Our first trip to Europe

Please get a copy of "Europe Through the Back Door" by Rick Steves...it will teach you about traveling in Europe, how to plan a trip, how to estimate travel times between places, etc, find hotels, transportation options, etc.

Brendon,

I "second" the recommendation made by Frank II. Reading ETBD will be the most important first step in your planning.

You didn't indicate how long your trip would be? In looking over your list so far, my first impression is that you haven't allowed enough time in some of the most important cities, Rome and Paris. Therefore my first critique would be to expand the time to 4-5 days in each city if possible. There's LOTS to see and do!

It would also help to have some idea on what your plans are for Normandy? Two days is enough for a quick overview, but good planning will be essential!

What are you planning to see in Bavaria?

Given your location (I'm assuming Auburn, WA?) I'm sure you'll be able to watch Rick's shows on KCTS, so you may get some further ideas there.

I'm sure the group here will be able to offer lots of suggestions, but we'll need as much information as possible to work with.

Good luck with your planning!

As Frank said more particulars are needed. How long is overall trip. How much time have you factored in for travel between cities. Training or car? You say 3 days in Rome. Is that 3 nights which might equate to 2 full and one 1/2 day etc? Paris, again...two or three nights. You get the picture. Also, Florence really requires two nights in order to have one truly full day...ditto Venice. There is a bit of discussion pro/con on buying advance tickets on-line to the Uffizi and Academia etc. but sounds to me like hedging your bets is a good idea for this family trip. Yes, advance tickets do lock you into specific time slots but then again you can do ad hoc stuff around those times. How old are your children? Give us the info we need as we are, I think, all lovers of travel. You'll get tips and insider advice here that will be of great value. DO BUY EUROPE THROUGH THE BACK DOOR. Money well spent!

Brendon: In addition to the good suggestions already made by the above posters, this link will help you get started in your trip planning process (read the original post at this link) http://www.ricksteves.com/graffiti/helpline/index.cfm/rurl/topic/8978/bplease-read-this-before-posting-your-itinerary-questionb.html

Brendon,

Yes, what Marie said! I forgot to mention Florence and Venice, as both are definitely worth more than one day each!

Try to minimize one-night stops (none if possible), as they get to be very tiring. I'm assuming you want your first trip to Europe to be enjoyable, so don't try to pack too many cities into your Itinerary. Try to enjoy each city as much as possible and "pace yourself" when touring.

One other very important point in planning your trip is to allow adequate transportation time between cities! Travel by train is usually the easiest and quickest method of getting around, but you'll need to be up to speed on "rail skills" (which are covered in ETBD.

Cheers!

Brendon,

2 weeks: 6 places in 3 countries? Wow, that's a lot of traveling.

I agree with the other posters and really look at

1) How you're getting there
2) Take into account travel fatigue
and
3) You say Family... are there kids?

I'd try to stick to 1 country, 2 at most to maximize your trip. I always assume that I WILL be back to see the other countries.

I agree you need to look more closely at where you are going, how you are getting there, travel time ect....
Venice 1 day not enough
florence 1 day not enough
paris 2 day not enough
I venture to say not being to rome that 3 days could be doable but you will be exhausted.

I say relook at this and decide where is it you really want to go put these places at the top of the list.

Throwing this out there....
Germany 5 days
Paris 4 days
venice 3 days
Florence 2 days

or cut florence and do Germany 5, Venice 4 and paris 5

there is no way that 2 days in paris is enough!!!!! I spent 8 days the first trip, 7 days the second time and I am doing 7 days in October.

Another vote on doing some reading first, including ETBD and consulting Rick Steves' Best of Europe 2009, first. But also, two questions every first timer to Europe should think through and answer before finalizing plans:

1. Is this likely to be our ONLY trip, or do we envision, God-willing, more?

2. Are we seeking to emphasize BREADTH or DEPTH on the trip? In other words, is it more important for us to get a quick surface look at a variety of places, and keep moving, or would we enjoy, instead, a more in-depth stay at our most desired locales?

Once you address these questions, you'll be ready to make some decisions. I agree with what others have said: Italy needs more than 5 days--but so does Germany and France!

My husband and I did our first trip last year. We had a week in Paris and wished it was longer. Any of the cities where we only stayed 2 or 3 nights, it was just not enough. See more by going less places. Traveling takes a lot of time and you will miss a lot of things. I would never reccommend 1 night anywhere for any reason. It is just not enough time.

I second what Ambrosia said. My husband & 2 children had a vacation last month where we were in Germany & Paris. We spent a few days at the Rhine River valley in Germany, a few days in Rothenburg,Germany and then took the high speed train (4 hours) to Paris and stayed there 4 days. It was a great vacation, but all that moving around adds up to basically 3 full days traveling (not counting the transatlantic flight)...or at least 3 days when travel was part of the day. Some parts of travel are great, you can see the scenery, it is enforced down time, etc...but it also really does cut into "doing" things. There are transaction costs to going to the station/car, waiting for the train, being on the train/car, being off the train/car & traveling to your hotel/hostel, checking in, unpacking, getting oriented to the town, etc....and doing this every few days takes its toll on your time and on your psyche.

Although I don't know how I would have done it differently, because I enjoyed all 3 locations, I do wish that I had less travel time---and spending 2 nights anywhere was barely enough to feel connected to that place.

You are smart to start considering your options now and soon you will have a lot of information and can synthesize it, and will have an itinerary that suits your family. Have fun!

Please get a copy of "Europe Through the Back Door" by Rick Steves...it will teach you about traveling in Europe, how to plan a trip, how to estimate travel times between places, etc, find hotels, transportation options, etc.

Copied from the first reply. Absolutely true. One of the few things I stray from while following Rick's advice is the length of stay in each city. I like to stay 4 to 5 days in big cities, because there is so much to do. And in the best cities such as Paris and Rome, even more time.

You need to strike a balance between staying long enough to see the place and remember it well, and seeing enough different places. You don't want your holiday to be a blur. But if you don't think you'll get back to Europe soon, you'll want to see a few places.

Sorry, not a clear answer.

Three countries--including major cities like Rome and Paris--in 14 days would be, for my travel tastes, too ambitious and too much movement to really get to experience all that each site has to offer, not just in terms of actual tourist sites, but also 'feel' and 'culture.' Not to mention three languages! Germany and France would make a nice combination in my opinion, as would Italy and France, and in either instance, you could tailor your itinerary to make trans-national travel more efficient and less time-consuming. One example of what I mean is this:

-Fly into Rome; 3 nights Rome
-Train to Florence: 3 nights Florence
-Train to Venice: 2 nights Venice
-Fly Venice to Paris (discount airline)
-Train to Normandy; 2 nights Normandy
-Train Normandy to Paris; 4 nights Paris
-Fly home from Paris

Just an example of what I mean. Good luck!