Traveling with a large family

Ragan, are you open to apartments in lieu of hotels or hostels? Apartments can provide more space for the same costs and you'll have kitchen facilities and likely a washer which is convenient. With 6 of you, you may want to consider apartments with 2+ bedrooms.

Hi Ragan, What a fun trip for your family! My daughter and I spent 7 weeks in Europe when she was 16 and I know she now is much more aware of how to deal with big cities and travel in general. So I completely understand what you are trying to convey. While I am sure the apartment idea is good, I don't have experience with that, so I will give you the names of a couple hotels we stayed at in 2011(and some friends also stayed there in 2012). It is hard to find large rooms in Europe, but perhaps you could do a quad room and a double. In Paris, take a look at the Hotel Cluny Sorbonne. It is ideally situated for first-time travel to Paris, in a safe and central area. In Riomaggiore, take a look at Larco Baleno. Francesca has triples that she can make into 3 twins or a queen and twin. She is very nice and will help you any way she can. I don't have any suggestions for London, but if you are making other stops, let me know and I can give you the names of the hotels we stayed at. By sticking to small family owned hotels with good ratings, you will feel safe and you will be close together. Just ask the owner to put you in rooms next to each other.
Enjoy your adventure!

Your best bet would be hostels as some have 'family' size rooms. The values are good and family friendly. But you must be acceptable to the hostel life. It is not for everyone. Definitely a younger, low-budget crowd. I love the atmosphere. Find out more about Hostels by checking out their websites and looking at photos and reading reviews (Hostelling International, TripAdvisor). Like I said, I love it, but not for everyone, so you need to do some more research to be sure it is right for your family. Happy Travels from a fellow Nebraskan.

In my experience, hostels are great for single travellers. For larger families they don't provide much savings as they charge per person. Renting an apartment or maybe even a villa in Italy would give you more comfort and space - for often less money.

It will seem an apartment is your best bet , hotels do not have rooms for 6 adults period, ( I have seen a few aparthotels that can take 4-5) Adjoining rooms are rare. Since you say this is a long trip apartments make even more sense, saving money having breakfast in the room and making a few picnic lunches will really save on budget. St Christophers hostel in Paris( an 18 yr girl from my work stayed there with her friend and said it was safe and clean) has 6 bedded dorm rooms, so your family could fill one , but its expensive to do hostels for 6 adults as they charge per person and that adds up to more then getting an apartment ( I think about 580 EUROs for 6 people for 3 nights!!) In places like Cinque Terra if you find one of RS picks has a vacancy you will be perfectly safe in seperate rooms as most of those places are small,, its not like anyone can just walk in off the street.

Try VacationsInParis for an apartment in Paris. It is an American company with apartments all over Paris. Booking with them is as easy as booking a hotel,,except for choosing which apartment you want. Where are you going in Italy besides Cinque Terre? People may be able to make specific suggestions that might work. I know one for Florence. In Cinque Terre you should look at La Marina Rooms in Vernazza. christianoffers an apartment and two double rooms in a building which is part of the sea wall below the castle. I don't know if the apartment sleeps six but if not, you could book the apartment plus a double room next to it. You may have to search carefully to find places with twin beds, unless the kids are open to sharing double beds.

We love B & B's and choose to stay in them as our first choice. We have stayed in some that have two rooms up to about 15 rooms to rent, so if your family wanted to divide up into rooms the girls would probably be right next door or down the hall. There are locks on the doors and you can get them with bath/showers so they don't have to go up the hall sharing one. On our last trip our only child (18 yrs. girl) stayed by herself in rooms when the price was the same as sharing. A couple times she was on another floor, but at no time did we feel, or she feel, unsafe. And, she is not street smart and young for her age. It was a great experience for her to have her own room. She loved it! I really don't think you need to worry about their safety as long as they use common sense, plus, you will be right there.

I appreciate all the input! And I appreciate your time in answering. As my semi-adult children,and I refer to them as semi-adult since they are all still in college-the oldest is a Doctorate student-and have no real responsibilities besides their grades and their jobs! Since they have never traveled outside the US and infrequently inside the US they are, understandably, nervous about the prospect of vacationing in countries where they had never even dreamed of traveling. My girls are neurotic enough to keep them safe and wary of strangers,that is not to say they are not engaging, intelligent, beautiful young ladies but they won't go to the restroom alone and if they have no crime committed against them when they are full adults I will have done my job.
With all that being said we are looking forward to showing them how to travel abroad so they can take advantage of some friends' hospitality in Germany. We are planning trips to Downton or Highclere, Spitalfields and the Louvre. We will look into the apartment suggestions, that idea had never even come to mind! Again thanks to all for the constructive input and for not believing that you would know how to raise someone else's children better than they do! Happy Traveling!

I checked the reviews on Tripadvisor for La Marina Rooms in Vernazza to see if they are still good and they are. The apartment will sleep six people but the kids would have to share two double beds (one is a pull-out sofa in the living/dining/kitchen room). But take a look: http://www.lamarinarooms.com/apartment.htm Mind you we haven't stayed there ourselves, but only because we decided on Manarola instead. but it came highly recommended by a friedn. And reading the reviews, it seems the owner Christian is very kind and helpful. He even borrowed a boat to take one couple to Monterosso when there was a train strike that would have kept them from leaving Vernazza. With 6 of you apartments really are the way to go, and they are easier to find than you might think. In London you might look at this 3-bdr. apartment at Vancouver Studios, which is well-garded and in a great location: http://www.vancouverstudios.co.uk/apartments.php They have a 3-night minimum. Where are you going to stay to visit the Downton Abbey site (Highclere)? Do you want to stay in Hampshire or visit from London on a daytrip?

Sasha,
Thanks for looking into this, I really do appreciate your taking the time! I will check the links out!

and have no real responsibilities besides their grades and their jobs! As someone who did it, I would say that getting good grades while holding down a job is in just a real responsibility but a huge one and a difficult one. Working your way through college is no easy task. Some unsolicitized advice: be sure and give your daughters some breathing room on this trip. Everywhere you're going is perfectly safe as long as everyone is self aware. Hotels in particular are very safe. Adjoining rooms are not that big of a deal. Nothing kills travel fun faster than traveling as an adult with an overprotective parent, who wants to go to sleep early and prevent you from seeing what you'd like to because "it's too dangerous" for your adult daughter to be out without them. Not that I speak from personal experience or anything...you'll all have more fun and get on each other's nerves less if you split up once in a while on the trip. I'd really recommend apartments in terms of budget for your situation though.

Hi Ragan, I know that travelling with your kids can be a bit intimidating at first, but truly they will step up to the plate and let their maturity show. In 2008, when our daughters were 13+14, we travelled for 5 weeks by plane, train + bus and stayed in hostels, apartments and rented houses. We rented bikes,Canoed down the Dordogne river and shopped in every out of the way market, eating any and every new food we could find. We were each responsible for carrying our own passports and money,packing and carrying our own backpacks and helping to contribute positively to our adventure. This was out first non-camping trip, and our first time out of the country. They were terrific travellers and at no time did we feel concerned for their health or safety. We live in Toronto and so they were raised to be Streetwise, not scared in the big city. Here at home they have been taking public transit on their own for several years, they do their own clothing shopping (choosing and paying for) they cook dinner for the family one day every week (although now the oldest ,18 is at University and cooks meals for her room mates once a week) They were very comfortable staying in hostels (Amsterdam , Haarlem & Appledorn ,Holland) staying in a rented apartment in a small town (La Serra,Italy) staying in a rented house in an a small village with a butcher and baker that came into town twice a week to sell their wares as there were no shops (Aillac, France)and staying in a turn of the century town house with a family friend that spoke no english (Paris, France). Perhaps your family adventure is an opportunity for your Adult Kids to spread their wings and increase their independance and a chance for you to enjoy seeing what a great job you did raising them.
If you have any specific questions that you don't feel comfortable posting, feel free to message me.

I appreciate everyone's feedback regarding trip information. It is very nice to know there are people out there that like to share HELPFUL advice!

James- thanks for that little "jeopardy" tidbit! But, unfortunately it does happen all too often...
I hope you had good luck in your hotel searches. If I find any really good ones that accommodate our larger families I will post them.

We took our 3 children to Europe when they were 20, 18, and 9. The older two are girls. The 9 year old (a boy)stayed in a room with them. They had a great time taking care of their brother, and my wife and I had a honeymoon every night. We all had a great time. It never occurred to any of us to be more concerned for safety than anywhere here. You are not going to stay in any dodgy hotels or neighborhoods. The one who was 9 then is a married man now and has been to Europe 4 times. The girls are married with careers and kids of their own. I take it your 18 year old is a boy. The last time we took our son, he stayed quite a few nights in a little single room, some of them just a little bigger than the bed. It was fun. He enjoyed being alone part of the time.
Two rooms was expensive enough. We have not used apartments, but I know a lot of people who have. Just have a washer could be worth it with 6 people. With your kids the age they are, things are going to change fast, believe me. We would not take anything for making that trip with our family. We all still hold it dear. Our oldest went to work as civil engineer the week after we got home from that trip, and the change began in earnest. You're all going to have a great time. I didn't have much advice to offer, but your post brought back a lot of memories. Thank you for that, from another dad.

Ragan, We have made a few lengthy trips as a family of 5 with three younger children. The advice you have gotten so far is correct. You will not find any hotel room for six. We have found only a very few that would reasonably sleep 5. You won't find adjoining rooms frequently either. In hotels, you should consider yourself fortunate to find two rooms near one-another. You might even need three rooms. Your best bets are B&B's where your family might even occupy the entire establishment, Hostels which often (but not always) have rooms for 6 if you don't mind bunks, or apartments. I know apartments sound like a risk (and they do force you to slow down by requiring several nights stay) but they are quite common, used frequently by many "pros" here, and are ideal in situations like yours. You don't mention how important costs are to you, but apartments win that category, too - often by a wide margin over hotels. They have a kitchen and you can, if you wish, save 80% on your food costs. Even if you don't care to cook, having breakfast, sandwich and snack supplies at your fingertips is very convenient. I think you will quickly discover that there is nothing at all to worry about in any of the locations you list. English is widespread (even in London :), the subways easy to figure out, and you will be far safer from real harm than in virtually any American city. If your young adults express an interest in spending an afternoon or evening out on their own, let them. Our daughter was figuring out London "Tube" routes for us when she was 11. Might be best if they stayed together, though - just to lower the odds that anyone will get lost.

"Your best bets are B&Bs". Nope. Sorry but their best bets for 6 adults are apartments. I have given them leads to apartments that rent by the night ( no weekly minimum) and are offered by reputable agents with reasonable rates and policies. There are many more, but these are the ones I trust.

Well... you ask for travel advice and get parenting advice:)) One thing that may help you feel better if you are split up (different floors
in a hotel, or the kids want to go out) would be if they had a phone they could text you with...or you could reach them. If you have AT&T phones it is really cheap to add international texting (about $10 for 50 outgoing texts, and incoming are free) Just feels better to be able to be in touch if necessary.

As a mom planning a trip for a family of 6. After 4 months of research, your best bet is to stay in apartments. We are staying in Hostels in Madrid and Germany. They have family deals on hostels in Germany but only because I have 3 younger children. In Rome, Venice, Lisbon, and Paris we are staying in apartments. It's cheaper and easier at the end of the day to flop down on the couch and have some space from each other. Also a huge savings on meals. I looked at getting 2 rooms or 3 rooms but nothing beat the cost of an apartment. :)

"Finally, I really like the options for rent in Milan. However, the ones that are listed as fitting six are very pricey. Maybe you could make one meant for 4 work?" In Europe most places charge by the person, as opposed to in the U.S. To try to sneak in extra people would be unethical. If found out, you could be forced to leave without a refund. Traveling with 6 people, especially adults, is expensive. The suggestion to rent an adequately sized apartment is a good one. I use vrbo.com and homeaway.com to find apartments. If you want to try to fit more people into an apartment, you could inquire if that would be possible.

For 6 adults I agree that an apartment would be ideal. We've rented two apts in Paris and enjoyed them very much. We used ParisAttitude.com and had no problems. Some more agencies to check out: VIP.com, HomeAway.com, VRBO.com, ParisBestLodge.com. It's fun to go to their websites and see all they have to offer. You get more room (important with 6 adults) and a washer, which saved us time not having to go to a laundromat or wash clothes in the sink each night.

Last year we used "Apartments Apart" (through booking.com) to book an apartment in Rome city. They also have branches in other European cities. I would highly recommend this service. Basically they have listings of privately owned apartments available for short stays in city centre areas and act as a centralised booking service for these owners. We found an ideal one bedroom apartment which accommodated our family of three comfortably a few blocks from the Colesseum, and for substantially less than a hotel or hostel in the same area. The apartment had kitchen (with necessary crockery, utensils, pots, etc)and laundry facilities, which in my opinion is a real benefit over hotels when travelling - particularly with a not quite three year old (at the time)! We used the transport service they offered to pick us up from the airport. Initially I was apprehensive about the approx €70 charge, but our flight was late, and arriving at 9pm after a 16 hour flight, with a sleeping child, it was worth every penny to be taken directly to our apartment. The next day we simply had to present to their office (which was about 15 minute walk from our particular apartment) to finalise payment, etc and on the final day we simply had to lock the keys in the apartment on our way out. The staff at the office were very helpful with providing maps and information (e.g. Nearby supermarkets, ATMs, etc).
If our experience in Rome is a guide, I would have no hesitation using this service in other cities.

We are traveling with our son, daughter-inlaw and 2 grandchildren in a few months to Paris. This will be out first tiem so was vey unsure of where to stay. We wanted to all stay together and hoped to find something with a kitchenette and room for all of us. Finding a place in Paris was agonizing until I I accidently stumbled across Cobblestay.com You might want to check them out and give them a call. Hope this helps.