets last week. We got a really good deal from Hotwire, so we just decided to forge ahead and go!

So far, I am thinking we will be spending a week in AMS, 4 days in Munich, 4 days in Paris, 4 days in London.

I know this is a very ambitious plan, especially with a child. We may end up dropping something.

If we ended up visiting all locations, could anyone suggest day trips outside of the major cities?

Also, any family friendly hotels?

I am also still piecing together how we will make our way around. Since gas is so expensive and I can't drive a manual car, I am guessing that is out.

I am interested in Eurail pass, but is it smart to buy tickets when we will have to buy EuroStar tix anyway?

Any suggestions would be appreciated!

newt,
I would drop Munich. 4 days plus travel in Paris and London is not nearly enough time. A week in each place would give you a great experience. Visit Munich on your next visit. Day trips to Bath, Windsor in London and Fontainbleu, Giverney etc. in Paris would give you a great trip.

Remember that you will be wasting one day in travel between each city. The plane ride is not that long, but you must get to the airport, and be there at least one hour before departure, take the flight, at the new destination go through immigration and customs, pick up your luggage, and get to your hotel. Most of your day will be gone by then. I think that it is best to drop Munich and if your friends don't take you down to Bruges for a day, make that an overnight stop on your way to Paris.

I forgot to add that if your 12 year old likes mechanisms, there is a 8 foot high music box-like device that runs the bells of the Bruges City Hall, and you get a good view of the city from there.

Hi new,

I generally suggest one week per country.

Munich certainly seems to be an outlier.

((I))

I am a Munich-ophile so I will be the one to tell you it is a great place to visit, as are many of the Ludwig castles in the Bavarian Alps. If I had to weigh the time spent between Munich, Paris and London I too might save Munich for the second trip.

Here is a thought. Go to Ryanair.com and click on their destinations map and check out their prices. We flew into Amsterdam a couple of years ago with the original thought of getting a car and touring Holland, Belgium and the Rhine and Mosel valleys of Germany. After looking at the ryanair site we actually saved money by doing the trip to Amsterdam, Brussels then Rome and Paris. If you think of airtravel you don't have to think in straight lines like you do with cars and train.

Paris and London are each worth as much time as you can give them. A running tour of the major sites of each takes a few days.

Thanks all!!

I will definately check out Ryan Air right away!

Thank you everyone for your ideas---

I wanted to get more info on sidetrips. A lot of people have suggested Bath or Stonehenge as a good sidetrip in England.

However, after a weekend of looking at travel sites, many describe Stonehenge as pretty boring for active kids.

Is there anyone out there with pre-teen children that has had a great experience with day trip around Paris and London?

Once again, this would be in early July with a very active female (not girly) 12 year old, a 22 year old female and a 45 year old mom.

Anything that involves horse back riding is a plus.

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

You can do a lot in 3 weeks. But it may be best to fly to as many destinations as possible. You don't say if you have to return to AMS for your flight back home. That wastes a lot of time. Better if you can end up in London and fly home from there. In AMS, you will probably take several day trips to see other parts of the Netherlands. It's a great country for biking (all flat and bikes to rent at every train station), so that would be fun for active young people (do a search for my trip report where i took my 15 and 17 year old to 3 countries in 15 days this past summer). I've never been to Munich, so I can't advise you there, but you can easily take a train from AMS to either Paris or Munich. Your 12 year old and 22 year old will qualify for youth rates on railpasses, and then your pass will cost full price. You can research the many travel options and compare costs of doing the rail pass v.s. just buying tickets as you need them--search on "rail passes" on this site for great advice. Northern european trains are more expensive than southern europe, so it may prove worthwhile to have a 2- or 3-country pass. Remember there will be a surcharge above the pass for reserved seats and for the highest speed trains. Budget airlines are all over europe. AMS airport is simple to get to, so you may want to fly from there to your next destination. You can fit a lot into 4 days each in Paris, Munich, and London, if you keep on the go and plan carefully. In Paris, you can mix museums with just walking around, seeing Notre Dame and Ste. Chappelle, a trip up the Eiffel tower and a cruise on the seine. Take a day trip to Versailles--it's worth it. There's a segway tour in Paris that sounds fabulous, but it's very expensive. Food is expensive, too, and drinks are ridiculous. Take refillable water bottles and fill up for free at your hotel, etc. Drink wine or beer, not soda, juice, or coffee which cost a fortune. With a 12-year old, I'd transport juice boxes from the U.S., or powdered drink mix. Throw some mix in a partly-filled water bottle, shake, and, voila, a refreshing drink. Paris airport is not as convenient to get to, but train stations are. You could do the eurostar/chunnel and that would be fun, but costly. There are usually good bargains in airfare, so you may want to consider flying. It's probably the same amount of time as the train, when you consider security lines, baggage lines,getting to and from the airport, etc. In London, don't miss the main tourist sites: Tower of London, Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey. The Victoria and Albert museum is very good with kids, also the science museum. My kids like art museums, but not all kids do. You might want to take in some shows, too. Food is expensive here, so try to find inexpensive alternatives: pub snacks, take out indian or chinese, substituting cream tea for a proper meal, fish and chips. A day cruise on the Thames would be fun. Shopping is a neat experience. Prices are unbelievable, but if you spend a lot at one store, get a VAT refund receipt and you'll get the VAT tax back. Walk around the Covent Garden area. Also, look for flea markets. I would say, with your limited time,don't stray far from London. There is so much to see and do there, and trains in Britain are expensive. The British seem pretty into horses, so this may be the place to look into horseback riding--plus the horses all speak English. To a 12-year old, even riding the metro or underground can be an exciting adventure. If your daughter has a hobby such as collecting or crafts, you can pursue it at each city. Otherwise, invent one for the trip, like collecting spoons, pins, flags, or patches everywhere you go. There is great info on this site, but also visit the Bootsnall website, which is oriented more to backpackers and the lonely planet website which is geared more to people with limited funds. Have a great time--half the fun is planning!