Help! Booking Tickets for end of July

Could you provide a bit more realistic perspective of what you wish to see?

I can't help wondering why, if you want to see France AND Croatia in only 2 weeks, you wound fly into and out of London. Wouldn't an open jaw ( multicity) flight into a French city and out of a Croatian one ( or vice versa) make more sense? Or at least a RT to Paris.

With only 2 weeks ( how many nights actually in Europe??) and with children to consider, I'd recommend picking only 3 places to stay. Perhaps do a day trip or 2 at each place. Is this your first trip to Europe? Don't forget that each time you move locations you will lose anywhere from 1/2 to a whole day of sightseeing time.

Thank you for your recommendations! We haven't made any definite plans just a wish list.

We are flying from the west coast of the US and found good direct flights from our city to London.
We were advised to find the best tickets across the ocean and then find cheaper local airlines/trains/buses
to get to other European destinations. We have 15 1/2 days on the ground in Europe.

My question is regarding the timing of our trip. We have heard that a lot of things close down or
the crowds become worse when the Europeans go on holiday in August.
I'm wondering if leaving July 22nd over the 28th would make a big difference in those factors.

For instance: should we head straight to Croatia on the 22nd and make our way back to London visiting more
inland locations after the European holidays begin.

Our wishlist:
1. spend 3 1/2 days in London - probably just the main touristy places.
2. spend 4-5 days in Paris - Versailles, Eiffel Tower, boat tour on the Seine, bike around the city, climb the Arc De Triomphe, visit Le Louvre and eat!
3. Spend time doing outdoor adventures
- we considered traveling to the South of France and doing some hiking and canyoning
and going to the beach.
- Or flying to Croatia for beach time and a sailing day (because we loved our Greece/Turkey trip).
We realize this may be a big stretch - just a wish at this point - but we can certainly be realistic and cut this out.

We went on a fun adventure 5 years ago and kids did great! So moving around is not a problem - they are 11-18 years old now.
We even traveled in the heat of July/August in Greece and Turkey and had a great time.

We are in the beginning of the process and would love to hear your suggestions. We are just beginning to explore the possibilities.

Thanks!

If you are not just planning to fly in and out of London but actually stop there I would cut Croatia out and save it for another time. Then book your flights either into London and out of Paris or vice versa. Plenty to see in 2 weeks in London and Paris as well as surrounds. You could travel between the two via the chunnel.

For 15 days, it seems you would be better off choosing England and France. Why don't you see more of England, then stay in Paris then head down to Nice, etc. I haven't been to Corsica, but it looks like a great place for exploring and hiking.

Norwegian Air is a great, low-cost airline.
They have non-stop flights out of Oakland to London and Paris. You could fly to London, and back from Paris. I’d fly NA to London, take the Eurostar train to Paris, then to either Nice or Collioure in the south of France for beach time. On NA, you’d have to take a TGV train back to Paris to fly back to the US. The sooner you buy train tickets the less they’ll cost.

For Paris, August is less expensive for hotels than many other months. A large percentage of Parisians leave Paris for the month of August, but all tourist sites are unaffected. Some restaurants and small stores will be closed in August, but most are still open. I’m sure you know this already, but Paris can be very hot in August. The south of France as well.

Outdoor/rural travel in France in August is the most crowded time of the year. The cities empty out & head for the hills, so its great for Paris & other cites. As others noted, Croatia is a trip to far. Center on London & Paris with maybe a high speed train trip to Strasbourg & Colmar.

Somewhere in Paris is a whack-a-mole fountain where jets of water shoot up randomly from the pavement. Kids love playing in this.

Spend a day in the Versailles Gardens watching the fountains (not done every day)

Some things in London that might appeal to kids:
The London Dungeon. My guide book describes it as "not for the squeamish"
London Zoo
Boat ride to Greenwich to see where time is created.
Tower of London-- a real castle with moats and all that, an armor museum, and the small courtyard where Henry VIIi chopped off the heads of his wives.

Day trips:
Windsor Castle. Another real castle.

Winchester, Stonehenge, & Salsburry

Rye--- way off the beaten track. A cute old village & major sea port hundreds of years ago, now 2 miles inland because the weight of the glaciers in the ice ages pushed the land down and now that the ice has melted, the land is rising back up toward where it should be, making the English Channel a little narrower than it was hundred of years ago.

Visit for lunch or stay overnight at The Mermaid where Queen Elizabeth I stayed some 600 years ago before setting sail from Rye to visit France. Visit The Mermaid's web site & look at the rooms. The ones that look like they were designed by a drunk really look that way. The Mermaid is a classic example of early 15th C half timbered buildings which were a reaction to the prevailing formalism of the first wave of neo-classical archeteture. While neo-classical buildings feature symmetry, half-timbered was the opposite-- floors are not level. Room corners are not square, ceilings are not a uniform distance above floors.

A possible family adventure-- driving in France. Take the fast train to Strasbourg for 3 nights (big city so like Paris, natives should all be out town). Day trip by bus or train to Colmar. Rent a car for a day trip drive on the Route de Vin Alsace. A drive will engage the whole family. In advance everyone must learn the international highway signs to help the driver do what he is supposed to do. Then there are the directional signs, lots of roundabouts. Expect to drive in circle at least 4 times until you figure out which exit you want from the roundabout. Promise a reward to the first kid who figure out the logic of French directional road signs

Eat lunch or dinner at Au Lion d'Or in Kaysersburg, a historical experience. This restaurant is still operated by the founding family in its original location. It opened for business in the year 1729.

As others have said beaches and islands are going to be very, very crowded in August. Cities, but also rural/small town inland areas will be better. With 15 days you could easily do London and Paris and perhaps two other places but I would stick to France and England plus perhaps somewhere closer than Croatia - somewhere you can get to via train rather than a flight. Flights take much more time than trains due to the security, needing to get to the airports early, the airports not being in city centers, etc. Plus trains are just more enjoyable, you can often see scenery, can walk around, etc. You could consider adding in somewhere in Belgium or the Netherlands between England and France. Or just stick to those countries which both have huge variations in the regions. And yes, I'd start the trip on the 22nd rather than the 28th.

Collioure and Biarritz have good beaches and are not on tourist’s radar.
Yes, there will be lots of French people there, but you can still enjoy the beach, the water and the town.
I agree not to go to Nice or the Riviera in August. Jammed with tourists and the French.

Another great beach is Omaha Beach in Normandy. It’s huge, nice sand (not all European beaches have sand) and would be great in August. Normandy is also an amazing area to visit. Not just for the DDay sites, but for the charming towns, villages, chateaux, and wonderful people.
Takes about 2 hrs by train from Paris to get to Bayeux, a charming town.
You’d need to rent a car while there though.

"We were advised to find the best tickets across the ocean and then find cheaper local airlines/trains/buses
to get to other European destinations."

Some do indeed advise this, but I don't agree, particularly on a short trip where time is valuable. If you are going to do this, be aware of the potential problems with separate tickets. Here's a good summary: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g41707-c207311/Newton:Massachusetts:Connecting.On.Separate.Tickets.html

While Croatia is getting a lot of "buzz" these days, getting there from the US, or from other parts of Europe (even "close" ones like Italy), can be harder than one would think at first. Do check these issues carefully before trying to add it to a trip to France.

mephelps, forget London for this itinerary. It will only cause you pain and sorrow.

Visit Croatia and Paris, since those are your priorities. And fly to and from the places you want to see.

in 2014 we took our 18 and 20yo on a similar trip. We took the ICE train from Paris to London and they LOVED it! we toured Normandy, Mt. Saint Michel and Paris in a week, then on to London for a week. If you have a WWII history buff the trip is really worth it. We were there the day before the 70th anniversary event, tons of happenings! The drive itself is lovely. Allow plenty of time for travel so your not rushed returning the rental car!
We spent an additional 10 days in Germany at a friends house, but since they were young they enjoyed the hustle and bustle of the big cities, not the laid back 'old foggies' vibe..
To reduce costs, London especially and who knows what is going to happen with all the Brexit kerfuffle, we used a Premier Inn- more like a Holiday Inn BUT they have good beds!! and stayed all 4 in 1 room ( i under exaggerated the age of the kids) and went to the free museums.. if you take the Thames cruise at the Tate to the V&A you receive a discount, at least then you did! Good luck, relax and Get Lost, that's when you discover the best experience!