Europe with Kids

Hostels are a great way to go...you could take up a room of four beds for the three of you and still come out way ahead. Many hostels now offer private ensuites. Check hostels.com or similar websites to check rankings....they're usually a pretty good indicator. In Spain, you can also look for a class of small hotels called "hostals," basic, nice accommodations but inexpensive. And for those times when you think you'll need a break, check Accor hotels for rooms at their Ibis or Etap economy hotels. Accor is a French chain with hotels all over Europe....nice, but inexpensive. In many countries, three can stay in a room....in some, you may have to pay a small supplement. Both have ensuites. Go for it!

Jen, I don't have a lot of personal experience in this area, but I have been told that if you are a woman with a child in Italy then you will be treated like a queen by locals, especially in smaller towns.

Someone else have anything to add on that?

Eight is old enough to have a great experience. We have taken our children on multiple trips. One included my daughter's 8th birthday in Cinque Terra. She spoke no l'Italiano and many of the older woman spoke no English, yet she had long conversations. They figured out it was her birthday and bought her small gifts (hollow chocolate eggs with Cracker Jack type "prizes" in the middle).

Everywhere we went in Italy we were constantly complemented "bella Bambina". We stayed in a variety of Pensions, Hotels, Apartments and Hostels on the trip. Our children had their favorites (a castle hostel on the Rhine, a working farm hotel in Austria, an apartment in Venice) but were troopers through the entire trip.

Hostels often have family rooms. Others will put you in a room with no roommates. The Institute San Sebastian in Salzburg has a nice, and inexpensive set-up for families.

I am chiming in with two weeks should not equal 4 or 5 countries ,,most especially when travelling with an 8 yr old.
Pick tow countries and maybe two cities in each to conquer.. LOL
Some hostels are definately more "family orientated" others are well known as "party places" , I would find a forum for hostels and get the recommendations for some good hostels. Also keep in mind , a three bed room , which you pay for the four room ( for privacy) could cost very close to what a budget hotel would cost in some places.
Perhpas narrow down your iternary, post back with actual city names, and post budget, seems to be with your pound against the euro you may come out quite abit ahead. In many places you could find a room under 60-70 euros, which is what in pounds?

If Italy is a given I'd focus on Italy, Austria/Switzerland and maybe Southern Germany (for the castles, Neuschwanstein in particular. It's the original dream princess castle and you and your daughter will just love it!). Consider booking an open jaw ticket US to Rome or Milan and from Munich back to US. That'll save you valuable time.

Having taken some time to read some more of the very helpful posts on this topic and many more we've certainly narrowed down our expectations a bit!

We're currently at just doing 2 weeks in Italy, if anything as my initial plan of going through the South of France and ending in Barcelona started to push some of our comfortable travelling time limits.

At the moment we're on Naples to Rome then a few days on a farm a couple of hours outside of Rome and then north towards Florence or Pisa. I'd appreciate anyone thoughts between these 2 cities as it would definitely be an either/or situation.

Ideally we went want to end up in Venice for the last couple of days.

Best Wishes to you for bringing your daughter.
My husband and I took our 6 year old this summer. We wanted to see everything but tried to be realistic and ended up doing pretty well. I definitely suggest not changing locations more than once every two days. Single nights can be brutal.

We spent an entire week in Paris and found a small apartment to be convenient, cost-effective, and a unique cultural experience.

Italy and Venice are wonderful. We spent three nights in Venice and aside from lots of bug bites we loved every second. Tourist and locals seem to be more open to conversations when there is a kiddo along.

We had a very lengthly conversation with an older man in Torino one evening in a restaurant. He spoke Italian and French and I spoke English and High school French and we managed to get on quite well.

Pack light, pack light, pack light. We insisted our daughter carry her pack as much as possible and with souvenirs it quickly got heavy.