I'd like some guidance on an economical itinerary for a young family (11, 9, 7), starting in Frankfurt with 2.5 weeks to spend in Europe. Would like to see Paris, Rome, Vinice, Switzerland, Austria, and Berlin. We plan to use trains to get around and would like to use B&B, if available.
Posted by
Atlanta
1357 posts
I'd recommend finding self-catering apartments where you can. In Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Paris, you can find ones with daily rates instead of having to rent them for the week. Don't know about Rome and Venice, though. It's much more economical than B&B's in that they usually cost less and you can cook your own meals. Plus, I don't know if family room in B&B's would fit a family of 5. And apartments would have more room.
Check out the tourism board websites for the places you want to visit and they should have links to self-catering places.
Posted by
OP
Papillion, NE
3 posts
Maureen,
Thank you. I think you are also hinting at another point which is we should pick a few places for longer stays. Based on the reading I've done here, I think we are over-planning.
Bill
Posted by
St. Pete, FL
75 posts
Do you have even a rough idea as to what order you want to try and visit all these places? How long do you actually have on the ground, not counting the day you lose getting there and the day you lose getting back home?
IMHO, you might be better served by cutting out a couple of the at least 7 cities you have mentioned.
Check www.bahn.de for train schedules. You may find that you will spend a great deal of time just travelling between cities. Trains may take much longer when the distances between cities are great, but there are many low cost airlines in Europe. Don't forget -- you lose at LEAST half a day when you move around a lot, what with checking out of your last hotel/B&B, travel itself and then checking in when you reach the next destination.
Economically, you should look into renting apartments when you decide on your final itinerary. More room (for generally less money) and on-site cooking facilities which can save you a LOT.
Go to your library and check out some guide books. Make a tentative itinerary based on a time line. I think you will quickly realize that you may have bitten off more than you can chew with the proposed list of places that you say you want to visit.
Plan, plan, plan and you should have a great trip.
Posted by
Knoxville, TN, USA
7209 posts
Yes, unfortunately you are overplanning and trying to see too many things...which is quite understandable. We've all probably either been tempted or actually done the same thing.
My first 2 trips definitely covered WAY too much territory. Therefore my last several were much less rushed and also much more enjoyable.
You'll be greatly impressed with your young family in Switzerland because all of your kids (11, 9, 7) will travel for free with you on all forms of Swiss Transport. That's a great deal and would personally entice me to spend more time in Switzerland. Of course I could ALWAYS be enticed with more time in Switzerland.
If you could fly into Frankfurt and out of Rome that would help your itinerary quite a lot. If not then It hink you might be best advised to delete Rome from your itinerary. If you need to eliminate another destination I would choose Austria.
If you head to the Swiss Alps then I would suggest Muerren where you will find an excellent self catering apartment (which includes breakfast) at the Chalet Fontana with Denise Fussell. She is a wonderful hostess and the Chalet Fontana is one of the most affordable B&B's you will find. It's clean, excellent location in the Swiss Alpine village of Muerren, and Denise will give you all the information you could possibly want for sightseeing. Also your kids will travel for free in Switzerland. www.chaletfontana.ch
I love Switzerland and especially Muerren...can you tell?