Europe trip ideas for a family of 5

Pretty wide open question. Start by providing some basic info.

Have you/your family ever been to Europe before? Ever been to any foreign country before? If so, where, how long ago, how long were you there for? What did you enjoy most/least? Why do you want to go to Europe? What are your interests, your likes, dislikes? What's your budget like. How long is your trip?

That kind of stuff will make it a lot easier for people to give you meaningful replies.

Great questions! We really are pretty wide-open having never been here before. Our twins are graduating from high school so we are taking a big family trip before they head off to college. It’d be great to keep it under $10,000, although that may be unrealistic. We like a mix of adventure and rest. Anywhere from 7 to 10 days. Just looking for a place to spend time together as a family and see new things!

You must have some idea of a starting point. Do you envision mountains and hiking, a daily walk to the local boulangerie, exploring archeological ruins, biking along canals, lazing on the beach, historical castles, visiting your family roots, pasta making...

Have any of the kids studied a foreign language they'd like to put to use?

With 7-10 days, do you prefer to base in one place or move around. Do you prefer to travel by public transportation or by rental car?

For such a short trip, I would start by looking at what direct flight options there are from your home airport.
A typical suggestion for a first time abroad is Ireland, and there is good reason for that. English is the primary language. The country is very small but offers a wide variety of things to see and do. The cost can be a concern, though, as Dublin has become one of the most expensive cities in Europe for accommodation. And they drive on the "wrong" side of the road, which a lot of folks struggle with. Not to mention trying to get 5 people and their bags into a car that you'd want to drive on the narrow roads. Still, worth a look, IMO. Loads of posts on the Forum regarding Ireland.
The suggestion of Portugal is a good one for keeping costs low, and TAP offers direct flights from lots of cities in the US.

First bits advice I would offer are...

1. See if you can manage to make your trip a bit longer. Sure, the longer the trip the more it costs, but flying to/from Europe isn't cheap, but your tickets (probably) cost the same if you stay there for a weekend or for a month. The more days you have there, the further your flight costs will be stretched. And of course everyone has time constraints, but one thing most experienced travelers learn (and re-learn) is that by slowing down a bit, you will get more out of the time you have to spend there. I think the ideal length for a trip to Europe is 2 to 3 weeks (actually, closer to 3). And that's usable days on the ground in Europe (not including your arrival or departure days), not how long it is from when you lock your front door at home until you return and unlock it. Remember, it's going to take you a few days to simply get there, get oriented, get used to how things work, and find your way around. A day or two to get yourself home. If you're starting off with just 7 to 10 days, that doesn't leave you a lot of usable time on the ground.

2. Many first-time travelers fail to appreciate (and account for) how much time it takes to get there, to get home, and how much of your time you will expend moving from place to place (you expend most or all of a day each time you pick up and move). Also how much of your time is spent just on life tasks every day - getting up, getting fed, getting out and performing mundane tasks. Doing all the routine day-to-day tasks in an unfamiliar environment usually takes longer than you're used to - and any group only moves as fast as it's slowest, most cranky, least enthusiastic member moves.

3. Resist the temptation to move (change locations) every day or every two days. The "If it's Tuesday, this must be Belgium" (an old movie which actually made a good point about trip planning) syndrome is a real thing and many travelers fall into the "blitz" trip trap, setting themselves up for a miserable and unrealistic death-march that nobody enjoys.

4. When planning your trip, be brutally honest with yourself. You can count days or nights (I count both) but be realistic about how much usable time you really have. If your trip is "two weeks" you probably only have about 10 days (at best) of usable time. Most flights to Europe from North America are redeye flights, arriving in Europe in the morning (you won't be able to check in to your hotel until afternoon), and you'll probably arrive wiped out from the stress of pre-trip preparations, lack of sleep on the flight, and more. Don't count your arrive day as usable for much of anything other than getting to your accommodations and trying to stay awake through dinner time. Even the next day - when your trip actually begins - you may be jetlagged and still not 100% yourself, so keep expectations calibrated. Likewise, your departure day will be consumed with all the tasks required to not miss your flight, so don't count those days as usable. You should spend your last night not too far from your departure airport (because: you don't want to miss your flight). So you expend days here and there - and every time you pick up and move. It adds up.

So, see if you can negotiate a longer trip - you will be glad if you can. If you can't, then you can't, just do the best you can and try not to push yourself so hard that the trip becomes no fun.

Rick Steves has many useful videos, on PBS and on YouTube and linked from this website, they're geared towards someone like you who has never been to Europe before. Check some out and start thinking about things that look good to you.

Many of us enjoy the trip planning almost as much as the actual trip, people will be along to offer suggestions soon. Good luck and have fun.

If trying to stick to a budget, first of all see what destinations are served by flights from your area? Do any of those areas appeal to you as a base or starting point? Also consider flying into one destination and out of another on a multicity ticket, for example into Venice and out of Rome. Or consider a cheaper airline such as Norse. Do your kids have preferences for where they want to go? The mountains? The beaches? Ruins? Castles? WW2 history? Food? Do the kids want to practice a foreign language they may have taken in school? Do you have an ancestral connection to anywhere in Europe that you would like to explore? Determine what you want to see or at least the country you want to travel to, and then we can more easily give specific suggestions.

With the June time (heat in south) and budget/time constraints, I’d consider a pair of cities like Berlin/Prague, Prague/Budapest, Munich/Vienna. Train between them then open jaw flights into one city return from the other. Poland is cheaper and has quality cities you could pair up. If Dulles is your home airport you have a lot of nonstop options.

Everyone is different but I found Ireland to be the dullest European country.

European lodging is not family friendly, 5 pretty much prices you out of hotel options. Look at Airbnb or other apartment options, cheaper than hotels and with kitchens that saves more money. When I had 3 young children there was a hotel in Frankfurt where I had to get 3 rooms, 2 per room max is a typical restriction.

Your question is a bit too broad to answer with any specificity. However, my suggestion is that your get the kids involved as much as possible in the planning. Not suggesting you let them run the entire show ($$$), but the the more they are involved the better the experience will be for all. Not than teenagers are ever a problem. Once your have a draft plan we will be better able to advise re fine tuning it.

How exciting to be planning this trip! Do get everyone involved with their visions of a great vacation, and whatever passions could be threaded through the itinerary.

Pat asked some great questions. The more you can tell us, the better we can recommend.

I would recommend Scotland!

It’d be great to keep it under $10,000, although that may be unrealistic

Does that include airfare to/from Europe? If so, where would you be flying from?

How realistic $10k is depends on what it has to cover.

You want to stay a minimum of ten days (eleven nights in Europe). If you don't know where to go, England is a great place to visit. There is no language barrier and it still feels international. You could fly in and out of Edinburgh and London and include York and Bath in your itinerary. Bath can be a day trip from London.

Hi. I know you said Europe, but might you consider Montreal and Quebec City? The U.S. $ is strong against the Canadian $, there is a decided European flavor to the area and there is lots to do and see - museums, outdoor activities, sports, shopping, culture. Just a thought.

What is your family history? You might really enjoy seeing where they came from. What do the graduates like to do? Do they like sports, do they like music, do they like art? One idea is to check out College or University towns. Some have University student housing available in the Summer Months. Keep student IDs for discounts on Train Passes, etc. Also there might be more things of interest to young people in a College town. When I stayed in Oxford in the Summer I went to a Shakespeare Play put on by Students outside in a courtyard of one of the Colleges. Street Markets often have Musicians. If you like history you really can't beat Great Britain. France has fantastic Palaces. Your Problem now is too many choices. Put the Kids to work on the Planning!

Normally I would say London or Paris or Rome but 5 people to Europe in the high season = $5000 to $7500 in economy airfare. London might be at the cheaper end for airfare, but its among the most expensive cities in Europe along with Paris and Rome and even Ireland is getting expensive. But with some caution and creative accommodations out of the center you could do 7 days in one of those 3. But its not ideal with kids when you stay too far from the action. .

Given the financial challenge and short trip I would do something totally off the wall and head East where prices are better and you can do more with your investment. See more, learn more. Maybe you can afford a longer trip this way too.

If you wanted to keep it short and simple you could a week in either Budapest or a place like Montenegro for 7 to 10 days in your budget with airfare, depending on your home town in the US. Both would keep you busy for 7 to 10 days.

I suspect there is a chance you could do two weeks with a third of the time in Budapest, where hotels and apartments, well located, are $125 or less a night (you will need and i bet want 2 rooms), and 2/3 of the trip elsewhere in Eastern Europe by way of a discount airline which if you pack efficiently and book early might be $400 for the family. This is where Budapest works because its a hub for Wizzair. I am just finishing 8 days from Budapest in Eastern Europe using Wizz and my trip including Budapest would fit your Budget without much compromise and maybe have enough for 10 days to 2 weeks. There is a trip report under "Montenegro" if you are interested. I went from Mountains to coast; and if its interesting read the June one too.

Eastern Europe? Lots of options, mountains, oceans, cities, villages. Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, Montenegro, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Albania. (Croatia has gotten a bit expensive but maybe a short stay). Go to YouTube and watch travel videos. I know travel agencies in most of those countries and given its 5 of you, the budget and the new experience its the way I would go.

My second choice, anything that isn't a popular tourist destination in Western Europe because the crowds are crazy and you have 3 kids to keep track of.

As some others have mentioned, $10k is $2000 pp which will mostly be eaten up by summer airfare. Are there any cruise deals (airfare, 3rd/4th passenger discounts) that you can take advantage of?

To save money, you need to look at hostels that might have a family room that could accommodate all of you. If you go to Italy, consider stays at a convent or monastery, but your kids would not be able to stay out late at night. If that $10,000 is the amount for your entire trip, most of it will go to airfare. Be aware that taxes add a lot to tickets to London.

I do not believe you should pick your destination simply to save money but if you are open to a variety of possibilities, some destinations are much cheaper than others.

We were just in Greece with our son and his wife and were able to keep lodging for four of us to
$200 a night. This was for two bedroom two bath apartments or two simple hotel rooms. Now we were there in May is before prime season so I am sure it would be higher in June. We also took a family group of seven to Greece in 2018 and found there to be a variety of activities for our group at very good prices.

I like England a lot and am going to York and London in December for Christmas lights and festivities. I just have to close my eyes when prepaying for things as prices are eye poppingly more than Greece.

Italy is in between. We took a different family group of 7 to northern Italy in 2021. We flew into Milan and out of Venice. Stayed 5 nights in Bellano at Lake Como, 3 nights in Verona, and 4 nights in Venice. We took trains and/or buses. Had variety of interests and everyone was happy.

PS airfare will be your largest expense so agree with others that should stay longer if at all possible. Also, look at airfare for next June before deciding where to go. We had fares in Turkish air this past May for $700 which was amazingly cheap. At other times, I have paid around $1300 a person for airfare. But different airports have different cost structures and you want to take that into account if cost conscious.

Greece, mentioned above, is a good option. One of the cheaper European destinations that will be kind to your budget.

Sounds like such fun! Could you please get back to us as you hone down your list / timing / what the teens would like to do / dates & where you might be able to easily fly into / out of so we can be more helpful? Lots of great ideas already, I would add to what David in Seattle discussed - Don't bite off too many locations / countries. I would plan a rest day in the middle of that week, especially with teens who might want to sleep in, shop & relax? Good luck with planning, one of my favorite parts of any trip!! PS, Agree with BethFL, look at airfares - Use Google flights to check prices, you can use 'explore' to focus on what's cheapest getting to Europe. https://www.google.com/travel/flights