Europe ABD with 6 year old

[Candycane83]

I'm worried about my 12 and 15 year olds having church and art/museum overload on our trip (we leave in 4 days!!!!!).

I don't think that their is a perfect age to go on a trip like this. However, I do think that there are some things to consider.

1. Is this a once in a lifetime trip? If so, wait. You will all enjoy it more later.
2. Are you okay not doing everything on the itinerary? You may have to skip out on stuff for additional downtime, etc. Would you still enjoy the trip (and feel that you got your money's worth) if you have to miss some really cool aspects of the trip? There is a trip report from a recent Scotland trip where the poster had a young son - reading that may give you some food for thought.
3. Do you think that your son will enjoy the activities? Or will he just feel dragged around to stuff. (My kids at 5/6 really liked to do things on their own schedule and trips were more fun when we let them, such as the extra two hours climbing around in Badlands National Park. Wouldn't have worked in the group travel setting.)
4. Food - now, these tours do tend to have kid friendly food options. But some kids are really picky. Where does your son fit on that spectrum? (Mine are still pretty picky and not very adventurous, but finally getting better. That is part of the reason we are doing the main Italy trip - easily accessible food options that I know they like.)
5. Who is in your travel party? Will there be multiple adults to help with your son and the logistics of travel? (So happy that our girls can deal with their own luggage now.)

Good luck with your decision.

Thanks so much for pointing me to the trip review! Definitely food for thought just like your questions.

I do know it won’t be a once in a lifetime trip, I am looking for an itinerary that would suit everyone and still having a hard time. But I will find one for sure

I definitely vote for go for it! My girls are 7 and 9 and we are going on our 6th ABD in a few weeks. We started going when they were 5 and 7. Every single trip has been amazing! so far we have done: NYC, Wyoming, Arizona/Utah, Costa Rica and the Rhine.

There are certain factors I always look at when picking a trip:
1. How much bus time (there is no way my kids would enjoy Iceland with 25 hours on a bus)
2. Time Zone- Going to the west coast is harder for them because it means very late bedtimes!
3. Activities- we choose trips where there is an active set of options- rafting, biking, zip lining etc.
4. How many hotels- with younger kids i prefer to not have to be at a ton of hotels because it means that much more unpacking.

We did Wyoming when my younger daughter was 5. We had a blast! She has been the youngest on every single trip so far and she has made so many friends.- young kids, old kids.

I took a risk booking our first trip and I am so glad I did it. You never know how it will be until you try. The adventures we have had have been amazing and I don't regret it at all.

I never thought about bus time but that’s a great point! My son suffers from motion sickness sometimes. It’s definitely a consideration. I’m looking at activities and really want to choose something he’ll enjoy mostly. Some are too heavy on culture and history, which I would like to avoid. Time zone and hotels are not too much of an issue I think. We have gone to Asia and though it took a couple of days to adjust, he was ok. We’ve also done 7 hotels in 2 weeks in Japan! That was a little hard on me since I did the packing and unpacking but all in all, it was a great trip!
I’m so happy to hear positive responses on this and will look into it further! Definitely find an itinerary that fits better.

We started with China.....Not a typical choice, or one I would automatically recommend.
DH and I love to travel, I wanted to try high end family travel - and China was a place we would be less comfortable doing on our own. DD loved Mulan and DH and I wanted to see China. At the time DD had been to Europe 2 or 3 times and Australia 5 times ( I am from there) - so we knew how she handled travelling and jetlag. I talked to ABD about it too.
The trip was much busier than I would have imagined.
The age limit has since gone up to 6 - I hope not cause ABD thought she was a disaster!
The 5 internal flights turned out well as DD sleeps on planes - later trips with long bus rides have been more tiring for us.....

We did London/Paris more recently - that is the most tiring trip we have done!

I think Donalyn's list is awesome - looking at that, China at 5 made sense - and for us, Italy and Greece still don't.......
We tend to not view trips as once in a lifetime. ABD is so fast paced we think of it more as, we will see and do awesome things and if we love it or want to see more we will go back one day!

Wow that’s great that your daughter loved your China trip! You’re right about it being so face paced. I think you really just get a taste of the country. Just curious, where did you visit in Europe and how did your DD enjoy it?

I’ve taken a 7 yo on the (now extinct) France ABD and as I’m writing this we have our 6yo on the Japan ABD. It’s fine. I wouldn’t hesitate.

That’s awesome!! Have a great ABD in Japan!! We’ve gone ourselves March of last year and had a blast. ABD’s tour seems to have a lot of the highlights and rest experiences. If I had not gone already, it is probably a tour I would love to consider.

 

[Donalyn]

There is a 6 year old on my Italy trip right now. He seems to be doing ok.

 

[Candycane83]

I’ve taken a 7 yo on the (now extinct) France ABD and as I’m writing this we have our 6yo on the Japan ABD. It’s fine. I wouldn’t hesitate.

How was your ABD with your 6 year old? I just saw you posted about how amazing it is! I also saw you went to the Spain ABd? How was it? Would you recommend it with young ones?

 

[Cousin Orville]

How was your ABD with your 6 year old? I just saw you posted about how amazing it is! I also saw you went to the Spain ABd? How was it? Would you recommend it with young ones?

She loved Japan. I did the Spain ABD with my oldest son. I think it would be a great ABD at any age.

 

[DCPhotoGal]

Each trip we took when she was 5 til 10, she was always the youngest......I used to worry more about the age of other kids and now I don't. Like when she was 5 she connected with a 12 year old girl and when she was 6, 3 10-11 year old boys took her under their wing. As she gets older, she has gotten more particular about assimilating with just any kids who are at or near her age.....

We have had this scenario on a few trips, my girls being the older ones. We have had parents leave their younger kids with the Jr. adventurer group with the expectation that the teens will look after/entertain their kids. I would urge the parents with young kids to be respectful to the teens and not expect them to spend their vacation babysitting for free. I know my girls have expressed to me that they have felt this way sometimes. If there are teens who take your child under their wing and it makes your trip easier, please consider thanking them in some way (and to be clear, I'm not suggesting paying the kids, but being sure to recognize that they haven helped you out by helping to entertain your child for the week).

 

[Candycane83]

We have had this scenario on a few trips, my girls being the older ones. We have had parents leave their younger kids with the Jr. adventurer group with the expectation that the teens will look after/entertain their kids. I would urge the parents with young kids to be respectful to the teens and not expect them to spend their vacation babysitting for free. I know my girls have expressed to me that they have felt this way sometimes. If there are teens who take your child under their wing and it makes your trip easier, please consider thanking them in some way (and to be clear, I'm not suggesting paying the kids, but being sure to recognize that they haven helped you out by helping to entertain your child for the week).

Oh wow, curious, how does this happen? I would assume the only time I could leave my child is for specific junior adventurer activities where I thought one of the guides would be there with them?

 

[DCPhotoGal]

Oh wow, curious, how does this happen? I would assume the only time I could leave my child is for specific junior adventurer activities where I thought one of the guides would be there with them?

There are many times when the kids end up separating from the adults (for example on buses or meals or during free time at more remote resorts especially where there are pools) and there aren't necessarily guides overseeing them. Even when the guide may be with them there are sometimes so many kids the older ones end up having to help entertain the littles too. I have often said there should be a role for "junior guide" for the more experienced ABD (pre-/)teens who end up helping with the social cohesion amongst the kids because they have a lot of experience on group tours.

 

[Candycane83]

There are many times when the kids end up separating from the adults (for example on buses or meals or during free time at more remote resorts especially where there are pools) and there aren't necessarily guides overseeing them. Even when the guide may be with them there are sometimes so many kids the older ones end up having to help entertain the littles too. I have often said there should be a role for "junior guide" for the more experienced ABD (pre-/)teens who end up helping with the social cohesion amongst the kids because they have a lot of experience on group tours.

Honestly, I’m surprised... I guess my expectation was unless it was a specific junior adventurer activity, my son would generally stay with me. so far, im leaning towards the Barcelona escape for next year, it’ll be a short enough trip to experience ABD and see how things run. I’ve been on tour groups before with my parents and sisters but It’s set up where you stick with your parents lol

 

[lpm23]

I think it really depends on the trip and the group dynamic. With a 6 year old I definitely wouldn't plan to leave him any time beyond the kids dinner. That being said, the kids all make friends and there is definitely times when one parent may offer to watch a couple of kids at the pool or people take turns. The older teens are great too. My kids have made friends and they have had older siblings who have kept an eye on them. But like above poster said- I definitely wouldn't take advantage of this.

 

[Candycane83]

I think it really depends on the trip and the group dynamic. With a 6 year old I definitely wouldn't plan to leave him any time beyond the kids dinner. That being said, the kids all make friends and there is definitely times when one parent may offer to watch a couple of kids at the pool or people take turns. The older teens are great too. My kids have made friends and they have had older siblings who have kept an eye on them. But like above poster said- I definitely wouldn't take advantage of this.

Thanks for the insight! Yes definitely I wouldn’t leave him more than designated kids activities. I hope he makes friends but really they are kids too who are on vacation.