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First family trip to Europe with teen & pre-teen

We are planning a two week family trip to Europe in the summer of 2020 and looking for itinerary suggestions. We'd like to tour parts of Switzerland and Italy. We are thinking of arriving in one city and leave from another to allow for more time in each area. Our boys will be 18 and 12 at the time of travel. Each child has been given a "Rick Steves" tour book and will be in charge of helping plan the trip once we get some suggestions. As a family we are very active and love outdoor activities such as sailing, fishing, and hiking. Thank you in advance...or should I say Grazie!

Posted by
16028 posts

There is so much to see and do in those two countries that you will have to be selective to avoid too much time spent moving and not enough "doing". I suggest four locations maximum, two in Italy and two in Switzerland. Fly into Rome and out of Zurich or vice-versa.

With your interests I highly recommend 4-5 days n Mürren in the Berner Oberland. Great hiking and mountain biking, and the kids would probably really love the via Ferrata there:

http://www.klettersteig-muerren.ch/index.php/de/

My husband did it when we were there last August and really enjoyed it (much to his surprise).

For sailing, you can rent a boat on Lake Thun nearby:

http://www.interlaken.ch/en/activities-excursions-adventure-festivals/summer-sports-and-adventure/water-sports-interlaken/sailing-lake-thun-interlaken.html

For thrill-seekers, there is also paragliding from the cliffs. Or make your way to Grindelwald one day and try the First Flieger zipline:

https://www.jungfrau.ch/en-gb/grindelwaldfirst/first-flyer/

You can also rent mountain scooters and coast down.

If you schedule your trip to be in Mürren the first weekend of August, you will experience the Dorffest ( village festival) and a wonderful parade, complete with decorated cows and marching bands.

Posted by
26840 posts

If budget is an issue (you didn't mention that, but for many of us it is), you may want to focus your Swiss time on a mountain experience like what Lola has suggested, then decamp for the much less expensive Italy rather than splitting your time 50/50.

That point aside, if you can add some time, you'll be very glad to have more than two weeks when you start considering all the places you might want to see in Italy. I know it's close to sacrilege not to include Rome, but if you spend time in the Swiss Alps (where you do need to allow a fair number of days because the weather is unpredictable) and tackle such a major destination as Rome, I think you'll have time for only one additional destination.

If your vacation time is fixed, please tell us how many nights you'll be able to spend in Europe, not counting the night on the plane going over. "Two weeks" can mean as few as 12 non-jetlagged days in Europe, or you might have 14.

I don't know what you mean by a "vacation booking company". What services do you want the company to provide?

Posted by
2 posts

Thank you for your response. We are planning around a 14 day trip including two full flight days but it is not set in stone so it can be more. Our budget is probably average. From the response, I am wondering if we need to just do Italy for this trip and then Switzerland a different trip or vise versa. I have come across some companies that will book everything in advance for you but if we are wanting a true custom trip then we'll have to take it on ourselves.

Posted by
2339 posts

If you have booked your trips yourself in the US, then you can handle it yourself in Europe, too. You have lots of time to plan. Have you read "Europe Through the Back Door"? It will give you the confidence, and information, to do this. Have fun planning!

Posted by
26840 posts

You can definitely make the arrangements yourself, and I would recomomend that you do so. That way, you are the one deciding how to weigh the virtues of charm, convenient location and reasonable price. Travel agents are prone to booking people in the hotels that pay them commissions.

Fourteen days including travel days is only 11 fully-usable sightseeing days in Europe, because most people are to some degree sleep-deprived and jetlagged on their arrival day. It would be stunningly shocking if you were all raring to go on your arrival day, so I would plan to spend that day walking around outdoors, trying to adjust to the new time zone.

You could split your trip between Switzerland (very expensive) and one or perhaps two stops in Italy, or you could spend all the time in one country. I don't like to waste a lot of time traveling long distances between my base cities, so I would prefer a single-country trip if I had just 11 days to work with. At the least, I would avoid pairing Rome or another southern Italian destination with Switzerland.

Italy has a huge amount of variety, so it's not as if 11 days in Italy won't provide a lot of variation in experiences (mountains, lakes, beaches, hill towns, Roman ruins, the very scenic Dolomites, Venice...).

Posted by
1929 posts

Switzerland & Italy can be done in 14 days total, more time is better, however.

In March 2015, we started out in Paris, but did Lucerne all the way to southern Italy by train. A highlight of that trip was traveling over the Alps on that trip from Lucerne to Milan. In 12 nights I would (very rough plans):

1: Fly into Zurich, train to Lucerne
2: Explore Lucerne & environs
3: Train Lucerne/Florence (5 hrs, 45 min)
4: Florence
5: Florence (explore Tuscany, private tour?)
6: Florence
7: Train Florence/Rome (1 hr 20 min)
8: Rome
9: Rome (daytrip to Orvieto)
10: Rome (daytrip to Naples or Pompei)
11. Rome
12: Rome
13: Fly out of Rome

There are so many possibilities that this is only one of them. Keep in mind the summer is high season, and all these localities will have many tourists to contend with. But this is your first trip to Italy, and these places should be seen.

Do research in both Florence and Rome through VRBO or AirBnB on apartments to rent. For a family of 4 it would be perfect, and probably less expensive than two hotel rooms as well.

Enjoy your planning!

Posted by
26840 posts

With all due respect to Jay, Lucerne is a very pretty city in a very pretty setting, but one non-jetlagged day in Lucerne and then off to Italy is not what I would consider a real visit to Switzerland. For a first trip to Switzerland in the summer, I'd want to have enough days in the country to spend some time up in the mountains. Now, if one is planning a trip to Italy and finds airfare into Switzerland a lot cheaper and decides to see Lucerne for a day before heading south, that's a (philosophically) different situation.

Posted by
1929 posts

Never said that my itinerary is the be-all-end-all--it ain't--but the OP could very easily get caught up in Switzerland for half the trip, and then have little time to have more than a look-see, fly-by in Italy, which would be a shame.

Now...if the trip were to be extended to even 14 nights, I'd immediately take those two additional days to leave Lucerne and visit the Interlaken/Lauterbrunnen/Murren area before crossing the Alps by rail and entering Italy with time to savor it full measure. Murren looks like one of the most picturesque places on Earth, and is on my bucket list.

And...almost to a man (or woman) on this forum, we would advise you to definitely plan this yourself, KJL. Once you get the planning bug, it's addicting, believe me. You'll have many different scenarios in your mind, you'll check back with specific questions to us on here, and then you'll plan from the outside in, basically seeing what makes sense logistically. Don't try and cram too many places in, or your memories will be a blur.

Posted by
467 posts

Here is an idea & it is RS’s forum
After all. We took our teens on the 14 day BOE tour a few years ago. Yes it is quick but you see all the highlights & you don’t have to worry about driving or hotels between sites. My teens loved the Murien area. We never could have seen so much in a few weeks. Enjoy

Posted by
15679 posts

As a family we are very active and love outdoor activities such as
sailing, fishing, and hiking

Here's where i'm a little stuck, as far as Italy. The vast majority of first-timers to The Boot - assuming you are - go to see the stuff they've seen pictures of all of their lives: The Colosseum and Sistine Chapel in Rome; Florence's duomo and belltower; Venice's canals; a postcard, terracotta-colored hill town...

You get the idea.
You don't mention having an interest in these sorts of things but maybe you just forgot to do that?

So, I'll ask the question: Do you and your family have any interest in any less 'outdoorsy' pursuits? There's nothing wrong with it if you don't but I know you'll get (as you already have) suggestions for Florence, Rome, etc. unless you've really no interest in the cities, in the landmarks, art, architecture and whatnot at all.

It doesn't mean that you can't be 'active' in the more urban areas as we've easily put 10+ miles on our feet every day. Bike tours are also available in some as well as odds and ends in others, such as gondola-rowing classes in Venice. It's just that the cities will offer far more cultural-type activities than anything else. So, if those aren't going to do it for ya, best to eliminate them at the get-go?

Another thing to consider, as you're traveling with 3 adults + one tween, is accommodations. Most hotels in Europe are not set up like many in the U.S. with lots of double-queen rooms. Rooms tend to be much smaller, and you'd need a quad family room to accommodate all 4 of you. Those are certainly available at some hotels but with 3 adults, you might be more comfortable in apartments. Many of those are available as well but because of initial cleaning fees, they often make better sense for longer versus shorter stays. Let's just say I wouldn't go that route if you plan to move every couple days or so?

I'll just throw this out for kicks? Your family might do well at a country agriturismo, one located near hiking trails, has a pool or is on a lake, maybe has loaner bikes or offers other sorts of activities. A rental car will almost certainly be necessity for exploring but I'll bet some of the folks may have some suggestions if that might be of interest.