trishready

We are trying to go somewhere either late June or early August. Our children are older, 19, 18 and 14 yrs. We're trying to please everyone. The oldest is flexible, the middle loves shopping and cities and the youngest does not want to move around alot. He'd be happy with a pool and basketball court! We are thinking Europe, but are not totally sold on it. We have taken them to Germany and Austria already and have done many all-inclusive Caribbean vacations. So, we are not looking for that type of thing. My husband and I are not "city" people, but would make a stop in one or two.
Any ideas??

swandav2000

Hi trishready,

I think we can help you more if you can tell us what your & your family thought of Germany & Austria. Did you enjoy it? Are you looking for a similar experience, or are you hoping to find something totaly different?

s

sandi_travelnut

Lots of villas in Italy have pools, bicycles, etc..so you have the calem setting outside of the city with a pool for your husband and son and it could be close enough to a shoppoing city like Florence to get to it and other cities easily by bus or train for the day.

nessundorma

How about Greece?

nessundorma

(Maybe I should elaborate to say that it wouldn't kill the kids to see some history and you could otherwise have a very relaxing swim holiday. The shopper wouldn't end up breaking the bank.)

tcreath

I agree with the idea of renting a villa in Italy. If you rent one in Tuscany you could easily daytrip to Florence for some terrific shopping and more of a city vibe. Many villas have pools and are good for relaxation, and they would cut down on all the moving around since most allow only weekly rentals.

You could combine that with some nights in Rome for city life, lots of great history, and more shopping for your middle child.

Greece also sounds like a wonderful idea, although I haven't (yet!) been there.

Tracy

trishready

Thank you all. I think I posted a reply to the messages. I'm new at this so it may appear as a new question. Keep up the good ideas!!

trishready

If we did go to Rome for a few nights and then to a villa in Tuscany, where in Tuscany should we go that would be close to a village for cafe's, restaurants, small shops, etc...?

nukesafe

Trish,

You might find a bit more information on villa rental on the Slow Travel site. That is their thing, i.e., villa/ apartment rental.

http://www.slowtrav.com/

Have a great trip!

trishready

HELP...any more trip ideas??

Junio

I just posted my own thread about using Viareggio as a base. A couple years ago we spent a few weeks in Italy and it was hard trying to find something that would make everyone happy. My husband needed the beach, relaxation, and lots of sun. My daughter needed to explore lots of food, I needed shopping and cluture, and my son needed to be entertained. We did 3 day stays in Rome, Florence, Venice, Paris (lots of museums). But, what we liked most was our stay in Viareggio. It is not a spectacular town, but it is so close to everything - 1hr train to Florence, 2 hours to Rome, 4 hours to Venice, and just 15 minutes to Pisa. There are boats that go to Cinque Terra for daily excursions and there are a lot of towns that are within an easy drive. My son enjoyed the torture museums, my daughter loved sampling salamis, I loved the shops and everyone loved the beach.

trishready

Thank you all for your great suggestions. Is there a way to see Prague and Venice easily and then a few days in Northern Italy to relax? Would we fly from one to the other?Maybe fly into Prague and fly out of somewhere else? This may not be do-able, but have always wanted to see Prague and definetly Italy. IDK??!!

rex

Where are you from?

Knowing what is.... and is not your "home" frame of reference... will help grasp what is... or what is not... a "vacation".

Best wishes,

Rex

trishready

We are from Rhode Island..at the ocean, so not really interested in a beach type vacation.
Thanks for asking!

samber

We travel Europe frequently and find that a great place to go is Salo on Lake Garda. It is a quaint, wonderful village where you can relax and enjoy the Italian lifestyle while having the ability to go to Venice as a day trip, take the hydrofoils to other villages around the lake (they run constantly), eat great food in outdoor cafes along the water or drive/train into Switzerland, Germany, or wherever since Lake Garda's location is ideal for getting to other interesting places. Salo is a hot spot for vacationing Europeans so if you didn't find a spot there you could go to any of the other little villages around the lake and probably do the same thing. Sirmone is really a neat place as well, but is overrun with people during the season and we find it better to make it a visit by Hydrofoil than to stay there. A visit to Lake Garda (I've heard it called the Italian Riviera)would allow you to stay in one area with lots to do, day trip to Milan or Venice (both less than 2 hours by car or you can train which takes a little longer)and do a lot of water activities. We've always found this area safe and absolutely beautiful. I'll also throw in that it is incredibly romantic, but with the 3 kids that probably doesn't hit high on the criteria list. We recently returned from an extended trip to Europe and hated to come home. Have a great time where ever you end up!

Lexma90

I'm not so sure that a villa rental in Tuscany would be the best idea for 19- and 18-year-old people (really, at that age they're basically adults). I haven't done a villa rental, but it seems that most are in the countryside - it might be near a big or small town, but not always within walking distance; that would make your entire group dependent on one car to get around. You can definitely rent apartments (in villas) in cities/towns, however; they're just not as common.

I'm thinking that somewhere that would allow your two oldest kids to move around on their own might be a good idea, without being in a big city (which you parents seem to be less interested in). Let's say, Siena, which is a little more difficult to get in and out of for day trips, but would have have enough going on in the evenings for your oldest two to be entertained (and has shopping, and all that). You might even find a hotel that has a pool.

Or how about Fiesole, right outside Florence. Whomever wanted to could take the bus into the city for entertainment and/or culture, and others could stay and be more relaxed.

I would also say to examine the kinds of vacations you've done in the past, and how you worked out your groups' varying interests.

Another possibility is Provence; you could stay in or on the edges of a city like Arles, which is big enough to have shopping (I would assume; I'm not a big shopper) and nightlife, but small enough to be kind of quiet.

I just read your latest post - Venice would be another place where your group could split up and follow different interests. I would not recommend staying outside Venice just to get a pool or a basketball court - part of the magic of Venice is being right there, especially at night. But there might be hotels in Venice with pools. And the shopping is definitely there! To visit Prague, Venice and northern Italy is expanding a lot on the "not moving around much" idea. It's definitely doable, depending on how much time you have, but it will be a busier trip.

noe847

Prague really is a neat city, with lots of interesting things to do (museums, castle, churches, the Astronomical Clock). It's breathtakingly beautiful, and compact enough to walk to most of the attractions, and there are day trips to the countryside. My children enjoyed it tremendously on the two trips they have taken there (they were age 17 and 20 this year, and 14 and 17 three years ago). They found some great shopping as well. This is the one place that they've been that they both talk about wanting to go back to.

With all due respect, I don't know how much I'd search for a pool for just one member of the family (assuming there would be some pool time at home at some other point during the summer) - how did the 14yo do on the previous trip to Germany/Austria and what did he enjoy most there?

rex

I'd recommend:

Jackson, Wyoming or Aspen, Colorado

or

Reno or Lake Tahoe, Nevada

or

Victoria and more, British Columbia

Best wishes,

Rex

twoblueshoes

Having taken many family trips, I have found the best for families with children you ages is to step out of the confort zone.........it makes for a even playing field, the kids love it.

How about a biking trip in Europe or a sailing trip in Belize combined with a trip inland. Or sailing the Dalmation coast?????????

laclaire

I am big on suggesting Spain to everyone because I know it best, however it seems that Prague and Venice are tops on your list. So. . .

You could always fly into Prague and spend a few days, then do as you said. . . continue on to Venice, then spend some time somewhere in Northern Italy.

It is really hard to get a family of 5 to be pleased with the arrangements, so perhaps you could get everyone actively involved and see what you come up with. My cousins had a system (before they all grew up):

5 choices (usually just 5 countries, but sometimes themes like "hiking" or "beach vacation&quot and they all had to make a suggestion that really appealed to them and that all would enjoy. Then they all got together and tried to decide. Sometimes the kids all got together and decided to outvote the parents (isn't there always some kind of mutiny in families?), but they always ended up with really awesome vacations. And all that before internet research was available! All of your children are old enough to be active in this.