dadutchess

Hi,

I am in the beginning stages of planning a trip to Europe in 2011 for my 35th birthday with my 9 year old son. I am a little worried about traveling abroad with just the two of us was wondering if a tour group would be good. Looked into Monograms, Globus & Trafalgar (Disney & Tauck were out of my price range). But I do not like the hotels that are offered with the tours.

Would like to visit London, Paris (and Disneyland Paris) and possibly Venice. Would like the tour group for peace of mind, but wondering if I could plan it out all on my own.

Thinking about the following itinerary:

Fly from NYC to Paris
Paris (4 nights)
Disneyland Paris (2 nights)
train to London
London (3 nights)
fly back to NYC

Still wondering how to fit Venice in and for how long. My budget for the entire trip (without airfare is $3000 - $3500USD). Also not sure which month is better April or August.

Any advice or suggestions? Thank you!

Iowa_Redhead

Go alone, you'll be fine! I went through the UK with a tour group and loved it but I highly doubt a 9 year old would. Those are all places you can easily and safely do on your own. I went on a Cosmos tour (younger version of the same family as Globus) and it's absolutely not geared for a kid. Globus would be even less so.

Personally, I think your plan looks fine... not tons crammed into too little time but fast enough to keep you moving. I wouldn't try to add Venice on this trip. Every time you move around it takes up time and money. Save that for another trip.

Early or late April? Mid May was a fantastic time for London, but it had windy/chilly days. April will be shoulder season so fewer tourists, possibly cheaper prices and cooler weather. August will be warmer, but may border on hot, and there will likely be more tourists. I'd pack a jacket and go in April.

When you're in London go to the Ceremony of the Keys. It's free, starts around 9:30 and lasts til 10'ish. It's fascinating but I think it's interesting enough that a 9 year old would enjoy it too. Definitely go to the Tower before the night attending the Ceremony so that your son can see everything and won't be scared by being there at night.


On a side note, I don't know what your situation is, but if you're divorced you may want to get your ex to sign something stating they're okay with you taking the child out of the country. With parental abductions some countries are pretty nervous allowing a single parent to take kids across borders. If you have it on hand you won't need it, but if you don't have it you'll meet up with the one guard in 1000 who wants to see paperwork. There have been a few topics on this issue before but I can't find a link for you.

dfr4848

Agree with Iowa. We've been going to Europe with our daughter since she was in elementary school (she's now in her 20s). Wonderful experiences but you really have to be flexible and be prepared for those "can't go any farther" periods. And you can't do that very well on a tour. You'll do fine on your own - and what a wonderful opportunity for just the 2 of you.

Also agree with sticking to your itinerary as outlined.

One suggestion if you haven't considered it: set aside 1 day each in London and Paris. Give your son some guidebooks with information on things to do with chidren and let him pick out some things he wants to do for those days. We've had great success with it and it's sometimes truly amazing what YOU'LL learn from it. We also found we got less complaining when doing things we wanted to do, because they'll have "their day".

And yes, get the letter from the ex if that's your situation for the reasons mentioned.

dfr4848

Forgot, yes I'd also pick April. Less crowded and August can bring some real heat waves.

janisj

I'd fiddle w/ your plan just a little. Disneyland Paris is smaller than Anaheim and MUCH smaller than Orlando. I wouldn't cut it out - but I really don't see a reason to stay there 2 nights. You actually don't have to stay at the park at all since it is a nice train trip from central Paris. The train lets out just outside the park entrance.

If you wanted to stay there 1 night - maybe OK just for the experience.

But in any case - I'd take one of those nights you plan for DL and add it to London. London is huge and has lots and LOTS and <B>LOTS</B> to interest a 9 yo boy. In fact, probably more kid-centric things than Paris.

So I'd do 5 days Paris (one of those days at DL either staying in Paris or out at the park) and 4 full days in London.

yk

April definitely.

DIY definitely.

Your budget is quite generous. Even at $3000 for 9 days = $333/day not including airfare. On my European trips with DH, we generally spend under $300/day for the 2 of us. And in your case, your son will be "cheaper" due to discounted (or free) admission fees.

Disneyland paris isn't too far from Paris - you may want to consider spending all 6 nights in Paris and rent an apartment in Paris. There are a TON of threads on Paris Apt rentals here. It's more economical and you get more space in an apt than a hotel room. Also, with an apt, you don't have to eat out at restaurants 3 meals a day. Instead, you can get groceries from markets (eg, baguette, cold cuts, cheese etc) and have simple meals back at the apt.

jent103

I agree - Paris and London are easy to plan on your own and are two of the most-covered places on these forums (so, plenty of people to ask for help). I would MUCH rather plan my own trip with a nine-year-old than take him on a tour.

I haven't been to Disneyland, but janisj's recommendations make a lot of sense - I think a first trip to London, especially with a child, needs more than three days (if anything, my personal preference would be more time in London than Paris, but I know others would disagree with me). You might also look into reversing your trip, starting in London and flying home from Paris. I've seen comments about departure taxes being higher from the UK than from France; I don't know if that's still the case, but it's something to check out when you're pricing tickets. Plus London might be a good place to start - I'm getting the vibe that this is a first trip at least for your son, if not for you, so starting in a country that at least speaks the same language might be helpful.

As far as Venice, it's geographically far, would make your other stops rushed, and I'm not sure a nine-year-old would be that interested in it, after the novelty of the boats and canals wore off. I'd leave it off this time.

Sue4

Definitely don't do a tour. Your 9-year old wouldn't enjoy being with a group of middle-aged people! Unless you could find a tour geared to families. But I agree with others on here that you'd be fine planning and doing on your own. London and Paris are quite easy. Allow plenty of time for the planning, and you'll get plenty of help on Fodor's.

ParisAmsterdam

20 years ago a tour might have been the way to go. But with so much information now at your fingertips with the internet and advice from people at Fodors, doing your own thing is the way to do it.

With 9 nights... I'd say drop Venice and stick with Paris and London. Try and get an 'open jaw' flight landing in London and leaving from Paris. Taxes are less (higher departure taxes in the UK) that way and you save both the time and the expense of backtracking.

I agree with those who've recommended only giving Disney a day at most. I'm not known as a fan of Disney but even as a 9 year old I'd MUCH rather have been seeing a real castle like the Tower of London or a chateau like Versailles than Mickey and Goofy! What about a 2 day trip to the Loire Valley instead of Disney? ;^) Show your son some pics of Loire chateaux and he may surprise you!

Have a great time whatever you choose!

Rob

dadutchess

Thank you for the replies. Just worried about being so far from family if something were to happen.

Planning this trip is so exciting, but overwhelming. I thought about just taking a day to see Disneyland Paris through Cityrama tours but wanted to make sure we could see all the attractions there. And I wanted to give my very active son a chance to burn off some energy. Will forgo Venice this time, since this is our first time visiting Europe.

Having started looking at hotels I am really impressed with London - Base2Stay Kensington, Le Meridian Piccadilly
Paris - La Lavoisier, Hotel Bassano, Hotel Ares Eiffel


I have a list of 50 Paris Hotels and 20 London Hotels!

Still trying to figure out the different areas where we should stay. I will look into the Paris apartments. Regarding ex no problem - never married and deadbeat lol.

poutine

The first trip to Europe for my kids was London and Paris. As others have mentioned, these two cities are a very easy pair, and there is no need to book a tour for your entire trip. If you feel the need to get a guide for a day, which I did in Paris, then do so.

My son was 9 when we went - 9 nights in London and 5 in Paris. He read a couple of books prior, Notre Dame de Paris and a few kids mystery novels that took place in London. I have to say, that while he liked Paris, he LOVED London. Since that first trip three years ago, they have been to Berlin, Tuscany, Venice, Amsterdam, Barcelona, South of France and more. Where has he been dying to go back? London. We hope to return, and see more of the UK, this summer.

You will have no problems with your budget. In London we stayed at the Marriott County Hall, and may stay next door at the Premier Inn - County Hall (which is next door) this summer. I really liked the location. The London Eye is right beside the hotel, and the Parliament Buildings and Big Ben are right across the river. Transport is very nearby.

Lexma90

DH and I took our son on a very similar trip when he was 10yo. We started in London, 4 nights there, took the Eurostar through the channel tunnel to Paris. Picked up a rental car, and spent 3 nights in the Loire Valley visiting castles. Returned to Paris, spent 4 nights there. He enjoyed it very much! (Euro Disney was NOT an option.)

Before the trip, we read the Hunchback of Notre Dame together, and that much added to his appreciation of Notre Dame.

He was, at the time, very interested in spies and James Bond, so we took a LondonWalks walking tour about Spies. It was mostly about Kim Philby and his group, but my son still liked it (I had told him about Kim Philby beforehand).

In London, we also visited the War Museum and the Cabinet War Rooms (not sure if I have those names correct). We all enjoyed them.

In Paris, I arranged it so that his first view of the Eiffel Tower was at night, from a Bateaux Mouche boat on the River Seine. Magic!

In London, we stayed in the Bloomsbury neighborhood, at Hotel Montague. I wanted that neighborhood so we could walk to the theatre and through Covent Garden. None of us are into shopping, didn't feel the need to stay in the Knightsbridge area.

In Paris, we stayed at a hotel we'd stayed at several times before, in the 6th Arr., within walking distance to a lot of sights, called Hotel Le Regent. We really like that area, because there's always a lot going on (but not too noisy), and it's centrally located.

nytraveler

A tour with a child is a relly bad idea.

First, the kid doesn;t want to be cooped up in a bus with only adults all day.

Second, many groups don;t accept kids.

You can easily do the trip yourself.

April will be much better than August.

I would do it in reverse - England first - to get rid of jet lag and culture shock. Also - add time to London - one day at Paris Disney is plenty. Your sone will find many"real" places (Tower of London, Windsor Castle, some of the boat rides and Eifel Tower etc - to be much more exciting than a fake French Mickey.

When searching for hotels look at location (central and near tube or Metro) so you don't wste a lot of time trekking back and forth across large cities.

And be sure to get your son involved in planning the trip - using tour brochures and pictorial guides from the library I'm sure he'll find aton of places he want to go.

grandmere

I would spend the 6 nights in Paris and would stay in an apartment to give you both some space and flexibility. You'll have a great time, and he's at a good age to be making this trip. You will be just fine w/o a tour.

Lynnaustin

As far as time of year, April would be better. August can be very hot and very crowded.
You've had a lot of good suggestions. I did a similar trip with my kids but we went to Paris and Venice. (Took them to London when they were older and could really appreciate the history.)
Venice is magical to children (and adults). It is like no other place. I would fly into one city and home from the other. Venice is a good place to start. It is not too big and you can get over your jet lag there before you start all of the Paris walking. I would also recommend taking a sleeper train between the two cities. It is an amazing adventure for a child.
You can definitely do this on your own. Start looking at the various neighborhoods of the cities and then look at hotel sites like Expedia. This will give you an idea of hotels. It's fun to try to stay in a place with history or "special character/charm." With just two of you I wouldn't opt for an apartment. Nice to have the maid service in a hotel.

Side note: check out the website for " medjet assist". You will want to get some type of evacuation insurance and they are a good one.

ParisAmsterdam

Dutchess,

Don't get yourself worried about 'something happening'... England and France are civilized countries and chances are they are as safe or safer than where you live.

In the event of an accident or medical emergency both have health care systems that will look after you and neither leave you lying in the street nor bankrupt you with high costs. Medical insurance is easily available just to be on the safe side.

In the event of something happening, you are only about a 6 hour flight away from the east coast... chances are that over the years you've been farther away from friends and family even though you were still in your own country.

Finally... staying in touch while away has never been easier or cheaper than today. If you don't take a netbook or laptop most hotels have at least one internet computer available for guests.
Though numbers seem to be declining, internet cafes are still easy enough to find. CallinEurope.com can provide you with a French cell phone before you leave home or you could pick up a cheap pay as you go cell phone when you arrive.

So don't worry... you'll never be that far away or out of contact.

Rob

tarquin

You don't need a tour for EuroDisney, it's very easy on the train from Paris. If he has experienced the American version, your son may not be impressed with the French one, and I wouldn't want to be dependent on the catering there for too long.

I too would suggest more time in London, where there are so many places geared to children. Medical evacuation is for places like Laos, where doctors are few, not Paris and London with standards as high as the US.

janisj

I missed the "<i>I thought about just taking a day to see Disneyland Paris through Cityrama tours</i>"

NO - absolutely no reason at all to pay a 3rd party a lot of extra $$$/€€€ to take you to DL and back. You get on an RER train in Paris, you get off at the gates of DL. No transfers, no hassle. There are several stations in central Paris where you can catch the RER A4 line (the best one depends on where you are staying)

A tour of DL really makes no sense at all.

kkukura

I took my two children to London and Paris when they were 11 and 15. We were very disappointed in EuroDisney because we had been numerous times to Disney World. But, my children wanted to go there and we enjoyed the day just to say we had been there. It is much smaller than you would expect and therefore much easier to get around and to ride all the rides in one day. We stayed in Paris and took the train there. It was my first trip going solo with my children to Europe, but we encountered no problems. Enjoy!

Lynnaustin

I would have to disagree with tarquin about medical evacuation not being necessary. This is different from medical insurance.
If a tourist has an accident and has to spend more than a small amount of time hospitalized, most people want to be evacuated home. I have known two cases where this was used.
A friend's son broke both legs (jumping off a small wall and landing wrong) in France. His medical care was just fine there but he could not fly home commercial because he could not sit to bend his legs.
The second instance was a friend who suffered a stroke in Australia. After he was stabilized he was flown home and stayed in hospital 2 more weeks.
To pay for an evacuation yourself is about $30,000.