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First time trip to England, Ireland, Italy with 2 adults and 2 teens

My husband and I are both involved in theatre and fairly educated. We work in a university and are surrounded by people who have already been all around the world, and talk about it frequently. We are strictly middle class, with 2 teenage children, and are sick of being jealous of other people's ability to travel outside of the US. We don't want to wait until we're senior citizens to see the world we study so often in our work, yet our resources are limited. I don't know where to find out dollar specific information on how much it would cost to see England, Ireland, and Italy (a few famous highlights in each place), for a family of 4, assuming we don't need luxurious food and accommodations, but we do need decent cleanliness and safety (i.e. no sleeping in subway stations or on the street). I guess I need to know how much I would need to save, for however many days it would take to hit a few top tourist spots in those 3 countries (is 7 days enough?), including airfare, lodging, food, transport, admission fees, and maybe a few souvenirs, for 2 parents and 2 teens. We love history and art and theatre. Since it would be the first time for all of us, and we have to keep costs to a minimum, just a general whirlwind scratching of the surface of Europe would be a dream come true. I know this is full of vagaries, but any help would be appreciated, especially sources of information. Thanks in advance,
Tavia

Posted by
248 posts

I'm going to give it go under the context that your primary goal is to see this beautiful world, learn about other cultures, gain appreciation of history & broaden your family's horizons. (improving your standing with Joneses & upping your cocktail conversation is a losing proposition) Begin with at least 3 full days air travel getting to & from Europe (actual time + zone change). Right now the rate of air travel is about $1000pp. Give one of your childrent the task of investigating airfare on Travelocity, Kayak, etc. It will be a learning experience for them. In my opinion, you could link Ireland and England for a period of time OR you could travel to Italy (Venice Florence Rome or perhaps only Rome) but it just doesn't make sense to try the 3 you listed unless you have a good deal of time. Look at a map of Europe and get an idea of proximity. Look at the Tours offered by Rick Steves - if the itineraries make sense for the thousands who travel with him, they could work for you. Consider how much you can afford if you save xx over y number of years.
Do this preliminary homework and then ask specific questions. We've been saving 2 years for a 10 day trip to Edinburgh York London and already know we'll start saving for an Ireland/Scottish Highlands trip when we get home. I've always thought that dreaming about and planning for a trip is a good deal of the adventure. Good luck!

Posted by
11294 posts

First, you should get Rick Steves Europe Through The Back Door. It has lots of information about the nuts and bolts of travel, planning, choosing hotels, meal options, etc. For instance, with a family you can save money in apartments instead of hotels, and have a kitchen to save more money on food, and have a washer and dryer to be able to pack less and save money on laundry. But, you won't have a hotel staff for assistance, which can be very helpful on a first trip to a city. Next, I don't know where St. Charles is, but you can start checking airfares from your nearest airports to various European destinations on Kayak.com. Airfares are becoming more unpredictable, but they are definitely higher than just a few years ago. You should never go to a place just because you got a good fare, but it can be a tie-breaker. Unless you have a lot of time and money, trying to see Ireland, Italy, and England on one trip will be difficult. The rule of thumb is that you lose a half-day every time you change close cities (say, London to Paris) and a whole day with other city changes (say, London to Rome). There's packing, checking out, getting to the airport or train station, taking your transit, getting from the new station or airport to your hotel... Next, as Susan said, to get between your three countries, you'll almost certainly need to fly. Yes, there are overnight trains and lengthy boat connections, but these will not necessarily save time or money. And, many find that they do not sleep on overnight trains - so they lose some of the next day to fatigue. Then there's the money it takes to get from one country to another - times four people. I'd pick two of your three countries (if you don't want to see just one), and focus on those. Do fly open-jaw (called "multi-city" on Kayak and other flight booking engines), to save time and money backtracking.

Posted by
32512 posts

are the teenagers young adults or older small children? Will they participate in the adventure or be carried along? It may help to plan their depth of knowledge and ability to immerse themselves. My initial reaction when I saw the 7 days is that that is good for any one of the three but trying to get much out of 3 disparate areas in under a week (remember jet lag, and you can't count the day of travel or arrival) is very difficult (and expensive) to try to achieve.

Posted by
129 posts

Also consider going in shoulder seasons or off seasons to avoid some of the higher flight and lodging costs. Perhaps fall or spring breaks. You probably would be better off taking one country at a time, unless you can expand your trip to 10 days or two weeks and try to do Ireland/England. Italy should deserve its own trip, I would think. Dont forget passports for everyone (Can't remember the current cost, $130? $150?) There is a great family who has a travel blog that has been so inspiring to me. Both parents are teachers and they have three kids (elementary to high school age) and they take extended overseas vacations every summer. The father breaks down the costs and has great tips for saving such as apartment rentals (where you can cook all of your own meals). I'm not sure if we're allowed to post links on these boards to blogs, but PM me and I can give you the link.

Posted by
11294 posts

I missed that you only are planning 7 days for the whole trip. OUCH! In that case, attempting to see any more than 2 places relatively close together (say, London and Paris, or Rome and Venice) would be folly, particularly with a group of 4 (the larger the group, the longer it takes to get around, and you have to multiply all travel costs by 4 as well). I'd pick one country, and then really get into it. You and your kids should start learning the basics of the culture and language (for Italy), the transit system, the tourist highlights, the off-the-beaten path spots that might appeal, etc. Involve your children in all steps of the process, so it's their trip too. Yes, if you think you may be going in the next 5 years, get passports NOW. The process for getting a passport for someone under 16 is now more involved than in the past, so get started early (here's a link to the Official US Passport website).

Posted by
635 posts

If you are interested in theater, the obvious choice is the United Kingdom. Unlike the rest of Europe, almost everything is in English there. You can see live performances all over Great Britain with the obvious focal points of London and Stratford-upon-Avon. There are excellent companies in many of the other cities. Bath will sometimes preview shows intending to perform in London and I'm sure other cities also do this. As for all the costs, someone has already pointed out you should get Rick's book. His books all give estimates for lodging, food and transportation. Before you can figure out what it will cost, you need details of what you want to do. If you are limiting yourself to a nominal week, I suggest you go to London and rent an apartment for your stay. You can get a number of options at Homeaway. You can do day trips from this base. There are also more than enough to see in the greater London area for seven days.

Posted by
343 posts

Do the 7 days include the flight over and back? If yes, then I would restrict the itinerary to one of those countries. If not, if you had, say 7 days plus two days for flights, then I would do England and Ireland (although it would still be scratching the surface). So, assuming you have 7 days not including trans-Atlantic flights, you could fly open jaw into London and out of Dublin, for example. This could allow you to start your trip with a few days in London, decide what you wanted to see in England and drive to York, for example, and then fly out of a northern city on a puddle jumper to Dublin or Belfast. Then, spend a day in one of those cities, maybe a night or two in the Antrim Coast (very close to Belfast and your kids might think that Giants Causeway is cool) and fly out of Dublin. It'll be hectic, but like you said, scratching the surface is a dream come true over not going at all! So...sketch out a basic itinerary, then start looking at B&Bs for non-city destinations. B&Bs are great because you can have a huge breakfast in the mornings as part of your accommodation expense, and then a picnic later in the day. Or, a snack mid afternoon and then a restaurant in the evenings. For London and Dublin, we've had excellent luck using Priceline and specifying the location and specifying the highest number of stars possible. Then we plug in a price we could afford and we've had excellent accommodations in the heart of those cities for reasonable prices. The reason we went that route in the cities is because (1) we wanted to stay in the heart of the cities so we didn't have to commute in each day, and (2) going for the highest number of stars meant that I had to worry less about getting into a rough place. Good luck in your planning!

Posted by
3428 posts

With only 7 days (or 5 if those include flying days), I'd pick ONE destination. London would be my first choice. You could rent an apartment (check out London School of Economics - they rent spare dorm rooms and apartments to tourists- www.lsevacations.co.uk/ www.lsetopfloor.co.uk/ ) to save some cash and have a more homelike feel. There are some great day trips you can do on your own by train. I wrote an article for AAA Carolina's "Go!" magazine a few years ago and have re-done it as a TripAdvisor article ( http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g186338-c176673/London:United-Kingdom:London.And.Day.Trips.html ). You might find it helpful. Even just staying in London, you won't find that you have extra time on your hands. I've been more than 40 times and would go back ASAP if I could- and there's LOTS I've not seen and done yet and plenty I'd do over and over and over.

Posted by
403 posts

You've gotten tons of good advide here about planning a budget. A few other things to think about: Consider any friends or relatives who would let you stay with them for a couple of days. Even 2 or 3 days would allow you to lengthen your trip very inexpensively. Hostels are another good option. They're not just for youth anymore, and many of them have 4 bed "private" rooms for families at a great price. One plug for London is that many of the famous places to visit are free: the British Museum, National Gallery, etc. Tower of London is expensive, but worth it. You can be "groundlings" at the Globe Theater for 5 pounds each! Another way to maximize your experience is to divide and conquer. Your kids are old enough to have well-defined personal interests. It can be very satisfying for mom and kid #1 to go to the technical museum while dad and kid #2 visit the sculpture gallery. Something to think about. Your kids could even see something different than their parents. This saves paying admission x4 for things that only interest one or two people.
Accomodation with included breakfast is a must for ravenous teens. They can fuel up for "free," and even grab a roll or piece of fruit for later. Don't skip lunch-they'll just get cranky. Markets, picnics, and street stalls can provide super cheap fill-up options.

Posted by
1443 posts

One Idea that could work for a family of 4 is to do a home exchange or to do a weeks rental in a good location near the cultural stuff you seek. Then you could eat in a couple of nights and maybe the kids would rather stay home and eat pizza and watch local TV (which can be very educational); while you go to a posh restaurant and a more sophisticated theatrical play. Someone earlier on this blog was staying in home in a nice neighborhood a bus ride away from Edinburgh...a car was included! If you'd rather travel in linear way...stay in one country and rent a car and stay in B&B's or Farmhouses outside the big cities. In Great Britain you can buy a family tourist pass for a week from the National Trust UK...which gives you endless choices. Remember...although London is expensive for lodging...there's a lot of stuff to do and see for free.

Posted by
2 posts

Well, I'm thoroughly impressed with the terrific information in these replies, and very grateful. (Not keeping up with the Joneses by the way, no cocktail parties. People just tell me these things in conversation. I don't ask, but they tell.) I will start doing my homework and try to keep this little dream going. I'm going to start looking at the Rick Steves materials first. Sounds like I should get rid of the Italy portion, but that's definitely tough. I'm Italian American and wanted to see it once. Apparently a branch of the family is still there, but I don't know them at all.
$4,000 just for airfare? Yikes! It's worse than I thought. I've never heard of a "family friendly" hostel, so that sounds great. Anyone ever tried staying in one? Was it all you'd hoped? I'm looking forward to finding some specific cost information in the Europe Through the Back Door book, because that's the main thing I'm after. Thanks again.

Posted by
248 posts

Tavia, Airfare is the biggest one-time cost of the trip and can be the big stumbling block. Get familiar with the possible gateways and normal cost to fly to your destination. Look beyond the obvious; sometimes the smaller regional airports are actually less because they're trying to entice flyers. The closest airport for me is 10 miles, but it's normally cost-prohibitive. There are three other options: if we drive 4 hours, we can save a substantial amount of money, especially when multiplied by 4. Armed with the "normal" costs, sign up with the airlines, the travel companies like Orbitz, Expedia, Kayak and "watchdogs" like Farecompare. They'll alert you of price drops.
You also might consider "for rent by owner"- apartments instead of B&Bs. Homeaway.com, Flipkey and VRBO are sites to look at. I've used them in the US with great success.

Posted by
2347 posts

Highly recommend sceptre tours (check spelling as it is not normal spelling) as we got great package from either Philadelphia or Newark, NJ, can not remember which one, used it twice. A fly,drive with vouchers for B&B's in UK and one for Ireland for less than $1000.00 per person.This included car, airfare, vouchers for a B&B for we think was seven days and six nights. Fabulous.This was two years ago but really check them out.

Posted by
1 posts

We took our first ever trip to Europe this past spring with our 13 year old daughter. We are also middle class financially and a little more blue collar socially and like you probably tried to see too much in too little time. We had 9 days and spent a few days in London, 2 days and 3 nights in the Cotswolds, and 2 nights in Paris. We got messed up by United Airlines changing our return trip with just a couple weeks to go. We had originally booked a return flight to leave Heathrow on Saturday afternoon about 5pm. We were planning to ride the Eurostar back from Paris Saturday morning, get lunch in London and take the tube back to Heathrow. Our flight got changed to 11am which meant we had to leave Paris on Friday afternoon and book a hotel in London for Friday night to make our flight on Saturday. This meant we only had one full day in Paris. However, not knowing when we will ever be able to afford to return I'm still glad we went.... However, we spent so much time travelling from place to place that it definitively wore us out. My daughter was especially crabby on the heavy travel days. The tube and the trains in Britain were very clean, inexpensive and easy to figure out, even for someone like me who had only ever been on a "Big City Subway" ie the Metro in D.C. once before. The Paris Metro was a little harder to navigate but doable. However, I don't think that you could possibly visit 3 different countries in only 7 days total. Pack LIGHT. We each carried a single backpackable carry on size bag. Have fun. I absolutely loved it and will definitely go back and it will be cheaper next time.

Posted by
24 posts

Ha! Loving the replies but I'll give you my version: I had the same dream as you and the same situation, and we just made our trip last week and got back last night. It was phenomenal; don't get discouraged. DO take your kids. My husband and I took our 17- and 13-year old daughters. -I got three of our four plane tickets with skymiles on Amex. We paid a total of $1700 for all 4 flights which included 1 ticket and fees on the rest. Get a credit card that gives you miles rewards and start using it for EVERYthinggroceries, gas, etc.you can try to save up enough for one or two tickets.
-We knew this might be the one and only time we got to go, so we did exactly as you saidwe hit a little of everything. We traveled for 10 days: flew into London, rented a car and drove to Wales, ferry to Dublin, bus to Belfast, ferry to Scotland, train to Edinburgh, and then train to London for the last 3 days. We had a mind-boggling, jam-packed itinerary but amazingly we stuck to it. We saw everything we wanted to see and even things we hadn't expected. You can do it. Yes, you lose time on the travel but it was worth it for us and we still got to see so much stuff.

Posted by
24 posts

-Look into annual memberships to Historic Royal Palaces and the National Trust we went to many places on these and saved a bundle over paying admittance to each site. -We took one pack eachback-breaking but worth it. Buy everyone really good boots and break them in well before the trip. -Look into Premier Inns. They're everywhere and are a great value. We had great experiences at 3 different ones. -Do Belfast instead of Italy. Much cheaper than the rest of UK and Giants Causeway was our FAVORITE. -Rent cars. Much cheaper than train or bus tickets times 4, and the driving was much easier than expected.
-We saved everywhere we could, but we bought more than expected (including guidebooks). Even with the discounted airfare, we spent a total of $7500 on our trip including an expensive Harry Potter tour in London.