We will be getting off of a cruise in Barcelona June 2014 and will have 2-3 weeks to travel, with our final destination being Paris. The places I'd like to see are the Cinque Terre region, Venice and Jungfrau region in Switzerland, although I am open to other suggestions since it will be the 1st time in Europe. The cruise will have taken us to Rome, Naples, Florence, Cannes, Palma. I am torn between renting a car and driving so that we can take in all the sites or doing a combination of planes and trains to spend more time at the particular destinations. There will be 8 of us which includes our "children" ages 21 down to 13. Part of me would love to have the flexibility of a car and be able to enjoy the scenery along the way but there are the logistics of time gas prices, cost of likely having to rent 2 cars, finding places to stay for that many people etc. I'm not a fan of flying but I wondered if it would make more sense to fly to an area around Cinque Terre and train the rest of the way or would there be a better itinerary all together. Should we skip Cinque Terre and Venice since we'll have seen parts of Italy on the cruise? I am also intrigued with Bavaria and the Rhine but I know I need to try to limit the amount of places that I try to put into those few weeks. I'm looking for a mix of bigger cities with smaller areas that we can explore. Lots of questions, I know, but any guidance would be greatly appreciated.
Posted by
Sacramento, California U.S.A.
10257 posts
Kim,
Planning your first trip to Europe is an exciting, but sometimes confusing thing to do. First I will address the car question. With 8 people you would need 2 cars big enough to hold people and your luggage. I encourage you to pack as lightly as possible. A big issue with renting a car in one country and returning in another is there will be a very large charge for the ability to do that. In your case it is cars, times 2! Not to mention the price of fuel (expensive) and paying for the toll roads. Again, times 2. You will have to do the math, but flying and using trains, buying your tickets well in advance to get the best prices will probably be the most economical way to go. In certain areas you could rent cars for a few days if you are trying to get around regions not served well be public transportation. Cars are a liability in cities.
I know it seems like 2-3 weeks is a long time, but you would be surprised how fast the time will go. The more you move between locations the more time you waste in transit. First I would get a map of Europe and mark the places you are interested in seeing. Do they make sense to try to string them together? Going from Barcelona to Paris, if you aren't interested in going elsewhere in France you should fly to your first destination. I would probably skip Italy. You could easily combine Switzerland and Germany. Be forewarned that Switzerland is very expensive. I also would caution against staying in any place for only one night. Keep in mind that spending 2 nights somewhere only gives you one full day there. For some places that's enough time, but usually 3 nights or more would be better. It can save time to have a base to stay in and do easy day trips from there. Do you plan to spend time in Paris? I would plan a minimum of 4 nights there. More would be better.
Lodging will be another challenge for you. If you are somewhere at least a few days you might consider getting an apartment. With 8 people you would need 2-4 hotel rooms in each location. Hotels are reserved per person and typically have one large bed or 2 twins. You can't just cram people into a room like you can in the U.S. Some places will have a family room, but doubtfully anything that will sleep 8. I recommend coming up with an itinerary and looking for lodging ASAP!
Posted by
OP
Peoria, az, USA
3 posts
Andrea,
Thank you for your wealth of information. You have confirmed what was on the back of my mind- too much in too little time and way too expensive, and probably too frustrating, to rent cars for that many people. I think I was like many before me and just so excited to be going to Europe that I wanted to see and do as much as possible. Time for plan B...just not sure what that is.
I definitely want to spend time in Paris. I had planned on 4 nights but maybe I will add more there as I subtract the from the stops made in getting there. That is the one place that our 12 year old daughter (will be 13 when we travel) has on her "must do" list. I had hoped to take the cruise out of Rome instead of Barcelona but there are no openings. Rome put us in a better start off point post cruise for the places we wanted to see but, unfortunately, we are going to have to start from Barcelona. In your opinion, would it be feasible to visit Germany and Switzerland for a week or so and then Paris for a week? For Germany (Bavaria, Rhine, castles), would a car make sense there or still stick to trains etc. I sure appreciate any input. I don't want to drive my family crazy with poor planning. Thanks again.