Children

Here’s the info from the Family Tours page:

“The Family Europe tours listed below are great for families with kids as young as 8.”

I’ve not done a family tour but the pace might be a lot for a 5 year old.

I would recommend calling the Rick Steves tour office for an "expert" answer to that question. I took my grandchildren on a Family Tour waaaay back in 2008, when they were 7 and 9. They did beautifully and it was the beginning of a true love affair with traveling and Europe for them. In the intervening years, they have been on 3 more tours. From that first experience, I would agree with Pam in saying the pace might be too tiring and too much sensory overload for a 5 year old, even if they are willing to take a child that young on an organized tour. On the other hand, I also think it would be a wonderful experience for your 8 year old. So much would depend on prior experiences and the maturity level of your children. All you can do is ask the guys in charge of the tours.

In general, a child can walk the same number of miles each day as their age. So your 5 year old would max out around 5 miles per day. That’s less than what most tours do each day.

Other factors are the maturity of the child. I know some 5 year olds that could stay in place and listen. I know others that would take off running. How much self control does your child have? The variability of 5 year olds is immense. You know your child on this one.

Then there is you. Are you willing to spend your time minding your child so others aren’t impacted? Can you make sure the others won’t have to deal with melt downs etc. What about talking during lectures from guides? Others have paid thousands of dollars for this trip so they will expect no interruptions.

Personally, I think that 5 is too young. I have only known one child that could handle something like that and it was because her IQ was off the charts. So she was actually interested in what was going on.

even if RS allowed it you would probably be wasting your money. My husband did a 1 month sabbatical in London when our daughter was 4 and she doesnt remember a single thing , although i have some fun memories and photos of her there.

Please note that the minimum age of 8 is for the family tours. Regular tours have a minimum age of 13.

Our two "Family Europe" tours — London to Florence in 13 Days and Amsterdam to Rome in 14 Days — are designed with families in mind. They're different from their "non-family" counterparts, with kid-friendly lectures and activities, and a minimum age of 8 instead of 13

My daughter went on her first tour at 10. Five honestly is way too young. It would not be fair to the other tour members and even on the family tours I believe they are more geared toward pre-teens not very young kids such as a five year old.