6-8 month European travel w/ 2 small children. Advice on itinerary?

I'll be the first to toss this in the mix: you know about limits on visa-free travel for foreigners, eg Schengen limits...right? More to follow any second...

David,
I am under the impression that we would need a Visa if we stayed > 3 months. That said, these Visas are not particularly hard to obtain as long as you follow proper procedure. Did this change?

Assuming you get the visa situation worked out this sounds like an absolute dream.

I’d start making a very long list of places you’d like to include. Even in 8 months you can’t hit everything. Maybe you can pick 1 must-see area (NOT a country unless it’s a tiny one - but a region or city. So Tuscany or Scottish Highlands or the French Riviera, not Italy/UK/France). Your wife does the same, and then maybe pick one region that you really want the kids to see. Those are your 3 anchor points, fill in the rest logically, seeing what of your other “want to see” places fit in.

Balance by geography, urban/rural, and expense. Scandanavia and Switzerland are very expensive. Portugal, Greece, and Spain are less so. Farther East (Romania and such) are apparently quite inexpensive. So I’d make the longer stays in moderate or cheap places and see the expensive places faster. Iceland is amazing, but expensive. You can do a good visit in a week, then fly to somewhere cheaper for a longer time.

Rick Steves tv shows are online (Hulu, YouTube, this website). You can watch a bunch and see what draws you.

Obtaining a visa for months and months in France was going to involve a special trip to the embassy in Los Angeles, and became unworkable for several reasons, so I haven’t pursued getting a visa for a longer-term stay anywhere. For us more casual, sans-visa visitors, Schengen Treaty areas (most of Continental Europe, and jokingly, the “lost continent of Atlantis”) can be visited for a maximum of 90 days from initial entry, even if you arrive in the Schengen Zone and go elsewhere, then return within that 90 days. Then you have to remain out of the Zone before returning, where you can start a new 90 day period.

We’ve had a longer trip by using the U.K., not among the Schengen participants, as a buffer between 90 day periods. Italy and Norway are both in the Schengen Zone.

Obtaining a visa for a country means establishing a residence in that country and staying there. The 90 day rules still apply for any Schengen country you visit in addition to the country that issued the visa.

In some countries, your older child will be required to be in school if you get a visa. Public pre-school begins at age 3 in France. I don’t know about other countries you are considering.

Your first step is to figure out your in-Schengen and out-of-Schengen schedule if you choose to do this visa-free. Otherwise, you need more info on visas and the residency requirements. I don’t have that info because I don’t need a visa in Europe. Hopefully someone else can help. Also there is an on-line day counter to help you calculate your days-in and days-out of the Schengen. Hopefully someone can give you the link.

Mira’s suggestions on establishing an itinerary are excellent.

I am under the impression that we would need a Visa if we stayed > 3 months. That said, these Visas are not particularly hard to obtain as long as you follow proper procedure. Did this change?

Well where every you got that idea from, you are about to learn that it is completely wrong. There is no visa whatsoever that will allow you travel in the Schengen Area for more than 90 days as a tourist.

You may be able to get a residence visa for one of the Schengen countries. However that is a residence visa, mean you are expected to establish your live in that country - insurance, healthcare, taxes etc... Such a visa will allow you to occasionally take short trips to other Schengen countries and the term is occasionally. Failure to do so will render the visa void and it will be on you to prove that you complied with the terms not the other way around.

As you have young children, you will be required to fully comply with the child care laws of the country, that means daily kindergarten attendance in some places, vaccinations, health visits etc....

You obviously have a lot of research to do.

Have you thought about medical insurance?

This is one topic that appears over and over. The rules are pretty straight forward, but there are always people who think they know a way around the requirements. It is my unofficial, non-legal opinion that if you try to stay in the Schengen area for more than 90 days and get caught, you could be in a heap of trouble that may follow you around in future visits to Europe.

So far no one I am aware of has come up with an idea and legal way to stay in the Schengen area pass the 90 day mark, except moving to Europe, being there on a work visa or marrying a European. If you are dead serious about finding a way to legally do so, I would consult an attorney specializing in international immigration/visa/etc.

Frankly, if there was a way to "beat" the system, this forum would be one of the first places it would be told.

While your plan is adventuresome and gutsy with two small children, I would seriously seek legal counsel and make that part of your generous budget. If you find some information, please let us know. Good luck.

Since the visa is country-specific, it's my understanding you will be expected to present a signed lease for the period of the visa. Therefore, it appears you would have double lodging costs when you traveled outside that country. That's in addition to proof of medical insurance and income/assets. The details probably vary at least a little from country to country, but no one so far has reported that they were able to avoid the requirement for a lease. That's the reason I haven't pursue a long-stay visa despite spending about 4-1/2 months in Europe every year. Instead, I make sure to include sufficient time in non-Schengen countries.

The limit (without a visa) is 90 days within any rolling 180-day period, so simply leaving and returning does nothing for you. Your Schengen day-count just pauses until you return. Finally, 181 days after you first entered the Schengen Zone, your Day 1 rolls off the back end and doesn't count anymore. Another thing to be very careful about is that both the arrival and the departure count, so if you leave the Schengen Zone on Day 80 and return on Day 90, you have only 9 non-Schengen Days; the other 81 days count toward you Schengen limit.

It has been reported that even comparatively minor overstays can result in a substantial fine and being banned from the Schengen Zone for a number of years.

Edited to add: As you work on the road-trip segments of your adventure, keep in mind that car rentals beginning in one country and ending in another virtually always have very high drop charges--at least hundreds of euros.

I like to set up my itineraries with an eye on expected weather conditions. For a trip starting in March, I'd give serious consideration to beginning in southern Spain.

One of the places to start your research is the European Commission. This is the link to their Schengen Visa page. It includes a map of all the countries that follow the Schengen rules.

The European Commission provides a lot more information there for you to study, not the least of which is the validity of the passports for each of your family members.

As previously mentioned, it's a good thing you're starting early with your planning. This is where you begin to learn about hoops you never thought of having to jump through.

As others have said, long-stay Schengen visas are not typically issued for tourist reasons and can involve quite a bit of work if you are even eligible.

You may need to consider breaking up your stay with stays in non-Schengen states, in order to stay in compliance with the 90-in-180 day requirement.

This effectively means a long stay in the UK and/or Ireland, or one of the Balkan states, though keep your eye on the news since, for example, Croatia is in negotiations to join the Schengen area and could be a part of it by 2020. (For a variety of reasons the UK and Ireland are rather unlikely to join the Schengen area.)

In general, Europe has much better public transportation than some other parts of the world, such as the USA. Part of that is necessity, as driving in many cities (Rome and Florence, Italy; London, England; Seville, Spain; etc., etc.) seem to be a major pain with a car. Traffic, finding parking spots, paying for parking, dings and dents from other drivers who don’t care if they damage yours while trying to squeeze into the spot in front of, or behind you, all make having a car a challenge in many metropolitan areas. And there sure seem to be a lot of parents wheeling kids about in single- or double-wide strollers, on cobbled streets, in metro/subway stations, onto trans and buses, and also doing a lot of walking to get places.

A car or van can give you freedom and flexibility to move about, nevertheless. But IF you choose to operate a car/van/small SUV, look into leasing, rather than renting. Some manufacturers (like Renault) can make that a cheaper method. Buying, then reselling before you return home, would seem to be complicated. Unless you’re buying a BMW and using their “European Delivery” program, where you take delivery in Germany, drive around Europe for a while, then have your new vehicle shipped home to keep driving it there.

I'm not sure how easy it is to get a visa to stay more than 90 days, but I don't think you will get it for tourist reasons.

Also, if you plan to go to Europe before your child is born you really need to make sure that you know what having a baby in a foreign country involves, and that you have medical insurance that will cover any costs involved.

Here's a link to the Schengen calculator: https://schengen-calculator.com/
There are other links on the website that may be helpful. I think you really need to research the Schengen and visa requirements for each country you intend to visit. I would not try to "get around" the Schengen requirements, it's just not worth the risks.

Frankly, if there was a way to "beat" the system, this forum would be one of the first places it would be told.

It certainly seems possible to stay in Poland with a US Passport and no visa for 9 months or longer. If that interests you do a web search to find out how and find a copy of the authorizing MOA in Polish and English. I’ve seen it posted on the American embassy in Warsaw website.

In any event, SE Asia is a much more appropriate location for young children and you won’t have any overstay issues if you keep moving.

It certainly seems possible to stay in Poland with a US Passport and
no visa for 9 months.

I don't know where this misinformation came from. I think there is some confusion about what's called the "VISA Waiver" program between US and Poland (explained here: https://pl.usembassy.gov/vwp-faq/). Only very recently have Polish citizens been allowed to travel to the US without having to obtain and pay a handsome sum ($160 in USD translated to Polish Zloty is quite a lot) for a VISA. The reverse was not true, as no US citizens had to pay for a VISA to travel to Poland. It was a lopsided policy, now overturned. But that has nothing to do with the 90 day limit. Please refer to the official rules: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/Poland.html
"You need a visa for stays longer than 90 days or to work or study in Poland."

SE Asia is a much more appropriate location for young children

Huh? No idea what that means. There are young children all over Europe and they're all socially acceptable.

Not misinformation, except I got location wrong where the MOA is posted. There’s no waiting period between the 90 days. Never done it myself.

https://traktaty.msz.gov.pl/getFile.php?action=getfile;0&iddok=8047

@Tom - your link is a document from March 1991 that was typed via a typewriter. The Berlin Wall barely came down two years prior and that was the year that the USSR collapsed. Poland had martial law (my parents and I left before then). The document poses a question on what type of ViSA would be required for US citizens who want to stay in Poland over 90 days (presumably to work or to study) and what the related fee would be. I would not draw any inferences from this.

We are now in almost 2020. I would follow the current State Department rules on how long a US citizen can stay in any country with or without a VISA.

Right but these old documents are still floating around and not rescinded. Last time I checked an expat forum for Poland, maybe a year ago, people where using the memo. The procedure was something like leave Poland by 90 days, overnight in a non-Schengen country, then present yourself at the border requesting admittance for another 90 days. So when I posted you could stay in Poland for 9 months, it was wrong to imply it was a continuous block of time. It can’t be foolproof, either.

Actually typing it all out it seems like a fair bit of bother and stress from the multiple exits/entries and border uncertainty. Only for certain people in certain situations, not for tourists. Poor suggestion for OP.

SE Asia: low costs, low incidence of gastrointestinal disease, good weather, few clothes & light baggage, lots to explore. I don’t get the culture shock comment: young children won’t notice, or will quickly adapt.

With 8 months a family could spend a good chunk of time in both Europe and SE Asia.

As a practical matter, it makes no difference what sort of document is floating around the Internet if its current applicability isn't recognized by border officials, etc.

Just a comment on the vaccinations. We are in Italy now with our 7 month old son. Our pediatrician recommended we go ahead with a MMR dose. He will still require one at 12 months but because his immunity begins to weaken around 6 months of age, she wanted us to protect his system with an early dosage.

Also regarding airfare, I am assuming your new baby will be around 10 months when you plan to travel. Look into airlines that offer a bassinet or cot. We flew BA and they were amazing with our son. We used a "carry cot" as the bassinet was too small. If you sit in bulkhead, the cot will attach to the wall. Our son slept the entire flight with the crew being nice enough to check on him while we slept.

Amanda

Here are some thoughts about long trips to Europe. I’ve made four trips of 4-1/2 months. These are things I’ve learned to pay attention to. However, I am different from you in at least four ways, which will matter in some situations: I'm now 68 years old (though healthy and capable of walking at least 13 miles in a day); I mostly travel solo; I don’t have children; and I never rent a car.

In parallel to your research on where you want to go, I recommend that you start a couple of lists you can add to over the next 1-1/2 years. The first is a packing list. You’ll run across ideas on this forum and elsewhere; if something sounds good or at least possibly a smart idea, jot it down. Adjust along the way. In the end, having a packing list will help you avoid packing too much.

The second document should be a To Do list. There are things that need to happen even for a trip of ten days, but when you start talking about super-long trips, there’s quite a bit more, and some of the actions require some lead time. Here are some of the things I’ve had to work on:

• Check with all financial institutions (banks and credit-card issuers) to see what fees you will incur from using their cards overseas. Research other options if you don’t like what you hear.

• Take with you a minimum of two ATM cards (two different accounts) and three credit cards, stored separately. For a trip of this length involving an entire family, I’d want 3 ATM cards and 4 credit cards, because I’m perfectly capable of losing a card on the first day of a trip. Someone on the forum has a bank account with two separate, differently-numbered, ATM cards. That would be great, too.

• Prepare a list of all the cards, showing only the last 4 digits of the numbers, and the international contact telephone numbers for reporting lost/stolen cards. Keep that list everywhere (on your phone, in the cloud, on paper in your suitcase, etc.)

• Shortly before you depart, file travel notifications with all financial institutions requiring them. You may need to notify at least one credit card issuer earlier in order to use the card for things like train tickets purchased before you leave home. Don’t be shocked if a card still doesn’t work when you get to Europe.

• Make a list of all your regular monthly/quarterly bills and determine how they will get paid. Mine are set up for auto-pay via one of my credit cards. My credit cards are auto-pay from my credit union account. If you lose a credit card early in such a long trip, you may have an issue with auto-pays on that card before you get home. Therefore, it’s very smart to have the billing contact numbers for your utilities, etc., on you credit-card list to save time in the event you need to update the credit card used for auto-pays.

• Be sure your property tax is taken care of if that’s a thing where you live. And homeowner’s insurance. And income tax. And car registration.

• If you plan to turn off cable TV or other utilities, check to see how much lead time is required so you don’t pay for a month of unwanted service.

• Figure out how to handle your mail. The Postal Service will hold mail for only 30 days. Forwarding service (to a friend or relative remaining in the US) would be an alternative but is fairly costly.

• Research your medical-insurance situation. Are you covered in Europe? Be sure the premiums continue to be paid while you’re traveling. While medical treatment is usually less expensive in Europe, it could still be costly in the event of something like an automobile accident.

• Consider medical evacuation insurance. That’s something that can cost over $100,000; most of us would be pinched if we had to come up with that kind of money.

Out of space; more to come.

Continuing with items for the recommended To Do list:

• A lot of us self-insure for trip-cancellation, but if you plan to rent apartments in most places, you may find a lot of your lodgings are non-refundable or only partly refundable. Look into that carefully and think about what would happen if one of you broke a leg two days before departure.
• I have gotten sick at least once during every trip I’ve taken that lasted more than 3 weeks, going back to when I was 20. It’s probably a combination of being tired, exposure to new germs, and spending time in crowded conditions. The illnesses were generally minor and didn’t necessarily require medical treatment, but you may want to travel with a modest supply of the over-the-counter medicines your family uses most often. Pepto-Bismol and high-zinc throat lozenges are not available in Europe. Ibuprofen is often a lot more expensive than it is here.
  
• If any of you are on a prescription drug for regular use, check with your insurance company on how you will get a sufficient supply for your trip. Some companies have a 90-day limit, which may require you to do some fancy footwork.
  
• If you wear glasses and the prescription isn’t one that allows a fast turnaround, a back-up pair is a very good idea. If yours is a simple prescription, have a copy of it on your phone, in the cloud and in your suitcase. I don’t know how it works with disposable contacts—can you get as many pairs as you will need?
• Dig into your auto insurance. Will you have any coverage in Europe? In which countries? Some credit cards provide a degree of auto insurance, but it varies by card and by country. Be aware that--as in the US--any insurance may be void if you do something in violation of the law or of the rental agreement. If you don't pay for a second driver, that means only one of you should drive.
• Before renting a car for use in any country, research the rules of the road, requirements for insurance and highway vignettes, etc. Don't be one of those head-in-the-sand travelers who does no research and comes here to complain when very expensive traffic tickets begin showing up after the return home.
  
• Six to eight months is plenty of time for shoes and clothes to wear out, especially if they were not virtually new at the beginning of a trip. Clothes are usually no big deal (though you may have to find someone to hem slacks), but it’s best not to have to buy and break in new shoes in the middle of a trip. Be sure your shoes are in great shape before you leave, buy new socks, and check clothes for loose buttons, tiny seam rips, etc.

What a useful and daunting list. I await the OP’s response.

Acraven. I really appreciate the detailed write-up. These are all very good suggestions and I will certainly be saving this list and consulting it pretty quickly. The good news is we are using this trip as a bit of breakpoint for our US based life. We are selling our house, cars etc. and basically starting over when we return so a lot of the domestic logistics should be largely taken care of.

As for the other posts this thread has received. There seems to be a lot of Visa focus. Clearly we need to resolve this issue and/or plan our itinerary so that we are not breaking any immigration laws. One thing we do have working for us is that there is a distinct possibility we may end the trip in Switzerland where my wife's company has offered her relocation. Assuming she can make that work with a leave of absence then the Visa issues may be somewhat resolved.

As far as itinerary... based on some initial research I was thinking that starting in Spain/Portugal in early spring, working our way through Southern France, up and down Italy, into Croatia, Slovenia, Hungary through the summer and then to Austria, Germany for the fall before finishing up with a month in Ireland might make for a pretty cool trip. Thoughts?

I was thinking that starting in Spain/Portugal in early spring, working our way through Southern France, up and down Italy, into Croatia, Slovenia, Hungary through the summer and then to Austria, Germany for the fall before finishing up with a month in Ireland might make for a pretty cool trip. Thoughts?

Basically, do southern Europe in the cooler months, do northern Europe in midsummer. Ireland late in the fall does not sound ideal to me. Ireland would be great whenever you can get there, but so much of what makes Ireland enjoyable involves being outdoors. In October/November you will likely find a lot of wet, cool weather (and short days). I'd do northern places like Ireland during the summer months, even though that's when most tourists go. Late fall is nice around the Mediterranean.

One thing we do have working for us is that there is a distinct possibility we may end the trip in Switzerland where my wife's company has offered her relocation. Assuming she can make that work with a leave of absence then the Visa issues may be somewhat resolved.

Does the employer have an HR or Legal Dept that can address the issues surrounding your proposed trip?

I cannot help but wonder how taking a job in Switzerland in Nov/Dec is going to help with the travel in the 6-8 months before the job begins.

Switzerland is a Schengen member but not an EU member. How/if that affects your right to travel the EU with Swiss 'residency' based on employment is well beyond my sphere of knowledge. Do consider obtaning expert legal advice and not just the musings of well meaning folks on this forum.

I would be disinclined to leave Ireland for the last stop in the Fall. It would be my choice for late July - August when everywhere else is likely to be hot.

My list was intended to be helpful, not daunting! This sounds like a great adventure, and there are plenty of very interesting places outside the Schengen Zone. No one has mentioned Morocco so far; there are budget flights to Morocco from many places in Europe. Another destination for the adventurous is Ukraine.

As you dig more into the details of each country, you are likely to find more intriguing places in each one, which may lead you to visit fewer countries and spend more time in each one. That, in turn, may make including a few flights desirable since you might end up with longer travel legs. Skyscanner.com is a good source for information on intra-European flight schedules and fares.

The disadvantage of flying is that you may need to book the flights fairly early to avoid high fares, which will reduce your flexibility; the advantage of flying is that if you're going to need to fly anyway, you may as well insert Ireland between two of your mid-summer stops. It's not just that Ireland in the fall may be unpleasantly chilly and damp, but that most of your target areas are potentially going to be seriously hot in mid-summer. It is very helpful to plan an escape route in the middle of a summer trip to a place where it will not be unremittingly hot. Yes, there could be a weird weather event in the middle of the summer even in Ireland, but it's unlike to last more than a day or two at its worst. You could run into week after week of unpleasant heat in a lot of the other countries on your list. That has happened to me, and it is draining even for an adult native of North Carolina who lives in Washington DC.

Example of what can happen even in central Europe surprisingly early in the year: Budapest had temperatures in the low 80s early in May 2018.

For exploring how bad (or good) the weather may be in places you're interested in, I recommend spending some quality time on the website timeanddate.com. It has actual, daily historical weather data for many places around the world. In fact, it has weather conditions for several times each day. For most places the statistics go back ten years. Daily data is far better than monthly averages, obviously. In addition, there are averages floating around that cover a period ending in 2010. Any bets on whether the weather has gotten better or worse since 2010?

Their reaction to hot weather will depend on where they live now. Where I live, we call low 80's in May "spring".

Ibuprofen is often a lot more expensive than it is here.

Where are you buying your Ibuprofen? In the UK a pack of eight capsules from a supermarket costs on average £1.90 ($2.45). I don't recall buying it anywhere else in Europe as I always travel with a supply of essential medical items but I'd struggle to see if it was significantly more expensive elsewhere. Perhaps I need to be warned in advance!

JC “here” is the US. This is a US based forum. “Here” you can buy a bottle of 100 Ibuprofen under a brand name (Advil) for around $8. Even less if you just select a generic brand via Amazon (500 tablets for $8.65us) or a large warehouse store such as Costco.

500 for $8.65. US
8 for $2.45. UK

Yeah I call that a substantial price difference..

Vitamins may also be cheaper in US-we used to take them with us to give to people we saw at medical clinics in Guatemala.

due to accidental or intentional harm/self-harm it is not possible to buy pain relief in big bottles here in the UK or the rest of the EU.

If you want generic it is available at places like ALDI or LIDL for the usual box of 8 for £0.21 or £0.16 in the UK.

In the UK the price posted is what you pay - no added sales tax. Any taxes are rolled into the price on the shelf.

That's cheap enough for me.

One thing we do have working for us is that there is a distinct possibility we may end the trip in Switzerland where my wife's company has offered her relocation.

I can partially answer that question. If your wife has a company that is prepared to offer her a job in Switzerland, then that company is responsible for getting your wife a work permit (Aufenthaltsbewilligung). Applications will also have to be made for dependents - spouse (you) and 2 children. This all has to be done before you enter Switzerland.
When you enter Switzerland you then register at the Gemeinde (city/town/village) where you will be living, and get an Ausländerausweis (foreigner's ID card).

Let me make one thing clear - This makes you Swiss residents - some posters do not seam to appreciate that getting a resident's visa has implications. You need an address when you register. You need to inform the Gemeinde when you move. You need to pay income tax there (and hopefully no longer pay in your original country). You need to get local Health Insurance. Your children may need to go to school (not if the oldest is only 3½).
If you stay over 12 months you need to get a Swiss driving licence, which may require a driving test.
As an immigrant, you may need to take language lessons (legal requirement, click here).
You are only allowed to stay as long as your wife is employed by the company that got her the work permit.
You, as dependent, are not allowed to work.

In visiting other Schengen countries you are still limited to "90 days in any 180". That is somewhat difficult to enforce, as it is legal to drive, take a train, or walk across the border wherever and whenever you want without being checked, but the restriction still applies. If you try to stay in another country for more than 90 days, they may notice.

The Postal Service will hold mail for only 30 days. Forwarding service (to a friend or relative remaining in the US) would be an alternative but is fairly costly.

The US postal service does not charge anything for forwarding mail elsewhere in the US. They do this free for first-class mail up to 11 months. It's just 30 days for magazines.

That's if you are moving permanently. I'm talking about a temporary forward during a vacation that happens to be longer than 30 days. The service is called "Premium Forwarding Service Residential" and is described here: https://about.usps.com/notices/not616/not616_002.htm. You need to have someone willing to accept and store your mail for you, though. The service costs about $21 per week, and the one-time registration fee is about the same.

Our first trip to Europe was in 2017. We departed Florida at the beginning of April and returned shortly before Thanksgiving. While our circumstances are different, as in just the two of us and no children, perhaps it would be useful to you if I (Donna) tell you some about how we went about planning it.

Please read our portfolio so some of what I say makes more sense. I’ll wait. 😉

We are retired and have been traveling around North America for several years. We put our RV, in which we live full time, into storage. Having downsized into the RV while selling the house, may I say here that moving out of your house will likely be far more stressful than you think, so please be kind to yourselves and leave plenty of time to do so, as well as to plan where you’re going upon your return.

We figured we’d just do a good old-fashioned tour of the continent, so to speak. Now, I had never really seen any information about the Schengen Zone in any of Rick’s books. I read about it here, thank goodness. The good people here were wonderful and helped me to understand the rules and thus I was able to draft a Schengen compliant plan.
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/general-europe/schengen-clarification-please I’m old school, I actually counted on paper, on my fingers, in my dreams, backward and forward and from the middle, and then finally ran it through this calculator. https://schengen-calculator.com/visits

Each of us had a list of places and/or events that were important. We compiled an A list, because although it was intended to be the first of multiple trips, one never knows. Some had to do with desired length of stay in a few places, some were tied to specific event dates.

Once upon a time there was a little boy who thought taking a transatlantic cruise to Europe would just be the coolest thing. So that’s where we started, fulfilling that childhood dream and sailing from Ft. Lauderdale to Rotterdam. The cruise was chosen to get us to one of those A list destinations, Keukenhof Gardens, tops on my list, which is only open for a short time in the spring. Said little boy decided he also wanted to return home on another transatlantic cruise as well. Transatlantic cruises in spring and fall are repositioning cruises, and are pretty cost effective. Beginning and ending timing settled. Should that interest you, start here. https://www.cruisetransatlantic.com/cruises.html

We rarely travel quickly, preferring to take our time. If there are two things in a place, we stay several nights. A good day is obtaining groceries and going for a nice walk. Nothing more is needed. Sometimes you get sick as well, so extra time in a given place isn’t necessarily a bad thing. We do take Rick’s advice about planning a vacation from your vacation. Planned downtime is especially important the longer the trip. In this case, several periods of downtime were wise.

On that list was a month each in Paris and London, two larger blocks of time. We opted to do a portion of our 90 out of 180 Schengen days “in” and then head to Britain for our 90+ “out”. We made this choice for several reasons. Summer seemed to be the best choice with respect to weather in Britain, that month in London was desired, and we wanted to attend some of the August events in Edinburgh. We were in Britain from mid-June through mid-September. Shoulder season weather was preferable for other locations, such as Italy. The return cruise departed from Barcelona, allowing us time in Spain in the autumn. We had thoughts, but did not have all our decisions made before we left Florida.

Continued.....

We have never been desirous of eating all our meals out, preferring for several reasons to cook the majority of them. Thus we get accommodations with kitchens as well as at least a washing machine. I assume that with two small children this would be the case for you as well. Location criteria include, in no particular order, proximity to grocery stores and farmers markets, as we’re carrying it all home, access to public transportation and/or sights, a nice place to walk that might be along a river. Perhaps your list might also include public parks/playgrounds where your children might find playmates.

I have a paper calendar that goes in my backpack (old school) on which I track what we did on any given day. This calendar also includes information about tickets that we have yet to purchase, as it’s not time to do so. For example, the note to reserve a time at the Alhambra when those times became available for booking.

Since moving into the RV, we have used a mail forwarding service, as we have no permanent physical address and can use theirs. They will send us an e-mail notifying us about mail. They will, upon request, open and scan it so we know what it is and if it requires attention. We pay bills electronically, mostly that’s just the credit card.

I found Rome2Rio to be useful for initial planning thoughts. Just initial planning though, as it’s not always the most accurate or complete. Still, it allowed me to plan general routing. Then you get more specific, such as airline and train websites, some of which are discussed upthread.

Understand that you will make mistakes. You’re human. Happy planning.

I'm talking about a temporary forward during a vacation that happens to be longer than 30 days.

For 10 years I have had my mail forwarded temporarily for 4 months FOR FREE by the US postal service. I just double checked: They do this for a temporary move of up to 12 months, not 11 as I said. Most people will have no need to pay for a premium forwarding service, which sends the mail Priority.