AndiM

I'm a teacher who is using my summer off to proactively plan (and dream) about our big European vacation next summer. We have been to Europe several times but never with our kids who will be 6 and 4 next summer. This will also be our longest trip anywhere. We are ordering a BMW through their European Delivery program, and after picking up the car in Munich we plan to drive a big loop. This will be a rural trip, mostly, because the cities will be more appreciated and easier to navigate when the kids are older and we are sans car.

Anyway, here's the rough outline...

Week 1 (7-10 days) - Arrive in Frankfurt. Spend 3 nights with family who live an hour outside of Frankfurt. Train to Munich for 2 nights. Pick up car. Drive to Bavaria and explore for 4-6 nights.

Week 2 - Long drive to Northern Tuscany. Stay in Lucca area. Daytrips to Cinque Terre, and other Tuscan towns. We hope to find an agriturisimo or budget villa for the week.

Week 3 - This week is still in the works. I'm leaning toward the Dordogne, France. DH wants to see a portion of the Tour de France. We might split this week between two locations. The Pyrenees are a possibility.

Week 4 - Already booked a gite in Normandy! http://bed.breakfast.pagesperso-oran...es/Page597.htm

Week 5 - Already booked a farmhouse outside of Brugge, Belgium. http://www.homeaway.com/vacation-ren...0?uni_id=70171

Week 6 - Back to Germany where we will hopefully explore the Mosel/Rhine. DH will drive and/or taxi on the Nürburgring. We'll stay a few nights with family again before leaving from Frankfurt.

Any thoughts on this? We're trying to stay put so the kids feel like we have a home. We're also trying to spend around $100/night for a place with a pool, WiFi (so DH can do a little telecommuting), and space to spread out. We are on a budget and plan to cook/picnic for two meals a day. We love eating & drinking whatever is regional. Thanks! I've been getting many ideas from guidebooks and this forum.

franco

Great trip! Not rushed, just the travels from Tuscany to south-west France and from there to Normandy will be long, but you already know that (and you want to use your BMW, anyway!). Both the Dordogne and the Pyrénées are great regions; you'll get better answers if you tell what you'd like to see/do. The most striking particularity (among a variety of other good sights) of the Dordogne are the prehistoric sites (cave painting and related), the Pyrénées are more about quaint villages and medieval churches. Food is far preferable in the Dordogne, though.

AndiM

Thanks for your feedback franco! I know I'm not asking any specific questions. I will as I keep planning. I guess I just wanted to see if there was anything that stuck out as unreasonable of if I'm missing something incredible! I'm glad to hear your opinions on the Dordogne. I really want to visit that region!

kwren

Sounds good to me!

If you go to the Dordogne, you could take the drive to Rocamadour to the "Foret des Singes"
(Monkey Forest) and Eagle Rock. I took my son when he was 8 and he loved them both.

We also went to Lascaux to see the caves and prehistoric drawings.

AndiM

The Foret des Singes looks perfect! My girls would LOVE that. The eagle exhibit looks like fun too. Thanks for those tips kwren. Lascaux is on my list. I'm pretty convinced we'll make it the Dordogne region.

dugi_otok

What a great family vacation! We did a similar, but shorter loop, this year with boys ages 7 and 11. If your car GPS does not work in Europe, buy a hand held, like a Garmin nuvi 275T.
Your destinations are all kid friendly, but north Tuscany makes for rough travel days for kids in car seats. I would plan on 2 days to get from Tuscany to Dordogne. Do not cut the Dordogne short. You might consider a route Bavaria-Lake Constance(day trips to Switzerland)-Alsace- French Alps to Dordogne instead of Tuscany.Might intercept the Tour this way. Good luck on $100 per day.

AndiM

Thanks dugi_otok - I looked at a map and read a bit about Lake Constance. That could be an interesting and scenic way to shorten the loop. I still have Tuscan dreams and will have a hard time changing that week. My girls are pretty good car-travelers. I'm keeping your suggestions in mind!