Euro Trip with kids - April

Could you please specify "that exposes the kids to as many areas as possible."? Is this what they want?

It sounds a bit like starting a country hopping career but is this the best way for the kids to travel and / or first-touching a culture? No depth? What shall they answer when asked about the difference of Switzerland and Austria ("give our kids a taste of several locations")? Futhermore I only see cities / towns and no nature parks, no rural regions or real coastal area or town such as Copenhagen or Hamburg; Amsterdam is rear-coastal to me. I also miss the fun factor for the kids - in your itinerary they are not mentioned once; nor a destination for them.

"a place to stay to get a basic feel for Austria": One thing to know: European countries are not as homogenous as it sounds. Regional cultures are very strong. So two days in Salzburg are just two days in Salzburg, not in Austria. And from 3 days you want to spend one day in Munich??? For country hopping just visiting Berchtesgarden would be enough that the kids know whole Germany from now on.

For kids I would re-think what the journey may bring for them - in this age most teens are not fans of much fast-paced traveling, HoHo tours or museums.

So much for what I noticed - and this is my nicest way to give feedback on this plan.

Are you flying home from Amsterdam? Hopefully you have booked open jaw tickets so you are not backtracking to London.

London is a fantastic city and a great one with activities of interest to kids - is there a reason to bypass it? I personally would not arrive and immediately depart, especially with two kids in tow and after a long overnight flight. I'd suggest at least two nights (your arrival day and one more) before moving on to Paris via Eurostar. BTW book those train tickets as soon as they are available, they only get more expensive the closer you get to your travel dates.

As for the rest of the itinerary, IMHO you'll be exposing your kids to the inside of trains and planes for a good chunk of your trip and not really seeing places in Europe. If that's their jam then go for it. Just know you will lose about a half day to travel every time you move locations, which for a two week trip adds up pretty fast. I personally would cut the list down to three cities (London, Paris, Amsterdam) with day trips.

Please rethink your itinerary and slow down just a little.

The first day you arrive you want to immediately get a train to Paris, walk around, then take a train in the evening to Switzerland. With jet lag, luggage, tired children, and timelines for trains I don’t see how it is physically possible.
Why not stay a few days in London. There is plenty for the children to see and do and enjoy and get over jet lag.
If I am adding the days up correctly, your trip will be around 12-14 days? You could easily do London, Paris, and Amsterdam - easy connections via Eurostar. You could day trips outside of the cities.
Do don’t mention where you are flying home from, did you decide yet. Look at flying home from the last city you visit.

I understand your concern and appreciate the feedback Mark. This may be the only European trip we take with them as children so wanted to give them a taste of as many locations as possible. I understand if that is not for everyone but it's something we like to do.
Once we decide on the travel we will decide on the itinerary. We will do the top sites in the areas we visit and mix in activities like hiking and key museums.

What an incredible adventure you are planning! But I agree with MarkK, because I believe you aren't correctly estimating travel times or factoring in delays. You came to the Forum (welcome!) seeking advice from experienced travelers- I have received so much guidance here I feel responsible to "pay it forward".
For example:
* We also want to do a day trip to Munich while in Austria, any ideas on best way to get there.*
I recently used the train between these two cities. What I thought was an easy 2 and 1/2 hour trip (per Rome2Rio and Google Maps) ended up almost twice that. You need time to get to (and from) the stations and then due to construction (or something!) we were taken off the train short of Salzburg and transferred to a bus. Etc.
Renting a car would give you more control, but then there's parking and additional expenses.
We will do the top sites in the areas we visit and mix in activities like hiking and key museums.
I don't think it's physically possible get to a "top" site, hike or museums with the logistics of transportation. You mention planes or trains, but? In the US your road trips have been by car on familiar ground, literally. Once you start using public transport there are going to be at least some delays.
I wonder with your goal of maximizing time if a mostly rail trip could help, including overnights, so you wake up in a new destination- just a quick search:
https://www.vacationsbyrail.com/tours/highlights-of-europe-london-paris-switzerland-italy/#EEG25
Lastly, what are your kids' passions or interests? Art? Castles? Fashion? That should drive the itinerary.
You will all have so much fun planning in the months ahead!

We fly in and out of London. We have another trip to London planned with extended family the following year, so avoiding spending any time there for this trip.

I understand if that is not for everyone but it's something we like to do.

And "we" is who? Or is it just you? Did you ask your kids if they have something in Europe they want to see or experience?

Did you already book airline tickets? I don't know why you are using that as your entry and exit location. Is there a chance to change your flights to perhaps Paris and home from say Amsterdam? Your first day seems exhausting just getting from Heathrow after immigration which may take a while then a several hour wait at St. Pancreas then train to Paris then to hotel.

How many nights will you sleep in Europe? You want to spend arrival day settling in at the furthest destination you are visiting, not sight-seeing. Skip the places you’ve already been. Your kids have their entire life to visit Paris.
The best of Switzerland (CH) is the Lauterbrunnen Valley and requires a minimum of five nights. April is not the best month to visit the valley so remove CH from your list. Unless your kids are learning how to ski there is no need to visit Liechtenstein which is not a must-see.
From London fly nonstop to Munich and sleep there. Salzburg is an easy day trip from Munich by direct train (2h). There are direct trains from Munich’s Hbf (central station) to Prague taking 5h 45.
You can take an overnight train from Prague to Amsterdam. Make sure you rent a sleeper car so you have beds to sleep in (12h 30m) or you can fly nonstop from Prague to Amsterdam.
There are no direct trains from Amsterdam to London but I imagine there are nonstop flights.

Little confused. You say only trip to Europe & then say going to London on another trip? We have traveled to Europe with our kids starting when our kids were 10 & 14. We did Rick Steves tours.

To keep teens and preteens happy we found they need some down time. You are moving so much on this tour and it sounds like using public transport you will spend more time traveling then seeing anything. On a tour you have transport.

I would not underestimate the time it takes to travel. It is a min of half a day each time. You asked for suggestions. I would cut out half of these places. The weather could be iffy too. Enjoy. We found our kids enjoyed so many of the little things that we might have missed

We took our three kids at around this age. A week in Paris and a week in UK. Mostly London and some friends in the Midlands. Each remembers the trip differnelty 30 years on.

IMO you are doing way to much for even a taste. If you are committed to you original itinerary, you will be spending lots of time on trains or planes to move from city-to-city.

Curious as to why no time in London at all. Don't know what books or movies your kids may have expereinced, yet I imagine they will be more familiar with Buckingham Palace, Mary Popins or a Christmas Carol than a medievil Czech castle or bridge.

What will you do with your luggage while you take a peek at Paris? How much time do you factor in for meals? Even when I traveled as a young and hardy adult, these plans sound like a European trip spent mostly on a train or plane or visit to an airport? I have done dozens of road trips in the US, with my family, and they were easy because the kids could sleep in the car if they were tired while the grown-ups drove. We could stop here and there to visit a sight or do an activity, as well as stay somewhere for 1-5 days, depending on where we were. It wouldn't work that way in Europe. Perhaps you are underestimating distances between places? For example, your late night travel between Paris and Zurich would possibly get you there in the middle of the night. Then getting to your lodgings and checking in at that time would require you, IMO, to stay at a big chain hotel which might allow for checking in at 3 a.m. If you could get a sleeper train it could work, but they are not that common.

I guess my main concern is that you haven't factored in distances, travel time (and not just time in the train, but checking out of lodging, getting to the station/airport, getting to new lodging, checking in). And, as is often mentioned on the forum, please count nights, not days, to get a better picture of your trip. Two nights give you one full day in a place, not 2 full days. (e.g., night 1 in Paris, nights 2,3,4 and 5 in Switzerland-to account for 3 days there, time to Zurich from Salzburg is a MINIMUM of 5 and a half hours, so nights 6,7,8 and 9 - to account for 3 days there, nights 10, 11 and 12 in Prague to account for 2 days there, then nights 13, 14 and 15 to give you 2 full days in Amsterdam. Day 16, fly or train to London for flight home on day 17. Travel time definitely doesn't work the same in Europe as it works in a US road trip.
If you do decide on this plan, I suggest Vienna over Salzburg (my personal opinion), and skipping a day trip to Munich. It is just too far for a day trip. If you choose Salzburg, then Munich as a day trip is possible. It would take just under 2 hours train travel (on the rails) time.

I'm sorry to sound like a Debbie Downer, but please, please, look at distances and travel times. With your original plan, I fear that your kids will not be exposed to the countries you visit as much as being exposed to the trains therein. Pick three cities and spend 4-5 days in each so they will get to know a country in at least some depth. (And I speak as an 80 year old who has done many, many road trips, with and without kids, in more than 20 states and traveled in several countries, 14 in Europe, with and without kids.) You don't want to just dip your toes in a country to check off a box.

Since this is the kid's first trip, get them really involved in the planning of where to go and what to see and do. Not saying the inmates should run the asylum, but the more skin they have in the game, the less chance of having unhapy campers, and the better the trip will be for the entire family. They might surprise you with what holds an interest for them.

Also remember that everytime you change locations you will lose at least 3/4 of a day. It's not just the actual travel time, it's also packing up, checking out, getting to the train station, getting to the new hotel, checking in, and perhaps doing some unpacking. Don't mean to rain on your parade, just offering food for thought.

Your first day is the makings of a disaster. If your incoming flight is canceled or delayed, you'll arrived exhausted with kids who have not experienced jet lag. One of our flights was canceled and not rescheduled for 24 hrs. If that happened to you all you'd lose the money spent on train tickets.
I can't imagine flying in and out of London is cheaper when factoring in the transportation into and out of the UK.
Perhaps use Google Flights to explore multi-city fares around Europe, and set up price alerts.
You be in Europe at Easter, April 20, which means extra crowding.
You'll also be there during peak tulip season in the Netherlands, which is an unforgettable experience.
What are the kids interested in? Are they morning teens ? Your proposed itinerary requires the teens to be up and out early most days. Does this work at home?
Like all the above, I'm agreeing that you'll be experiencing more of the inside of trains than European culture. Please consider the above advice and slow down.
Best wishes!

I took each kid to Europe at 11 years old. Two started in London where we stayed 4-5 nights. Since your kids are coming back to London next year, sure, take transportation to the Eurostar and take the Eurostar to Paris. By the time you do that, I'm not sure you can even see a couple of things unless you stay one night. Maybe get a hotel, drop your bags, see something that evening, have dinner and see something the next morning before you head to Switzerland. We stayed in Paris much longer because I was a French major who studied in Paris and we wanted to see a lot. One child loved the Louvre, all went to the top of the Eiffel tower, all went to Versailles (two on an all day bike tour from Paris), all went to the Rodin Museum and the Musee d'orsay. All got a day to visit some of my old friend and their kids. All saw Notre Dame, etc... There are bike tours in Paris as well - very fun - boat rides on the Seine, etc...

For my kids, from Paris we took the train to Lauterbrunnen. With one, we saw Chateau de Chillon on lake Geneva on the way. Getting from Paris to Lauterbrunnen by train, changing in Geneva, Bern and Interlaken took most of the day, but you can make that Montreux stop on the way work. We did this back in the day when you could carry your back pack into some places, so we did, but it was a tiring day. We spent 3-4 nights in Lauterbrunnen and from there rode high mountain lifts, hiked and rode a sommer rodelbahn - I believe that was in Grindelwald. Be sure to get the family pass for you kids if they are of an age to benefit - I've forgotten what the cut-off was for that. I had a 4 day swiss rail pass plus a family pass. The Ballenberg open air museum is also an interesting day from Lauterbrunnen..

From Lauterbrunnen, 2 of my kids chose austria. One went to salzburg and one to Vienna. Both were fine, but less memorable with kids than London, Paris, Lauterbrunnen and Munich. I say that as a person who loves Vienna with my husband, but I don't think my kids were as enthused. From Austria we went to Munich where we stayed 3 nights, at least. All three kids had a day trip to Neuschwanstein (ALL day) and all three really enjoyed the Mike's Bike tour of Munich where you ride out to the Englisher Garten and have a break in a Biergarten.

These trips were all done by train and were about 2 weeks and 3 days each. We stayed a few days in each location because it is just so hard to see things when you are carrying your bag (a backpack, but noticeable weight and they are really not permitted inside any facility, so you would always be trying to store them.)

I have taken the train from Bratislava to Prague and it's a fine train ride, but takes most of your day. Vienna would be similar. If you're in Salzburg, I'm sure you'd want to fly. But, I'd just drop Prague from this list and add more time to Munich and Amsterdam, then fly to Amsterdam. That will be direct and easy. But, Prague or Munich - you will want to fly to Amsterdam.

In Amsterdam, be sure to book Anne Frank tickets on time if that is something you want to experience. I would read the Diary of a Young girls with them before the trip to if you are going to tour the house.

Happy Planning!

Wow! You are getting roasted. Next step is confirming train schedules and building sn agenda "Leave Paris at 08:00 Arrive Zurich at 12:00", etc. Then if it works for you, have a blast!

Could you please specify "that exposes the kids to as many areas as
possible."? Is this what they want?

??? Naaaa, do what you think is best and don't worry.

Thanks Mr. E and all those providing feedback.

I'm sorry to join the dog pile, but I really think you need to reconsider - basically all of this. As others have said, the first day is a disaster waiting to happen. Three major European cities in less than 24 hours? I'm sorry to be blunt, but it's not going to be a fun start to the trip if that's what you try to do. I think you also need to consider building in some downtime. Last year, we went to London for 8 nights. We did a daytrip to Bath but otherwise stayed in the city; my kids were 10 and almost 8. They started strong, too - no jetlag, got off the plane, walked along the Southbank, stayed up til a decent hour. But man - by Day 6, we were starting to feel it. Add in all the travel you want to do and I foresee some crashes.

If you don't mind, would you answer a few of these questions? I think it could help us help you craft an itinerary that will be both feasible and enjoyable.
1) From where in the US (I presume) are you flying?
2) Why are you flying into London? As someone mentioned, once you factor in expenses to get OUT of London, plus the time spent getting from London to Paris, are you really saving all that much? Have you considered flying open-jaw? Why or why not?
3) What made you pick each of these places (Paris, Switzerland, Austria/Salzburg, Prague, Amsterdam)? What do you want to see there? Is there a museum that is a Must Visit? A castle? Do you just want to walk around? I'm especially interested in what you want to do in Prague, which, for me, is the least child-friendly of the place (I'll explain more below). And I say that as someone who LOVES Prague and can't wait to take my kids - when they are older.
4) What places have your children studied in school? Have they started learning a foreign language yet?
5) You mention that the kids "want to see a couple of sites" in Paris. Which sites? Why? What else have they said about the trip? I agree that it's good to get them involved. You'll make the ultimate decision, of course, but do get them involved. I was debating if we should do to Windsor or Hampton Court, so I showed my kids videos of both places - and they passed on both! They chose the HMS Belfast instead!

On Prague: I've been twice. Places I've visited: Castle Complex, Museum of Communism, Mucha Museum, Kafka Museum, walked around city/Charles Bridge, Puppet Show, BlackLight Show. Besides the Castle Complex - I'm not sure the others are going to hold much interest? Especially for the 10 year old. Again, really think about what you want to see in each place - but more than that, think if it's something your kids are going to find interesting/engaging.

I hope you listen to everyone's advice and really think about your trip.

Arrive London 6am depart for Paris via train

We would take a train late that evening to Switzerland, likely Zurich

So you'll arrive in Paris a bit after lunch and will leave around 18:00. And you expect to be able to see a few sights? You are being to ambitious here.

So, your goal on day one is to go to Switzerland and instead of flying to Switzerland you decided to make it an adventure (and reduce your carbon) by taking a train from London. But, hey, why not change trains in Paris and spend a few hours while at it. Not my style, but not crazy either. I suggest a good strolling lunch neighborhood with a view of the river and Euffel Tower.

Then do your Munich visit by train from Switzerland, then on to Salzburg for a night, then Vienna so you can take the train to Prague. Then fly to Amsterdam.

Personally I would swap Budapest for Prague.

On each of your stops it would be great to have a guide waiting to start the visit when you step off the train. Imagine you arrive Paris and there is a guide and a open top Citroen 2CV waiting for you. Kids would love it. You could do an open Soviet UAZ or a Trabant in Budapest ..... ehhhhh Prague.

As a starter option for kids getting known Europe in their way:
https://www.miniatur-wunderland.com/discover-wunderland/worlds/

Spend one day in this #1 attraction (voted by travelers) in Hamburg and they learn aout nearly a dozen country clishees.

Oh, and I would skip Amsterdam and use the time to stop at some in-between places on the rest of the route. But that's just me.

Markk, thank you. Kids? No, I want to go!

I really can't fix this one with the destinations as they are. Switzerland isn't great in April, as has already been noted.

Why not italy? Fly there from Paris for a few days. Florence?? End in Venice or Verona, and take a direct train across the Alps (about 5.5 hours to Munich from Verona across the Brenner pass.)

From Munich there are direct trains to Salzburg (1.5 hours) and direct trains to Prague (5.5 hours.)

(Direct trains better ensure timely arrival.)

I don't see much value in Amsterdam anymore, and it's a long trip by rail. Fly out of Munich or Prague.

April in Switzerland
https://www.kimkim.com/c/switzerland-in-april-travel-tips-weather-more

Having traveled to Europe the last two summers with grandkids, now 10 and 7, my experience would be like others have suggested and slow it down a bit. Your itinerary sounds like an episode of the Great Race. I might suggest you take a calendar page and plot out your itinerary showing your travel times (including adding time for getting to and from train stations and checking into hotels) so you can visualize how much time you will actually have in each location. I think coming from the US, people underestimate how large Europe really is. It really would be a shame if most of your time is spent getting from place to place. But with all that said, if this is how you have traveled in the past and it works for you, by all means go for it, everyone is different and have a great time.

I agree that it would be a good idea to really get this set out properly with travel times included. It usually takes longer to get anywhere than you think, and with so many moving parts you will hit delays at some point.

Eg, it’s a 90min flight from Prague to Amsterdam but you need to be there 2hrs before if you have checked bags, 90 mins of carry on. If it’s a budget airline you will possibly have to check your bag because of the size restrictions. Then you have travel time to and from the airport at each end. So a 90 min flight becomes a 5-6 hour journey very easily.

The pure practicality of arriving in London at 6am, thence to Paris and Switzerland, assuming you don't have jet lag and your flights arrive on time is (both huge assumptions)-
arrive 6am, say 1 hour to retrieve checked bags and go through immigration, then freshen up is, you are leaving the airport at around 7.30am, so travelling into London in the main morning commuter peak.
However you do that- train/express bus/tube/"taxi"/limo you need to allow a base one hour. So arriving at St Pancras at very best at around 8.30am.

It is then a 90 minute check in for Eurostar.

So a train no earlier than 10am. The next train is at 1031, arriving Paris at 2pm (due to the 1 hour time difference). Everything so far has had to go like clockwork. I would say the next train an hour later to give a bit of breathing space, for things running a tiny bit not in your favour.

So you arrive Paris at 3pm and have to change stations, and sightsee. The next and last train of the day to Zurich is at 6.22 pm from the Gare de Lyon. I think you have at best 2 hours sightseeing and need to stash your bags somewhere in between- you could be down to 1 hour to sightsee.

There doesn't seem to be a night train. Even if there was, I travel solo and am used to pushing myself very hard to the absolute limit when travelling but even I would struggle to cope with a Transatlantic flight then a night train the next night. That is traveling without children.

The above are actual timings, and need everything to go like clockwork, also you have not fitted in lunch and dinner (breakfast fits in while waiting at St Pancras, hopefully). To my mind, even if you can make that all work, you choose between eating and sightseeing in Paris. Both you and (maybe, especially) the Children probably need to choose the former for everyone's physical health.

I know what you want to do, even why, but don't believe it can be accomplished without everyone starting their vacation exhausted.

Our family did this style of travel--a 10ish day trip covering Amsterdam, Paris, Heidelberg, Berlin. I was 15 for this trip, my sisters as young as 8. That is the speed we always traveled, so there is no reason not to do it. It's not everyone's style, but it was certainly our family's. If your family is used to it and up for it, plan accordingly.

Some thoughts from my travel at those ages: We were pleasantly surprised by the underground Paris sewer tour even at that age. Amsterdam was fun, but our guidebook walking tour did not mention that it took us through a red light area, which horrified my mother when my 8 year old sister asked why there were women in the windows in their underwear and didn't they want to close the curtains. My sister and I, teenagers, thought this was hysterical. We also visited Kinderdijk, with all its windmills. This was a hit.

I think in Salzburg or maybe in Switzerland staying at a farmhouse is a great way to go. We did this back when I was young (Salzburg area). From there we were able to enjoy the farm itself (mornings and evenings watching the farmer milk the cows, etc.) was fun, hiking, day trip into Salzburg and up to the Salzbergwerk Salt Mines / Berchtesgaden in Germany. I was 11 and loved all of it! We did have a vehicle for this trip as well.

If you are going to Munich, there is the added consideration of Dachau; it is not for all visitors, obviously, and you know your kids best and know what your future opportunities are regarding this type of site. You should know that Dachau is not Auschwitz. As it was an earlier camp and not an extermination camp, it was heavily occupied by political prisoners. So something to consider / research. Ten is young for that, but not necessarily too young depending on the kids. Alternatively in Munich there are all the White Rose sites, which might give an impression of that part of history without being quite so overwhelming. It's about young people, and the power of both education and of integrity in youth are a big part of the messaging. Another fun things for kids in Munich is the Eisbachwelle surfers and of course the devil's footprint in the main church.

Liechtenstein is hard to do without a car. SUPER pretty, though, and a cool thing for your kids to be able to say--who at their school has been to Liechtenstein?

My first time in Prague was when I was about 14 with my sister (my age) and best friend (Czech American), and we loved just walking through the squares and up to the castle and such. My friend did all the negotiating with the vendors, so that was fun. We did a lot of our exploring without adults on that trip (but my friend did know the city and speak the language).

Kids that age can absolutely love seeing the sites, learning the history, trying the food, experimenting with the language, etc. They often come with different eyes and different perspectives--why stare at the architecture when you can wonder at why they make parking signs the way they do?--that provide a neat insight into culture. And the pace is fine if your family is used to it. In fact, with kids that age faster is often better; they get bored sitting at a cafe watching the city go by while sipping a cappuccino.

Prague to Amsterdam I would fly. That said, I wonder if you might not sub Berlin for Amsterdam. It's a bit easier to access from Prague, and you make a better loop. Also, flying can be a time suck.

You will find your best way. No actual advice on any of your questions, but you know your family best; build your itinerary accordingly. You may find cutting something here to add there works for you (I would cut a day from Switzerland and add it to the Prague / Amsterdam portion since your experiences in Switzerland and Austria will likely be less diverse than those two cities, where you are also factoring in the travel in between). Oh, and be sure to check for local festivals / events / closures, particularly re: Easter.

For planning train journeys, you can't beat The Man in Seat 61 (seat61.com), and for flights, Skyscanner.com.
We (12yoa son and I) really liked Innsbruck. The funicular up to the mountain (it does run in April, but I have NO idea what it would be like up there then). Beautiful streets to wander. Very easy to get around. But Salzburg is the natural choice for a day trip to Munich, as far as I know.
Also, Lucerne is gorgeous and very worth visiting. The transportation museum is accessible by bus (or a long walk), and there is a mini golf next door if you're into that.