Fee11

Due to this virus we have pushed our trip to Europe from may 2020 to January 2021 from the 30th of December to the 27th of January. With an 8year old child, how many countries would we be able to visit during this time without feeling rushed ? Our original trip this May was only for 2 weeks and we were only going to spend it in london and paris. Would it be realistic to visit more then 2 places with a child ? We realised we would be going during winter and wouldn't mind seeing snow, maybe switerland or finnland?

Calabria62

Hi Fee11,
I too have had to postpone our May 2020 trip.

You didn't say what your interests are, but here are some thoughts:

With holidays at the beginning of your trip, let's say you have about 24 days. You could add a couple of more countries, giving you six days in each. Plenty to do indoors in London and Paris for those 6 days.

Since you mentioned you'd be ok with snow, how about a ski/snow holiday? There will be lots of it in any of the northern countries, and your 8 year old could have some outdoor fun....sledding, skiing, skating, etc. It would be a fun addition to city touring.

Legoland comes to mind in Denmark, too, but I don't know if they are open in winter. I'm sure there are fun things to do for a child in Europe, do a google search and you'll find things that interest you and your child. Or visit your library/bookstore for suggestions. I know there is a Disney Paris, but I don't know anything about it.

The bottom line is, what are your interests? Budget? Map your trip around those, and keep in mind weather, transportation delays, loss of time when moving from place to place, and don't forget to factor in some time for just relaxing....doing nothing for an afternoon. And when booking, book free cancellation hotels when possible. You can do that via booking.com.

Enjoy your trip.

janisj

"we have pushed our trip to Europe from may 2020 to January 2021 from the 30th of December to the 27th of January. With an 8year old child, how many countries would we be able to visit during this time without feeling rushed ? "

Honestly, number of countries is not a realistic question. That is more like "How many boxes can we check off??" In four weeks I could happily visit just one country (and have more than once) or I could visit 4 to 6 cities in 3 or 4 countries (also done that), or could dash around visiting a bunch of places all over. Get some guidebooks and decide a little more specifically which places you want to see and design an itinerary around that.

But understand deep winter is a WHOLE different situation than in May. Days will be very short, Depending on where you go, weather could be OK-ish or could be very wintry with storms and snow. And a lot of outdoor family activities that are great in May are either miserable or nonexistent in January.

A winter trip can be great for sure -- but it will be entirely different than one in May.

suze

Sure, with almost one month, you can visit more than your originally planned two places. Keep London and Paris. Add Switzerland, that pairs well with the other two. The Lac Leman area (outside Geneva) is very beautiful and being lower elevation stays more accessible even in winter than the high mountains. I'm talking Lausanne, Vevey, Montreux, that area.

StCirq

There aren't a whole lot of countries in Europe I'd want to visit in the dead of winter unless I was a ski buff or an afficionado of winter sports. Frankly, it's cold and gray here in winter, and a lot of things are closed because small business owners shut down and go to warm places in the winter. It's not a whole lot of fun! And most things that would attract an 8-year-old are shut down. I don't know why you'd want to plan a trip here in mid-winter.

I don't even understand the question about how many countries you can visit. Is this some sort of contest? Sure, the Scandinavian countries are plentiful and close to each other, and you could scoot around a bunch of them in a month's time, but WHY? If you love herring and being bundled up in sheepskin all day, sure, but otherwise, what are you thinking?

janisj

"There aren't a whole lot of countries in Europe I'd want to visit in the dead of winter unless I was a ski buff or an afficionado of winter sports. Frankly, it's cold and gray here in winter, and a lot of things are closed because small business owners shut down and go to warm places in the winter."

That applies to the countryside, city parks, scenery, theme parks, etc. But a city-centric trip can be great in winter. It is 'high season' for cultural activities like theatre and museum exhibitions. And at least for the first week of your plans, Christmas decorations and things like the holiday festivals in London are still running. But a four week trip is a lot to fill with an 8yo in January.

suze

I agree about a winter trip being more city focused (unless it's specifically a ski vacation). I also agree an entire month in the winter-time with a child along seems... kinda long. Maybe go back to the original plan of 2 weeks, London and Paris. Save your time/money for the next trip when hopefully you can go in nicer weather?

Christina

Have you ever traveled in the winter before with your child, and for an entire month? I just don't understand wanting to do that at all, unless you do this kind of thing all the time. Your first trip was very reasonable, two weeks, only two cities and in May. Very nice.

I don't think the number of countries is the issue quite as much as distances and logistics, in general, in terms of how many you can visit in a month. Sure,you can visit more than two countries in a month without feeling rushed, I often visit 3 in only 10 days to two weeks and don't feel rushed. But they are close together (eg, a 3 hour train trip between the two cities I'm visiting in adjacent countries). And I don't do it in January. I only go skiing in Jan/Feb myself, just wouldn't really enjoy spending my time and money on a major European trip in that kind of weather. It's a lot harder to pack for that also, lots heavier and bulkier clothes, shoes, etc.

I agree that I'd forget the whole month trip thing and stick to two cities in two weeks or something. B esides, doesn't your child have school? No school where I live is out the entire month of January, not even close.

Jean

Two weeks in May or a month in January, the school issue is the same. But districts on a year-round track have breaks/vacations at different times of the year then the traditional school calendar.

Perhaps the child is home-schooled?

JulieVikmanis

If there's any possibility that you can change the time to pre-Christmas, I strongly suggest Germany and Austria and/or Czech Republic and Hungary and/or Alsace area of France.. The major cities and some of the smaller ones all have terrific Christmas markets that are charming, colorful and sure to delight a young child.

For wintery beauty, I suggest Vienna, Salzburg, Innsbruck. Ski destinations can be delightful even if you don't ski. We have enjoyed Zermatt, Chamonix, St. Anton, Kitzbuhl.

Odin

"Sure, the Scandinavian countries are plentiful and close to each other, and you could scoot around a bunch of them in a month's time, but WHY? If you love herring and being bundled up in sheepskin all day, sure, but otherwise, what are you thinking?"

Maybe this comment was a joke. Scandinavians love burgers, burger places are everywhere and herrings are not eaten by many. It's an old myth that they eat herrings alot and that they like the cold. Never seen anyone bundled up in sheepskin either. Countries that are cold in winter are geared up for short days and the cold, especially in the cities. For example, St Petersburg and Moscow are really beautiful in the snow, life goes on as normal, it's a great time for museums, restaurants, outdoor activites such as ice skating etc. There are many cities like this. But yes in the countryside it can be dreary as no doubt it is in rural France.

Fodorite018

We took a 3 week trip in the winter with our kids when they were 8 and 10. It was wonderful! We spent time in London, Edinburgh, Aberdeenshire, and Paris. There is no reason to think that kids cannot enjoy things besides a city. Kids often times take their cues from parents and if the parents have a positive outlook, the kids usually do too. When we were in the Aberdeenshire area, the weather was very windy and a lot of snow. Many places were closed, but that did not matter as we still had a great time. We could not go inside some castles, but the kids were able to run around and check out the exteriors and they had a great time, to give you an idea. It is all about attitude, IME.

Sassafrass

I am with most of the other posters on this. In winter, two or three days in a city to see some museums and markets and take in some kid-friendly shows, or three or four days in a country rental or hotel for skiing and skating and movies by a fire in the evening is about all my kids wanted at that age and as much as my Granddaughter would endure at any age. She will happily spend weeks in NYC in the Spring or Summer and enjoyed a winter trip to see the Nutcracker, ice-skate, etc. but won’t even talk about going back in winter. Bundling up everyday in boots, hats, mittens, etc. was just a pain.

For me, in Europe, a month in winter or only two weeks in Spring? I could do more in two weeks of nice weather than in a month of winter. Part of that for us is the pleasure of eating outside, the smells of flowers everywhere, walking through plazas or piazzas filled with music and the sound of fountains late in the evenings, taking boats as transportation, green pastures and animals, long days for sightseeing, playgrounds open for the children, etc. Of course, we all live with winter, so more on vacation is tiresome. Others love it though. You have to know yourself what your family will enjoy.

jenmarkolson

How about adding in a slightly warmer climate? We went to Spain in January for 10 days (not with kids) and we had some pretty moderate temperatures in the South. It wasn't warm, but we could walk around comfortably in coats (a few times we didn't even need coats).
We did Italy the next year in January and it was colder than Spain was. We went to Sorrento and did have a couple of slightly warmer days.

suze

My comments being pro-cities had nothing to do with kids or adults. A general comment, my personal opinion is they are better destinations for cold weather than being out in the countryside or rural areas, unless that is specifically the focus of your trip. Cities have more interesting things to do indoors, covering a smaller geographic area, easier to move around with public transportation, etc.

dreamon

My 20year old daughter and I recently travelled in Europe from late Nov through to early Jan. We travelled at that time because it was the only time we had available but we loved it. Of course, being Australian, the whole winter thing was a novelty and we were there for the Christmas celebrations. We also found that it was a bit of a myth that we'd needed lots more luggage - in fact, I took the same as I've travelled with in spring or autumn (about 10kg plus a small daypack). You know that you only need winter stuff, rather than clothes for a range of weather, and you don't need as many changes of clothing. Layering clothes was easy, and is important as buildings are generally overheated. We spent time mostly in towns and cities but also some rural areas - and particularly loved the time we were in the mountains in the snow, just brilliant.

If you are going to London and Paris, I suggest travelling on to Strasbourg then somewhere around Colmar, finishing in Switzerland before flying home from there. All done by train. If you do end up in Alsace, we really enjoyed walking from Ribeauville to Kaysersberg one day, stopping in villages along the way - easy even for an 8 year old I would say.

dreamon

Just to add - it's entirely possible that travel within or to/from Europe will not be possible by Dec/Jan, but guess you know that already. As travel insurance may not cover you, you'd need to book everything that can be cancelled at low/no cost.