Travel with Teens
 

Hi brilliant minds! Family of 5 wanting to travel this year, yes I know its last minute, end of June, beginning of July. Can probably do 10 -14 days. Kids are 21,18 & 16. We do like to see sites but not run run from place to place and do not like group tours. Was thinking a time in Rome then would like to slow down pace, maybe stay in Tuscany and/or Almalfi. How do I go about finding places to stay? BUT am open to other suggestions, Italy and London? Italy and Ireland? Help!!

well, the 21 and 18 year olds are hardly teens, are they? do they have ideas about where they want to go/

My kids, when 18 & 21 loved Rome and Venice [though we never went there in the summer] but they [and we] also loved Lake Garda a few years earlier.

i think that you're thinking along the right lines - with 10 -14 days, 2 bases possibly Rome and one in the country/a more rural or seaside setting. if you want the seaside, the Amalfi would work with Rome - fly into Rome, transfer to the Amalfi, then come back to Rome for the end of the trip [that way you're in the right place to fly home and haven't got to worry about getting back to catch your flight.] alternatively a villa in Rural Umbria [with a pool] could be very nice.

as there are five of you, apartments/villas would appear to be the way to go. VRBO, and rentvillas.com are good places to start looking, or there are many other agencies that rent apartments in Rome - the centre round the Piazza Navona/Campo die Fiori is a good place to stay for a first time visit.

Ten to fourteen days is not enough time to see one country, so I would rule out trying to visit two countries, especially if you don't want to spend time running from one thing to the next. Tuscany and the Amalfi Coast are both very full of tourists in June and July, so the slow pace is not going to be easy to find in either place. They are also very different from each other, so it's hard to advise one over the other without knowing more about your family. What sorts or things are you mostly interested in? Also, were you considering renting a car for part of the time, or are you planning on using trains and buses?

You might want to consider splitting your time between Rome and Umbria. Umbria is the region just to the south and east of Tuscany. It has a similar landscape and culture, and fewer tourists. If you won't have a car, Perugia or Assisi are the best bases in Umbria. Both have excellent train and bus connections to other towns, both larger and smaller.

Assisi is a lovely town, with many associations with St. Francis of Assisi, and spectacular art in the basilicas that were built shortly after his death. But it's also a pretty medieval town in a scenic setting, and many people with no religious interest in the town enjoy spending time there.

Perugia is a bigger town, with a university (including a branch for foreign students); your teens might enjoy Perugia. It's also the home of the world famous Perugia chocolate, although they've been bought our by Nestlé, and I've heard rumors that Nestlé might shut them down.

If you want a slow pace, I would spend five full days in Rome (six nights), which would allow you to break out of the tourist horde now and then, and maybe also take a day trip. Then you could spend another five nights in your other chosen location. You might want to go directly to the other location on the day of your arrival and return to Rome in the second part of your trip so you'll be near the airport for the return flight. There are direct buses from Fiumicino airport to Perugia, and I believe they also go on to Assisi, although you might have to change in Perugia.

Good suggestions above. YOur kids are certainly old enough to participate in the planning. Let everyone chime in and do some research. Rome is fabulous - I wouldn't discount the value of group tours. We have taken the Scavi tour at St. Peters, a tour of the basilica and a tour of the Vatican Museum. While we normally don't do group tours, these were all very informative and enjoyable.

If you go to the Amalfi Coast, be sure to spend a day at Pompeii.

Thank you all for the suggestions.
annhig- great idea to check out villas! yes they are really adults, I guess I cant grasp that yet! We want to surprise them so that's why Im not really asking them yet, but may have to..

Bvienici-That itinerary sounds wonderful! I iwll look inot that. I need to think more about eay access to trains, buses etc.. thank you!

mamacalice- I would do thise group tours I really meant the travel group tours where we travel completely with a group the whole time... The Vatican and Basillica are must sees for us too!!

Would you stay in Sorrento as a central base before Rome, and do trips to Amalfi or Capri or Positano?

if you opt for the Amalfi, Sorrento would make an excellent base. I just spent a week there on a language course [now there's an idea for your "kids"] and we went to Amalfi itself, Pompeii and Naples as well as spending time in Sorrento itself, which by June should be nicely busy without being too crowded.

There are a number of nice apartments there down by the marina grande where some of the teachers on our trip stayed - when I get home I'll post the details.

"Run run from place to place" vs. "slow down pace" is a personal trait and not a characteristic of a location or the time duration. I can slow down in Rome for three days but run run from place to place in five days in Tuscany. It all depends on how you choose to pack each day. Having five in the party reduces the accommodation choices. Unless you are willing to book three rooms 2+2+1, the choice of place that let you do 2+3 would be limited and you are traveling during the early but still the peak season where families like you compete for similar accommodations. Apartments/villa rental would give you more choices to accommodate all five of you in one place. However, in case you have not rented apartments before, they come with many restrictions compared to hotel. Read carefully the cancellation penalties. Many of them, you cannot cancel without losing some or all part of your deposit or sometimes the full amount of stay no matter how early you cancel. They also have restrictive check-in/out time windows, no place to leave luggage before/after check-in/out, upfront cash only full payment requirement, no elevators even if the apartment is located on fourth floor, etc.

If you ask frequent visitors, you will find many rent apartments to lower the cost of stay. But those folks, whether they tell you or not, usually have seen most places and are ok with staying in one place for a long term to comply with the minimum rental requirements and know how to manage arrival/departure times to match the check-in/out protocols. Many people thought they could just rent apartments without thinking about the requisites and suddenly realize they don't know how to come up with the upfront cash, what to do with luggage when they are arriving early in the morning when the apartment would not let them check-in or leave luggage until the late afternoon, or worse, did not read the cancellation policy and fumed when they finally find out the cancellation fee. Also, unlike hotels, if they have problem with the rental, they cannot accommodate you in a similar room at the same location. They can propose alternate properties somewhere else or outright cancel your reservation and refund the money. Then, what are you going to do?

Thank you Annhig! I would appreciate those names when you have time.. And since you were just there any other suggestions you might have.
Greg- I meant run from one tourist stop to another. Or trying to fit in too many cities as I see other people posting We want time to revel in each spot also. Thank you for the info on the rentals very good advice...

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...ento-style.cfm

annhig's current thread could be interesting and helpful to yous.

Thank you PalenQ, I will read it over !!

Ihap - greg makes some good points, but many of us have rented apartments in new places where we haven't seen most places [or any] and lived to tell the tale. In fact it was entirely due to this forum that several years ago we ended up renting apartments for holidays with our kids in Rome, Florence and Venice - we'd never have done that without encouragement from everyone here.

so everyone has to start somewhere.

Thanks for the encouragement annhig!!! My friend may have an apartment for us to stay in Rome, which would be amazing..
So then it is just deciding the rest of trip..where to go and where to stay... I feel I am getting closer at least to planning...

From what I am seeing I think for us definitely Rome and then either, Tuscany/Umbria, Positano or Sorrento... So narrowing it down..

Hi again,

here's the link to the apartments in Sorrento that I was talking about:

http://www.coltursuites.com/en/

They have apartments for 2-4 people - you might think about having one for yourselves and putting the 3 "kids" in another.

their on-line booking service isn't working so if you're interested, you may need to send an enquiry.

they have hotels as well but I don't know what they are like - we only saw inside the apartments which were very nice.

Although 18 is technically a teen - if you ask me they are all really adults. And I wouldn;t make a lot of plans without consulting with them unless you are sure they won't have school or job or other commitments. (My last family vacation was when I was 17 - after that I worked all summer - or traveled with friends - until I was in my 40s and took my parents away for a week.)

Also - you need to account for the fact that they will want to be involved in local student nightlife -and you may not see them until 2 or 3 am - so early starts are probably not a great idea.

Annhig- Thank you for the apt link! I will check it out.

nytraveler-yes I took into account all their activities etc... they know we are going away just not details and are fine with me planning it all.

Of course they are fine with you planning it all.. but I wouldn't let them be fine with it.. lol
I have taken both my ( then) 11 yr old and 13 yr old.. and both trips the kids were required to participate in planning and come up with a list of their three sites they wanted to see. The reason I did this was that its much easier to whine or complain if being taken along on a trip.. and alot harder if actually included in the planning..
I call it having the kids invest some "research equity" in a trip they are not financing.. its a gift not a right to go on awesome family trips..

But really .. its so easy.. any kid can google "top ten sights in Rome" and read up a bit and then say " hey.. I want to visit such and such a place" .

It just helps them enjoy the trip more.. not less.

I will add this.. make sure you get accomadation with A/C.. its so hot in Rome from June thru Sept.

Justineparis- I have been in Italy in July and it was scorching..but it was a cruise so back to the airconditioned ship at night..I will keep that in mind-thanks!

My parents have done surprise family vacations as well. The most successful (everyone found something to appeal to them despite divergent interests) were two Mediterranean cruises - we ran through Rome, our most crowded day, but had ample time for the other stops.

I was the odd one out most often and the key for me was variety. If you choose a base or destination with multiple attractions and opportunities, and are flexible about including all interests, or breaking up into smaller groups, then any family trip will be memorable.

Thanks! They are just excited about the fact that we are going to Europe. wherever we go they will be thrilled, all have very intense busy busy schedules and cannot wait to get away for a while. We parents are thrilled to have all 3 together for a spell!!

Italy is surely one of the greatest countries in the World, and it is ideal for families.I think 10-14 days are great for Italy, but if you want to combine another country, please, don't combine it with London or Ireland, that just sounds so American, Europe is not a bunch of States like America, every country is totaly different, and Britain has absolutely nothing to do with Italy, no cultural connection. If you want to combine another country, choose either Ionian Islands of Greece or South France, both next to Italy, perfect match. You can go to Rome, then Napoli (Amalfi included) and then Corfu in Greece. Another Itinerary is Rome, then Genoa and then Marseille in France.

Oooh that sounds amazing too! Is Greece settled down from last year?

Well we had our DDs help with the planning from the first trip - when they were 11 and 14. And being involved made it much more enjoyable for all of us. They wanted to see some places we might not have gone to - and went back to a couple of places (Covent Garden in London and Cluny Museum in Paris) while we went gallery hopping. It would have been more difficult if they hadn't been familiar with the cities and public transit before we arrived.

(Really pore over the maps - with sights indicated - of the cities you will go to - it will make planning - and setting up meeting laces - much easier than waiting until you arrive.)

I totally agree with Justine and NYTtaveler. The fact that your kids are totally fine with you planning everything is irrelevant when you get on the ground. THEY need to plan, too! Otherwise, at those ages, you risk having scolding, bored young adults who feel they're being herded from place to place and will be resentful. No one I've ever met has gone on a European trip with kids of those ages has had a event-less trip if they just dragged the kids along on a pre-planned trip. My own kids would have ditched me and gone off on their own if I'd just told them we're going here and there and then there. But then, at those ages, my own kids were traveling independently through Europe. They would have blanched at the thought of an entire trip with the parents in Europe - meet up for a few days, sure, but stuck together the whole time, heck no way!

Let them get Let's Go and Time Out and other guidebooks geared toward kids their ages and make them, yes, MAKE them, be part of the planning. The concept that Mom plans all the vacations is not only about 40 years behind the times, but doesn't ever work out in terms of the family's satisfaction with the vacation.

What about the husband? What's HIS input?

PetrosB3- I think you are so right, too much to savor in Italy to leave it..Guess another trip will have to be planned for another country hehe!!

nytraveler and socing- thanks for your concern about my young adults but I got that part of the trip covered. :)

And I would get your neighbours involved in the planning as well. After all they will have to look at the pictures when you return.

PS my kids are super planners. You did ask about my kids didn't you?

coldsphere- Hahaaaa.... :)

1hap - I've got a family of non-planners too. they and their dad are quite happy for me to decide where we're going, then they get to blame me when it goes wrong.

mainly so long as they get fed and watered at regular intervals, they are happy.

1happyfam,

My kids ( now 21 and 26) have really loved our family trips to Rome, Naples, and the Amalfi Coast. We prefer staying on the AC itself ( Positano, Amalfi) instead of Sorrento, but at this late date you may have to take what you can find.

Tuscany is great-for adults who want to savor vistas and wine tastings, but my two were bored out of their minds after a day or two. We had a much better time in cities and along the coast.

annhig- Thank you fo rthat! Every family is unique and as long as we all know what works best for our own :)

WWK- Yes, I think I am leaning towards your itinerary too. Yes, most places I check have only few rooms left so I need to jump on this quickly... Its the flights that are killing me!

I am with WWK and others who suggest Sorrento/Amalfi coast. It will give you all more flexibility for splitting up and exploring on your own because of the transportation. Set up everyone's cells to communicate cheaply and then you can reunite at dinner.

Even if your children are not actively involved in planning because of the surprise, present them with a guidebook before your trip--or even on the plane--and have them think about what they would like to do when they get there.

When we traveled with teens, they enjoyed the cities and observing/interacting with teens from other countries.

mama_mia- thank you! great idea! I will definitely get books for them peruse before we go and on the trip over... :)