17 year old son traveling alone

The other warning I would give if you weren't already aware is that many European countries ban people under 18 from driving, and even where your son is legal to drive hire companies may be unwilling to give him a car.

Each hostel has their own policy so you'd have to contact each one to figure out their age policy or look at their website. Most traveling Europe alone will be 18+. Is there a reason he can't wait until he is 18 to travel there? Only you know your son, but I know I wasn't ready at 17. He will also be able to drink most places so you have to be okay with that. Also the last sentence worries me, the "how would we." If he wants to do it himself he should plan it himself, that will get him ready to go over there so he'll know what to expect and what he wants to see. I did a school group tour at 16 and loved it.

It would depend on the maturity level and previous travel experience of the child, among other things. In the cases of my own two, there was no way on earth I would have allowed it.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think Rick Steves' son Andy ever went to Europe alone.

If it were my son, I'd want him to find a buddy to go with him. There's a lot more security when there are two.

I have to agree with most of the above posters. It depends on how much travel experience he has, how street savvy he is in larger cities, how mature he is, and just how much is he willing to do on his own.

Solo travel is not for everyone. If you don't know what you are doing, you can get into trouble.

As an example, my cousin graduates from high school this week. He and two buddies are going to spend a month in Europe. He's been once and has traveled all over the U.S.--but he'll be with a couple of other guys.

Traveling solo means he'll be looking for people to hang out with. Is he mature enough to figure out who he should and shouldn't do that with? Does he realize that it's not a good idea to go out drinking and getting drunk just because he can. He will then be a target.

Even RS, our fearless leader, traveled with a buddy his first non-parental trip to Europe. And so did his two kids their first time out.

How about an organized tour for people his age? He'll have more fun being with other people his own age and can learn enough to do it solo the next time.

Tom is correct,, Rick Steves son Andy never went to Europe alone, he travelled with a friend, just like his father( Rick ) did . And both Andy and his father had travelled to Europe many times before their first trips to Europe with their friends, with their families, so were not complete novices.

Personally, while I do travel solo to Europe myself, and do consider it safe( obviously since I wouldn't go solo if I didn't)

I am not a fan of very young people( he is not even 18!) people travelling SOLO without at least some experience in Europe. Has son ever travelled solo anywhere before,, even to next state to visit a friend, also, have you ever taken him to Europe? Has he ever done some school exchange trips?? Anything?

To add to Franks suggestion of a tour,, there is a very popular youth tour company ( Contiki) ,, but they do not accept kids under 18 either. When is his birthday?

Judy- could you possibly arrange a trip together. Include some time for him to be independent. Day trips, etc. Even if you have to limit the time/scope of the trip to afford for both of you to go, I'd feel better. 17 is just a bit too young in my mind, to be all alone in Europe- even with another "kid" the same age.

"Would this be advisable?" Only you can answer this question as it is your son. While he may be chronologically younger than most solo travelers, you are the one who knows his emotional maturity level and whether or not he is "street smart" or just "book smart"...there is a big difference between the two. He may be on the honor roll in high school, but that doesn't mean he has street smarts.

All kids are different. I did a solo in Europe at 17. I have a friend that lives in NYC whose 12 year old takes the subway unaccompanied to school, activities, friends homes, etc. But I know other friends who have children so immature and/or oblivious to their surroundings there is no way they should walk to the corner mailbox unless they have an adult escort.

If he's traveling only to large cities, speaking only English may not be a problem. If he plans to head outside of the large cities, unless he knows a little bit of the language, he could have some issues. Does he speak other languages?

I'd be leery of bus tours (even ones that let 17 year olds aboard). A lot of them are just rolling pub crawls with most participants sleeping their way from city to city missing all the sights and just waking up to get drunk. I took a hop-on/hop-off backpacker's bus through New Zealand and did a lot of research to find a company who promoted the sights and not the partying, but at the end of the day we stayed at some of the same hostels the other party buses stopped at for the night so I saw 1st hand just how hard some of those other backpackers partied. On that same bus I took, we had a 17 year old on board for part of the circuit traveling solo. He had a hard time adjusting because everyone else was in their mid 20s to mid 30s.

How long will he be gone and how independent is he at home? He may think being on the road for months is great fun, or he may find it to be quite taxing after awhile.

Does he go away to college in the fall?

If he does go, it should be a well-planned trip. Don't just let him backpack around. Do an actual itinerary, with reserved hostels and train tickets. Two or three weeks would be enough. Keep to countries where he knows at least a little of the language. Western Europe rather than Eastern would be easier.

Does he know how to use public transportation? Has he flown before? Can he tell a seedy neighborhood from a safe one? A good discussion, not lecture, about drugs/alcohol, and women would be in order.

I'm taking a deep breath and sending my 17 yr old to France in a few weeks. She'll be there with a well established language program, and they'll travel together. I doubt I'd send her alone. Much better to have a year of college under their belt.

It would be great if he could stay with friends or family at some time during his travels. I've kept in touch with old pen pals, exchange students and relatives from the old country that would be great places for a young person to have freedom and yet be with people that you know.

Jennifer
Frazeysburg,Ohio

Europe will still be there. Wait!

My first trip to Europe was a solo venture at age 17, well...let's say semi-solo. I wanted to go by myself and spend a summer eurailing but my parents would not allow me, even though I'd earned the money delivering newspapers and cutting lawns. A happy median was reached by allowing me to go on my own with a tour group. Caravan Tours was the group (I think they were bought out ages ago by Globus) and the group was mostly made up of people in their 50's and 60's. I was afraid I'd have a boring time with that group. Far from it. I had the greatest time. They all "adopted" me during the three weeks, met outstanding, fun, interesting people, and developed a love of travel. I felt independent but was very protected. Just an option to offer...

He must be extremely independent to even consider such a thing. I applaud his confidence at such a young age; but, I don't think he should go either.