Fisrt Trip To Europe

Tim, a lot depends on what your interests are, ages of your children, whether you plan to rent a car or will use public transportation, etc. However, as a first trip, you might want to choose a country with English as a first language or a widely used second language (although finding English-speaking people isn't really an issue anywhere in western Europe ). I really love the west of Ireland (which really requires a car), as well as Edinburgh, but your interests may be quiet different from mine. Renting an apartment/cottage can be a good way to keep expenses under control for a family, and it can be easier than hotels with small children. There are lots of folks on these boards who could make recommendations regarding vacation rentals.
Enjoy your explorations!

Tim, It would help to have a bit more information. For example: > What prompted your desire to travel to Europe? Is there a particular country, city or sight that you really want to see? > How long are you planning to travel? > When will this trip be taking place? > What kind of a budget are you working with? > How many in your family, and what are the ages of your children? As this is your first trip to Europe, I would highly recommend reading the Guidebook Europe Through The Back Door prior to your trip. Once you've decided where you'll be going, you can use the country-specific Guidebooks to plan touring, transportation, hotels, etc. Travel by train is usually the easiest and quickest way to get around in Europe. It will be easier to offer more specific advice on transportation once you've chosen which locations you'll be visiting. Good luck with your planning!

Tim, One other thought..... If you're not sure where you'd like to go in Europe, check your local PBS stations to see if Rick Steves Europe is broadcast in your area. Watching the programs is one method I use to decide on places I'd like to visit. You can also find short clips on You Tube and I believe also on Hulu (although I'm not able to access Hulu up here, so have never checked).

Tim, you mention you are African American. Is there anything particularly related to that you'd like to know - like how friendly is it for African Americans traveling in Europe....? I ask because my husband is African American and had some trepidations before we went to France for the first time, and maybe I could answer some specific questions. Just in general, I say start with what you like and go from there. If you are history buffs, you can tailor your trip accordingly? Like art history but not churches? Again, you can start from there. If you like adventure travel, or the outdoors, that's another way to slice it. Finally, if this is your first trip, you might want to consider starting with "The Big Stuff." So - London: the Tower of London, the London Eye, Harrod's, Buckingham Palace (changing of the guard). Or Paris: Eiffel Tower, cruise down the Seine, explore the Marais, walk the Champs Elysees, see the Louvre... once you get a flavor, you will know better what to aim for next time! As for budget... I recommend checking out either an apartment, or hosteling. If you plan to be in one place, renting an apartment can be a GREAT value. With a fridge and a stove you can make breakfast and lunch at "home" and save a BUNDLE on eating out. If you plan to travel around, check out hosteling. Clean and friendly and fun - and they generally have kitchens, so again, you can go food shopping at a super market, cook for yourself, and save a bunch of money.

Tim: I always like to recommend London and Paris as a great itinerary for first-timers, but you could easily add Amsterdam from Paris with a quick train change in Brussels. As for traveling on a budget, the one drawback to England is that your dollar is worth a lot less against the GBP compared to the Euro. So, your £100 room in London will cost you $158, while the same €100 room in Paris or Amsterdam will only cost $127. Sounds like Kira would be a great resource for any questions about traveling in Europe as an African American. The Netherlands must be the most tolerant country in Europe, so what James is saying makes a lot of sense. Happy travels!

You might want to go to another section of this web site: "Travel Store . DVDs/Blu-rays" to see a huge ion of
Rick Steves travel shows where you might see something that you might be interested in. You can order any of them thru this web site. I am about to go back to Europe for the 11 year now and only wish I would have started going there before I was 56 y/o. Do go and you will enjoy it. Happy travels.

Tim, with a family you may find renting an apartment a good budget friendly option,, especially in a city like Paris. Hotels there are hard to find that take more then 4 people in a room,, regardless of age, and even with only 3 or 4 its tougher( but there are some I know so if you decide to go hotel let us know). Five is almost impossible unless you go apartment. Apartments can save you alot of money by having breakfast in the room, in France breakfast is normally not included in room price.. plus with kids its nice to stock fridge with drinks and snacks. Also, what time of year are you planning on going,, many places are booked up by now for June,, at least the good budget picks,, and remember the Olympics are this summer in London, so for a few weeks hotels and aparments there will be full and expensive. More information from you will get more specific help from us!

I agree with all the other replies, particularly getting a copy of the most recent (2012) edition of Europe Through The Back Door, and looking at Rick's TV shows, either on Hulu or on a TV. The book has a small section on travelers of color, and there's also a Minority Traveler's page of the Graffiti Wall here: http://www.ricksteves.com/graffiti/graffiti15.html I'd also emphasize one of Kira's points. When you say "Europe," what does this connote to you? Castles, monuments like the Eiffel Tower or the Colosseum, Nazi history, gelato and other foods, beautiful countryside, quaint small towns, dynamic cities...the possibilities are endless. Which draw you? Figure that out, and start your trip from that point. You cannot see a whole continent, or anything more than a tiny part of it, on a single trip, so you'll need to focus. Lots of people will chime in with their favorites, but you should take the trip YOU want. I also want to repeat something I read in another context: "The plural of anecdote is not data." This means that you will read all kinds of individual stories of people who had no problems, and others who did. But that's all they are - individual experiences, not facts for all time. Some of them will say, for instance, "I went to Paris and had no problems - so this proves Paris is fine." Others will say, "I went to Paris and encountered racism - so this proves Paris is racist." Be careful of trying to generalize from one person's story - good or bad. Read from multiple sources to make up your own mind.

Well since I am white I can't really comment on what its like to be african american anywhere, but will add this, in London and Paris ( perhaps other places, I am just saying from my experiences ) there are tons and tons of ? ( can't call them african american,, since they are not american) people who are not white. So you won't stand out in that respect. They will still know you are an American tourist anyways.

Just to follow up on Ken's suggestion to watch RS' programs, you can click on "Rick on TV" on the blue banner at the top of this page, then go to his YouTube channel or to Hulu. (He's changed the way he's listed the shows on YouTube, and it's very confusing and messy now...my 2 cents.) Also, already mentioned, but DO read "Europe Through the Back Door" for lots of pratical tips. Lots of really good info there, esp. for first-timers! Packing, getting around, money, hotel strategies, planning itineraries, tips and tricks, and lots of other topics are in there (you'd think Ken and I get paid for touting "ETBD" LOL! You don't, do you, Ken?!?). These topics are also covered, but not nearly as in-depth, in his 3-part "Travel Skills" TV programs (also on Hulu/YouTube). How much time could you devote to a trip? When might you be going? How many people - and their ages - would be going? Are there locations that you already know you want to visit? ***Say 'hi' to my friend Helen for me! She lives in Alpharetta, too; I'm sure you know her ;-)

As others have said, there is no best trip to suit all and most of us look back on trips and given the chance would perhaps do it differently. I think the most common mistake people make (and I definately include myself in this category in the past) is to try to see too much in too short a time. It is a long way, expensive and you have few precious vacation days. Europe also looks small - to an American or (as I am) Australian. It is not. You need to consider the time of the year you are travelling - summer you will have long days, winter not, the length of your time on the ground in Europe, the time it will take to get from A to B, your interests, the age and energy levels of your children etc. I would also recommend you choose an apartment over a hotel if possible - greater freedom to relax, you can save a lot of money by having some meals and drinks at home, to do laundry etc. Depending on the above, focussing on English speaking countries or where most of the population speak it is a good idea. The Dutch are rightly proud of their English skills and Amsterdam a great and very accessible city. However, it is expensive. For a first trip I would probably ignore Scandinavia - distance, cost. Centrally located accommodation in cities will always be more expensive than further out - but you need to factor in travel time and travel cost - e.g. travel costs in UK are high. Happy planning - and yes a guide book would be a good place to go from here I guess.

We took our boys on our first family trip to the UK last summer. We choose the UK because the boys were interested in seeing castles and roman history, but both have an aversion to heat. We only stayed in London for 3 nights, then rented a cottage for a week in the Bath area, followed by an apartment in Scotland. We saved money by not eating out as much, and it gave us all some "space". We used HomeAway to find our places. They were much cheaper then getting hotels, which are hard to find for a family of four! We had a wonderful trip, learnt lots of history and went to too many castles to count! We ended up buying the British Pass? and it saved us lots of money on admission to museums, castles....in fact we tried to just go to ones that it covered, and we ended up at lots of smaller castles, that had no crowds, and ended up being more enjoyable then many of the bigger "sights"...... Icelandair has many good deals on flights, and you can book into one place and out of another....saves travel time. We flew into London, out of Glasgow. But you could go the other direction and go out of Paris....lots of options... Good luck and Happy Travels!!!!
Sandi