We are a family of 4 considering our first trip to Europe in June 2011. Kids will be 14 (boy) and 17 (girl). We're looking at the RS Family trip, and wondered if folks who had taken it thought it was a good first timers trip. Seems like the time in Florence (in particular) is so short--has anyone tried supplement the trip with a few days on their own in Italy (beginning) or Paris (end)? Thanks!!
Posted by
victoria, Canada
11507 posts
Hi Dawn,, I took my dd ( who was then 11) on this exact same tour in 2008.
I had been to Europe many times,, but it was my dds first time,, and I wanted to give her a taste of several countries.
I of course added time to both ends. I cannot imagine only having two days in Paris or Rome!
I added 7 days before tour, flew into Paris and spent 5 days , then flew one way to Rome and spent extra two days there before tour. Then, at end of tour, spent 5 more days in Paris( um,, I really, really like Paris,, so it was just my personal taste to do it that way).
My basic thought was I wanted to expose dd to many places and then later on,, on her own nickel she can revisit places that interested her. I did a 3 month trip when I was 23 ( after having been sent over to stay with relatives in France for a few summers when I was young) and loved it,, so wanted my dd to get the travel bug too.
The tour is a great tasting menu,, but definately benefits from some extra time tacked on.
The tour also is great in that it really does teach some travelling skills for the novice. You will be taught how to us the metro and bus systems,, even the boats in Venice.. as all the tour stops seem to have about one day of actual group tour, and the other day was often a "free day" to explore on your own.
So, yes,, it would be nice to spend extra time in many of the stops( my dd was so entranced with our Swiss stop that she raved about it for weeks, telling everyone she wanted to move there!) but it is a fun way of seeing Europe as a family,, with NO stress involved.
Do READ all of the tour feedback on this site, it is NOT editied,, I know, because I made a comment I thought they would edit out, but they didn't, they printed it word for word. The only problem is ,, many people on the tour do not bother to fill out the tour feedback they email you after the trip,, so you may only read very positive or very negative "reviews"..
Also, do read about the type of tour cont.
Posted by
victoria, Canada
11507 posts
this will be. It really is not for whiners or lazy types. The get up times are actually not too bad( compared to some tours I have heard of with other companies) usaully were loading bus by 8:30 or so,, once in a while later or earlier,, and as mentioned by company,, most if not alls stops were for 2 nights.
On our tour there was 28 people,, 14 of those were kids ranging from 7 yrs old( just one that young) to 17.. most between ages of 12-16 . All the kids were awesome,, and although all different ages etc, they bonded quickly and took over back of bus. Bus is huge and half empty so really comfy.
There is a fair amount of walking, but kids seemed to love it!
One thing about the RS tour I liked,, is there really was little to no extra nickel and diming.. my MIL went on a tour with another company that was cheaper, but she was constantly having to pay for extras she said, and in evening the hotels were often not central so she either paid to go with group to a restaurant or she had to use public transport to get into areas where there were alot of places to eat( since a few hotels she said were in residential suburb type areas,, and in Venice,, they were not even on the island!)The other tour DID however carry her suitcase for her,, so as I said,, read carefully about the RS tours, they are fun,, and the walking is never as strenous as it sounds,, and you see alot more that way anyways.
Posted by
Eastern Washington State, USA
38 posts
We took that tour in 2007 and LOVED it....kids were 11 (boy) and 14 (girl). They made great friends (we have visited one family halfway across the country), and saw and learned so much. We still talk about the trip and long to go back.
We spent 3 days in Rome before, which I would recommend -- it was a chance get over jet lag and give your kids confidence that they can handle a foreign country, as well as to see things the tour does not, like Ostia Antica. We then spent one extra day in Paris and took the train to London for an additional four days. Would do it all again in a heartbeat.
Posted by
Highland, UT, USA
30 posts
My sister and I took the Europe in 14 Days tour for our first trip to Europe (wanted the family tour, but it was full). We both thought it was an excellent first trip. We didn't not supplement with any extra time and still felt like the trip was wonderful, it gave us a great introduction to many places so now we know where we'd like to go again. There were several kids on our tour and the entire group made friends with the kids. They all had a great time. We also now feel much more comfortable traveling in Europe, and its great to be able to enjoy the trip without worrying about transportation, hotels, etc.