Advice: how to plan a trip with/for a novice traveler

It's not clear to me - are you going with him, or are you turning him loose by himself? Two very different trips.

Regardless, for starters, I'd make sure he watches the entire series of Rick Steves "Travel Skills" videos (at least a couple times, taking notes).

thanks David, I left out that very important detail! I will be traveling with him, though he may head out on his own while we're there. I have the RS travel skills on DVD so that's a must :)

Have you consulted his parents? They generally have more insight into his level of maturity to handle and appreciate a trip like this.

I have taken my niece (through the recommendation of her parents) a 20 year old, 2 years in a row. She does a lot of my navigation with her smart phone I never need a map. I just have to make sure she does not oversleep.

I took my daughter when she was about 21 and she decided the countries and cities she wanted to see. Then we looked at them logistically on a map and set out a travel plan. The first thing I taught my daughter was not to waste time traveling from city to city because there is only so much time in a day and you really want to explore Europe and not travel through it. I would suggest logistical planning first.

It also solely depends on how long is the trip. Great gift to your nephew. Enjoy.

First, treat him like an adult. If it is his trip (even if you are going), let him plan it. Be in the same room as he looks at airfare, hotels, sites, transport so you can answer questions, but let him do it. When my daughter was 18, she and a friend flew into Paris and out of Rome. It was up to them to figure out the in-between. I was in the room as they planned and answered questions, etc. but they did it all. It was the hardest thing I ever had to do, but there comes a time when you need to let go of control, and let them grow up. Plus, it is so much easier now with everything on line anyway. Start him out with Europe Through the Back Door and go from there. My daughter and her friend arrived home, safe and sound, with learning experiences...while they are still the very best of friends, my daughter had to keep an eye on her friend so they never traveled together again...but my daughter lived in France and England for a total of 7 years in the end. Just let go.

I'd do a combination approach. Let him pick a couple of destinations, you refine it to something reasonable, then you both work out your daily itineraries.

I've been helping my SIL, her sis, the sister's dau and granddau plan a trip to Paris in July for the granddaughter's HS graduation. They invited me but yikes...I can't do Paris in July - might be too hot. Anyway...they booked their hotels at Thanksgiving working from a list I gave them as well as input from other friends. I'd look at the location and give a thumbs up/down. This last weekend we met up again and workout out an itinerary. The Granddau had a list, I modified some things and helped them with a framework. I'm pretty sure they will flex some when they are there but at least they have a start and have the basics down on which museums are closed on what days.

With your nephew, I'd start with a Europe map to look at where things are. Start with your time frame and suggest you refine things to 2 or 3 major sites. The Rick Steves Europe planning map is fairly good for big picture kinds of things. You also might have the RS tour catalog sent to him to give him some ideas but explain that on your own you can't move as fast as the tours do.

Travel skill? Light packing, sink wash.

Fun, fun, fun trip! Wow!

Pam

When I was 18, I spent 6 weeks in Europe (England, France, Belgium, Denmark and Sweden) with a friend, and our only preparation was a printed guidebook (probably "Let's Go: The Student Guide to Europe"), our return plane ticket, no reservations and the phone numbers of two distant relatives of mine in England. We figured everything out by ourselves, and it wasn't even that hard.

Someone who is 18 shouldn't be hovered over, should be allowed to plan his own trip and make his own discoveries.

I know many adults have a different attitude about hovering nowadays, but the cognitive capacity of 18-year-olds hasn't changed. Let the kid grow up and experience life for himself!

How about a trip this year to a major USA city where he’ll use public transit and can get a taste of urban life? Chicago, DC, or NYC would work.

YouTube will be his friend, and there are endless travel vlogs that will help and inspire him. There are vlogs that’ll teach him the basics of younger adult travel as well as general interest vlogs that will show him highlights of different European cities.

Does he have an idea of where he wants to go to college? For example, even though my university days are beyond me, I still follow FSU’s study abroad program on Instagram and there’s a lot of good travel advice for younger travelers along with wonderful photos of Europe.

Dale!! Go 'Noles! Did graduate school on one of their off-campus programs but dearly wished I had been able to do what was then called Jr Year Abroad!

--->Back to the topic at hand!

As a solo traveler myself, and a daily contributor to a solo travel forum, I see a big difference in the skills of this generation and mine. There is a herding mentality that I didn't experience - though not everyone is that way. It just seems that being confident in making a decision and actioning it all by yourself seems harder now.
When a new solo traveler asks for help with a global trip, we often recommend doing something close to home. Planning a weekend away without the help of his mates will go along way to preparing him for solo travel, or helping with planning his trip with you. As mentioned above, a major US city would give him closer to reality exposure. Maybe his folks would foot that bill, but if he isn't 18 at the time, it becomes more complicated for lodgings - keep that in mind.
I would also buy him a guide book - I like the Lonely Planet Europe on a Shoe string. Once he reads the front and back, he will know what needs to be decided upon or when on the road, what to take not of - and will cover all future travel for bullets to fill in regardless of country. It might also give him a feel of what country may appeal to him for this trip. Now, some might find it overwhelming as a starting point and if that might be the case, then buy him the country guide - please, not just Rick's.
As said, YouTube has any number of travel videos, and also airport, subway, train videos.
As you have a year for this, I would be tempted to set him tasks that you review together after he has had some time to work on it
-Decide on a destination (perhaps to start, find out what he wants to see, and if there is a favourite type of art or artist he likes. If too overwhelming, explain what cities carry the most of that art then let him think about it and decide).
- how to get there (google flights or https://matrix.itasoftware.com/ for wider range of flight options and non partisan planning). When reviewing this, discuss the pros and cons of using various websites. airline site vs a 3rd party site.
- transport from airport and in the city (you tube)
- good location for hotel (review safety, ease of access to transport, or walkability to sites)
- what to see?
- currency, electrical currency (perhaps discuss how to pay and access an atm)
- together, you'll want to decide how to communicate with each other if he goes off on his own
- look at seat61 and rome2rio for future tools
All that being said, is your relationship close and relaxed enough for him to give you a straight answer if you ask him....'do you want to learn how to plan travel, or just have someone else do it?' Travel planning doesn't interest everyone and as much as you want to guide him, he may not want to do it....

Travel planning doesn't interest everyone and as much as you want to guide him, he may not want to do it....

This is certainly true. Most folks I know have zero interest in any travel planning (would rather get a root canal), never mind actually enjoying it. Friends are amazed that I bother with all the things I invest time in. My spouse is glad I do but leaves most of the "work" to me.