Hi to you all We are a family of 5 (three boys ages 7,11,13) planning a trip (from New Zealand) to Europe and UK in May/June this year for about 8 weeks. Up to 5 of those weeks can be in Europe and we would really appreciate any suggestions with our itinerary. We will be travelling independently and on a limited bugdet. We are seeking and experience that will be enrich our family with culture and history primarily. We want to enjoy the "being there " and would rather have time to appreciate the things we do (and miss some things) than to see them all in a rush. Rome is on the "must do" list.
We had planned Milan/Florence/Tuscany/perhaps Cinque Terre/Venice/Rome - then Paris and perhaps Loire Valley. However we are having second thoughts this may be too much rush and also too expensive so now considering Coatia instead of France. Any suggestions or feedback really appreciated. Thank you! Tracey
Posted by
Ann Arbor, Mi
3696 posts
To help the budget it is definitely cheaper to go to Croatia than France... there are lots of great places to travel in the East as well that are beautiful and rival the west except in price.... Budapest, Krakow, Prague, Romania...they are all great places to visit. Also, depending on scheduling there is also Turkey.
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
1525 posts
Seeing Europe without going broke has more to do with HOW you do it than WHERE. For families like yours - particularly with a fair amount of time on your hands - the least expensive way to see Europe is to make brief visits to cities (consider staying in youth hostels or other unconventional low-cost lodgings) broken up by week-long stays in small town/rural areas in an apartment/cottage rental and seeing a wide area on day-trips by car, then returning "home" each night and cooking your meal. We spent a month in France and did not find it unusually expensive at all. But of that month, only our week-long apartment stay in Paris was urban. My congratulations to you and your family for embarking upon such a wonderful journey. Ours is a family just like yours with children of a similar age. you might be interested in our blogs; pre-2011; http://lee-reid2010.blogspot.com/ and 2011 onward (including last year's trip to NZ and Australia) http://lee-reidfamilytravels.blogspot.com/ Our upcoming trip this year is to Italy, so we have that in common as well. Send me a private message (click below my name to the left) if you would like to discuss itineraries or what it's like to travel with children. I loved New Zealand, but next time I visit won't be in June... :)
Posted by
Paradise
6929 posts
As Randy lets on, it really does matter "where" - rural France is often much cheaper than Paris. Same with rural vs. urban Italy - Venice, Florence and Rome can be ouch-pricey. Gites and apartments are generally a best bet financially and culturally - you can have a role in feeding yourselves that way, not all the time, but certainly it's part of the cultural experience to shop local markets and figure out what to do with the foodstuffs in your own kitchen now and then. And with kids, well, you know what they like better than the restaurants do.
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
1525 posts
Bump. (hopefully you can get a few more replies...)