I am planning a family (of five)trip for June-July 2010 after my son graduates high school as a "last family vacation". I am planning on two weeks in Western Europe, probably Amsterdam as a start and end as they have a nonstop to Seattle, as well as my grandfather was from Rotterdam and want to spend some time connecting with family in NL. Anyways, wanted to create an itinerary, including Germany, Austria, maybe Switzerland. Some input from seasoned EU travellers is most welcome. We were also thinking of a possible cruise to northern Europe (Copenhagen etc.)for the first week, and then the second week on land.
So, any ideas or comments as to what to see and do etc. are most welcome.
Posted by
OP
Seatlle, WA, USA
2 posts
Wow, I knew a family of five proves challenging to find places, thats a great tip. Thanks.
Posted by
Atlanta
1358 posts
First, bravo for you for doing a big family trip like this. We just got back from a trip to Ireland with my sister's family, since her oldest will graduate in 2010, also.
My big piece of advice would be to not overdo it. Doing Holland, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland with your family in 2 weeks will be a lot. Since you're wanting to spend time visiting family, maybe just doing a week in Holland and a week in Germany would work.
With that size of a group, I'd also suggest looking into self-catering places to stay. If you do B&B's, it's going to be hard to find ones that will fit a group that size, plus it'll get pretty expensive, as you have to pay per person. Hostels may be another option, but there, too, you have to pay per person. I'm not sure what they call self-catering places in Holland, but in the German-speaking countries they're called Fereinwohnung. You can do a search for "fereinwohnung (name of town)" and find places that way.
Posted by
Calgary
2297 posts
I'd also recommend to rent vacation appartments. Just be aware of the correct spelling when using google. It's "Ferienwohnung".