abd trip with 6.5 year old in europe

[ctfl2009]

hi everyone
Was looking for feedback on the European trips traveling with a 6 year old girl (will be close to 7 at time of travel). We were looking at the Germany trip or Austria, Germany, Czech Republic trips. Can you please let me know if you have been on either of these trips and if there were kids this age. Any feedback or suggestions would be very much appreciated.
Thank you so much!!!

 

[hilarys]

We went on the Austria, Germany, Czech trip last year. My daughter and another girl were the youngest at 9. She loved it, but the pace was very tiring. It is go-go. We ended up using our down time often to just rest or swim at the hotel rather than explore the cities. The other 9 year old had been on several trips so probably was on one when closer to your daughter's age. Her mom will probably chime in here.

 

[disneyphx]

Yep, I am the mother of the other 9 old. The Central Europe trip was wonderful, but I felt it was the most active of the ones we have done (China, S Africa, SE Asia). All were busy and we saw a lot - I think maybe Central Europe had more 'doing.' There were also long bus rides which we did not find at all relaxing. Our other trips had several plane flights which I think give better down time. I have looked at the Germay trip and it looks like a lot of fun- not sure if there is less bus time.
Either way, I think you will have a great time!

 

[TXTransplant]

We did Germany last month, and there were several young girls on our trip (6-8 years old). They did great, and I think this itinerary is perfect for young kids.

 

[ctfl2009]

Thank you!! I think we will do the Germany trip. Seems the best option for that age.

 

[ctfl2009]

We did Germany last month, and there were several young girls on our trip (6-8 years old). They did great, and I think this itinerary is perfect for young kids.

How much driving was on the trip

 

[TXTransplant]

How much driving was on the trip

We changed hotels every other day (did not stay more than two nights in any one place), so we were on the bus a fair amount. However, I don't think one single trip was more than about 2-2.5 hours. IIRC, the longest trip was from Rothenburg to Munich, but that got broken up by the stop at the Steiff museum. The bus rides were great...the bus was comfy and there is a small airplane-style bathroom. The guides do a great job of keeping people entertained on shorter trips, and on longer trips, it's a good opportunity to nap. If you have any specific questions about the itinerary, let me know.

 

[ctfl2009]

How were the hotels on the trip? Did all the six year olds ride bikes on the trip?

 

[TXTransplant]

How were the hotels on the trip? Did all the six year olds ride bikes on the trip?

The hotels ranged from excellent to pretty good. The hotel in Heidelberg is pretty standard...nothing to write home about (it does have a pool, but we didn't go to Germany to swim). The location is fabulous, though. Schloss Waldeck was my favorite hotel. The castle is just fantastic (everything I expected a castle/hotel to be), with outstanding views, really neat rooms, and a very interesting torture museum. I was very sad to leave that location. The hotel in Rothenburg (Hotel Eisenhut) is...shall we say...interesting. I will say the location is also fabulous (it's right off the main square), but the hotel itself is old. Some people find that charming; I am not one of those people. The character is fitting for the common areas, but the rooms don't look like they've been updated since the 60s or 70s (check out my trip report for pictures of our pink marble palace bathroom). With that said, there was nothing wrong with our room, it was just very "ordinary". Supposedly, all of the rooms in the hotel are different, and at least one family got a room with a loft that they loved. The Kempinski in Munich is VERY nice. There is not a single unattractive person who works there (I seriously could have sat in the lobby all day just people watching) and the rooms are very modern (although, the hallways leading to the rooms are a little shabby, but don't let that fool you). We especially liked the disco shower. It is also in a fantastic location. The Kempinski also has a pool, but it has very strict hours for guests under the age of 14. There was not time for any of our group to swim (unless they happened to stay an extra day). All of the hotels have great breakfast buffets; I would rank the breakfasts at the Kempinski and Schloss Waldeck as #1 and #2. Schloss Waldeck and Hotel Eisenhut are not air conditioned. The rooms got warm during the day, but I was very comfortable with the doors/windows open at night. The heat was not an issue during our visit.

All of the kids but three (two young girls - probably 6 or 7 and a boy about 13) did the bike ride. Instead of riding, those guests got to sleep in an hour later and had an extended ferry ride. However, there were two other young girls (probably 6-7 and 8) plus a bunch of older kids (10+) who DID do the bike ride. All of the kids were given an appropriate-sized bike and helmet, and all of the kids were better riders than the adults (ie, it was the adults who were having to walk their bikes up the hills, not the kids!).

 

[joyjanet]

We are talking about the Europe trip next year. Will have an 11 year old and a 13 year old. It is a grandparents trip with the grandchildren. My daughter is afraid the kids will be bored. Is there anything anyone can offer me so I can put her mind at ease. Also, how many kids usually go on these trips? Thanks for any info you can provide me.

 

[TXTransplant]

Our trip had 24 total, and 13 were kids. Trips can have up to 40-45 people, though. I think as long as you don't select an adults-only departure, this itinerary should have a lot of kids since it is very kid-friendly.

None of the kids on our trip were ever bored. The itinerary and the guides keep you pretty busy (but not exhaustively so). Even on bus rides, the kids stuck together and entertained themselves. I hardly even sat next to my son on the coach because he wanted to sit with his friends (as a single mom who has my son all but about 5-6 weeks out of the year, this was fine with me). The guides did say that not all guests/families "bond" like we did on the trip. They told us several times that the camaraderie among our group was really great and made the trip much more enjoyable for them.

I couldn't have asked for a better experience, but it's kind of a crap-shoot. There is no way to predict how you will mesh with the other guests. I wouldn't let that deter you, though. We still would have had a great time even if the rest of our group had been duds.

 

[SingingMom]

We had an almost 7 year old on this trip two years ago. He was tremendously well behaved and well traveled. But there was one day where he had had enough and his dad brought him back to the hotel for a break. I think the Germany ABD is the best for younger children of the three trips we have taken.

It's interesting to hear different opinions of the same trips. I personally did not care for Schloss Waldeck! As beautiful as it was, there really wasn't anything to do the two evenings we had there. Would have loved a few more activities available. We had fun with the archery, but that was earlier in the day. There wasn't much in the little town to see or do. I however loved Hotel Eisnhut! I found it extremely charming. ;-).

The Crowne Plaza in Heidleberg was basic, but the pool was lovely. We arrived a day early so on one of our on your own times, we took a quick dip to relax. The Kempenski in Munich was my favorite. That lobby was stunning!

You really can't go wrong with any of these trips. I probably would wait until a child was closer to age 10 so that the history and museums could be fully appreciated, but you know your own child and can peruse the itineraries to determine if they will enjoy it!

 

[ctfl2009]

Thank you again for all the info! I just read your trip report!!! Sounds like you had an amazing time sans the pink bathroom. We have never done a group tour but our daughter is an only child and I think she will enjoy being with other kids. We did a trip this summer to a guest ranch in Colorado which was of a group nature and we enjoyed it. I hope that our Germany trip next year has kids. It seems like one of the best options for the younger ages! One last question when did you find out your trip was guaranteed??? That's the only thing I'm nervous about. Do you know if all this current summers Germany trips went or some were cancelled???

 

[joyjanet]

Thanks for all the info. This should help me convince my daughter that this trip would be good for the kids. We were also looking at the Germany trip but the other set of grandparents have done that trip already.

 

[TXTransplant]

It's interesting to hear different opinions of the same trips. I personally did not care for Schloss Waldeck! As beautiful as it was, there really wasn't anything to do the two evenings we had there. Would have loved a few more activities available. We had fun with the archery, but that was earlier in the day. There wasn't much in the little town to see or do. I however loved Hotel Eisnhut! I found it extremely charming. ;-).

This is exactly what I loved about Schloss Waldeck...the quiet, low-key atmosphere! One night there was when the kids had their movie, so several parents went to the hotel restaurant and had a glass of wine. The patio and view from the restaurant are fabulous...I could have stayed there all night admiring the scenery! Unfortunately, the movie wasn't that long. The other night, we were perfectly content to go to bed early. We didn't even walk down into the little town because I was always ready to settle down for the night. I never really adjusted well to the time difference, so I was always tired by 7 or 8 pm.

 

[ctfl2009]

When did you book your trip and when did you book the flights? When did you find out it was guaranteed departure ?

 

[TXTransplant]

Thank you again for all the info! I just read your trip report!!! Sounds like you had an amazing time sans the pink bathroom. We have never done a group tour but our daughter is an only child and I think she will enjoy being with other kids. We did a trip this summer to a guest ranch in Colorado which was of a group nature and we enjoyed it. I hope that our Germany trip next year has kids. It seems like one of the best options for the younger ages! One last question when did you find out your trip was guaranteed??? That's the only thing I'm nervous about. Do you know if all this current summers Germany trips went or some were cancelled???

My trip was never "officially guaranteed." I assumed when we got the box that meant ABD wasn't planning to cancel because of too few participants. When my final payment was due, there were still (I think) only 14 people on the trip. We had quite a few last-minute bookings, and for everyone on the trip, this was their first ABD trip. If you wait to see what trips are guaranteed, the cost will likely go up. I did notice that the price has already increased for the 2016 trip that is essentially the same week that ours was. Go figure...our trip was barely full, and the same trip next year already has had a price increase. I don't think there is any way to predict. Your travel agent can find out via ABD how many people are booked and the ages of the kids. My son is also an only child, so this way of traveling was great for us...he gets other kids to interact with, and I get other adults to talk to!

I booked last July, probably within a month of the itineraries coming out. I booked airfare (through ABD) when our final payment was due. I wasn't going to make the final payment without having plane tickets, and it just so happened that the fare was the lowest it ever was right around the time the final payment was due.

 

[ctfl2009]

What type of price increase did you see from when you booked till the last minute bookings?

 

[TXTransplant]

What type of price increase did you see from when you booked till the last minute bookings?

I actually don't think the price of our trip ever went up because it had so few participants. However, the last I checked, the 2016 trip for essentially the same week as ours has already increased over $800 per person (this is in addition to the 2016 price increase). These trips are already so expensive that I personally cannot justify paying anymore than opening day prices.

When I was worried about our trip being cancelled, I inquired about switching to the trip the week before ours. It had over 30 people at that point. I didn't switch because ABD wanted to charge me an extra $1000 above and beyond what I'd already paid because the price of that trip had increased.