Back packing in Europe with kids ages 13 and 16

[dumbbel]

I am new to the list not sure if this was discussed before. I was planning to backpacking with kids for 2 weeks, is it a good idea to do that with kids? Its expensive to travel and see entire Europe but I guess they will most when the go on their own. For now I would like to to have them some idea about the place. So how many days will be enough to have highlights or main places. I have never been to Europe. I dont have pecific dates in mind. I am just starting to do research.

[madamtrashheap]

Welcome to GFE, dumbbel.

As you're just starting your research, I might be a good idea to do a little reading on places you want to visit and show your kids - by that I mean which cities interest you the most. You will also have to keep that list short as you only have 14 days (15 nights) to travel, so keep it simple.

Once you have some ideas on cities, let us know and we can help with the ideal amount of time to spend in each.

As for transport, you will have a better idea which type will suit you better (planes, trains, etc) one you work out cities and a route.

Accommodation will depend on how long you spend in each city, but if you end up looking at staying a week in say Paris, you could look at renting an apartment instead.

As for if it's a good idea to backpack with kids - of course! Travel is never a bad thing, especially when you're young. Perhaps get each of them to tell you the one thing they really want to see/do in Europe and that way they'll have some input, keep interested and also will help narrow down destinations.

Once you've looked at all of that, post again and we'll help fill in the gaps.

[dumbbel]

Thank you so much for your response. I wasnt even sure if I should do this kids, and how safe it will be. But since now you said its good idea I will start involving them,
I dont have lot of money to make multiple visits like some of my friends do a week in Italy or France etc. so I will have to do only major places,

I will do the reading and research and read perticularly Rick steves book about backdoor Europe.

mean while if some people have done this with kids and have some experiences and places they visited that will be all helpful.

[Eagle]

dumbbel,

Especially with the ages of your children, a backpacking trip to Europe would be an incredible "life experience" for them. I definitely agree with MTH, that it would a good idea to involve your children in the planning as they will then have more interest in the trip.

You didn't indicate whether both parents will be taking this trip with the children? If you'll be alone, that could raise some "issues" that you'll have to deal with.

It would help to know which places in Europe you're planning to visit? With a very short two weeks, you'll need to prioritize. It's great to hear that you're planning to read Europe Through The Back Door, as that provides a lot of good information. You may also want to have a look at the country-specific Guidebooks once you narrow down the locations you'll be visiting. They provide more specific details on Hotels, restaurants, sightseeing, transportation, etc.

You didn't indicate where you're located, but if in North America you might check your local PBS channel to see if any of Rick's programs will be airing in the near future. You may all enjoy having a look at those. There are "video clips" available on You Tube as well.

As you don't have specific dates in mind, you might consider travelling in the "shoulder seasons" - May / June or Sept. / Oct. (if possible with the children's school obligations). Travel is more pleasant in those months, as opposed to "peak season" in July & August.

Good luck with your planning!

[dumbbel]

Thank you Eagle,

Yes both parents will be traveling, We live in California, San Francisco , So I have been watching Rick Steve programs, but since kids were younger earlier didn't take it very seriously doing backpacking with them. And their managed trips are super expensive. But I could pick up their plan

We went to Australia 2 yrs ago and met lot of groups and young adults who ever doing it on their own. But they told me hostels or places they lived for night or so were not very clean. So I wasnt sure if I can do that in Europe. But during that trip it was kind of luxury trip staying all very nice hotels etc.

In Europe I wanted to go low budget, and can see more places. but again time is another factor. Mostly I will do this in summer as you said before my older one goes to collage.

With trains and buses and flights I guess Europe trip could be less expensive.some people told me they drove around which I don't plan to do.

another thing is I don't want to spend time in looking at maps all the time, so I guess good home work should help.I will go through the posts here as well, where people suggest how many days are minimum etc.

[madamtrashheap]

Something worth considering as you're travelling in Summer, is that London is hosting the Olympics from 27 July - 12 August. The prices of hotel rooms have already jumped significantly, especially in the weeks leading up to the Games and the few weeks afterwards, so that may affect your choice of cities in your final itinerary. London will always be there, so it might be an idea to leave it out this time and go back with the kids for a week when things aren't so hectic.

As for a proposed itinerary, you could:

fly into Paris
5 nights Paris
fly to Venice
3 nights Venice
train to Rome
5 nights Rome
fly out of Rome

It's an itinerary which will have something for everyone and you will get to see some major sites as well as have things to interest your kids (book an underground tour of the Colosseum for sure - they'll love it!). Arriving in Paris will allow for a little jet lag to be conquered by walking around the city on the first day and just taking it all in. It's one of the best ways to experience the city and when you've had enough you can jump on the Metro to get back to your hotel. It's simple enough to navigate and shouldn't be avoided just because the station names are hard to pronounce! Or you could go on a Fat Tire Bike Tour of Paris, either on a bicycle or on a Segway (Segway Tours are find for 12y.o. and above and bike tours are fine as long as all can ride a bike, check their websites fattirebiketours.com/paris or citysegwaytours.com/ )

Flights from Paris to Venice are easily found with EasyJet ( www.easyjet.com ) from either Orly or CDG (not Beauvais) to Venice Marco Polo (VCE), and are good value.

The train trip from Venice to Rome is around 3hrs 45min on the fast train (Eurostar Italia) and a ticket in 2nd class (perfectly fine) is around Euro75 for an adult. You book a little ahead for this, even the day you arrive in Venice is fine, as the seats are reserved. There's no point in flying this route, too much time wasted getting to/from airports, and the scenery is worth the journey. There is a Eurostar Italia train every hour, so you'll be able to pick your departure time easily.

Flights from Rome back to California will be easy to find, but if you want to consult a travel agent for this part then go for it.


Of course, run this idea past your kids and see if it piques their interest, then you can start a little more planning and searching for accommodation. If you can start to set your dates now too that would be good as you'll need to book well in advance for Summer accommmodation.

[dumbbel]

Thank you very much for the detail mail, which gives me something to start on. I just received the Rick Steves book, I will go through it over the weekend.
The plan you suggested, does it make sense to reduce the 5 days at each place to 3 days and add Germany ( Munich, Berlin) and Switzerland( Alps). I have nephew who lives in London. I know this needs more days. But not sure how I route it.
Mostly we are interested in city highlights, city/historical landmarks, and some landscapes. I guess kids are not much into museums/arts gallaries etc. They are not into malls and shopping either. They love public transport though.

[madamtrashheap]

Mar 9, 2012 18:14:49 GMT -5 dumbbel said:

The plan you suggested, does it make sense to reduce the 5 days at each place to 3 days and add Germany ( Munich, Berlin) and Switzerland( Alps). I have nephew who lives in London. I know this needs more days. But not sure how I route it.

The number of days suggested in each city in my previous post is not based soley on the time you have to travel, but on the ideal time to spend in each of the destinations listed. That is, some cities warrant more time than others, so simply reducing the days spend as a generic amount of time per destination may well sell some cities short. For example, I wouldn't recommend Paris for 3 days as it doesn't allow for proper exposure.

I suspect you've fallen into the "see as much as possible while we're there" trap, and it's understandable as you are spending money to get there, but don't forget that 3 days = 4 nights and if you're happy to pack up and move every few days then that will work, but don't forget also that travel between some destinations can take a good chunk of a day, thus eating into time sightseeing.

Mar 9, 2012 18:14:49 GMT -5 dumbbel said:

Mostly we are interested in city highlights, city/historical landmarks, and some landscapes. I guess kids are not much into museums/arts gallaries etc. They are not into malls and shopping either. They love public transport though.

That's why I suggested the city combination in my previous post. If you want to try to do the combination you've suggested by adding another 4 (including London) destinations, you simply do not have adequate time for all cities. You already suspect this, but as an example with 3 days (4nights) shown, I've also put the optimum time in brackets in red:

fly into London
4 nights London (5-6)
Eurostar to Paris - takes 2hrs
4 nights Paris (5-6)
TVG to Bern (fast train, takes around 4hrs) then regular train to Lauterbrunnen takes 1hr30 with a change in Interlaken Ost.
3 nights Lauterbrunnen
train to Zurich or Basel airport (around 2hrs) and fly to Berlin (1hr30, check Air Berlin)
4 nights Berlin (4-5)
fly to Munich - takes around 1hr, again check Air Berlin
3 nights Munich (4 nights if doing day trips to castles, etc)
train to Venice
3 nights Venice - great scenery, takes around 7hrs, otherwise look into flights, but I suspect they might be pricey on this route.
train to Rome - the Eurostar Italia takes 3hr45min.
4 nights Rome (5 with a day trip, otherwise 3 full days would be good)
fly home from Rome.

As you can see, even with changes to number of nights the time adds up. Perhaps you should go back to discussing the top 3 (at a pinch 4) cities you all want to see, or pick one city each, and know that you have options for transport between them. But trying to do too much will just end up a holiday of European transport, not a holiday of Europe using transport.