Mommy traveling alone with toddler...need help!

Good points so far.

It is possible to find dingy hotels and sleazy neighborhoods in Paris for 60 - 70 Euro per night, but getting down to the 45 - 50 Euro that matches your budget will be tough. Amsterdam will be a little easier, but still an issue. Some of our more creative accomodations gurus will hopefully help on that front... Setting that aside for the moment...

Are you flying into Ramstein AFB? Or, will they fly you into Paris so you can work your way toward Frankfurt?

Assuming a Paris entry is possible... and pressing you to travel light even with your little one (we've done it... it can be done...)

Day 1-6 Paris.

Day 7 - morning train Paris Nord to Brugge (2.5 hrs on Thalys, runs at 8am). Afternoon Brugge, night Brugge.

Day 8 - morning(ish) train to Amsterdam. (3 - 3.5 hrs, connect in Antwerp)

Day 9-13 - Amsterdam. Side trips Haarlem.

Day 14 - Train to Frankfurt. (4 - 5.5 hrs, most connect in Cologne... in which case I'd purposely give myself a 90-minute connection and see the Cathedral while there...)

Each of those train rides carries some expense as well. For example, Amsterdam to Frankfurt full fare on the fastest train is 112 Euro -- but some savings fares on that same train are still available for 39 Euro. Those cheaper fares for mid-May will start selling out pretty quickly, so you'll need to make some decisions pretty soon.

Lastly... and by FAR... MOST IMPORTANTLY...

Thank you with all sincerity for the service your husband provides this country. You and he have my utmost respect, sincerest thanks, and lifelong admiration. Thank him for me, and thank him on behalf of all who love their freedom.

Brugge might be possible as a very unsatisfying daytrip from Amsterdam if you were traveling by yourself, but that sounds like a nightmare with a 1 year old in tow. Your three destinations really are too far apart to make daytrips from one to the other. Also, if you don't want to say in a hostel, you are unlikely to find much of anything in your price range. Some of the cheapest non-hostel options in those cities usually start at around 80 euro per night.

Tom...that's what I thought! Do you have any recommendations for a good home-base city that we could spend a week at? Possible in a B&B because the week rates seem reasonable? If we have a good home-base city that has alot to do that would be fine too. I also would love to branch out a bit and take day trips to the cities nearby. i am just clueless as to what areas are good.

It's not on your list but Berlin might be a less expensive option to look into. There is lots to do and a great transportation system. We stayed in Pension Peters--they have a single room for 58 Euro a night but even that is almost $80. Just a thought...or maybe a smaller city in France or Germany.

Considering that your budget is tight, you have a toddler, and you are going to do some significant travel as soon as you meet up with hubby, I would think a rural home base in a nice area with decent transport and plenty of time to chill out and do very low-key tourism would be my choice.

I would love to do Paris & Amsterdam too but without hostels, your nightly budget for lodging will need to DOUBLE. Remember, single rooms are generally only about 20% less than doubles and are harder to find. The child's needs will severely limit what you can expect to accomplish in the city, especially as the lone parent.

I would spend a week in the Rhine/Mosel river area (maybe Bacharach or nearby - see the RS Germany book) then spend a week in Berlin for a big city experience (cheaper lodgings) or in and around Würtzburg/Nürnberg/Rothenburg for a small city experience.

That's not exactly my ideal two weeks in Europe, but it is perfectly pleasant and doable for a lone parent and toddler, you should be able to find a welcoming B&B for close to your price range, the transport options are decent, it's not too far flung from your husband, and you won't feel bad if you only get 4 productive hours a day of sightseeing. You can see Paris and Amsterdam another time perhaps?

Thank you everyone so much for your input. Thank you Jim for your kind words to my husband...I did send him what you wrote. It always is good to be encouraged! I guess I am out of it when it comes to the cost to stay in a place. I am comparing it to American hotels where you can easily find a place for $70. I am flexible and defintely don't want to be in the wrong neighborhood since I am traveling alone. I really like the idea of staying in Paris for a week and then heading to Brugges and Amsterdam.

Jim...I am flying military aircraft and it is landing at Ramstein AFB. From there...I just hoped to get on a train to the neighboring countries/cities that would be fun to visit. So, no I cannot fly out of Ramstein to Paris. Is there an commercial airport near Ramstein and would that be better to fly into Paris? Or to take a train?

Thank you all for you help. I am feeling less and less overwhelmed with each helpful reply!

Jackie

Jacqueline,

First of all, I second Jim's thanks to you and your husband for your service/sacrifice to the country. Even though you are not officially "in" the military, you are a vital part of it by supporting your husband.

Now then, as for places to stay, are you not eligible for the same sort of military discounts that your husband is? Because I live close enough to Ft. Hood to get TV reception from Killeen, I get their PBS stations and one of them is the Pentagon Channel. One of the shows they do is about traveling on the cheap through military discounts. You would know better than I who to contact to find out, but surely there are accommodations in France that would be close enough to Paris for you to do your sightseeing. Based on what I have seen on that show, military gets some fabulous deals. Almost makes me want to join, but I'm too old and too fat. :-)

Jacqueline

Randy has the best approach, probably the Mosel valley or Rhine Gorge (which would make trips into Frankfurt okay to visit a city).

Couple of thoughts:

Are you going to pick up a car at Ramstein or wait for husband?

Since you don't know what day and especially what time you'll arrive at Ramstein, you need to think about arriving in the middle of the night (almost, Ramstein closes at ten and reopens at six, I think -- for landings and take-offs). Might be hard to find a hotel all the way in town. Terminal has a family room that they may or may not let you spend the night in if terminal closes. Main point is that advance reservations for a couple of weeks might be an issue. Solveable, but something to think about.

The closest major civilian airports to Ramstein are Frankfurt and Stuttgart. Of the two, you would probably be more likely to get a direct flight out of Frankfurt. I'm not sure exactly where the nearest train station is to the airbase, but it might be Landstuhl, which is located just across the valley.

Ramstein is pretty close to the Rhine. Did you ever consider staying in the area and using it as a base for daytrips? You may even be able to rent a service member's house or apartment (for this plan, of course, you would need a rental car). Check with MWR and see what's available in that area.

I second the thanks to your husband and to you, Jacqueline. I think a deployment is equally hard on the families albeit in different ways than for the service member.

Renting a studio apartment for a week in Paris, training to Amsterdam and renting a studio there for a week would have the advantages Randy (?) mentioned, particulalrly letting you go back for naptime and not having to be up for a set breakfast time.

Have a wonderful and safe trip both on your own and with your husband.

You can grab a train from Kaiserslauten, about 10 miles from the base. Check out train schedules from there to just about anywhere in Europe at the German National Rail website. You should even be able to purchase discount fares to your destinations. There are several trains/day to Paris, but only a couple that go direct...about 2 1/2 hours. Paris is wonderful, but your accommodations budget will be an obstacle.

OK....for Paris accommodations, there are several apartments available within your budget of $70/night (about 50 Euro/night, 350 Euro/week) at homelidays.co.uk, a clearinghouse that we've had success with in the past. Do a search on their website for Paris and for any other destination you may be looking at.....several in Paris appear to be open for May. Paris is built around its "arrondissements," and, generally speaking, the lower the number, the closer you are to the center of Paris. But there are some nice nieghbourhoods all over the city, and there's a great Metro system...you'll also find prices lower as you move outwards. Sacrifice distance for size, so that you and your child have a bit of room to manouever in your apartment. Studios in Europe are VERY small, some ranging from 10-15 square meters (100-160 square feet!) Contact the owners about sleeping accommodations for your daughter. Most will want some sort of deposit, and most won't take credit cards.

If you are arriving in Ramstein, you should be able to catch the shuttle bus that runs between Ramstein and the Frankfurt airport. Contact the USO on base there for more info. They should be able to provide you with information about hotels and guest houses on the many bases located here in Europe, though I don't think there are any in France.

The hotel on the Wiesbaden base might make a good stop for you for a few days. You can easily go explore Mainz, Frankfurt, Wiesbaden of course and the Rhein river. More options may be the bases in Heidelberg, Mannheim, or Stuttgart. This way you can pay in dollars for your rooms.

Berlin is a great place to get a cheap apt. at the rates you are looking for, plus food there is very reasonalbe, just about the cheapest of any of the major cities in Europe. Plenty to do for both you and your daughter, and there are lots of small towns to visit in the surrounding area.

You might want to send a PM to James in Ansbach. He is the most familiar with this kind of info, especially with the travel with little kids, and the bases.

How exciting for you and your husband to be able to spend his R&R here. I know he will be happy to escape the sandbox and relax here for a while. Enjoy and send him a thank you from us.

It's surprising how affordable apartments can be--definitely get recommendations for reputable agencies. The Slow Travel website has reviews for apartments all over Europe--it's a good place to look:
http://www.slowtrav.com/
Friends of mine just rented a very nice studio in Paris for 300E/week, though it probably won't work for you (it was a 6th floor walk up). And not having to eat out 3 times a day with a toddler seems like a good thing, too! I'll also reiterate Maureen's comments re: prices--you might be able to find a $70 hotel room somewhere in the US (just as you will someplaces in Europe) but not in world class cities like Paris, Amsterdam, Boston, NYC, San Francisco...geez, even the Motel 6 that I drive by in Seattle charges $69!

Hi Jacqueline,

What an adventure! I live about 2 1/2 hours south of Ramstein, here are some ideas to help you with your travels. First off, are you going to stay on Ramstein for a day or two? Ramstein has a travel center that plans trips and the such, they offer a lot of different types, here is the website:

http://www.rtttravel.com/

If you are able to make that your homebase, you may be able to catch some day trips or extened overnighters from there, it might be cost effective for you plus you get the added benefit of being in a group and a little extra helping hand.

http://www.ramstein.af.mil/kmcc.asp

This is the website for Ramstein AFB. That might help you also with your travel ideas.

My husband also spent time in Iraq and now we are living in Germany. Stuttgart is a wonderful place with easy access to all of Germany and there is of course a huge military contingency here that you may be able to base your self here in military accomodations, which would be a lot cheaper than off base.

I hope you have a great time exploring Euorpe with your daughter and husband! A BIG THANK YOU goes out to all your husband does! This time together will be a wonderful memory for your family. Thanks for being a military wife! You truely have the hardest job!

I am also wondering if there is a group, on Ramstein, Officers or NCO's Wives Clubs that may be able to help you with your questions and possibly a place to store your belongings etc. Of course the USO is another option for information.

If you have any other questions, please feel free to contact me on PM and I will do what I can to help!

Ciao,

Christina

Thank you everyone for all your helpful ideas! I am considering all of them. I have looked into many of the options you sent me. I did forget that I can take advantage of the of military travel so I am also looking into that. I like the idea of staying at a home base that is on a military post and then taking day trips from there.

Thank you all again for your help and also for your kind words to me and my husband. I am proud of him as well for his service to the our country and we are honored to make this sacrifice!

Jacqueline, how great for you and your daughter to have this great time together, and what a treat to spend some time with your husband, too.

I'm assuming you're traveling with some sort of portacrib, or possibly you could borrow one from a family over there at Rammstein. If you'll have one, then renting a studio for you and your daughter will be fine for you two. When we just had one little one, my husband and I would still get just a double and set the portacrib up in a corner.

You've gotten some great suggestions for cities. Of course, you can find $60-70/night hotels in the states, but with thinking of cities like Paris, that's like finding a $70/night room in NYC. Possible, but probably not something you want your daughter crawling around in. Apartments may work out better, and you'll have access to a fridge and washer/dryer.

I like taking my kids out of the cities so they can run around. Not that a 1-year-old is going to run a lot, but I'm sure she's also not going to want to be in a stroller or backpack the whole time, either.

One more thing, almost forgot about this -- get a copy of Cynthia Harriman's book, "Take Your Kids to Europe". It's got lots of practical information on traveling with kids, including resources for finding apartments. It also list some sights for kids to see over there, things you won't find in the regular guidebooks.

To a child that age, adjusting to her father may take a few days. I think it's a good idea to have her traveling/seeing new things for a few weeks beforehand. That lets her adapt to change. But you might think about staying in the same location for a few days before and after the reunion. A little stability right then would be good.

While other posters have pointed out there are apartments to be had that meet your budget, do take into account that most all apartment rentals require you put down additional money as a refundable security deposit and some have cleaning fees that may or may not be refundable. Sometimes the upfront costs with the fees can break a trip budget.

If you find your budget is too tight to get a well-located apartment, you may want to rethink hostels. Private rooms with your own bathroom can be had at a hostel in your price range. In April 2009, there was a great article in the New York Times Travel section about hostelling in Europe today that gave a number of recommendations, including Oops Hostel in Paris, centrally located in the Latin Quarter. You can Google this article if you'd like to read it or get the link to their recommended hostels.

While a B&B is nice, at least you have access to a kitchen, laundry and Internet at a hostel, there is someone at the front desk to help answer questions or give directions, and the lounge areas are generally large enough to give your toddler a place to spread out and play. You do need to read hostel reviews ahead of time before you book so you can see what others have to say (eg, hostelworld.com or bugeurope.com are good sites for reviews).