Please help me plan my European vacation! More ?'s on pg.2

[Desnik]

I am at a loss! I just don't know where to begin. Here's the story, sorry if it's too long. My DH and I along with our 2 kids 9 and 4 will be taking my younger sister to Europe for her Sweet 16 birthday present. We plan on going in Aug of 2008. We will have 2 weeks and a budget of $12,000-$15,000.(my parents are giving $5000 for her not sure how much we'll need for my family of 4) I want this to be a trip for her so she can see all the things she wants. I know for sure she wants to go to London and Paris. She would also like to do a Harry Potter themed tour. After that we don't know what, Scotland, Ireland, Italy? Here are my specific questions:

How many days to plan for each place? Is 3 days enough for each London and Paris?

How do we get from place to place, like London to Paris, Paris to another country?

What Harry Potter tours are good?

Will I be able to find a hotel room to accomodate 5 people?

Is Aug a good month to visit Europe?

Is my budget good? Will we be able to do what we want with the budget we have?

What are some good sites to research places to visit and sites to see? I know about tripadvisor.com are there any others?

I ned to know neighborhoods and areas to stay away from with a family! When we stay in London we want to be next to all the sites so where should we be looking to stay?

Any help or advise will be greatly appreciated! I really need help! I want to start planning because I am a compulsive planner but also because I feel like there is so much to research. I really want to make the most of this trip. Thanks!!!

 

[auntpolly]

I can tell you that August is the worst month for Italy because all the Italians go on vacation and alot isn't open in the cities.

Other than that, you just really have to be careful not to spread yourself too thin. In 2 weeks I wouldn't do more than 4 cities. JMO of course - I'm sure it's just a vacation preference.

Train travel is really easy in Europe from country to country, but you can waste alot of time if your trip is really spread out.

If it were me, I'd fly to London, then either just do Ireland and the rest of the UK, or I'd go London Paris (flying would be better to make the most of your time) and you could fairly easily do the Lakes in Italy from there.

You just don't want to make all your destinations so far apart that you waste your time traveling.

 

[DznyLvr2005]

http://www.chartwellvacations.com/

I've gone to Europe twice with this company. first time was in 1999... France for 6 nights at a 5 star hotel including flight was $799!!!! ( We even went to Disneyland Paris!)
Then in 2001 I went to Rome with my mom and stayed at a GEORGEOUS hotel called Hotel Quiranalli (spelled that wrong!) for 6 nights with flight and that was $820 a person.

Check out that site, they have GREAT DEALS!!!

 

[java]

Hmm in 2 weeks I agree on not spreading yourself too thin. And yes- August most of the Italians as well as many other people from other countries are on holiday(and tons of them head to Greece! I know because I met them all)
I would focus on a simple plan of attack. I was a huge fan of the Eurail but I don't know how simple it is with children- but I bet it would be fun for them.

Rooms are tiny so I don't think you will find ONE room for 5 but connecting are around. Now I say tiny because I was staying budgety. I bet you could find suites at some of the fancier places but I don't know how much$.
Plus I am not sure how the $ will be vs. the Euro. Right now it stinks. Things will seem expensive.

Paris can be seen in 3 days- Louvre,Oursay,Versailles would be must go for me.

I have not been to London so I can't comment although I have friends that go for weekends so I guess 3 days is plenty. Oh and stay in a castle!

You could plan a week on the Riviera or head to Ireland. Oh so fun! Have a great time planning. I would love to be going. My mom just got back from 2 weeks in France- took a barge trip down the Siene.

 

[Bichon Barb]

Our family of four went to London for six nights over Christmas, so I can only comment on that. We booked an air/hotel package through Virgin, and booked two rooms for the four of us. I'm so glad we did that. Come to think of it, I don't think you can fit four people in most hotel rooms in Europe. We stayed at the Crowne Plaza St. James and were very happy.

I'm also glad that we decided to do the city on our own and not with a touring company. I have to confess that the time change kicked our butts--especially my 13 year old son. So we just did things at our own pace and had a really great time.

I think that www.walks.com (?) has a special Harry Potter tour. We took the Dickens walk with them.

Another fun thing with older kids was the Rock N Roll tour. I think that website is www.beatles-beatles-beatles.com.

We are talking about going to Germany for our next big trip. I think what we'll do this time is fly into Frankfurt, spend a couple nights there and then drive to Munich and rent an apartment there and use that as a home base. Here is a great website if you think an apartment would work for you. www.vrbo.com

 

[librarygal]

August is high season so you will pay high prices for airfare. Southern Europe will be hot and air conditioning in some European hotel leaves much to be desired. Your best bet might be to stick with cooler places like the UK, Ireland and France. Personally, I think a four year old is too young for Europe.
Europe requires alot of walking and is not that kid friendly. I doubt most museums, churches, ruins and historic sights would be of any interest to a young child.

Since you have a large group I would look into renting apartments in the cities. That way you can make your own breakfast, etc. Breakfast in hotels consists of rolls, cheese and cold cuts. You could get an American buffet but that would set you back $20-$30 a person.

There are a number of budget airlines in Europe that are cheaper than the trains. Just make a note of their strict baggage limits if you decide to go in one.

 

[wnissen]

Congratulations! I'm sure you all will have a trip to remember, and that is so kind to take your sister.

It depends on what kind of travel you like, but London and Paris are ideally suited as hubs for day tripping. There is enough in either of those cities to keep a family occupied for a month! Plus they are connected via the Chunnel, which will whisk you from London to Paris in a couple of hours, door to door, faster than any plane. Combining the two makes a fine two-week trip. Check out the Rick Steves DVDs if you can, they have a lot of information about London and daytripping.

Hotels and lodgings of all kinds will be likely to be full in August, I highly recommend you book as soon as you've decided the cities. It's unlikely you'll find a room that sleeps 5, but for a family it is far more economical and spacious to rent an apartment. This sort of thing is much more common in Paris than the U.S., because of hotel taxes. Try vrbo.com and you'll find lots of places in a variety of neighborhoods. This is *not* like checking into a hotel, you'll have to rent by the week, pay a security deposit and cleaning fee, and possibly pay the rent in cash when you arrive. However, it will be worth it to have the space, a kitchen, and a place to relax.

Transport is a little more challenging, as your group won't fit in a single cab, but the whole family can take the Metro/Tube.

Walt

 

[missypie]

Get thee promptly to the Travel Talk section/Europe board of fodors.com. The folks there are VERY helpful. Just make the title of your questions as specific as possible. (E.g not "Need help" but "Need help planning Harry Potter tour of the UK") Also, use the serach feature, as lots of questions come up over and over again.

 

[emily1982]

I would say August is a busy time for Europe as us Brits have our summer break, London will probably be busy but not un-bearable i imagine. August weather can be mixed, at the moment we have floods where i live (Midlands) but a few weeks ago it was a heatwave, so you can't really predict what it ill be like. I would say London/paris is probably easier to travel to then London and the rest of the UK as its only the eurostar away, but for the rest of the Uk you could either hire a car (although i would be quite confident to drive over here) or trains.

Britain is expensive but it is also really enjoyable and i would say your kids would have a ball. Alot of brits take holidays in the UK themselves so their very kid friendly and their are also nice beaches around the coastline for maybe day trips etc very 'British holiday', if its hot though the whole of the Uk makes its way to the coast so be prepared! haha.

If your after a family room (normally up to 5 or 6) you could try www.travelodge.com, they have supersaver rooms and are very good deals. Have fun!!

 

[toto2]

I have two suggestions:

Dont over do it:
One week paris , one week london. These a big cities , with tons of thing to see and do. Day trips fron either cities , by train ( highly efficient compared to North America) will bring you to the contry side to medieval villages and other fascinating stuff. You have to realise that , waiting to go up the Eifel tower is a two hour wait, ang going down can be just as long !

Ther no "chain retaurants like Appel bees etc , were service is almost instant. Restaurants are almost always a two hour affair in France.

I would rent an appartment in each cities, alowing to to prepare some of the meals , and build a nice picnic to enjoy in one of the many parks in the city. Supermarkets are fascinating in other countries.

If you keep it to just these two cities , with daytrips outside , with will be more like a vacation. If you want to do Paris in two days , go to the Paris Hotel in Las vegas. If you want a vacation in Paris and London , follow my advice, in order to not feel overwelmed by the two magnificient cities !

 

[auntpolly]

Above all, book as soon as possibe! And have fun!

But does it have to be August? Just curious.

 

[dejavu]

My daughter and I went to london and Paris for one week in May. IMHO I think you will find that for 5 people and 2 weeks you have not budgeted enough! I know because my DD and I stayed in a very nice but not overly plush hotel and it was 350 per night USD , we took the train to and from paris and flew nonstop from ORD TO LHR. I purchased all the tickets as soon as possible to get the best rates and still they were expensive (air was 760 each and train was about 300 each). Food is very expensive, we never ate at fancy places and most dinners were between $75 -$100 USD and lunches at EAT or Pret were about $30. I ended up all in all at just about $10,000 for one week everything included. Now that did include a rather large splurge at Louis Vuitton but even if you took that away it was still over $8,000 for the WEEK for 2. There are ways to cut costs, most museums are free in London, you can can rent a family flat, and cook some meals. But just be aware that the exchange rate is awful right now so your costs are going to be considerably higher then they would when the exchange rate is better. Have fun but be realistic about your budget because european travel during the high season is very, very expensive.

 

[auntpolly]

be realistic about your budget because the cost of european travel during the high season is very, very high.

Let's all just hope the dollar improves too!!!

 

[Huggles]

Shame you are not here a bit longer or you could have travelled north to Scotland and taken a trip in a steam train across the Glenfinnan viaduct (just like you see in harry Potter movies) and witnessed the scenery shown in the HP movies...the loch he flies over on Buckbeak etc Well worth a trip if you're a HP fan.

Mind you, if you do, make sure you check when the steam train runs.

 

[princess pooh]

My first trip to Europe was a 2 week family vacation in August. We did a week in London, a week in Paris, and two days in Amsterdam. I wouldn't try to visit too many countries since you don't want to waste a lot of time travelling and the jet lag may wipe you out for a few days.

I think Toto's suggestion of visiting just London and Paris is a good one. If it's your first visit, there will be plenty to keep you busy in those two cities. It's also easy to take the chunnel between the two.

 

[toto2]

Oh , and for France , dont forget your phrase book a, and practice your high school french ! The whole world does not speak english !

 

[shamrock30]

Paris has the same issue as Italy as far as the locals going on vacation in August.

 

[tiggerlover]

I am at a loss! I just don't know where to begin. Here's the story, sorry if it's too long. My DH and I along with our 2 kids 9 and 4 will be taking my younger sister to Europe for her Sweet 16 birthday present. We plan on going in Aug of 2008. We will have 2 weeks and a budget of $12,000-$15,000.(my parents are giving $5000 for her not sure how much we'll need for my family of 4) I want this to be a trip for her so she can see all the things she wants. I know for sure she wants to go to London and Paris. She would also like to do a Harry Potter themed tour. After that we don't know what, Scotland, Ireland, Italy? Here are my specific questions:

How many days to plan for each place? Is 3 days enough for each London and Paris?

How do we get from place to place, like London to Paris, Paris to another country?

What Harry Potter tours are good?

Will I be able to find a hotel room to accomodate 5 people?

Is Aug a good month to visit Europe?

Is my budget good? Will we be able to do what we want with the budget we have?

What are some good sites to research places to visit and sites to see? I know about tripadvisor.com are there any others?

I ned to know neighborhoods and areas to stay away from with a family! When we stay in London we want to be next to all the sites so where should we be looking to stay?

Any help or advise will be greatly appreciated! I really need help! I want to start planning because I am a compulsive planner but also because I feel like there is so much to research. I really want to make the most of this trip. Thanks!!!

The first thing I would say is NEVER go to europe in August!! Most countries are on holiday and it is the worst time to travel as well as it being high season. If you can go earlier in the summer, late June or early July, not only is it not high season, but it is better for travel.

I can comment on London and Italy as I have visited London before and lived in Italy for 8-1/2 years. I can't really say about rooms fitting 5 people because we were a family of three and never needed something so big.

We were in London for 5 days and although we saw a lot, we didn't see it all. The important thing in your planning is to make a list of the important things you wish to see and build your itinerary around that. We stayed in the Travel Inn hotel near the London Eye, it is considered a budget hotel chain in London, but we found it to be very nice.....better than your average Holiday Inn. The location was perfect for us and the rooms were clean and comfortable. You can search their website for rooms: http://www.premiertravelinn.com/pti/home.do While in London we visited the London Eye, the Tower of London, Harrods, Westminister Abbey and Buckingham Palace to name a few. One of the best things we did was the sightseeing tour of the city. www.theoriginaltour.com Your tickets are good for 24 hours, so what we did was buy them later in the afternoon one day so we could use them for two days. You can hop on and hop off where ever you want, which makes it most enjoyable.

As for Italy, there are so many great places to visit, I could write a book about it. Instead I will tell you some of my favorites and give you a couple of websites. My favorite cities are Rome, Venice, Verona, Lago di Garda and Amalfi. Each offers so many things to see and do. You could spend two weeks in Italy alone and not see all of it! If you want specific information about an area let me know and I will help however I can.

Basic Italy Hotel Info: http://www.traveleurope.it/
Lago di Garda hotel: http://www.hotelgardenia.eu/
Rome hotel: http://www.alimandi.it/index.php?lng=en (near vatican)
Venice area hotel: http://www.hotelnuovamestre.com/en/ (outside city, but very accessible and a lot cheaper than staying in the city).
Verona website: http://www.virtourist.com/europe/verona/
(The hotels listed in Garda, Rome and outside Venice we have stayed at and really enjoyed, however there are tons out there to chose from. We usually went with our hotel based on the comfort and price of the hotel and we weren't disappointed.)

Good luck in your planning, you will have a wonderful time I am sure!

 

[Desnik]

WOW!! Thank you all so much for some great advice!!! We can definately go the end of June or July, it doesn't have to be Aug. So thanks to all of you for that advice! We will plan it for that time frame. I wish we can stay longer but there is always the following year!! DH only gets 3 weeks vacation and we have to save 1 week for my Disney fix. Although maybe if we throw in a trip to DLP, that could work! I don't want to over do it either so we will stick to 2-3 areas to visit. Oh the possibilities! Thanks for all the links and great info, keep it coming!! I have a lot of research to do!

 

[shortbun]

I've planned loads of European vacations. Your kids are young and you'll want some home bases. I'd suggest 3 cities at most with a travel day between and one going and coming. See-the travel eats up loads of your time. You'll need to Google or search for Potter stuff in Britain, I'm not sure where it is. For sure take the Chunnel from London to Paris, it's a blast and less than flying.
You get to see a little of England and France from the train too. You might want to look for an apartment in London or a big B&B so you can stay together and have some space. You can either reach Germany, Switzerland or the French Riviera/Provence from Paris rather fast, again by train. They would be different than big cities and maybe a little more relaxed. I can tell you want to see a lot. With 2 weeks, I myself would really focus on one area, either Britain or France. I really would not try to include Italy, just too much travel OR fly to Paris, skip Britain and then Florence/Tuscany with the last two days in Rome might work. As far as travel time-in August, Paris museums and restaurants are often closed. Same for Italy as everyone is on vacation themselves for the month. I would go late June into July, better yet-take the children out of school and go in September when prices are down and tourists are not queing up everywhere. Accomodations run the gammut. You'll need to secure your air before you know how much you have to spend on a place to sleep. Really, with small children the less moving around the better. Limit it as much as possible. I could spend a week in London and Paris each without batting an eye. So much to do and see.