Last minute travel - family of four (with older teens) in July '25

The first thing I would ask is what are your interests, and especially, what are the interests of the teens? Are you all athletic, foodies, into history & museums, etc?
How do you tolerate heat? In Europe, the summers are hot, and they don't use the AC as aggressively as we do in the US.
Are you comfortable with using public transportation?
Amsterdam will be about $400 nite for a two person hotel room, so what exactly is your budget? Also, lodging could be difficult to find at this late date, especially in Amsterdam.
And- what are the maximum amount of nights you can travel?
The UK and/ or Scotland might be a great starter trip, and maybe not quite as hot, altho the summers have seen extended heat spells. You could spend an entire week in London.
The RS Guide books do a great job of sample itineraries.
Perhaps if you could help by specifying some of your family's interests?
So nice that you have this time together.

Condor flies non-stop San Antonio to Frankfurt. My daughter flew last summer with two young kids and said it was fine for the price.

Just do it quickly because time is limited....I'd go to London for the vast range of activities. Spend an hour or two...have the teenagers do very quick research and list their top priorities. (You spend the same time checking for flights and available accommodations in your range to get an idea of what's available. ) You'll probably need to cut from the priority lists to fit in some of your interests...but you'll have an instant itinerary. Which kid is good at research? Put them in charge of location logistics for the itinerary based on the accommodation location. The trip will be very memorable for the kids as they will have been very invested with the planning.

You have no time to lose. You should also check tickets for a few top priority locations to make sure available at this late date...and then book tickets. Most importantly, go into it with great flexibility as there is so much to do you won't be bored even if some venues are too busy.

Keep coming back to the forum with more questions about accommodations and activities when you have decided location.

Your trip will be memorable wherever you decide to go. London gets my vote!

You might also think about a trip to Montreal and Quebec City.

Assuming you don't have an unlimited budget, I would start by going to Google Flights. You can put in San Antonio or Austin to Europe for 1 week in July. It will give you an idea of the airfare and schedules available to various destinations. Maybe that would give you a direction to start. And keep in mind the heat, Southern Europe will be hot in July.

With only a week I'd seriously consider flying to Seattle and taking an Alaska cruise. Or a week in either Anchorage, or Vancouver/Victoria. Another option would be Belize. I really don't think flying to Europe for a week is worthwhile, as you'll lose two of those days just traveling.

If you want to go somewhere European but close by, Montreal and Quebec City would be my choice. A cousin went there and loved how it felt very French-from the architecture to the language-everything is in French. And the weather should be a bit cooler although there are some Canadian wildfires burning.

I'd visit Montreal.

I know that you can fly direct to London or Amsterdam from nearby
Austin. Ideally I'd like to go to Europe for a week but I'm open to
other suggestions.

Not much time.

The plan below can be done without any advance booking of trains / tours. Book roos and play the rest by ear. Koblenz (base town) is a rail hub at the nexus of Germany's Rhine and Mosel Valleys, not far from Frankfurt. Think medieval Europe, great scenery, wine. Numbered days below are in no particular order.

• Austin nonstop > Frankfurt on Lufthansa July 21-28 (or 30?) Arrive 9:20

• Stay 5 nights in Koblenz near the station July 22-27 (Ibis Hotel or apartments for 4 available on booking.com within walking distance) Arrive by direct train from the FRA regional train station (11:24-12:54)

1) See Koblenz' old town zone on foot; hop on the cable car ride to Ehrenbreitstein Fortress.
https://www.visit-koblenz.de/en/public-transit/combo-ticket

(Resource page for exploring Koblenz: https://www.visit-koblenz.de/en/city-tours )

2) Day trip into the Rhine Gorge to Rüdesheim (direct train) - return by river K-D cruise boat (4:15 - 20:00) past dozens of towns/vineyards/castles

3) Day trip to Cologne (direct train)

4) Take a hike: the Rhine Castle trail (west bank of the Rhine) between Oberwesel and St Goar

or... Catch a direct train up the scenic Mosel River Valley to Cochem for Reichsburg Castle + a riverfont bike ride.

5) Tour Marksburg Castle in old-world Braubach (about 12 minutes by train from Koblenz)

6) Direct train to Mainz, near FRA airport for a final day/night.

7) Direct train (25 mins.) to FRA for morning flight. Trains from Mainz start as early as 4 am. But you don't have to leave that early for the 10 am flight I suggested.

London as a base for the entire journey. London offers a huge menu of opportunities for all ages, interests and tastes.
Rent an apartment for kitchen, more room and make sure the air conditioning is fully functional.
Now turn to your kids and tell them they have the responsibility for learning how to make the most of the trip. Their starting point shall be the RS travel forum England page where their post shall be titled……
“Help! Our mom is making us plan a trip to London, please save us!”
Than watch the magic happen.

On our first family international trip, we took our then teens to London and Paris, but we had two weeks. I'd go with London for your family, especially with a direct flight. There's so much to see or do and even moody teens will like it! Enjoy!!!