Peter_S_Aus

I think that you will be spending most of your time in a coach, and not really see anything. Your teenage sons will be really bored by this trip.

Day 20 includes seeing eleven different places, plus shopping in Oxford Street.

31 cities in 21 days is a huge number of cities. So I would say that it is not worth it.

nukesafe

It might work, AJU, but it would not work for me. I think it is is a crazy trip. Too much! All travelling and no time to enjoy.

Could you tell us how much the travel agency would charge for such a trip?

Peter_S_Aus

AJU, think about selecting just two countries - say England and France, or Spain and Italy, or Italy and Switzerland. Then give each country about ten days, staying in two places in each country.

Then you can take day trips, and also have some time to just walk around.

janisj

aramis: Easy mistake since you've unaccountably attacked me several times. Still think you were out of line . . .

AJU: Sorry but that itinerary is very VERY bad. Just terrible. You will spends HOURS in a coach almost every single day. Plus you have an 11 yo and a 16 yo. There may be no other young people in the group - how do your children manage being up and dressed and packed by 7 AM every single morning? No exceptions. If you are late they will leave without you.

You have half a day in Paris and one day at Disneyland. One day in London and the only two things you go inside are the Tower of London (good) and Madame Tussauds (a total waste of your short time)

Almost 1/2 of your 'visits' (when they actually let you off the bus) are to tourist trap shops - perfume factory, Glass blower, cuckoo clock factory, wooden shoe factory, etc.)

Multiply the tour cost by the 4 or you and you are spending a fortune to visit practically nothing and drive past everything else.

That is a REALLY horrible tour plan.

AJU

Thanks a lot valuable suggestions each person cost for this tour is 5500-5800 usd includes air ticket ,hotel ,food .

justineparis

AJU this is one of the most horrible tours I have ever seen. You have two days in Paris. One of which is at Disneyland. And the other day is just driving around in the bus.
I am not trying to be mean, but it sounds like just a horrible trip.

You should leave the children at home with grandparents, I do not see how they will enjoy this trip at all,, I have taken my children to Europe, at ages 11 and 14 and they would hate that tour. Too much, not enough time to see anything at all.

I think maybe you will just take this tour as it seems easy to just pay and give the trip planning to someone else. But, I wish you would reconsider. Paris, London and Rome need 4 -5 days at least, then perhaps 2-3 days for Nice and Monaco,, thats the trip. You will actually have time to go into museums and churches and see things,, walks along beautiful streets, stop in cafes and enjoy a drink or ice cream,, a civilized and relaxing vacation.

hetismij2

AJU I am only going to comment on the Dutch section - the trip seems to be Keukenhof, The Hague, Zaanse Schans and Amsterdam all in one day?

Keukenhof will take at least half a day, the Hague another half a day, Zaanse Schans maybe a half day and Amsterdam at least another half day, even if you don't visit any of the museums.

Where are you staying then?

It takes about an hour to get from The Hague to Amsterdam, assuming there are no traffic jams. It takes 20-30 minutes to reach Zaanse Schans (which I assume is what the mean by the famous Dutch windmill, clog shop and cheese maker) from Amsterdam. 30 -40 minutes from either Den Haag or Amsterdam to Keukenhof. - That is already at least 2 hours out of a crowded day just spent getting to places. Add on the time it takes to load and unload the coach each time and it will be nearer 3 hours.



It takes about 3 hours to drive from Cologne to Amsterdam or Den Haag, by car. It will take longer by coach since they are not allowed to go as fast.

Please reconsider this trip, and spend more time in places you really want to see. You could look into travelling by train, or using cheap airlines to get from place to place, and organise it your self if you feel up to it - I am sure you, and your family would get far more out of the trip that way.
As it is you spend all day, every day in a coach seeing motorways and the countries whiz by. It won't be very nice for you, and awful for your children.

Tulips

Hi AJU, I agree with other posters that this is far too much traveling. If I take just one day;

Leave Cologne, travel by coach to Amsterdam - that's three hours at least on the bus. Then you go to The Hague, Keukenhof, windmills (and that clog factory - tourist trap), only to spend the evening in Amsterdam, where you will do a canal tour. You will have no experience of Amsterdam except for that canal boat and your hotel. Next day you take the coach to Brussels - terrible traffic between those cities, spend at least 3 hours on the bus (probably more).

Much better would be to pick three cities that you are most interested in, and do a few day trips from there. Maybe London - train to Paris - then fly to Rome.
Do some research on each city - look at the city guides on Fodor's for an idea of what to do. Then ask specific questions on this forum per city; which hotel in London, which daytrips, restaurant recommendations.

It is not difficult to organize this, but if you do not want to do this, find an agent who will put together a trip for you; with your budget, it's a shame to blow that on such a terrible organized coach trip.


If I took my family on the trip you describe, they would all hate me, you'll be exhausted at the end of the trip.

MissPrism

Yes.that trip sounds horrific.
Why not ask your travel agent for something like a three cities tour where you actually stay in e.g. London, Paris and Rome for a few days.

Zerlina

Are you sure the price includes your air ticket Kuwait-Madrid and London-Kuwait?
http://www.kesari.in/World-Tours/All-Of-Europe-E1.asp

It's over 250 USD per person per day, mostly to look at things though a bus window: between cities and in cities. There is no hotel list; they are very probably not five-star hotels and very possibly hotels on the outskirts of cities, where you'd be stuck without public transport in the evening.

The tour is designed for people from India, who might make only one trip in their lives to Europe. If you think you might make more trips to Europe, go to only two or at most three countries and really experience them instead of looking at them through a bus window.

bilboburgler

Aramis, shame on you.

I offered no insult to the OP, I tried to understand what he means. I have no knowledge of his first language. I welcomed him to the site. I tried to structure his request so I, and others, could read it and try to understand what he wanted to do. It was only as we teased out the plan did we begin to understand what the scope was. If this is a reason to "bring me to the front of the class" like a Dickensian school master then I fear you do not understand how the Internet works. Still keep up the good work of helping the OP.

I will continue to offer help to him (or her) as I do to all.

As a general note I see that there are more of these "panic" tours being provided by Chinese travel agents and it will be interesting to see how they progress. The benefit may be that for someone for whom the European situation is scary this type of trip offers more of a safe/family enviroment which satisfies their particular cultural requirement rather than many other OP's need for self expression etc.

bilboburgler

Aramis, I'm sorry I did not read your item carefully enough. It seems I was voted "top marks"

Shows how easy it is to miss-understand....

ssander

AJU...

I apologize for being snide -- I, too, thought you were just messing around with us.

I have only one comment about the 22-day tour you're looking at:

DO NOT DO THIS -- you will get a better "tour" of Europe (and more time seeing each site) spending a hundred dollars on a set of travel DVDs.

SS

qwovadis

ricksteves.com best clueless euroewbie site
cheapoair.com best biz class to LON
booking.com top 5 star hotels
seat61.com premium train.
Crack open a Fodors guide or 8
and pare back for better experience
IF you are real which I personally doubt..

qwovadis

Just to get real in case you are real
14000 euro for 3 weeks is 280 euros per day or so
Family Rooms in a good 5 star
can easily cost 1000 euro per day
intercontinental.co Le Grand in Pars I just booked 500 euro/nt

affordabletours.com do a nice upscale tour might work for you
like Globus 3500 eurp per person for 3 weeks in Europe is not
much money AT ALL>

Gretchen

It will be AWFUL for the kids. It will be bad for the parents. It is paying $$$$$ to say you have been somewhere, but have not even seen it.
PLEASE do as many have said and choose at MOST 3 countries.

Sassafrass

Many people here on Fodors have travelled a lot and are very knowledgeable about Europe. They are giving you really good advice. I have even taken a few tours with kids - I was a teacher with students. Please believe others when they say that is a bad tour. I like some tours, but this tour leaves no opportunity to actually experience Europe. Every sight is dictated by this tour and you are not getting choices that might be better for your family. All those drive arounds in cities are horrible. Even most grownups are bored. Are the sights on the tour the ones you and your kids really dream of when they think about Europe? They sure are not what most people dream of.

It will be a bit of work and at first appear daunting, but you can put together a beautiful tour for your family yourself.

Seriously, start off with the three things you have dreamed of seeing all of your life. Then see what is around them. Or, pick three cities you are most interested in just to start. You may end up with different ones, but think about what you can do with fewer locations that you are interested in.

For more help, why don't you come back to us with a short (three or four) list of places or sights you dream about seeing. Then people can make suggestions of how to put a good trip together.

Also, if you will tell us what you are most interested in: architecture, cathedrals, history, Art, small quaint towns or major cities, major tourists sights, food, etc., that would be a big help.

mamcalice

I have to agree with the advice you have been given. This tour is one of the worst I have ever seen - a terrible way to spend 3 weeks in Europe! Please reconsider and think about choosing two countries. France and Italy would perhaps be good ones.

Then start in Rome, for example, and spend 10 days in Italy. Then move to France for 10 days, ending in Paris.

Don't see Europe through a bus window. Getting to know a smaller number of places by spending time in the cathedrals and museums and strolling the streets will be far more memorable.

Be careful of hotels recommended by the tour company. Often then are outside the city and even if you have a bit of free time in the evening, you can't get to the city center easily.

ira

Hi AJU,

>THIS PACKAGE FROM TRAVEL AGENT

There was a US movie some years ago called "If It's Tuesday, It Must Be Belgium".

The characters in this movie took a similar tour.

The title has become famous for describing very rushed, whirlwind tours in which you spend a lot of time in a bus watching the world go by, stay at hotels well outside the city, eat poor food, have to pack and unpack each day and pay a lot of money.

You have 20 days. Limit yourself to 3 countries and have a good time.

Gretchen

And I will add that we took our children on a 3 week trip when they were teens. We told them we would do some of the things WE wanted to (museums, cathedrals, etc.) and some of the things THEY wanted (clothes shopping, sporting goods stores!!). After a while, THEY were saying "let's see THAT church".