# trip with kids summer 2010--suggestions



## elaine (Mar 9, 2009)

I am planning a 2 week family trip for summer 2010.  Me, DH, kids 9,9,13 (maybe niece 17).  We can go anywhere and plan to do one stop over, which has to be either London, Paris, Geneva, Zurich, Frankfurt, and will depart from a different city to avoid back-tracking.  We do  not have to stay at timeshares.  Kids have never been to Europe and are interested in big tourist things--but we are game for anything.  No art galleries--we live near DC and kids are on museum overload.

So far, we are thinking fly from DC to London (easy, we know city, English, kids will love it), then fly to Frankfurt, train to Rhine village and take a day cruise, explore for a few days, and then train to PAris and leave from Paris, as we would like to hit Paris, even for just a day, to see the EF Tower--but we am open to any suggestions.  
I can get by in French and Italian. DH and I went to Spain and Rome/Florence last year, so no Spain/Italy for this trip. thanks, Elaine (ps-The Passion Play will be at Ober?? near Munich all summer, so I thought we needed to avoid that area).


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## MaryH (Mar 10, 2009)

My sister, BIL and 2 kids (15 and 11 at the time) did a 2.5 week trip.  Knowing them, I advised them not to move too much so she ended up doing
1. 8 days in London (split 6 and 2 on RT) - where they hit about 4 shows.
2. 3 days in Brussels 
3. 7 days in Paris.  

To be stress free, One option I would suggest is fly into london, 6 days in London, take the train Eurostar for 2-3 days in Brussels, and then train to Paris for 5-6 days in Paris and fly out of Paris.  This way you avoid the high UK departure taxes..


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## rosebud5 (Mar 11, 2009)

We motorhomed it a couple years ago when we went to England/Scotland. Just have to find campsites which are all over Europe. Maybe more cost effective to do this.


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## hibbeln (Mar 13, 2009)

Paris had fabulous museums (my kids LOVED them one winter when we were there for a week in February), but if your kids absolutely don't want to do museums then 2 days in Paris to absorb the scene would probably suffice.

My kids loved Normandy......D-Day beaches, Mont St. Michel, Bayeux Tapestry.....but they are massive history buffs.

Get a Rick Steve's Europe book and browse through it and see what grabs you.  He even has specific itineraries (though he probably moves around more than you might want to with kids).  His books are fun and funny and we've always found his interests tend to appeal to our kids A LOT!


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## stmartinfan (Mar 13, 2009)

Can I come, too?  We did similar trips with our kids when they were teens and tweens.  I agree that they will love London, and our kids were most excited about going to Paris.  We did the Rhine River trip, going down the river on the boat, spending a night in a hotel overlooking the river (unfortunately, also overlooking the train track, so it wasn't a great night sleep!) and then taking the train along the river to where we picked up a car. We have as a couple stayed in one of the castle hotels along the Rhine and that was great - but a little pricy when you need a couple of rooms.

We're "leisurely" travelers, and find it's easy to loose lots of time if you're having to pack up and move several times during a vacation, so we usually don't try to cram too many destinations into one trip.  We tend to settle into somewhere, and then have time to just wander around taking in one or two things in a day.  I personally would do London and Paris and leave Germany for another trip.  Our kids thought the Germany leg was OK, but not as exciting as London and Paris.

We rented an apartment hotel in London and a small apartment in Paris and both were great.  Not much more than hotel rooms, because so many hotels have only double rooms and we'd have needed two.  It was nice to do some meals in and have space to spread out.

We're not huge museum goers, but will try to hit one or two of the most famous - like the Louvre for the Mona Lisa.  Instead we enjoy things like renting the toy boats you can sail in one of the fountains at the Tuilleries - not a big "tourist" item but a fun activity that lots of local kids were enjoying that day. On our London trip, our kids were especially fascinated with Stonehenge (we spent a couple of days in Bath) and we timed the trip so we could do the Tattoo in Edinbourgh, Scotland.  That was a fun evening for the whole family.


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## x3 skier (Mar 13, 2009)

Your plan sounds good. Its similar to one we did when the kids were around that age. I would suggest you look into a longer cruise on the Rhine as this would allow you to minimize packing and unpacking for a few days. The only draw back would be the expense but there are several tour companies that have Rhine and other river cruises.

Geneva, Zurich and Frankfurt are mostly business oriented and London and Paris would be my choices out of the 5 you mentioned.

Something offbeat might be fly to London, take a narrow boat in England along the canals, Eurostar to Paris and then home. Lots of narrow boat companies take timeshare exchanges so that might be a good cheap option if you have a week to exchange.

Cheers


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## rosebud5 (Mar 14, 2009)

Flying into London makes good sense. If something happens, language will not be a problem. Have you considered taking a train from London to Paris, stay more than 1 day, just too much to see. Then you can take a train from Paris to Frankfurt. It's actually a nice drive from Paris to FRankfurt. You can visit Verdun and other WWI battle sites. While in Frankfurt, rent a car and visit Heidelberg. It's about 60 miles south. The city was not bombed during the war, has a 12th century castle that overlooks the Neckar river. Everyone speaks english, its a University city. Fly home from Frankfurt.


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## elaine (Mar 15, 2009)

*how is driving in Germany?*

how is driving in Germany? we do not speak any German.  In France, I can recognize words, so I am not as lost--but I woulnd't know the difference from stop/go, exit only, etc.


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## Carol C (Mar 15, 2009)

If I were you I'd fly to London, spend a night or two to see major sites, then take EasyJet to Scotland and rent a car & make your base in a 2 br timeshare like one of those Hiltons or Scandanavian Village where I stayed/enjoyed (that one also is a good hub for train travel). After Scotland, I'd fly back to London on EasyJet and then fly to either Paris or another part of France via EasyJet or another LCC...then backtrack to Paris via train to tour major Paris sites & then fly back to USA from CDG. Have fun planning!


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## rosebud5 (Mar 15, 2009)

Driving in Germany? Have you heard of the autobahn? Unless it has changed in the last 10 years, there are no speed limits. Well, a couple when you get close to the big cities.

Most Germans speak english. Especially the younger, educated and urban Germans. When you get to the remote areas or deal with the older Germans, language becomes more of an issue.

In Holland, they all speak English. In France..  well you know the french.


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