Summer Trip

I would recommend picking up guidebooks for Ireland, Italy and England at your local library and looking through them - this will give you an idea of what there is to see in each country to determine what most interests you and your family. Once you've narrowed that down, I'm sure everyone will be happy to give you guidance on a proposed itinerary!

Hi! You don't say if this is a first trip to Europe... but if it is, and if you don't speak Italian, I would recommend you choose Ireland and/or England. Traveling with kids will be enough of a challenge without adding a new language to the mix, I would think!

And if your name is a clue - do you by any chance have any Irish heritage? If so (and if you don't already have your family tree nailed won) I think it would be super cool to see if you could work in a little family history sleuthing while in Ireland. It would add SO much value for your girls.

Your day range is wide - if you go long (nearer to 12 than 5) and plan on the UK, then you might throw in a couple of days in Wales. There is a TON of history, some amazing, best-in-class castles (kids love castles), and plenty of beach fun that would also appeal to your girls.

Let us know a little more, and we can help even more!

welcome colleenmal2,

Everywhere in Europe is older (city wise) than the USA so it would be difficult to miss the historical part.

I would spend some time with the others and look at some guide books or googling. Head on out to your local library (you remember those?) and look at their travel/country books and see what interests them.

Its been a long time since i was a teenager, but if my parents told me when i was that young, i would going to Europe, i would have been chomping at the bit everyday until we touched down. Not sure how kids are now adays being plugged into some e device, but i think you you let them in on the trip as to where to go and see, they may get some interest in it. at the least they will learn how to use some resources and such.

cost will vary to where you go and do things.

if you keep your country hopping to adjacent or as close as you can, you can minimize your time/cost traveling and spend more time seeing/doing things.

also, you will loose one day getting overthere so dont forget that.

happy trails.

First off skip the idea of a five day trip to Europe.. jet lag makes the first day or two a bit of a blur so thats a long way to go for a three day visit .. lol
Make it at least 12 days. You are spending all that money and time flying there.. make it worth it.

I would ask kids .. they are more then old enough to have some ideas, I took two of my three kids to Europe..on seperate trips.. and I had both of them tell me what they were interested in.. and I also asked them to research and find three things they wanted to see.. my kids were 11 and 13 , but even an 8 yr old can google " things to see in Rome" or where ever..

I do think Londons an easy pick for kids.. no language issues.. there are some great museums and the Tower Of London has a great funny Beefeaters Tour included with admission.

A London -Paris combo is very easy..( kids like Eiffel Tower, river cruise, Towers of Notre Dame etc) and getting between the two cities is so easy and stress free, just 2.5 hours on the Eurostar.. city center to city center( so no comuting to airports and dealing with the whole airport hassle factor) but Rome is only about a 2 hour flight from London too... ( kids like Coliseum but I find heat in Rome can wilt kids)

If you decide on a two city visit to book open jaw flights,,into one city out of other so you don; t have to back track.

I

Would skip Italy in the summer, for me it was too hot. Several questions that need to be answered. Have you ever been to Europe before? How long can you afford to stay? We are more than lucky as we don't suffer from jet lag but many people do and find the first day a day to rest and the last day is usually a waste as most flights leave back to US in the AM. Suggest you do as others have said, go to Library and peruse travel books. Also look at Ricks Europe through back door for ideas. If you want to go to several cities, say London and home from say Dublin or Edinburgh, fly open jaw. Do more research and then come back again so we can help you more.

I think Ireland would be difficult without a car, and stressful with a car (driving on the "wrong" side, navigating). I agree that Italy is not best in the summer heat.

That leaves England. With 12 days, you'll have plenty of time to enjoy London and even spend 2-3 days in another city (travel by train) or take some day trips: Oxford, Cambridge, Brighton. There is enough to see and do in London for more than 2 weeks.

Another suggestion is Paris. Like London, there are lots of day trips and so much in the city too. Or you could split your trip with a week in Paris and the rest in Amsterdam - both are completely different from anything in America and from each other. In Paris it is easy to get along in English, and most Dutch people speak fluent English. In Amsterdam, you can rent bikes by the day and feel like you are like the locals (more bikes than people there).

Thank you all for your replies and I am actually Irish, so that's why I wanted to go there, but my husband really wants to go to particularly Sicily since he has family there he has never visited in Menao (sorry if I spelled it wrong). So would it be difficult to go to London and Dublin/Belfast to Sicily, which is even hotter than most of Italy. This is also my girls' first time anywhere in Europe and my 15 year old is very into fashion, so she really wants to go to London, but also really wants to visit Ireland since she's going to take a English class on Irish Literature in school. As to my whereabouts, I live right outside of Boston, so we do have Logan Airport right there. Anyway, is it a good idea to go Dublin to London then Sicily? Or is it just too much of a hassle? We don't have a particular interest in going to Paris, so are there any options in maybe Germany, Netherlands, or Belgium? Lastly, my 15 year old also has a great interest in Spain since she's been taking the language since she was around six, so she really would like to test her skills, but isn't there a lot of crime in cities such as Madrid or Barcelona?

Evidence of the Rick Steves Travel Forum fear machine at work. No, Spain isn't dangerous and full of crime. I bet Boston is a lot more "dangerous." Barcelona is a fab city and great for kids (we were there with our 8 year old last year and he loved it). Why not take 12 days, fly into Ireland, fly down to Barcelona and then fly home from there?

You're fortunate to have good flights to Ireland and the U.K. out of Logan Airport. Unfortunately the time you have allotted will limit your ability adequately see more than a couple of places. Italy is a destination worthy of a trip of its own.
I suggest you fly Aer Lingus into Dublin or Shannon.

After touring Ireland, you can catch a very inexpensive flight down to London on Ryanair, but the girls will have to travel light (1 bag.)
Fly home from the U.K. on Virgin Atlantic or British Airways.
See http://matrix.itasoftware.com/ for multi location travel (open jaw), but don't include the Ireland-U.K. leg.

Actually, there has been quite an uptick in reporting about youth gangs deliberately targeting tourists under broad daylight on heavily trafficked streets in Barcelona. That's not just the Fear Machine at work, that's nearly 50% youth unemployment and light sentencing for under-18 offenders. Whether or not this should influence a decision to visit Barcelona is up to you, but it shouldn't be outright dismissed either.

Tom, when were you last in Barcelona?

Colleen - pick two destinations. Plan on working these as a pair:

Fly into the first - Ireland being an obvious choice from where you're coming from -- family-friendly, lots of history, and easy to deal with being there.

Fly into the second (extra ticket) - there are good connections in the summer from Ireland to just about anywhere else in Europe, so just make a final choice. England OR Sicily OR Spain - just pick one.

Fly back from the second destination. This is what is called an "open-jaw" flight and is simple to arrange as part of your overseas ticket.

Come back and post something like: "5 days in Ireland with family - suggested itinerary?" and the same with your second destination.
Under Transportation, post another question: "Best way to get from Ireland to London?" or wherever else your 2nd destination will be...

Make a definite decision as to whether or not you are willing to rent a car and drive. This factor will have a big impact on your time and flexibility. You may want a car in Ireland, but not in Sicily. Driving is not advisable in big cities, like London and Barcelona for example.

Once you pick your two destination choices, all the rest of the pieces will come easy.

In addition, if you really can't swing much more than a week to hop across the pond, then choose only one destination, with a simple return flight.

As for cost, no one can really nail that for you, as travel styles and budgets vary considerably. Airfare in the summer is more expensive. Many accommodation choices have limited "family rooms", forcing you into two doubles. If you stay put, like 1 week in London or 1 week in one spot in Ireland, you can rent an apartment or cottage and plan on day trips. Work out ahead of time what is your budget available for this trip. For example, just in airfare, you'll probably need $4,000 to $6,000 - depending on where you decide to go and your specific dates.

You need to narrow down your decisions and start nailing more definite plans.

Late summer in Sicily or southern Italy will be VERY hot. And hot in Europe always feels hotter than home. For me anyway. Save that for your next trip since you will have such a great time on this trip.

I think kids that age would love an Ireland or a UK trip. With a family of four, especially with a younger one, it would probably be easier to pick 1-2 locations camp" and do day trips. You could maybe maybe squeeze in 3 if you go for 12 days and depending on the stamina of your youngest. The travel between cities tends to be the most stressful part of international travel and I think that would increase with kids. Then you can rent apartments or cottages which is usually more cost effective than two double rooms. Or B&Bs (which are abundant in those countries) frequently have family rooms that will sleep 4.

Rick estimates $115 room and board per person per day in Great Britain in his 2013 guidebook. You will probably have to pay more than that in London, maybe a little less in Ireland. You can save more money if you get an apartment and cook some meals in or picnic.

It has been a long time since I have been to Ireland so it is more difficult for me to picture that trip in the context of a family. But just last year I did a Bath, Edinburgh, London trip and loved it. That would have been a great family trip.

Have a great time!

You could easily spend twelve days in Dublin, London, and elsewhere in England. Kids love York, I have heard. Also Bath and Stonehenge. London is expensive but you can work around that by careful choice in lodging ( like apartments).

Save Sicily for a spring break trip when you can see more of Italy too, and avoid the extreme heat of summer.

Agree on the heat of Italy and/or Spain in summer. I’ve been to Italy in July…hotter than hell with humidity to match. I’ve been to Spain in November…perfect. My vote is for the UK and/or Ireland. Consider Icelandair from Logan, and spend a day in Reykjavik and another day on an easy bus tour of natural sites outside of Reykjavik. No fare increase for staying in Iceland on way over or way back. Connection is super easy…small airfield and short connection times…perfectly synchronized. I recommend this all of the time, so I probably sound like a broken record, but how many opportunities will your kids have to visit a place like Iceland? Unbelievable natural beauty. Oh, and you’ll likely save around $100 per ticket with Icelandair. Great airline! If you wanted to do London and Dublin on Icelandair, you would probably need to fly into and out of London. I don’t think Icelandair goes to Dublin, but I could be wrong. Dublin would be a cheap roundtrip from London on a budget airline, however, as previously mentioned.

Never been to Barcelona, but there was a documentary on the effects of the debt crisis on Spanish life on German TV, and part of it focused on the rise of these youth gangs. Of four people I know who have traveled (separately) to Barcelona in the past year, one saw the gangs operating, and another was almost victimized by one. So, this isn't just scare-mongering, it's a well-intended word of caution.

just a comment about jet lag.

you will have just enough time to get acclimated and then head on back.

so, enjoy your trip and jet lag. It will be a double whammy.

Our kids LOVED the UK and Ireland at those ages . London makes a great base. You could rent an apartment (check out the London School of Economics- they rent apartments to tourists) or stay in a family room in a hostel to save some money. Here is link to an article I wrote for TripAdvisor about our favorite day trips by trains from London. http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g186338-c176673/London:United-Kingdom:London.And.Day.Trips.html If you stayed there for the whole trip, you'd only be touching the surface of all there is to do (Kew Gardens, the Tower, Parliament, Roman ruins, WWII stuff in plenty, THEATRE, CONCERTS, and more, more, more!). But it's not too difficult to reach Ireland from London - or have you thought about heading up to Scotland (our kid's favorite- or tie for favorite after Salzburg and Innsbruck Austria). If you pick Ireland think about renting a cottage around the Ring of Kerry area and doing day trips from there- but you'll have to be willing to drive. If not, then find a group tour - that's what we did.