Traveling with 17 year old

Need to know something about the granddaughter - how mature, how independent, her interests, any language skills, etc.,

Well, haven't done it yet but I am planning on taking my two 17 yr old granddaughters on the Rick Steves Paris in 7 Days tour when they graduate from high school 2019. Their choice; yes, already. One of them has been on 4 RS tours (and visited Paris a couple of times) and the other hasn't been to Europe at all although she has been to London for 10 days with me and loved it. Why don't you let your Granddaughter take a look at itineraries and together decide what piques your joint interest(s)?

Any tour could be interesting, depending on her preferences. What country/cities is she most interested in?

Depending on your budget, you might want to look at the 14 day family Eorope tour. It gives a good overview and there will probably be other tour members their age.

Barbara makes a good point. If the budget will allow it, it will be a great introduction to Europe for what may be her future travels.

Hi Karen, what a wonderful idea. I think any of the RS city tours would work out great for the two of you. My first tour (I've done 8 so far) was Paris in 7 Days (loved it!). Suggest that you plan to arrive a day early to get over the jet lag and to get organized. Make reservations at the tour hotel (tell them you're joining a RS tour). Hope you and your granddaughter have a terrific vacation.

I don't think an organized tour is the right choice for you. Ask her what she wants to see, watch some videos about that (I hear RS has some good ones), narrow it down and get the relevant guide books - RS may not be the right ones for a 17 year old.

Just ask! A 17 year old has probably studied European history, art, music, and literature. I'm not up to date on popular music and television, but they might have interests there as well. This will at least open up a discussion. I'd suggest buying her a copy of Europe Through the Back Door to get her started.

For me, I had my heart set on England. I didn't get there at 17, but I've known since I was old enough to read that England is where I wanted to see. However, two close friends of mine had other priorities, One of them wanted France while another Italy. There is no right or wrong answer.

We lived overseas during the 80s and early 90s and traveled with kids, pre-teens and teens.

We treated them to all the great historical places and they all grew up loving history, culture and art.

Expose them to it and they will pick up a lot more than you think. My grown Daughter travels a lot with her kids and reminded me of when we traveled and I would pull out my Michelin Guide to read about a particular site.
All my kids were in awe of the Sistine Chapel. Of course, they enjoyed places like the Swiss Alps, Venice canals, Eiffel Tower and Roman Coliseum.