My husband and I are planning a european trip with our oldest granddtr, who is now 10. Several questions: is there a age break when fares are less expensive? Which city is less expensive to fly into? Should we add additional cities? If so, which ones? We plan on purchasing an Eurorail Pass. We want to take her to London, Paris, and Rome. We plan on a 3 week vacation with one week each in the three major cities. We may add Vienna to the schedule, using RS suggested 4 day itineraries in each of the 3 or 4 cities. Thanks, Esther
Posted by
OP
Centennial, CO
189 posts
After rereading RS travel books we are thinking of adding Vienna. Spending his suggested 4-day itineraries in each city. Esther
Posted by
Freedonia
16283 posts
For that itinerary, do not buy a Eurail Pass. See my response to this question under the "transportation" section.
Posted by
victoria, Canada
11507 posts
For three weeks I think three major cities are more then sufficent, remember you will likely want to do some daytrips out of the cities.. ie, Bath from London, Versailles from Paris, etc etc.
I would not buy a rail pass.
Fly into London, take Eurostar to Paris, fly to Rome, and fly out of Rome home. Simple .
If you book the Eurostar in advance you can get very cheap rates, and same with flight to Rome from Paris, Vueling and possibly Easyjet and Ryanair both offer cheap flights. I flew from Paris to Rome this summer for 80 euros one way,, took 1.5 hours and was simple( I used Vueling).
Try to make you own itineraries not slavishly follow RS , take your own tastes into account. Use RS for ideas and framework, but do your own homework. Ask granddaughter to look online and see if anything interests her.
Most kids love the Towers at Notre Dame, and the Eiffel Tower, there is also a doll museum in Paris. My sons loved a day trip to Warwick Castle outside London, google for the website, they really enjoyed it. All kids like the Colisuem,, once you tell them a little about the history .. I think the best think you can do is talk talk talk to gd and get her excited in interested in sites before she goes. Seeing church after church or museum after museum can be boring if not done right.
My 12 yr dd loved the Louvre,, and I knew she would ,, as I invested some time in energy into thinking what would interest her.
Have fun,, its a great thing to take kids to Europe, my hubby and I have taken turns taking each of our three kids solo to Europe..
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23626 posts
And remember to have documentation that you are authorized to take your granddaughter out of the country and you have medical power of attorney.
Posted by
Tacoma, WA, USA
671 posts
Our 11 year old was covered under the Lufthansa child rate (couple hundred dollars cheaper). 12 year olds are charged the adult rate w Lufthansa.
She will get reduced (or free w. adult) rates on public transportation and possibly reduced in museums (less so in Italy for both of these- In Berlin, kids are free in state Museums.)
Posted by
Atlanta
1358 posts
She can get the kid's rate on airfare until she's 12, but the amount of the discount varies on different airlines.
I'd suggest getting Cynthia Harriman's book, "Take Your Kids to Europe." It's got a lot of kid-friendly sites in there that aren't listed in most guidebooks. And also check with the library about fiction books for her to read that are based in the cities where you're traveling. It'll give her some background on the cities. She'll probably want to go see some of the Harry Potter sites in London.
Posted by
OP
Centennial, CO
189 posts
Great ideas. Chloe has read all of the Potter books, so should find some of these London places interesting. Thanks, Dorsey