Taking Son to Europe

Three countries in 12 days may be one country too many.

You could possibly satisfy the 'Greek' request with a visit to Paestum as part of touring Italy and limit how much long distance travel you have. Italy has a well developed train system, Greece not so much.

To help narrow your focus, when you have the urge to include someplace, examine how you will get there and then how you will get to the next place on your journey. A clear realization of the logistics may help you select just what/where you include.

Good luck

I cannot help with Greece, but I will highly recommend two places we stayed in slovenia when we were there last year.

At Lake Bled, Penzion Kaps. Lovely rooms, nice hostes, free bicycles to borrow. We rode to the gorge which was a nice ride on uncrowded roads.

https://www.penzion-kaps.si

In Ljubljana, Apartments Mescanka. These are nice and modern, overlooking the riverside path very near the Triple Bridge.

https://www.mescanka.si

Remember that you should carry a notarized letter from his mother, authorizing you and his dad to take him out of the country. You may never be asked for it, especially since he likely has the same last name as his father, but you should have it just in case. It sounds like you will not have any trouble getting the letter since you are all on speaking terms. She in term should carry a similar letter from your husband.

We took out 11 year old daughter to Europe and that was back when we traveled far and fast by rental car. Now we've seen the light and travel slowly. She did love seeing Anne Frank's house in Amsterdam and the Duomo in Cologne. And we were glad she got to see Dachau.
We've traveled to just about everywhere in Europe the last 48 years, except Poland, and most major cities a number of times.
We've found the Greek Isles to be best seen by cruise ship--to simplify going to so many islands. We also went to Turkey and Malta.
In Italy, it's hard not to take in Venice, Florence and Rome--all very important cities. It's also easy for a young person to get overwhelmed by all of the history, art, architecture, food and culture of Italy, so it's especially best taken slowly.
Unless you steal some days from your spouse's time there, I don't know how Slovenia would be possible to visit.

For Greece, after seeing Athens, drive to waterfront Napflion on the Peloponnesus and visit the Mycenae with Agemmemnon’s tomb, the theater at Epidavros.
Add a Greek island such as Naxos or Paros and I think your 12 yr old will be very happy.

GTC - 12-13 days on the ground? Are you landing on day 1 and departing day 12/13 (meeting mom in London?). I would narrow your focus a lot. I think you should leave Greece for its own 12-13 days. Its so spread out/takes longer to get to/from and to get around. We spent 12 days in Italy, seeing the Cinque Terre, Florence and Rome. I would stay 2 nights in each place minimum. If you travel between Slovenia and Italy, thats at least a ½ day used for getting to and from and through airports. And then another ½ day getting to London. So pick 3 places for at least 3 days each (since you want to minimize moves). This argues for eliminating options. The temptation, especially on the first trip in awhile, is to 'see as much as you can'. But I think many people find that once they go, they figure out how to go back. Plan like you will go back. So for this trip, what is it YOU really want to see. My kids liked it all the same ;p

Greece - our son loves Greek Mythology. But should we also plan island
hoping or just mainland Italy - food, history, sites Slovenia - I went
there in college and loved the people and landscape.

12-13 days and you have 3 countries -- Greece and Italy can be done on their own for that period of time and that assumes that the 12-13 days are full days of your visit as opposed to arrival/departure days for transatlantic travel. Your expertise with Slovenia can help decide how many days to spend in that country.

Greece or Italy will require an additional flight to get to Paris so I'd pick one. I say Paris because that's the obvious choice for a train ride to London and why wouldn't you include Paris. My preference would be Italy so I'd start in Florence for 4 nights and one day trip to nearby hilltowns. Then Rome by train for three nights before flying to Marseille renting a car and driving around Provence for 3 days. Drop the car in Avignon and train to Paris. I include Provence because there are more Roman ruins there than Italy and if you like the Greeks you'll love the Romans!
All my suggestions are based on stuff a 12 year old boy would love. Medieval and Renaissance in Florence and fortified hilltowns. Roman ruins in Provence, Pont du Gard, Nimes, Arles.. Paris because it's Paris.

May I suggest that you think in terms of having a wonderful experience rather than seeing everything? We went this past May with our young adult children to Greece-seeing two islands plus nafplio and Athens. It was a wonderful trip and one we will cherish for years. It is really it’s own trip but certainly one I would recommend.

On our first trip, we had a mix of cities and mountains. We are from the burbs. Our daughter quickly told us she did not like big cities, Milan and Rome. She did like Venice and small Swiss Cities. She loves walking in the Swiss Mountains and getting out into nature. You might want to get a feel for what your 12 year old likes. Take them to a big city and walk around and see sites for a comparison then go on a weekend trip to a state or national park and go hiking and see which they like. I never thought she would like walking around the mountains all day for days on end. Get them interested in the trip. Find some books about your destination. I believe the Percy Jackson books talk about Greek mythology and are popular with kids. Find parks and pools for them to have fun, even if for an hour. It really made mine feel better. Good luck!

Hello GTC. You mentioned three countries : Greece, Italy, Slovenia. For that trip, I recommend traveling in Italy, only, before going to London. In a first trip to Europe, I think being at Venice is not a high priority.

I agree with BethFL, focus on enjoying your time. You can't show him everything. If he's interested in Greek mythology, he can help you choose the sites to see there, and it's likely he'll get more out of it. If he's anything like my 12yoa son, he'll enjoy the sleeper train and overnight ferry because bunk beds. Take a look at seat61.com for your train and ferry journeys, which may influence your destination choices. Have a great time!

Thank you all for your input. I’m thinking we will take it slower and focus on Greece and Italy. I will definitely let him choose the ruins to visit. He likes Poseidon and I see there is a temple south of Athens.

Friends of ours went there and enjoyed it.

Personally, I think trying to see much of Greece and Italy in 12 or 13 days is still a lot. I have been to five times to Italy and to Greece once. I still vote for Greece, especially since your son has interest in Greek mythology. We loved the island of Naxos and would definitely recommend for a family. (As well as other things, of course)

My two young adult sons drove to the other side of Naxos and found the 12 foot kouros there. There are pictures of them sliding down the statues like a slide. What 12 year old would not love that? And then there are wonderful beaches (with sand not pebbles like in the Mediterranean ) mythology (Zeus has a cave where he grew up there), and medieval sections of Naxos.

But I am sure you could have a wonderful trip to Italy too. I just wouldn’t try to do both.

I'd suggest staying relatively close to England so you don't have a big trek at the end. Germany has great train service. France has a million things to see depending on whether you go north, south, west or east. My two sons wanted to see castles, specifically ruins. I took them from Netherlands through Germany and Austria then down into Italy. Their favorite sight may have been Reinfels castle ruins on the Rhine but there was a lot more they enjoyed. Favorite food was pizza and gelato in Italy.