This is our first RS tour and first time in Europe with our two kids (12 & 15). In general, I wanted to see if I could start a group discussion to help us first-timers get through the planning and prepping for this trip. Also to connect with those planning on going on this tour. We are planning on arriving in London on the 22nd. and will also be extending our trip for a couple of days to visit Rome. If anyone has similar plans, I would also love to hear from you since planning for Rome after such a long trip seems to be hard for me.
Looking forward to any suggestions and feedback!
Posted by
Midwest
467 posts
Enjoy! Not going on your trip but have done 3 RS tours with my two kids. Starting when the youngest was just 10. We never did a family tour. My kids always did great. Our last tour was BOE14 which ended in Rome. We spent one extra day in Rome. By the end of the trip we were all tired from touring and could have used a down day. if possible you might want to leave some time to sleep in and take it easy in Rome. We also went in Aug so it was very hot. One thing we did was Eatwith.com It is where you eat with a cook in their home with other people from around the world. We did EatWith Barbara. She has quite a following. My kids really enjoyed being in a real person's place and we did meet people from all over the world at our dinner. Enjoy your trip!
Posted by
OP
4 posts
Thanks for the feedback. I think I'm leaning towards taking it easier on the last Rome leg of the trip. I'm sure everyone will be exhausted. Maybe just hit the Colosseum and the Pantheon the afternoon we get there and do one of RS's walks the evening of day 2. Everyone is warning me that Rome will be hot that time of year anyway. Thank you letting me know about the EatWith program. I'll take another look at the website to see what they have available for the time we will be there.
Posted by
6 posts
Hello! We are doing our first Rick Steve's London to Florence tour staring on July 8. Our boys are 12 and 14, and looking forward to it. and we are opting for a different ending. We're flying from Florence to Frankfurt and will spend 4 days there. Those days are very loosely planned so we can do as much or little as we want. I think I'd be happy with just cruising the Rhine and eating all the schnitzel I can get. My husband and I spent 5 days in Rome 15 years ago. We really enjoyed the night time bus tour - very iconic structures lit up with minimal effort on your part. Then I would for sure do the colosseum tour, I believe it's called the geologist tour. That gives you much more interesting information on how the floor was moved, cages with the animals were brought up and down, and the whole thing flooded for the boats. What are you doing for phones for you and the teens when you are there?
Posted by
OP
4 posts
Enjoy Frankfurt! Germany is on our bucket list and will most definitely be on our radar for our next European trip. I did a little research and we will be enrolling in our home plan's (Verizon) international option for our time there. We all have WhatsApp on our phones (for wi-fi based texting and calling) and I am bringing my jetpack mobile wi-fi hotspot that I use for my business trips. As long as the kids are with us and in range of the hotspot I am only paying one $10 fee per day to access my domestic plan for all of our data, messaging and calling needs. If you are going with your US plan's international option you can also just create one phone as the hotspot and link the phones together that way. Just make sure you are all using an web based calling/texting app (skype/WhatsApp, etc.) . If the kids are, for some reason, not with us then they know to switch on their cellular service and I will have to pay the daily fee.
Have a great trip!