Hello! My family of 4 including two college sophomores are planning a trip from mid June to the beginning of July before our children go to summer school, one in Barcelona and the other in Innsbruck. Suggestions of itinerary and logistics of getting the children easily to their school programs. Activities fitting for college students and parents. Thank you!

You've mentioned a huge area with enough to keep you busy for months. Without knowing anything of your interests or why you are thinking of these particular regions, I don't know how we can help you except to encourage you to consult some decent guidebooks.

I was looking for some adventure outdoors activities, sightseeing and relaxation for the family trip. I’ve been wanting to go to the Dolomites. I’d thought about then going to the Italian Riviera from there but felt that would make us very far from Barcelona for our daughter. So I thought we’d go to Provence which I’ve never been to and though I’ve been to some of the French Riviera that would be near to get some beach and relaxation.

I had us flying into Milan as kind of my family have been there but we have all been a few times to Venice. I’d thought just spend a day or two in Milan.

I am completely open to suggestions on a completely different trip or that I need to choose between the Dolomites and Provence and the Rivera.

Thank you!

Are the four of you staying together the entire trip? Are both parents going to accompany each adult child to their respective schools or will they each do the last leg on their own? Or will the parents split and each travel with one student to their school? Do the two schools start classes more or less on the same day?

You should pencil out the logistics, how much time it would take to travel between points, compare train/drive/fly, and then figure out how much time is left for sightseeing/activities/relaxing.

IMO, less than a week in both the Dolomites and in Provence is short-changing each. FWIW, it will be crowded on the Cote d'Azur... well, probably everywhere, but especially on the Riviera. Depending on your lodging budget, you probably need to book in both areas sooner rather than later.

Has your family spent any time in Switzerland?

We are all traveling together for 16 days then our son can take a train to Innsbruck to start school and we can stay two more days on the French Riviera or wherever we end the full family trip and our daughter can train to Barcelona.

I love Switzerland and it’s been awhile since I’ve been there however my son was in Switzerland last summer for a few weeks and my daughter is going for several days for her spring break.

I agree I need to look at all the travel time which I’ve just started doing. If we went to Milan 2 days the Dolomites 6 days Provence 6 days French Riviera 5 days that’s 19 days total which would be what my husband and I would have. Our daughter would have 4 days in the Riviera and our son only 3 days.

I picked these places because I thought they looked beautiful and were different from each other. I also know the children will travel while at school and figure they will travel near where they’re studying so Spain, Italy for our daughter and Austria Switzerland and Germany for our son.

If you were to take out a portion of the trip, ex Dolomites, Provence or Riviera which would you do?
Which do you think adult children would enjoy the most?

I’ve worked on an itinerary a little more. Let me know what you think and if this logistically makes sense or there are other places you’d suggest.
we fly from us to marseille upon arriving take the TGV to Provence. Spend 5-6 days in Provence with a rental car then train travel to Milan or Verona for 2 days 3 nights then train travel to the Dolomites rent a car for 6-7 days. Our son takes a 2 hr train to Innsbruck. Our daughter and the rest of us have two days to get her to Barcelona or near for her to train to Barcelona.

Sorry, I still don't understand where you will start and where you will and your trip

we are traveling all together 4 of us then the children will each travel on their own to their respective schools, Innsbruck and Barcelona. I wanted to end somewhere where it was fairly easy for them to get to their schools. Hoping a train ride is all.

What if we started by flying from the us to marseille then took TGV to Provence. Rent a car there and spend 6 days in the area. Then train to Milan or Verona and spend 2 days there to break up the travel to the Dolomites and finish our trip with 6-7 days exploring the Dolomites. Our son would train from there to Innsbruck. Our daughter and we could travel back to Milan and then on her own she could go to Barcelona and we could fly home. She starts school two days after our son.

Again I’m open to other suggestions of areas etc.

I love Switzerland and would like to return though my daughter is going there for spring break with her father and my son traveled with his father for two weeks visiting Germany and Switzerland last summer.

i was trying to also pick an area that the children wouldn’t maybe travel with their friends while studying this summer. I know they will travel places on the weekends.
Thank you!

Apparently, they would all land in Milan, but what happens after that seems to be undecided.

Unless they've already seen a lot of Switzerland, I'd fly into Zurich, spend the time in Switzerland, and then the daughter could fly Zurich or Geneva to Barcelona and the other could train to Innsbruck. For me, Milan + Dolomites + Provence/Riviera along with the Barcelona/Innsbruck element involves too much time lost moving around... If both parents intend to accompany both kids to school, it gets pretty crazy.

By Provence, do you mean Aix-en-Provence? Avignon? Whichever, please note that it is not safe to drive within a day or two of crossing multiple time zones, so if you are coming from the U.S., you can take the train and then wait a couple of nights before picking up a rental car. Either of those locations has more than enough to keep you busy until then.

BTW, I found Marseille fascinating. Sounds like you don't plan to spend any time there.

I think you're losing track of how much time you have, the travel times, etc... or perhaps you can extend the trip?

Day 1: Land Marseilles and train to somewhere in Provence.
Day 2-7 (6 days): Explore Provence
Day 8: Travel to Verona (a full day by train or several hours by plane from Marseilles and not cheap x4)
Days 9-10 (2 days): Explore Verona. (Pick up the car here or train to Bolzano and pick up there?)
Days 11-16 or 17 (6-7 days): Explore Dolomites
Day 17 or 18: Son heads to Innsbruck (2 hours by train from Bolzano). Parents and daughter head to Milan (3 hours by train from Bolzano or 1+ hours from Verona if you drive back to drop the car).
Day 18 or 19: Parents fly home. Daughter flies to Barcelona.

So, not 15 days.

yes I was looking at extending to 18. I was planning we take the train to Verona or Milan and train to Bolzano. Regarding Provence I’ve not looked deeply enough into where we would want to go. Would you suggest staying at one hotel or BNB and taking day trips? Also same for the Dolomites stay in one town and take day trips?

I see that it’s spread out trying to see Provence and the Dolomites. I may see which of the two areas the children would like to see and have them pick. None of us have been to either place.

If we go to Provence is it too early to see the lavender fields if we are there around June 19-24/25?

Thank you!

That makes sense to me to wait to drive. So we’d take the train from Marseille to Avignon I am thinking. Hoping we can see several places in the area by car in 6 days.

I’m going to ask the children about Switzerland to see if they want to do that instead. I’m not sure where all exactly they went or where my daughter plans to go on spring break. It will be a short visit to Switzerland then so probably just one or two places.

Depending on your lodging preferences and budget, you might also look around in all of the mentioned places and see if availability is an issue yet. In the Dolomites, you might encounter one-week minimums in some places.

Thank you Jean! I’ll
continue to look at places to stay.

Much as I have friends and family in Switzerland, I would struggle to want to visit it rather than north Italy or southern France

Thank you bilbo! I feel it might be best for us to choose between Provence and the Dolomites and visit areas around those places versus trying to do both. My son did say he didn’t care about going to a beach. It’s a hard choice both a scenic which they want and have small towns to visit and also could have a city to spend a day or two in. As well as include walks and mild hikes.

I do like the idea of the Bernese train which looks so wonderfully scenic. I like the idea of us traveling on scenic trains some where we can all sit and spend the time visiting which is hog on my wish list as it’s not easy to do with 20 year olds And the trains give my husband a break from the car though we like flexibility with a car for small distances and small towns.

Are there scenic train routes getting to and from Provence region?

Thank you!

Hard to say about trains. I take picnics and love them all

Are there scenic train routes getting to and from Provence region?
Clermont Ferrand - Millau - Beziers
Grenoble - Gap - Sisteron - Aix en Propvence
Turin - Cuneo - Limone - Breil - Sospel - Nice
Turin - train - Oulx - bus - Briancon - train - Gap - Sisteron - Aix en Provence