Family Adventure in Europe

First of all, good for you for being willing to give your children this wonderful experience. It's very expensive. I know... Unfortunately, there isn't enough information here for anyone to give you much advice. You need to narrow your parameters a bit. Europe is a big place with many very different pockets of interest. Obviously you cannot see them all in two weeks, so you need to choose a geographical area smaller than "Europe". Once you've done that, you need to think a little harder about what your interests are. Most people in your situation try to string together big-name city after big-name city for the entire trip. That's not conducive to "adventure and outdoor activities." Cities are for urban bustle, grand monuments, great museums, shopping and people watching. Does that interest you much, or would you rather experience nature and sweat? There are plenty of great outdoor, rural experiences to be had, but that's not easy to do in a trip as short as yours unless you spend very little time in cities at all. There are plenty of people who cobble together good trips with some variety in a 2-week time frame. but in doing so they will almost certainly have to stay in one SMALL geographical area - like one country, or something close to that. Maybe you could help us out a little?

Before booking your tickets, look at an open jaw plan (flying to one city and back from another city). Websites like Kayak call it a multi-city flight. It will save backtracking to the original destination to leave.

Two weeks, five people,, if budget or sanity is a concern then stick to one or two countries. France(Paris) and Switzerland maybe,, do some shopping , dining, see some world class museums,, then rent a car and drive to the Alps and do some hiking perhaps? Theres actually tons of combos,, but guess my main point would be to keep it simple, a few major centers. The more you travel the more expensive the trip gets,, as it is you will need two hotel rooms and the biggest rental car you can get your hands on( the regular cars are so small) Sorry other then biking and hiking,, both of which are popular in many countries in Europe ,, I don't think of Europe as a huge outdoor adventure destination.

"Our family tends to like both adventure and outdoor activities". Please define what mean by these terms and perhaps we can help you narrow down on some ideas. "while also not letting costs get out of control." If by outdoor activities you are considering the Alps... stay away from Switzerland, which although beautiful, is shockingly expensive. For cheaper prices plus ease of transporting 5 people, consider the Bavarian or French Alps.

For fun and adventure, consider going white water rafting, kayaking, or canyoning. If that sounds too strenous, then how about a day in one of the many "Fun Forests" that seem to dot the landscape of many countries. Zip lines galore and enjoyable for the whole family.

Thanks for the replies so far, everyone! We have thought that visiting 1-3 countries would be good. Depending upon ease of getting between these countries, we'd be open to flying or other transportation. Paris has looked like a good possibility because of the ease of getting to from our home airport (Chicago) and some of the landmarks to see there. (although that is definitely not set in stone) Along those lines - seeing some of the historic landmarks of wherever we visit is important. At the same time, though, we want to mix that up too - as too many museums and our kids will be going stir crazy. White water rafting, zip lining, and hiking all sound like really good options for our family - and after reading the replies, I like the sound of any of that, plus visiting the Alps. The other thing that could be fun would be to see some type of sporting event, too.

Fantastic of you to introduce your kids to Europe when they are at such an impressionable age. I'm still trying to get my nieces and nephews over here. I tend to agree with those who are advising that you don't try to squeeze too much into 2 weeks. With that in mind, here is my two cents regarding a suggested itinerary: Fly to Paris. Long weekend in Paris. High speed train to Avignon. Rental car to an inexpensive rental house (a gite) in a cute village in Provence. One week at rental house with day trips to Nice, Marseille, Aix-en-Provence, etc. Depending on the village you select as your base, there will be many opportunities for outdoor activities. Hiking, exploring hilltop ruins, swimming, etc. After your week is finished, spend a day in Avignon and then TGV back to Paris. Final day or 2 in Paris before flying back to the States.
Whatever you decide, have a great trip!

We enjoyed canoeing through the Tarn River Gorge in southern France. Maybe something like that would appeal to your family?

Lance, one of our daughters and I had a fabulous 2 week trip in November, 2010--actually all our trips are fabulous! We spent several nights in Paris (we try to get to Paris every year) then did a self-guided walking/hiking tour of Provence through discoverfrance.com. The fantastic hotels, the car transfer between a few towns, a 3-star michelin dinner, a gps with suggested hikes between the villages was all pre-arranged by discoverfrance.
After our 7-day tour we then had a couple of nights in Bayeux and did a mini-bus tour of the Normandy Beaches, then back to Paris for a couple of nights before our return home. Have fun planning!

It looks like you are starting to get your head around pulling in the reins a little. As said above, Europe is a big place. Have a look at http://goeurope.about.com/od/europeanmaps/l/bl-country-size-comparison-map.htm and you will see that if you put the tip of Italy at the tip of Florida you run out of United States way before you run out of Scandinavia. You also don't run out of Europe going west until well into New Mexico. You can find zip lining, horseback riding, camping, white water rafting in all the European countries that I can think off except perhaps Monaco and Lichtenstein. You could base yourself somewhere like the Ardennes or Black Forest or Scottish Highlands or other German, Austrian or Swiss valleys and have adventures every day without relocating. What I would strongly suggest is watching a passel of RS videos, on YouTube, Hulu or ITunes and seeing which places catch your eye. Run them past the rest of the horde and see which wins. Then plan a trip around that area and look for the adrenalin builders around there. See if you can turn 2 weeks into the adventure of a lifetime. Come back to us with all sorts of questions along the way, but try and get something for us to get our teeth into. Happy planning. Looks like we have a month to pull this off. Counting down...

Ok Lance, I'm just taking a shot in the dark here, but given the limited information you have provided, here is one (of many) suggestion of what I would consider a good 2-week trip; 1) Fly into Paris. Stay for a week in an apartment rental (lots of information here for how to do that - it will cut your lodging and eating costs in HALF and give you twice as much room). Take a day trip to Versailles and perhaps one other nearby location to get a tiny taste of rural France. Our family of 5 did this in 2009 and costs for apartment + food (making our own) was $185/day. 2) Take the overnight train to Munich, Germany (buy 90 days ahead to get the best price - currently around $350, but that's also your night's accommodations - consider it part of your "European experience" - the kids will love it) 3) Spend all day in Munich (the train arrives at 7AM) then at about 4PM, get a rental car and drive the hour to Salzburg where you stay 2 nights. (continued...)

(continued) 4) The one full day you have in Salzburg you spend seeing the town - maybe a Sound Of Music tour, maybe not. The next day you will drive to Füssen to see Neuschwanstein, but on the way you spend some time seeing Hitler's "Eagles Nest" just outside of Salzburg (high in the mountains - amazing view) 5) In Füssen (or nearby Schwangau) you rent an apartment for 5 nights (again saving a ton of money) and spend one day seeing the castles and the other days hiking in the alps (or other adrenaline-producing activities you can find. 6) Drive back to Munich, drop car and fly home That's 16 nights (the first being overnight on the flight over). Two countries. Two languages. Two very different types of experiences (big romantic city & scenic mountains), but both lasting long enough to really let the experience sink in and create lasting memories. There is only one significant transition - the night train, which is the most efficient way to move without losing time. The driving is scenic and easy with only modest distances involved. Since time in the car won't be great, you can get by with a mid-size 5-passenger car. Pack light & do some laundry at the rentals (yet another reason to use apartments). Our family of 5 stayed near Füssen for 5 nights in an apartment in 2010 and the cost for apartment and food (making our own) was $135/day for ALL OF US. We could see the castles from our balcony! Of course there are a dozen or more equally good (or better) packages you could put together, but I like this one because of the balance between seeming to do a lot, while in fact keeping the itinerary very simple and low-stress AND keeping the cost for a family like yours to a minimum. PM me if you have further questions...

Really appreciate all the great and informative replies. Paris looks like a good place to fly into from Chicago - with lots of flexibility in dates and times - for us. I'm really liking the idea of that - and then venturing into either Italy or Germany from there (thanks for the great info on both of these possible itineraries!). Seeing the Alps would be a great experience. As would, seeing some of the castles, historical areas from WWII, and the city of Paris. Any info on the train system would also be very much appreciated. And - is it difficult renting a car? We would probably mix it up with where we stayed - a few nights at hotels, and then it would also be nice to rent an apt/house for part of the time too. We've done this before here in the states - using vrbo. Are there other places for doing these rentals in Europe, or is that a good place for this, too? Thanks again!!

Lance Good to be taking the kids to Europe! FYI Come up with a plan on how to get the teens up in the morning! From your posts, it seems like you may need a primer on traveling in Europe with your questions on trains and rental cars. Buy Europe Through the Back Door by Rick Steves to give you the overview you need. Also, know that with what amounts to 5 adult size people, you will need 2 hotel rooms, a family hotel room, apartment, or etc. Family rooms are uncommon and should be booked as soon as you have finalized your itineray. In Europe, the price of the hotel room is based on the number of people in the room. But it doesn't matter cuz the rooms will be very small and don't have room for 2 double/queen size beds! See one of the previous threads for a thorough discussion on this topic. Good luck on your travel planning! Bobbie

Thanks for the book recommendation, Bobbie - we'll definitely check it out!!

Our first family trip to Europe was a number of years ago when our sons were 17 and 14. We had 4 weeks and travelled through parts of France, Germany, Austria and Switzerland. We tried to balance indoor and outdoor time, city and rural and do things in keeping with Europe's culture, history and scenery. Some favourite activities include: Castles--Neuschwanstein but more fun was Rheinfels (ruins), biking in Salzburg, luging, hiking in the Alps, Saltmine tour, eating Schnitzel (our teenage boys loved the huge portions). I, too, wanted this trip to be memorable for our kids. Apparently, it was as the travel bug bit hard. Since then they have travelled independently again to Europe but also places like Vietnam, Morocco, Australia, Ecuador, Guatemala and so on. Hoping that your trip proves to be memorable as well for your family.

"I'm really liking the idea of (Paris) - and then venturing into either Italy or Germany from there... Seeing the Alps would be a great experience. As would, seeing some of the castles, historical areas from WWII, and the city of Paris." From Paris, it's just 3 hours by train to Trier, Germany, on the Mosel River. You'll find lots of genuine castles that are 800-1,000 years old there and on the nearby Rhine. www.burg-eltz.de www.burg-cochem.de www.marksburg.de This castle/hostel has family rooms: www.jugendherberge.de/en/hostels/search/portrait/jh.jsp?IDJH=390 This whole area is ripe with biking and hiking opportunities.
www.rheinsteig.de/en Apartments in the area are numerous and reasonable; I've rented some places that come equipped with bikes. After a few days here, you might head south to the Black Forest or to Lake Constance, which borders on Germany, Switzerland and Austria - lots of water sports, biking and hiking here too: www.myswitzerland.com/en/lake-constance.html

Russ and Pauline,
Thanks for the great info you both provided! The thoughts on the castles definitely have piqued our interest in these!! Right now, our thoughts are leaning toward France and then either Italy or Germany (and their surrounding areas).

A thread that was resurrected from the lost files. This family returned over a year ago. It would be interesting to know why the person who dug up this post would recommend where to go to people who've already been.

Bests me. I don't even know how many pages you would have to scroll back to even find these old threads.

They are encouraging people to "search" before they post, so maybe they search and then don't look at the dates and just assume that it's a current topic. I find myself continuously reading threads and not noticing till near the bottom that I was reading comments from 2012 or earlier. Deja vu all over again.