My husband and I would like to take our two grandkids on a nice vacation. They will be 16 and 18 when we travel.
were thinking of Italy My Way tour would be nice. I'm curious about others experience that have done this trip with teenagers.
Is there a better choice? Though we cannot travel at the moment we are actively planning.
Thanks!
Posted by
Alexandria, VA
771 posts
My sister and her husband did the Italy My Way tour a few years ago and there were families with older teens and young adults on it. (Maybe one each.) Everyone seemed to have a great time and people enjoyed the younger people’s presence.
Edited to add: You can call the RS office and ask if it's common to have older teens on the tour. When it's near booking time you can ask if any other teens are booked on the tour.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32198 posts
marysl,
The My Way Italy tour is certainly one choice you could consider. The tour takes care of transportation and lodgings, and it's nice to travel with a smaller group. I would suggest planning sightseeing carefully, as you'll be responsible for all touring in each city you visit. You'll need to have your activities well planned so that you don't waste any time.
You may want to order a copy of the current Rick Steves Italy guidebook to start working on that. The newest edition will be released in January 2021 and waiting until then shouldn't be a problem as it's not likely that any of us will be travelling before then.
Posted by
South Carolina, USA
103 posts
If the four of you like scenic vistas and being outdoors also look at the my way Alpine Europe tour. Look at the RS tour scrapbooks for several tours to help visualize the experience.
Posted by
Narberth, PA
1225 posts
When I read your post the first time the other day, My Way Alpine leapt to mind, probably because it is the one My Way tour I have done. I hope to do it again. Something tells me I would be apt to over plan on My Way Italy. I have that tendency. Sometimes I start a trip mentally ticking boxes of what I want to see. I started My Way Alpine that way but was able to kick the habit and enjoy and experience what came at me a bit more than I think I may have done in more urban areas.
Anyway, I have been on at least 10 RS tours and teens have always been a welcome addition to the group, IMO.
Posted by
New Orleans
1206 posts
I think the Italy My Way tour would be a fantastic tour for a 16 year old and an 18 year old. I took my daughter to Italy twice when she was 13 and 15 and she LOVED it. I would definitely plan on an at least one extra day at the beginning in Venice, to give yourselves some time to recover from jet lag and to spend more time in that beautiful city, and at least one more day (!!) in Rome at the end of the tour. 1.5 days that the tour gives you in Rome is nowhere near enough time. I also echo an earlier poster to plan your days in these cities/towns well before you leave. For example: Make your reservations online for the Uffizi gallery and Accademia in Florence, for the Borghese gallery in Rome, etc. Each of the stops on the tour is covered well in Rick Steve's ITALY book; you might want to get each grandkid their own copy and ask them to read through it and let you know what they'd like to do in each town. (One suggestion from my own experience: When traveling with my teenaged daughters, shopping was usually high on their lists of things they wanted to do. Rather than fight it, we negotiated: equal times shopping and in museums/churches!)