Traveling with Teenagers

My experience with taking children and teenagers traveling is to get them involved in the planning. You have lots of time to provide them with guidebooks and for them to do research for things and places that they will be interested in. When my son was 9, we were staying in Finland with friends and he got a little bored so I just handed him the Paris guidebook and told him what I wanted to see and he wrote out a complete itinerary including places to eat, neighborhoods to visit, what museums were open late. I still have his notes from that trip almost 20 years ago.

I would also say to stay where the action is in cities if possible rather than commuting into cities during the day.

I agree, they need to feel like it's their trip, so helping to plan it can be very important. Distribute "guide duty" aming them for a day each, or try to include one thing each wants to do in each city. They will probably each gravitate to their strengths - one will be better with maps or directions, one will be more comfortable being the conversation-starter with locals, one will have a nose for locatong gelato shops. i encourage a "photo of the day" to keep them focused on what they're seeing, but at their ages that might not be necessary.

Hopefully Terry Kathryn will post here, she has tons of creative ways to travel with kids.

Thank you for your input. I will use these suggestions. I know first hand that keeping teenagers involved in planning, decision making is key to a memorable time. Keep those ideas coming : )

^^^ The trip is to Italy, as she noted in the OP.

Definitely include them in the planning of course, though never hesitate to make them do some things they might find boring (like art museums). At that age, there is also no reason not to let them have some time on their own. They can go as a group or in a couple of smaller groups. Italy is safe in the touristed areas and they will love having some independence and free time. You can set up meeting places and times and make sure each one has their hotel name, address and phone numbers written and carried by them at all times. And make sure all have some spending money so they can buy trinkets or gelato.

If you haven't selected places in Italy yet, I would certainly recommend Rome, Florence and Venice. All three have plenty for teens to see and enjoy. Pompeii could be fun for them. If you use Napoli as a base for Pompeii, they would probably love a "beach day" on either Capri or Ischia.

I only have good things to post.... my trips to Europe with the grandkids are my most priceless memories.... I have only taken one at a time to Europe, but have traveled the US with as many as 4 boys at a time.

My experience has been that getting the kids involved is important. Since all of these kids are older I would literally give each one of them a full day to plan and be somewhat in charge of. On a recent trip to NYC I had each of the kids do some research and report to the group on their chosen subject. We learned all about the Statue of Liberty, the history of Broadway, the oldest work of art at the Met, and an obscure artist in Soho.

I also have devised a journal that is a sort of 'trip log' and it is mandatory that if I am paying for the trip they have to keep this journal...it is theirs and they need not share any of it... Each day has a fill in the blank area (where we started, hotel or B&B, memorable meals, most amazing site and memorable moments, things that surprised them, etc) Then, there are extra pages in the back for drawing and sketching or additional journal notes. I am a photographer, but they still all have cameras. After the trip I will put together a book of our images and do a slideshow. It takes a lot of time, but these are so special. I often give them to the kids for Xmas... the year following their trip. I also try to make them learn a few words in the language...
They have to pack light and as my grandkids were younger I bought them new clothes for the trip and did do the packing...but now they know how little they can live with. Very little media.... I don't take them to do what they could do at home.... it's a time to be present....Obviously harder to control when the kids are older, but the 16 year old said he was really happy to be 'out of touch' for a while. With that many people there will be times when someone is tired and cranky, but all in all you are giving them an experience that will impact their lives forever, as well as bond them to you in a very special way. You will have years of talking about those memories with the kids.

Encourage them to learn Italian!! They are probably studying or have recently studied a romance language in school. That is a great building block to add on some Italian phrases.

My two boys were 15 and 11 on one trip to England. We had guidebooks that everyone read and made a priority list of things they wanted to see. We made sure that everyone saw the top few items on their list and it was interesting that some of us had the same items at the top. Making sure that everyones interests were conquered helped because during the studying of the guidebooks everyone was at least familiar with the sights that the other had picked even if they hadn't prioritized it at the top.

Have a Great Time!

Thank you so much for taking the time to post your experiences and tips.
I spoke to 3 of the grandkids today and mentioned that they needed to help in the planning and to research the place they wanted to see. They were very receptive and had smiles on their faces.

I would let them do some internet research, assuming they'll be faster than you. For instance, they could look up all the train schedules or download the DB Navigator app to their mobile devices. They might also want to test the free audio walking tours on Rick's Audio Europe App.

I took my 2 teens to Italy and France last summer. I let them use their phones to take pictures while we were out during the day. However, they didn't have data or texting without wifi so they weren't constantly looking at their phones rather than the Sistine Chapel. I made sure to get hotels with wifi so they could reconnect at night. They enjoyed posting their photos on social media and it became their "travel journal". We had one week with very limited wifi so they still got to unplug for a bit. We all got to pick things we wanted to do and they endured the museums and things I wanted to do. There was some grumpiness and tension at times but that is perfectly normal. We have great memories and I wouldn't have traded it for anything.

Hi Laura,
Where can I find the train schedules for Italy?

Hi Lisa,
Cell phones: my grandchildren have data and texting in the US. I was wondering about roaming charges if they use their phones in Italy.

Trenitalia. com for train schedules; begin by clicking on the British flag icon to translate the page.

Dianne, you can turn off the data and roaming on an iPhone by going to settings, cellular, and choosing off for cellular data and roaming. If they have another kind of phone I am sure they can figure it out. They can then still access their camera and other info they have stored on their phone. When they have access to wifi they can use the internet for messaging and social media. We only used wifi at the hotel and once or twice at a restaurant. I'm sure they know how to message using wifi only. Or they could use an iPod touch if they have one or an ipad. The iPads are too bulky to carry around and use the camera but are great for using in the hotel. Make sure they know they are not allowed to turn the data back on until they get back to the US. I really enjoyed seeing what they chose to photograph. When I went back to look at their photos they had seen things I hadn't noticed.

Re: international data plans on cell phones

Best answer is to contact their carriers. Options are not great although they are getting better. They vary but they mostly include paying a flat fee for a certain amount of data and paying a flat fee to reduce the cost per minute of an international phone call.

In my opinion, the international plans are not worth it. Free wifi is becoming very common. So I wait until I have Wifi to check email/communicate with family/look things up on the internet. Texts are only 25-50 cents so I will send texts sometime.

They should NOT use data (meaning emails, searching internet, playing games, etc) without getting an international plan or being on Wifi. The bill will quickly get into the hundreds of dollars, even a thousand.

Have a great trip! Lucky grandchildren!

Lisa,
Thank you so much for the cell phone information. Yes, they can figure out how to turn the data and roaming settings off and on much faster than I can. I will share your information with them.
You have been very helpful.

If you are going to Rome, I highly recommend these 2 places as something very enjoyable and intriguing for kids/teenagers--both really make the past "come alive" so that visitors can imagine what Ancient Rome was like. They are very highly rated in Trip Advisor and my family thought they were "top locations'.

Read the reviews below:

Le Domus Romaine: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g187791-d2179620-Reviews-Le_Domus_Romane_di_Palazzo_Valentini-Rome_Lazio.html

Bascilica di San Clemente (a few blocks from the Colosseum)
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g187791-d198746-Reviews-Basilica_di_San_Clemente_al_Laterano-Rome_Lazio.html

Also Rick Steves' free audio guides for many locations in Rome (and elsewhere) also came in handy for my teenagers--gave them independence as well as good info.

SuzieeQQ,

What a wealth of information at your fingertips!
I went to the website Le Domus Romane di Palazzo Valentini and looked around. Yes, I think this is something we should do. One question: I tried to find it on a map, but did not find it. Could you help us ?