panicked procastinator
Mar 14th, 2016, 06:25 PM
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panicked procastinator
50 yr old dad promised 13 yr old son our first european trip starting in mid june, want to visit greece, italy, france england and possibly some more for 4-6 weeks, is there a place to find quick answers of where to stay, travel, how to find guides for local sight seeing budgeting around $15k, but clueless, all suggestions welcome
Mar 14th, 2016, 06:55 PM
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Well most of us just plan our own trips.
Fly into one city .. but fly out another so you don't have to backtrack.
You would still have do some work here.. you have to figure out your priorities.
Make kid get involved.. my kids were 11 and 13, and 14 and they all got one on one trips with either my hubby or me. They had to find three sites in each places they wanted to see.. theres no free lunch in our house.. research equity was required for super fun free trip to Europe.. make your son do some work! Note. this adds to trip harmony too.. kid does not feel dragged along on "your" trip.. but is a participant.
Narrow down it a bit.. I personally do not like stays of less then 2-3 nights. ( remember .. 2 nights in only one full day at a place,,hardly worth the effort)
I would fly into London.. spend 4-6 days there.. then off to PAris on the Eurostar ( my kid thought that was cool) , then 5-6 nights in Paris.. plan a few daytrips out of city.. my boys liked Provins.. look that up. Take a bike tour , I promise your son will think you are cool. they are easy and fun.. Blue Bike Tours or Fat Tire Tours..
From Paris you could do a lot of things.. I would fly to Athens.. a few nights there.. then out to the Islands. .you can fly or take ferries. I would look at Santorini, Naxos, Paros.. a nice beach break after the cities of London, Paris and Athens,, then from Greece I would fly to Rome.. spend 5 days there more or less.. maybe a trip to Pompeii.. then fly home from Rome..
Obviously you have to sit down and work your dates and numbers.. you may wish more time in some places and less in others.. but this is something no one can help you do.
We can however suggest hotels if you provide a budget range ( in euros please) and once you nail down your for sure places folks can provide more ideas for sights .
Fly into one city .. but fly out another so you don't have to backtrack.
You would still have do some work here.. you have to figure out your priorities.
Make kid get involved.. my kids were 11 and 13, and 14 and they all got one on one trips with either my hubby or me. They had to find three sites in each places they wanted to see.. theres no free lunch in our house.. research equity was required for super fun free trip to Europe.. make your son do some work! Note. this adds to trip harmony too.. kid does not feel dragged along on "your" trip.. but is a participant.
Narrow down it a bit.. I personally do not like stays of less then 2-3 nights. ( remember .. 2 nights in only one full day at a place,,hardly worth the effort)
I would fly into London.. spend 4-6 days there.. then off to PAris on the Eurostar ( my kid thought that was cool) , then 5-6 nights in Paris.. plan a few daytrips out of city.. my boys liked Provins.. look that up. Take a bike tour , I promise your son will think you are cool. they are easy and fun.. Blue Bike Tours or Fat Tire Tours..
From Paris you could do a lot of things.. I would fly to Athens.. a few nights there.. then out to the Islands. .you can fly or take ferries. I would look at Santorini, Naxos, Paros.. a nice beach break after the cities of London, Paris and Athens,, then from Greece I would fly to Rome.. spend 5 days there more or less.. maybe a trip to Pompeii.. then fly home from Rome..
Obviously you have to sit down and work your dates and numbers.. you may wish more time in some places and less in others.. but this is something no one can help you do.
We can however suggest hotels if you provide a budget range ( in euros please) and once you nail down your for sure places folks can provide more ideas for sights .
Mar 14th, 2016, 07:55 PM
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First you will not find quick answers except from those with commercial motives benefiting them, not you.
Where are you coming from? If you are coming from the U.S., mid-June is the peak season for air travel in terms of price and occupancy as this is when families with children all want to travel. The accommodations are also at high season prices.
In case of France, you need to be aware of major events like this happening in cities: http://www.uefa.com/uefaeuro/season=...y=1/index.html. You will encounter tight accommodations, depending on which team is playing, if you wonder into cities during the tournaments.
You need to decide where in each country you want to go. No one can answer, "Where do I stay in France?" In Paris alone, at just one booking site, it lists 3900 properties! Unless you grasp what each place offers you, you will be forever tossed to and fro by recommendations coming from everywhere while your clock to book the flights ticks away. It really does not take no more than 6 hours for France, another 6 hours for England, another 6 hours for Italy and 3 hours for Greece to go over guide books to list out key places you want to go.
After that, it is a matter of how you connect your priority destinations within your constraints and decide where to enter and exit, which would match your flight. Then you will be sure your flights go along with the ground details. You don't need a detailed itinerary to book a flight, but you need to have identified at least one realistic way to connect the dots while allocating enough time at each stop.
Many first timers book flights in vacuum assuming they can always match the rest with the flights. Sometimes yes, sometimes no. They realize they have made a monumental mistake by boxing themselves too early without identifying obvious implications.
Where are you coming from? If you are coming from the U.S., mid-June is the peak season for air travel in terms of price and occupancy as this is when families with children all want to travel. The accommodations are also at high season prices.
In case of France, you need to be aware of major events like this happening in cities: http://www.uefa.com/uefaeuro/season=...y=1/index.html. You will encounter tight accommodations, depending on which team is playing, if you wonder into cities during the tournaments.
You need to decide where in each country you want to go. No one can answer, "Where do I stay in France?" In Paris alone, at just one booking site, it lists 3900 properties! Unless you grasp what each place offers you, you will be forever tossed to and fro by recommendations coming from everywhere while your clock to book the flights ticks away. It really does not take no more than 6 hours for France, another 6 hours for England, another 6 hours for Italy and 3 hours for Greece to go over guide books to list out key places you want to go.
After that, it is a matter of how you connect your priority destinations within your constraints and decide where to enter and exit, which would match your flight. Then you will be sure your flights go along with the ground details. You don't need a detailed itinerary to book a flight, but you need to have identified at least one realistic way to connect the dots while allocating enough time at each stop.
Many first timers book flights in vacuum assuming they can always match the rest with the flights. Sometimes yes, sometimes no. They realize they have made a monumental mistake by boxing themselves too early without identifying obvious implications.
Mar 14th, 2016, 08:11 PM
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No, there are no quick answers unless you just sign up for a tour and let someone else take charge of your trips, which means giving up a lot of authority and being at someone else's beck and call. Given the expense of a 4- to 6-week tour of another continent, there is simply no substitute for putting in the time and effort to engage and plan your own trip. It's not rocket science. You just have to read and study and plan. There's no excuse for being clueless; 30 years ago it was a lot harder than it is today, with the gazillion resources of the internet, but we still managed.
Mar 14th, 2016, 08:13 PM
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Gregs first paragraph is very important. I havent used a travel agent in almost 20 yrs now.
They do not know most places they book you in personally, but will only book you in hotels they get commission from, this is not they being sneaky or bad, they have to make a living, but their living does not save you money, and their information is often no better then what your neighbor bob could get you about a hotel by just googling it...
They do not know most places they book you in personally, but will only book you in hotels they get commission from, this is not they being sneaky or bad, they have to make a living, but their living does not save you money, and their information is often no better then what your neighbor bob could get you about a hotel by just googling it...
Mar 14th, 2016, 08:25 PM
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Justineparis' plan looks great to me, or something similar. How can you lose with those great cities? With that framework, you can get on with planning the details, and researching what you would like to see in each destination, then working out transportation options and an itinerary.
From there, hotels..
From there, hotels..
Mar 14th, 2016, 08:50 PM
#8
Is this your first trip to Europe? If so, I recommend reading "Europe Through the Back Door" and Rough Guide's "First Time Eutope" before hitting the country guidebooks.
You should also know about seat61.com for surface travel, and skyscanner.com for budget flights. I usually use booking.com for hotels, but I check the reviews on tripadvisor - just read with great care.
Also remember that takes two nights to get you one full day somewhere.
You should also know about seat61.com for surface travel, and skyscanner.com for budget flights. I usually use booking.com for hotels, but I check the reviews on tripadvisor - just read with great care.
Also remember that takes two nights to get you one full day somewhere.
Mar 14th, 2016, 10:21 PM
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You've already gotten some great advice!
I'll add a recommendation to hit your local library, where you should find lots of guidebooks that will give you information to help you narrow things down and also figure out which guidebooks suit your needs best, so you can buy a few that will help you plan your time (the price will be nugatory in comparison to the cost of the trip).
Enjoy! I'm sure both you and your son will find much to treasure in your joint venture.
I'll add a recommendation to hit your local library, where you should find lots of guidebooks that will give you information to help you narrow things down and also figure out which guidebooks suit your needs best, so you can buy a few that will help you plan your time (the price will be nugatory in comparison to the cost of the trip).
Enjoy! I'm sure both you and your son will find much to treasure in your joint venture.
Mar 15th, 2016, 07:00 AM
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There is a company called Small and Elegant Hotels that can help you with your reservations . I did the same thing with my kids, and they were able to help me put together a three week vacation, two weeks before the scheduled date!
Mar 15th, 2016, 07:54 AM
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Step One: get your passports immediately
Step Two: if you are separated or divorced from his mother, get a notarized letter from her permitting you to take him out of the country
While you wait, you can do research and have him do research, his mostly on social media. What do kids like?
Limit the trip to four destinations. I would pick London -- Paris (take the train) -- Rome (fly) -- Switzerland by train (if he likes to hike) and home from Zurich OR Barcelona if he likes the beach and would enjoy a ferry ride across the Med from Genoa. Fly home through Madrid.
People here and on TripAdvisor hate travel agents. People on here have a lot of time or travel a lot. Yes, you can change the oil in your own car. Do you take the time? I don't use travel agents any more either, but I am retired and I have traveled a lot, and my wife actually likes doing this stuff. But she doesn't like changing oil.
Don't take him on a tour, but utilize tour guides locally to go places like castles and battlefields unless you are expert.
Step Two: if you are separated or divorced from his mother, get a notarized letter from her permitting you to take him out of the country
While you wait, you can do research and have him do research, his mostly on social media. What do kids like?
Limit the trip to four destinations. I would pick London -- Paris (take the train) -- Rome (fly) -- Switzerland by train (if he likes to hike) and home from Zurich OR Barcelona if he likes the beach and would enjoy a ferry ride across the Med from Genoa. Fly home through Madrid.
People here and on TripAdvisor hate travel agents. People on here have a lot of time or travel a lot. Yes, you can change the oil in your own car. Do you take the time? I don't use travel agents any more either, but I am retired and I have traveled a lot, and my wife actually likes doing this stuff. But she doesn't like changing oil.
Don't take him on a tour, but utilize tour guides locally to go places like castles and battlefields unless you are expert.
Mar 15th, 2016, 08:11 AM
#12
Won't add much but just to underscore what others have said.
• Simplify things by limiting the number of destinations. London, Paris, Italy or Switzerland. The less jumping around the easier planning -- and the cheaper the transportation.
• Get your son involved in the research/planning
• Just about every city in Europe had terrific local walking and guided tours. So you don't have to 'Take a tour' as such but can take get the benefit of local knowledge/tour guides. Like these for instance http://www.walks.com
• Simplify things by limiting the number of destinations. London, Paris, Italy or Switzerland. The less jumping around the easier planning -- and the cheaper the transportation.
• Get your son involved in the research/planning
• Just about every city in Europe had terrific local walking and guided tours. So you don't have to 'Take a tour' as such but can take get the benefit of local knowledge/tour guides. Like these for instance http://www.walks.com
Mar 15th, 2016, 09:38 AM
#13
Agreeing with some advice above:
Get passports now if you don't have them.
Get a couple guidebooks from the library.
Greece, Italy, France, and the UK is plenty for a 4-6 week trip... you don't need to add more places. Plus the less different places you go, the easier your trip will be to plan and carry out.
Right now price plane tickets to see what you're looking at. Start with your home city into London or Paris or Rome to get an idea.
Get passports now if you don't have them.
Get a couple guidebooks from the library.
Greece, Italy, France, and the UK is plenty for a 4-6 week trip... you don't need to add more places. Plus the less different places you go, the easier your trip will be to plan and carry out.
Right now price plane tickets to see what you're looking at. Start with your home city into London or Paris or Rome to get an idea.
Mar 15th, 2016, 02:50 PM
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Definitely plan "open-jaw" flights, as justineparis suggested - arrive in one city and depart from your final destination.
Since I'm not a fan of hot weather, I would start at the destination farthest south and leave from the UK.
What attracted the two of you to those particular countries? What are your interests - history, art, hiking, beach, food? Large cities or small towns or a mix? Thinking about those questions as you start researching will help you narrow down your possibilities and, if you come back and give us more information, will help us help you.
Lee Ann
Since I'm not a fan of hot weather, I would start at the destination farthest south and leave from the UK.
What attracted the two of you to those particular countries? What are your interests - history, art, hiking, beach, food? Large cities or small towns or a mix? Thinking about those questions as you start researching will help you narrow down your possibilities and, if you come back and give us more information, will help us help you.
Lee Ann
Mar 15th, 2016, 06:26 PM
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If it was me..... I would go to EuropeanDestinations.com, put in you cities, pick your hotels and you will have the travel and hotels all lined up including travel between spots. Have a great trip.
Mar 15th, 2016, 06:37 PM
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Good for you! We took our daughters to Paris, London and Yorkshire when they were 13. We made tons of mistakes but still had a great time -- if you'd like to avoid some of the mistakes we made ;-), here's our trip report.
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...ire-wteens.cfm
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...ire-wteens.cfm
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