Hi-Our family is looking to plan a mutigenerational trip for a week at the end of August 2024 for my parents 50th anniversary. They would like to do some place in Europe but with a diverse group of ages (3yo to 76 year old) I am worried about the heat in places like Italy, Spain, Portugal etc.
Does anyone have suggestions of trips they have done? We have a 3yo, 6yo, 8yo, 10yo and six adults (including two seniors) for this trip. TIA for any tips, suggestions.
We took our son’s family to London for a week when the grandchildren were 2 and 4, and we all had a good time—-Kew was especially fun for the kids, along with riding the Thames Clippers, and the playgrounds my daughter-in-law found (the one is St. James Park was really fun for them). But it could be hot in London in August.
We have also taken our other son and his family to Switzerland when the twin grandchildren were 6, and that was wonderful. We were there during a major heat wave but the alpine villages like Muerren and Wengen enjoy cooler temperatures thanks to the elevation. Wengen has a nice outdoor public pool which might be nice for the children (Muerren has a public pool as well but it is indoors at the Sportzentrum).
We stayed in an apartment in Muerren took the children to playgrounds like these:
https://www.maennlichen.ch/en/summer/experiences/alpine-herdsmans-playground.html
https://schilthorn.ch/26/en/Adventure_playground_Flower_Park
The group could split up and some hike from these places while others stay with the kids. There is always a mountain restaurant adjacent to the playground for lunch. Other activities in the area include boat rides on Lake Thun to a castle, or on Brienzersee to a fairytale “castle” hotel for lunch and a waterfall view:
Visit Grindelwald in the next valley for a Rodelbahn experience for the kids at the Pfingstegg lift. Kids 4-7 ride with an adult; 8; and up can “drive” their own sled.
https://www.pfingstegg.ch/index.php/en/activities/toboggan
You will also want to visit Luzern, but it can be hot there as well. Consider staying in a nearby village right on the lake, in this lovely little hotel right on the lake, with swimming in the lake or in the pool at their sister hotel next door. You can enjoy a day’s excursion on Rigi by boat and cablecar from this town (or from Luzern if you prefer).
https://www.gotthard-weggis.ch/en/
https://www.rigi.ch/en/experience/families
Your biggest challenge, here or anywhere, will be finding suitable accommodations for that many people. But we traveled with a group of 8 last September and did fine, booking 3 hotel rooms in most places, and an apartment for 6 plus a separate room for 2 in Muerren.
With one week in high season and that many people, one location would seem wise. Stay somewhere with a week’s worth of activities and day trip options. Lola’s idea of London strikes me as ideal. So much to do and explore.
The Swiss alps are wonderful and a week in the Lauterbrunnen/Wengen/Mürren area would be great, but it’s harder to get to, logistically. If you can fly direct to Zurich from the US, it would be fairly easy. But if you have to do a layover and change planes you may find it arduous to get that many people through the day with a series of trains after flights to get from airport to, say, Lauterbrunnen.
Lodging is already at a premium in the most popular places so before buying tickets for the flight, be sure you can secure lodging.
What do your parents want to see? Art museums, scenery, history, churches? If this is their first, and possibly only, trip to Europe I would prioritize what they want to see.
Might it be an option to take the kids out of school for a week, so you could go in September -October? That is what we did for this year’s trip. Those twins who were 6 on our previous trip to Switzerland are 11 now, and they and their parents have been waiting for a chance to go back. I proposed summer of 2023 and their mom said she would rather take the kids out of school (and for them it was 2 weeks) and go in late September than face the heat of August. It worked out great.
Should you have difficulty deciding, or with finding available lodging, another option that works for many 3-generation families is an Alaska cruise. Not Europe, of course, but fairly adventurous and really enjoyable for all ages. If interested, look at the one-way cruises between Vancouver BC and Seward Alaska, either northbound or southbound. Those are much better than the one-week roundtrip cruises out of Seattle.
I proposed summer of 2023 and their mom said she would rather take the kids out of school (and for them it was 2 weeks) and go in late September than face the heat of August. It worked out great.
I suspect their teacher(s) may have had a different opinion.
Do you have roots somewhere in Europe? That might be a starting point, if the celebrants have no specific choice.
Scandinavian cities Copenhagen, Oslo and Stockholm have nice temps end of August and they are known as very family friendly.
Other general idea: maybe choose a country where your family has any roots?
