Family's first time to Europe.......HELP!

[me]

actually, Rachel,

it hasn't even come out that Paris is a place you wish to go. Belgium, with Battle of the Bulge, etc. might hold more allure. a really cool, i'm told, place there is Brugge.

Paris, i'm told, is a beautiful place. unfortunately it's full of Parisians, i hear they are the world record holders for rudeness.

me said:

a flight from Pisa to Paris Orly on easyJet.com goes for as low as €38 per person, including taxes & fees. [out of the blue, i looked at prices for Tuesday, June 20] but, this doesn't land until 10.35 pm.

an easyJet flight from Paris CDG to London Luton is just €35 per person, including taxes & fees - i always try to remember to quote total prices, "list" prices are so misleading. didn't look at other airlines.

[Eagle]

Rachel, in reading Willtravel's post it occurred to me that some clarification might be needed regarding my previous comments on renting a Car. I was in a hurry at the time and didn't proofread with my usual diligence.

Having a Car in any of the major cities (Rome, Paris, London) is NOT advisable. Even experienced drivers will find it challenging, given the traffic volume and the fact that many of the "locals" don't follow the usual conventions we're used to in North America. There's also the aspect of vandalism or theft (DON'T leave anything in the car!), finding a place to park (and the cost for this) and in London you'll get "nicked" with a congestion charge as well.

A car would be useful for visiting some of the smaller areas of Tuscany or where ever. This provides a greater degree of freedom, rather than running your schedule around public transit. Keep in mind that if you're using the Autostradas (freeways) or whatever, these are usually toll roads and the cost can add up! Also, make sure you understand the parking regulations and the various symbols on parking signs (from what I remember, a chart of all these is provided if you get an International Driver's License -- check with your local AAA office), and also the CDW insurance options (your "premium" credit card might provide some coverage for this -- check with them).

Once you've figured out a rough Itinerary, it should be more apparent whether a Car will be of use, and whether this will fit into your budget. Also, as David mentioned it would be helpful if you were registered, as it helps to keep track of your posts.

Happy travels!!!

[livinglighthouse]

Okay, I"m officially registered..........actually I was registered when I did the other posts, but forgot to sign in.

Perhaps I'm putting the cart before the horse in trying to work this out from the accomodations out. Also, the more I am listening to you folks and reading up, I don't see how I can do this the way I want to without taking 2 trips. I don't see how I can extend my time. My husband has a hard time taking more than a week off of work so getting him to commit to 4 is about as difficult as a root canal.

So, which do you think the teens would enjoy more......
1. England, France and Germany
2. Italy, Greece, Eastern Europe

I'm thinking trip one with the kids and sae the other for my husband and I after they all leave!!

I rather go slower and really enjoy where we go, then to always be rushing off to the next thing. I have visions of National Lampoon's European Vacation if you know what I mean.

I appreciate you guys not getting frustrated with my novice questions here, it is really helpful for me to hear from some experts!

[WillTravel]

Greece, Eastern Europe, and Germany would be cheaper.

England (particularly), France, and Italy more expensive. But rural France and Italy can be pretty cheap too.

I'm not sure how much of a factor that would be.

What are your children's interests? My daughter (14) really likes London and Amsterdam - they're contemporary with "cool" alternative areas, bargain and music shopping is available, they're no challenge for English speakers. I think she'd really like Berlin also. On the other hand, she didn't like Madrid at all, except for seeing the modern art - she considered the city too formal and too hot and found it challenging to manage with the relative lack of English speakers (I didn't mind that, except for the heat). My son (now 19) likes Copenhagen and Berlin the best, but liked Paris a lot also.

I definitely favor slower trips too. Teenagers like to sleep in. If you are following a rushed itinerary, it tends to make them cranky! (Unless your kids are different than mine ).

In my case, both kids seem to be of the impression that rural areas and beaches are not very interesting. But many kids feel differently.

[livinglighthouse]

Sorry it took me so long..........was out of town. I think after considering what everyone has said, I will rent out my timeshare and take the money to put toward accomodations. This will free me up from having to stay in one place for a week at a time, as well as allowing me to stay in the locations I chose to be most convenient.
As for where to go.....I think England, France, Germany are the 3 places that would fulfill most of the desires in my family. As for what I want to see in each.......
1. England- London, side trip to Bath, mostly history sites.......if I could fit it in a day or two in Scotland would be wonderful.
2. France- WWII sites, Paris, Louvre, usual touristy stuff
3. Germany- WWII sites, not sure what else.......

This is just off the top of my head things I would like to see........would a week in each place be sufficient? I will avoid cars and travel by eurail or plane as much as possible. I would probably fly into England from California, unless it might be cheaper to one of the other locations. I'd be willing to hostel or camp if they are family friendly and in central locations.

I think eliminating the timeshare will eliminate some of the planning difficulty, narrowing down are locations should also help me to focus on what we want to do more as well.

Thank you everyone for all your great help and info.
Rachel

[WillTravel]

Bath seems reasonable, but I don't think that a day or two in Scotland would be an efficient use of time or money, given the distance and costs involved. For your family of five, I'd suggest looking at the YHA hostels, as the teenagers might be half-price: www.yha.org.co.uk
You might be able to get a London flat rental as well, although I fear the cost would be at least 150 pounds per night. I'd look at the Fodors site and the Slowtrav site for recommendations for London flats. I know one place that's recommended is Scala House.

For Paris, you might want to consider a flat, but I'd expect rates at minimum of 150 Euros per night (which is probably an underestimate). Again, check out the sites above. If you want to try a hostel, look at this official hostel site: www.fuaj.org/eng/

There are other hostels, of course, but the official ones tend to be best about giving discounts to people under 18. In many cases, you might be able to book a six-bunk room or something like that.

If you choose Berlin as your German base, you could get a cheap flight from Paris on EasyJet. Plus, Berlin has the advantage of being relatively cheaper than your other stops. The highly-recommended Circus hostel has apartments that might be of interest to you. From Berlin, which is of course rich in history, you could visit Potsdam for an easy daytrip and more history. You could also visit the Sachsenhausen concentration camp.

[Jules80]

for day trips from london, i'd also recommend Windsor. the castle is excellent. also oxford is very cool as well.

from paris, maybe the loire valley? i went in september and i loved the castles. but i loved european castles when i was a teenager, too.