suggestions for a trip

Thanks for these suggestions. We'll look into them. How might Krakow compare in terms of expenses to Lisbon? I like the idea of staying in hostels--but are they family-friendly? Could all my kids stay in one room and my husband and myself in another? The Swiss place looks gorgeous, but Switzerland is so expensive, isn't it? Thanks again--Vicky

I think you'll find Lisbon less expensive than Krakow for comparable places to stay, but it'll be close. Both are FAR less expensive than Paris, London, Rome, etc

In western europe: France, Spain, Portugal are the least expensive in that order with Portugal being the least of all. A car is pretty much a necessity for getting well off the beaten path, especially for hiking and such. Southwest France is cheaper than the other parts, but again a car......The issue is with six and luggage, public transportation might be cheaper than a van; not sure since it's been a long time since I've had to lug a hoard. Driving is easy, anywhere.

Again, I would suggest Lauterbrunnen Valley, Switzerland. Google it. The teens could para glide. Many small villages to visit.

The Valley Hostel would be a good home base. It would surely save on lodging. It is immaculate and has a kitchen. Many areas to walk.hike,

http://www.valleyhostel.ch/pages/en/home.php

Brugge, Belgium is an interesting city. Also many areas to walk/hike.

Inexpensive hotel in Brugge:

http://www.hotelkeizershof.be/english.html

If you want to combine inexpensive and off the beaten path, look at Poland (Krakow) and Hungary (Budapest). We've also found Prague to be less expensive than other European capitols.

Portugal and Spain seem to lend themselves to family travel, at least to my mind, and are definitely budget friendly. Budapest, Krakow and Prague are all wonderful and inexpensive as well, so I think choosing a region/country out of all these suggestions would be a good place to start, then you can work onward from that point. I don't think public transportation is an issue in any of the major cities. We always rely on public transport and have traveled around all of these places with no problem whatsoever.

I can only give very general answers to your very general question. But here goes;

Since you have requested the tough combination of inexpensive AND public transport AND off the beaten path only two general options come to mind;

1) Portugal/Spain/Morocco - The only downside is that much of that area will be BEASTLY hot in August

2) The recently "westernized" eastern Europe, including Poland, Czech, Slovakia, and Hungary. These have a tremendous amount to offer, have modernized and become easy for tourism in the last 20 years - are generally less expensive than the west in all three of the key categories; transport, food, and (to a lesser degree) lodging.

I would pick #2

Hostels would be great. There are often rooms for 6 which would include you all for $20-$30 each/night and often (but not always) include breakfast (a big plus). They often have doubles and rooms for 4, too so you could split up but that would be more expensive. They also offer a common room, laundry facilities and someone on staff who usually speaks English and has the answers to all your tourism questions ("what bus do we take to get to...."). Most Hostels are not as "boisterous" or youthful as their old reputations suggest. They are mostly just for travellers of all ages on a strict budget who don't desire frills. Many hostels are large and institutional (think college dorms) but Budapest, Krakow, and Prague, in particular have dozens of small boutique hostels.

Go to; http://www.hostelz.com for reviews of a wide variety of hostels or...

http://www.hihostels.com/web/index.en.htm for International Youth Hostels that are larger and more institutional

PM me for more specific information if you narrow things down...

Good luck

I'd look into apartments. I'm a huge believer in apartments for families. For 6 of you guys, you could find a 3 bedroom place for a week. For hostels, you'll have to pay per person (I believe), which can start adding up when there's 6 in your party. You could get an apartment for a little more than half of what you would pay per person for a hostel, and you'll have more room, a kitchen, and a washer/dryer.

Oops. Maine, august, and southern iberia don't mix. Do want Randy said.

Wow--you guys are fantastically helpful--thanks! I wondered about the heat in Portugal--but thought maybe on the coast there's some breeze? And maybe up north it's better? What do you think? As for Eastern Europe, I'd definitely be interested--but would want to narrow it down. If you had to choose between any of those places, what would you choose? My great-grandmother's from Krakow, so I'm curious about that place, but other than that, I don't have a preference. Any more thoughts? Thanks again--Vicky

The coastal areas of Spain and Portugal are OK in August....but as soon as you get inland, the heat is terrific. As well, August is when all of Spain seems to take its summer vacation...the coasts are jammed with families on holidays.
I agree with the other posters that eastern Europe is a good idea, weather- and expense-wise. If you have a family tie to Krakow, include it on your itinerary....it's a different feeling to trod the same streets as your ancestors.

I second or third (I lost count) the suggestion of Krakow. It has been "discovered" so it's not as off the beaten path as it used to be, but it's probably still less touristy than many places in Europe. Plus there's spectacular Ojcow National Park just north of Krakow for hiking. And Zakopane is just a few hours south of Krakow; it's a cute little ski resort town which is a bit touristy, but most of the tourists are from other parts of Poland and Slovakia. Zakopane is in the Tatras mountains which are about as beautiful as any mountains you'll ever see. Best of all, most everything is accessible by public transport.

Vicky,

The area of Eastern Europe I mentioned is not that large, really. Budapest, Prague and Krakow and the space in between is only about the size of Ireland.

You could even include the eastern portion of Austria into that oval-shaped area and stop by Vienna and nearby. We will be there in July and that portion of our trip covers 14 days - just like your time frame.

Here is our itinerary (after first spending some time in Germany);

Day #;

1-3 train to Vienna, stopping along the way to do a quick Danube cruise between Melk (amazing abbey) and Krems (cute town), then three nights, two full days in Vienna.

4-8 train to Budapest stopping briefly in Bratislava, Slovakia along the way, then 4 nights and 4 full days in Budapest. During that time we will do day trips to the small town of Szentendre and the lovely college town of Eger. Then a night train to...

9-11 Krakow (early morning) for 2 nights and 3 full days. We will spend part of one day at Auschwitz & Birkenau, then a night train again to...

12-13 Prague (early morning) for 2 nights and 2 1/2 days. Then a mid-day bus to...

14-15 Cesky Krumlov for 1 1/2 days. On the full day we will canoe the river for a few miles to another abbey. (After this we go to Munich for two nights and fly home from there)

You could alter this in any number of ways, of course. BTW, the night trains have couchettes for six sleepers, which is perfect for your family. We have 5.