List countries to visit for our family vacation - LauraC check in here!

[sheryl]

I thought UK was England, Scotland and Wales, no? 

[Laura Corin]

I thought UK was England, Scotland and Wales, no?

Almost. England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Why?

[regentrude]

STILL, what countries would you combine for a week's stay (adding 2 flight days for a total of 9 days or so)?

 

none. For one of the great cities, a week may be barely enough.

If I only had a week, I would spend it in one country and explore several cities and areas. What is the point in rushing around without actually experiencing the place?

 

I am not sure why it is so important to hit several countries in one trip. It's not like you will have any actual idea what those countries are about if you spend only a few days there. 

 

ETA: For example England: I would spend 3-4 days in London and do day trips to Oxford, the Cotswolds, Salisbury, Stonehenge, etc. Why rush to the next country if there is SO much to see? I would not even try to combine Engand, Wales and Scotland into one week. Too much time wasted traveling; for example, it takes about 8 hours to drive from London to Edinburgh.

Edited May 4, 2017 by regentrude

[Laurie4b]

My great grandmother and a couple of her siblings immigrated from England to the US.

 

When her daughter, my grandmother, was probably in her 60s, my grandmother took a trip to England to visit her relatives there. I don't know the details of how she got in touch, etc. There may have been letters exchanged for a couple years before the trip. She traveled quite a bit once she was there. I think a good bit of it was with relatives showing her around various parts of England. 

 

It sounds like you may have some current family contacts in Switzerland and the UK. Are you interested in meeting them?

 

If so, I would choose one destination or the other and spend a full week in that area (not saying with your relative).  As was suggested above, do some googling about what is in those countries and prioritize what you would like to see.  Are you interested in natural beauty? Old castles or cathedrals? Museums? Local food and cultural experiences? Because European cities are so much older than cities in the US, just walking down the streets can be amazing in terms of architecture.

 

 The first day after you arrive, plan 1/2 day activity only---maybe just exploring the town you are staying in. You will likely be tired. I'd suggest one thing per day even after that unless it's something relaxing like a cruise down a river and then an excursion in the town.

 

Public transportation in Europe is generally quite good. When we were in Germany, tap water was not served in restaurants, only bottled water. And it cost more than beer which was a bit of a shock for me! (I'm used to drinking free water in the US). I don't know if that holds true across Europe or not. We spent a few days in Berlin, guided by Berliners, then drove to to Stasbourg, Austria and took in a bit of the city and had a day trip to the Konigsee (a beautiful lake in the mountains.) 

 

The only "take advantage" thing is to check ahead of time what is expected in terms of tipping. It's not the same (either as frequent or as much) everywhere as in the US and you can end up spending a bit more than necessary if you don't know that. 

 

[ktgrok]

We have used this travel company and they have some packages that are multiple countries. https://www.go-today.com/stw/STWProduct.aspx?Package=yes&Theme=GT&ProductCode=UK-LONPARROMX2

 

Make the most of crossing the pond with our 6-night package to London, Paris and Rome. It offers one sweet taste of three of Europe’s most alluring cities. Your journey begins with two nights in London. See the Tower of London, the River Thames, Shakespeare’s Globe and Westminster Abbey, and then take to the air for the chic capital of France. Enjoy two nights in Paris and see the Louvre, the Arc de Triomphe, the Eiffel Tower and Notre-Dame. Wrap up your taste of Europe with two nights in Rome, an ancient capital known as “The Eternal City.†See the Colosseum, Vatican City, the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps - and much more.

 

INCLUSIONS:

 

Flights: New York-London, Rome-New York¹ 
2-night hotel accommodations in London 
Flight: London to Paris 
2-night hotel accommodations in Paris 
Flight: Paris to Rome 
2-nights hotel accommodations in Rome 
Breakfast daily 
Taxes and surcharges

City Taxes are not included.

 

[OlgaLA]

While I agree with most posters here that even a week is not enough for more than one country (we are spending three weeks in just France), it doesn't mean that you should do it that way. Travel is a very personal experience, and it all depends on your interests. What is a must see for one person is a waste of time for another. So listen to what everyone has to say, then go to sites like Rick Steves and Tripadvisor, and plan your trip. Think what *you* are interested in, talk to your DH and DD and ask what makes them excited. Then check the time it takes to get from one point to another, check what is open on what days, check the weather and how it may affect your trip, etc. Go to expedia and check if it makes financial sense to fly into one city and out of another. We did that in Italy. It will save you some time. It is all really doable. You homeschooled your DD, you can plan this trip :)

 

As for where to go, if this was your only trip ever, where would you go? Start there.

[The Governess]

I am a one-country-at-a-time kind of girl. A few years back we spent 3 weeks in Scotland. We stayed in the Endinburgh/Stirling area for 5 days, the western isles for 5 days, the north and Orkney for 4 days, Loch Ness and Inverness for 5 days, and then took a couple days to drive down the east coast. It was not too long, that's for sure.

 

My thing is, if I am going to spend $3000+ to fly my family of four overseas, I want to stay long enough to make the trip worthwhile.... and I want to stay long enough to feel like I have actually participated in the culture of another country and really gotten a feel for its history, food, people, sounds, smells, landscapes, etc. The more time, the better!

[mumto2]

Upthread Laura made a suggestion of London, York, Edinburgh, with the possible addition of Dublin. It could work within your time limit. For example...

 

Day 1. London....I would try and stay at the Premier Inns or Travelodge (book 3 person family room......at Premier Inn that sill give you a good King Sized bed and a slightly narrow twin for Dd.) by Kings Cross Rail Station. First day my aim would be walk to British Library and British Museum. If you still have energy spend the evening looking at Piccadilly, Trafalgar Square, Oxford Street.

 

Day 2 London (you could take an evening train to York or wait until morning) take the tube to Green Park....walk to Buckingham Palace go down the mall past the Horse Guards, past number 10, to Westminster (I would wait and do the Cathedral tour in York unless you really want to) and Parliament. Take Boat Tour to Tower of London.

 

Train to York.....Head to King's Cross for train to York stopping at Simply Food by Marks and Spencer in neighbouring St. Pancreas or similar for a picnic on train. Figure 3 hours. There is a Premier Inn about 2 blocks from York Rail Station. York has lots of hotels either within the walls or right outside so pick a convenient one. ;)

 

Day 3 York.....book your Cathedral tour first thing, walk a portion of the city wall, explore the Shambles, Jorvik, Clifford's Tower, Roman Ruins by Museum and the Museum. Ghost tour if spend the night and a pub meal. If not train to Edinburgh.

 

Day 4 Edinburgh...morning train with better scenery than London/York. Castle, Museum, Royal Mile, Whiskey tour all options. We tend to go with a purpose...dc's looking for JK Rowling sites etc. I have never just been a normal tourist for a whole day there. Laura can do an itinerary of highlights much better. I would fly out in morning.

 

Day 5 Dublin.... shuttle to City Centre from the airport. I have been assured there is much to see and do there but our trip was cancelled and we have never rebooked so no tips. Belfast is spread out so not great without a car but I've been there several times. ;) I have just driven by Dublin.

 

 

This can all be done on your own. It's pretty whirlwind.

[maize]

I did a ten day or so whirlwind Eurailing trip when I was young. I remember Hungary, France, Italy, Spain, and I think maybe Switzerland? We spent nights in trains or in hostels and had a great time and created some fabulous memories--I was with my sister and a couple of friends and we pretty much just went where the day's fancy took us. It's not something I would want to do at this point in my life though.

 

And I had lived in Europe for years and also done the trips where you spend an entire week in one city. It really just depends on what you want from a trip but in general unless you have the energy of teens/young adults I wouldn't recommend the whirlwind version.

[Liz CA]

In my previous post I had somehow missed the 5 day limit.

I would pick out one country and try the top 5 things I want to do / see.

If you choose UK, perhaps you want to see London, tour Tussaud's, see the change of the guards at the palace. You need to figure in time to enjoy local cuisine and just take it in.

A few other great places are Trafalgar Square, Royal Albert Hall and Piccadilly. London is somewhat walkable and you can take the bus or a taxi (not a cab :) )

An afternoon of just meandering around and seeing what comes your way can also be fun - bookstores in London have been mentioned. Maybe a trip to Brighton could be squeezed in but it would be pushing it.

 

France: Champs - Elyssees, Sacre Coeur, Louvre, Les bouquinistes & the Seine, Notre Dame, Eiffel tower, etc. (The Louvre alone really could take more than a day)

 

If you want to see Switzerland because of heritage, PM Monica in Switzerland on this board.

 

Do you prefer natural wonders or urban areas with museums, restaurants, etc.?

 

 

Edited May 5, 2017 by Liz CA

[Monica_in_Switzerland]

I will say this about travel in Switzerland: our train system is superb, and you are not wasting your time in the train. The view is ALWAYS spectacular. I've never been much of a "just take in the view" traveler, but even after riding the same routes on the same trains for 13 years... I spend à part of each trip just in awe of the natural beauty of the country. So if you wanted to do Switzerland and Italy, I would not be worried about time lost in the train.

 

As mentioned above, if you do choose Switzerland, you can PM me. Spring and fall (but not spring break or fall school break!) are the loveliest times.

[whitestavern]

I haven't read any of the replies, but I'll just tell you what we did. We are going to Europe this summer. The first thing I did was get a bunch of travel of books on Europe. I read and read and read and decided which countries to visit. Since I know we won't visit Europe much (perhaps never again) I wanted to see as much as possible without feeling like we were constantly on the run. We ended up choosing France, Switzerland, and Italy. Another part of the thinking was we wanted to mix country with city, busy touring with down time, and get a feel for several different cultures. Geographically they had to be somewhat close together too, so that we wouldn't spend all our time getting from one place to another. Since airfare is a huge chunk of the vacation budget, I made it the vacation as long as i possibly could. We are going for 2 and a half weeks.

 

My original itinerary was the Provence area of France, the Swiss Alps, and a couple of cities in Italy. DH asked to swap Paris for Provence. So now we will be in Paris for 4 nights, Swiss Alps for 5, Cinque Terre in Italy for 2 and Florence for 4. We'll take a day trip to Siena from Florence. So we have some touristy things in Paris, lots of hiking in Switzerland, some beautiful beaches to enjoy in Italy and then great art/museums in Florence.

 

Everything I read said purchase international airfare six months out for the best price. I used Google Flights to get flight info. I hate to fly so it had to be nonstop. And realistically it made more sense to fly in one airport and out another, so we are flying into Paris and out of Rome. I kept checking google flights and it was usually Air France, Delta, or Alitalia that kept coming up (I had several departure airports I was checking). Those three airlines have an agreement so they work together. I then started calling each of the airlines individually. I finally found what I think was a great price via Air France, so I booked it. We will fly them over and Alitalia back, but it was all booked through Air France.

 

Once I had the airfare I booked all our lodging. As most of the hotels (at least in Paris) are two people to a room, I got an apartment. Then I decided to do apartments for the entire trip. I figured we could save money on food if we had an apartment with a kitchen. Plus, we like the extra space and privacy that it would afford. I did a mix of vrbo and airbnb. I checked the reviews and found some great apartments at great prices. Trip Advisor has forums for every area in Europe, and they were invaluable. They have a mix of locals and people from all over the world who travel to each area. Once I found a few apartments I'd run those by the forum participants and get an idea of which neighborhoods were the best.

 

My next step was to create a loose itinerary of what we wanted to do. Again, I read and read a bunch of guidebooks and came up with what we wanted to do in each country. I put together a day by day of what made sense to visit with what. I ran that by the trip advisor forums and again received great information.

 

Lastly I booked the trains between the countries as well as purchased tours or any attraction tickets that needed to be bought ahead of time (Eiffel Tower tix, a tour in Normandy, etc.)

 

That's kind of where we stand right now. I hope this helps in some way. If you want any add'l information, feel free to post or PM me.

[ktgrok]

Oh, and do check out Rick Steves..he has an entire DVD (pretty sure you can find it streaming) about travel tips in Europe..how to pack, where to stay, how to save money, etc. 

 

Here you go! https://www.ricksteves.com/watch-read-listen/video/tv-show/european-travel-skills-part-1

Edited May 5, 2017 by ktgrok