Travel with grandchildren

Free advice is worth what you pay for it, so here is my stab at it.

Taking a grandchild under 10 is probably not worth it. Among the reasons is separation issues.

Take both when the younger is at least 10. If you do one at a time make sure the other knows she will get her turn. and be prepared that she might want a different destination.

Take the kids on a 2-3 night trip ( 100-200 miles from home) to see how they do.

I think Joe makes good points worth serious consideration.

We took our oldest granddaughter to the UK when she was 8 and her sister was 5. We had a great time with the oldest but she did miss her sister from time to time. She bought such sweet souvenirs for her sister all along the way to share her experience with her. Still I wouldn’t change our situation because the 8 year old was really ready.

The next time we went, the youngest was 8 and the oldest was 11 and it was perfect for the two of them and us. Last summer we took them again as 14 and 17 year olds and they had a blast. If we could have taken them more times between the first and more recent time we would have loved to but their busy schedules and other family commitments didn’t allow it.

So if you have amenable granddaughters offer them each a trip to France when they are about 7-8 or wait until they both are ready and take them together. Our granddaughters get along really well and travel well.

EDIT: And buy them the Madeline books now if they don’t already have them. Our granddaughters also liked Dega’s Little Dancer and Linnea in Monet’s Garden when they were older and appreciated a little trip to Musee d’ Orsey on each trip to Paris.

Your grandkids are preschools, 3 years apart. So, between 1-6 years old.

I lived overseas for nine years and traveled with my kids, starting when my Son was 5 and Daughter 11.

I would not advise taking them with you. I remember taking my kids to the Louvre when my Son was almost 7 and Daughter 13.

My Daughter loved the museum with its art and history. My Son was ready to leave after 15 minutes. He was a good kid for his age, but couldn't handle being in a museum, got tired and I had to carry him. I was young and strong, but it didn't make my visit to the Louvre nice.

You have been there three times, great, we go back to our favorite places as well. Not sure what you plan to do there, but young kids will wear you down and they are too young to appreciate where you are going. Third graders would be better, if they are studying French, but they are years from the 3th grade.

My brother and SIL decided to take each grandchild on a trip of the grandchild's choice when they turned 12. The older one chose London and Paris. She was involved in choosing the sites and had a great time. The younger one - who is now 11 - has chosen Rome.

12 seems like a good age to me. Not yet a teen-ager with "attitude" but no longer totally reliant on adults.

My dad started taking my son on short trips (3-4) nights when he was 8 . They both love baseball so they went to major leaques cities or for spring training. My advise would be to do some short trips earlier so 1) they get used to being away from parents 2) you all get used to each others vacation styles.
My son has beautiful memories.

You know your grandchildren best, but I LOVE traveling with grandkids. Took first one to London and Iceland for 2 weeks when he was 10. Took his younger brother to London for 9 days when he was 9. Both were wonderful, memorable trips, but each was planned with kids' interests and energy levels in mind. They both loved the theatre the most. Traveling with one kid at a time is special, but we will probably take both of them on the next trip, because we have much to cover before we run out of time!

This a really interesting topic. It got me to thinking about what extra paperwork you need to travel with a grandchild internationally?

We took our kids to Europe when they were 8 and 10, and to Japan when they were 10 and 12. We all had a great time.

We had a big European trip planned for Summer 2020 and School European trip planned for 2021 (cancelled). I am so glad that traveled with my kids when I had the opportunity. I often told myself travel with my kids now because you don’t know what the future holds. Of course I never imagined Covid.

I am not a grandparent, but I am a parent of pre-teens (well, the oldest is just now 13). I have taken my kids to Europe most years since they were 5 and 2.

Don’t wait to take them because people say they are “too young” if you and their parents feel comfortable with the idea. You never know what life will throw at you, take them when you can!

If you want to do it when they have had language study and that starts in 3rd grade...I’d suggest soon after the youngest finishes 3rd grade! You could take them separately - maybe as a special moving-to-middle school trip at 5th/6th grade. My concern with that would be if you took the older one, then in the intervening years something (pandemic, costs, illness, war, who knows) stops you from traveling. In that hypothetical you got a special trip with one, but not the other, which would be sad for everyone. So I’d suggest both at once. Plus if they get along they can entertain each other sometimes and give you a break (they play in a park while you watch and have coffee!)

I agree with Mira. I am not a grandparent either, but we started taking the kids to Europe when they were 4 and 7 and honestly it was the best thing we ever did! They did great, and it got us all hooked. I like her suggestion of taking them together.

I am enjoying all the responses. We don't want to wait too long to make this trip, as there will come a day when travel to Europe may be too strenuous for us, especially with children in tow.

The girls’ parents love to travel, so they might want to come along on a trip like this.

In my original post, I should have asked whether this plan is a good idea or not. I didn’t travel to Europe until I was 20, and our older daughter (the mother of the granddaughters) had her first European experience as a semester abroad college student (junior year). There is no guarantee that younger children will benefit from European travel. It also occurs to me that traveling with young children is a heavy responsibility.

Just a bit of a suggestion. Show the kids as many videos as possible of places you might want to go with them. You'll be able to judge for yourself based on their attention to the videos and discussions you have with them on whether or not they will have any interest in seeing it in real life. If they show little interest, you'll will know your decision. If they don't seem interested, put the money aside for them and maybe they will be ready in later years to go with you or their parents or by themselves some day.

Our younger son is in the 9th grade and has been in a Spanish Immersion program since kindergarten. Technically he has been considered bi-lingual/bi-literate since 5th grade. We took him to Guatemala for a mission trip just after 5th grade. We spent a week living at an orphanage, with lots of interaction with kids his age. He was very shy about speaking Spanish, even though he easily understood what was being said.

Three years later, we went to Spain. At this point, my older son (16 at the time), had been taking Spanish for 3 years. My older son REALLY enjoyed listening to people speaking Spanish. He was surprised at how much he understood. My younger son was still shy about speaking Spanish, but he did very well as our interpreter.

I think it’s a great idea to travel somewhere that speaks French, just don’t expect the kids to engage in French. It’s more about cultural exposure, as it would be with any non-French speaking tourist. The kids may also feel very overwhelmed, and possibly disappointed, especially if they aren’t very familiar with “native” French. They might pick up a word here and there, but don’t expect too much.

As for best ages for travel, my kids are 3 years apart and I think the best time is about ages 11 and 14. They will have more individual interests that you can focus on, they’ll be more independent, and they’re still considered children so you can save some money on tickets.

I haven't read all the replies but thought I would mention:
We brought our grandkids home from a European family trip so their parents could stay an extra week alone.
We had a notarized letter giving us permission and it was still questioned. So make sure besides their passports you have plenty of documentation.

It certainly is a big responsibility taking grandchildren on a trip to Europe. Since the girls’ parents love to travel (they went to Paris on their honeymoon) maybe a family trip would be better. We would would stay longer since the girls would have to get back to school.

Over the years I’ve watched my aunt and uncle take each of their twelve grandchildren individually on their own special trip. It’s truly the child’s special trip that each gets around age 12.

We have also known people who have taken grandchildren on trips at around age 12. The problem for us is that we will be in our late seventies/early eighties when our two granddaughters reach that age. We may not be traveling to Europe at that stage of our lives.

We have been on a few European trips with our two grandchildren but always with their parents. At a suggestion from our son and daughter in law we began when the girls were eight and ten years old. We went for two weeks to England and Portugal. We were pleasantly surprised at what good travelers they were and in their interest in the tours through historical sites. We did tailor our itinerary so there were sights and activities that would interest all ages. Since then we have been on four more family trips, though now we're the ones who need to rest. Though they may not remember the details of their first trip I believe it helped open them to appreciating and accepting different cultures. Your grandchildren are younger than ours were. They won't remember much, if anything, if you take them at these ages. It would probably be better if you could wait another few years.