Post by mcppalmbeach on Nov 13, 2023 16:02:02 GMT -5
Reading your posts and sensing some hesitancy, I would really consider sticking with one country if you want to go international even if you shorten your trip a little. Less pressure to cram things in, more time to meander. I still don’t think you will be bored.
Have they been in cities and like to do city things just as a general rule? I have 3boys (6, 12 and 14) and as much as I personally love cities, museums, tours, culture, history, they like an adventure vacation. Hiking, zip lines, skiing, white water rafting, fishing.
Yes I agree with this. And some people/kids are easy travelers and some aren’t, so you just have to weigh what your family dynamic is like. I can’t sleep on planes but I also do fine with little sleep so I’m fine when traveling long distances. I also am fine if things don’t go as planned. If our daughter doesn’t do well with those kind of things we’ll adjust our expectations accordingly, but my partner’s family lives in another country so we will be taking those trips regardless.
Lots of people have said traveling with a baby isn’t relaxing but so far my experience has been that it has been relaxing, so your mileage may vary in regards to how you all do on the trip (no pun intended).
This makes sense, but I think my issue and why I'm worrying so much is that because we've really only done beach vacations before, I don't know what my kids will enjoy and what they will be like during the day doing touristy stuff in a city in general. So I'm worried they aren't going to be all that into some of the stuff dh and I want to do to begin with, and then if you add in crankiness from being tired, I'm worried they will make us all miserable. I did try asking them if they could go anywhere on vacation or do anything, where/what would it be? And they came back with beaches, Disney, cruises, and ds had other amusement parks on his list, and that was seriously it. I don't know if they just don't know enough about the world to be interested yet in seeing it, but dh and I are not at all excited at the thought of another vacation of spending all rotating between beach/pool/waterpark and eating.
What other amusement parks? Anything that could be combined into another destination?
expectantsteelerfan, also if they like Disney but you all want city, consider Copenhagen? Tivoli was an inspiration for Disney & it’s right in the city. It doesn’t have thrill rides, think more classic Disney but it’s charming. Plus, Copenhagen is easy to navigate & there’s loads of interesting things (Check out Copenhagen card for a quick look at ideas: castles, museums, boat rides & more! With CPH card transport is also included so you don’t have to figure out fares!) I can’t tell if Pittsburghs flight to Iceland is on IcelandAir or not but if so, you could consider doing a stopover there & do some adventure things.
Yes I agree with this. And some people/kids are easy travelers and some aren’t, so you just have to weigh what your family dynamic is like. I can’t sleep on planes but I also do fine with little sleep so I’m fine when traveling long distances. I also am fine if things don’t go as planned. If our daughter doesn’t do well with those kind of things we’ll adjust our expectations accordingly, but my partner’s family lives in another country so we will be taking those trips regardless.
Lots of people have said traveling with a baby isn’t relaxing but so far my experience has been that it has been relaxing, so your mileage may vary in regards to how you all do on the trip (no pun intended).
This makes sense, but I think my issue and why I'm worrying so much is that because we've really only done beach vacations before, I don't know what my kids will enjoy and what they will be like during the day doing touristy stuff in a city in general. So I'm worried they aren't going to be all that into some of the stuff dh and I want to do to begin with, and then if you add in crankiness from being tired, I'm worried they will make us all miserable. I did try asking them if they could go anywhere on vacation or do anything, where/what would it be? And they came back with beaches, Disney, cruises, and ds had other amusement parks on his list, and that was seriously it. I don't know if they just don't know enough about the world to be interested yet in seeing it, but dh and I are not at all excited at the thought of another vacation of spending all rotating between beach/pool/waterpark and eating.
Have they ever been to a museum or spent the day locally site seeing? If not, maybe do that if you have the time/desire/finances. Of course, teens can be in a bad mood no matter what!
Post by thebreakfastclub on Nov 13, 2023 16:37:35 GMT -5
In my opinion, I'd do just London for the few days and not mess around with other cities. When you land, the adrenaline of having to get where you're going gives you an energy boost at least thru lunch on day 1. If you can get into your room and take an afternoon nap, even better.
London is fun, with the castles and things like that. I think kids would enjoy it and it's pretty easy to get around.
Can this just become the London recommendation thread? lol H and I booked a one week trip for late April and I need to know all the things. Where to stay. What to do. How to get tickets to a show in the West End. Is there a cute little rural town we could take a train to for a day? ALLLLLLL the things.
Reading your follow up posts and how you aren’t sure what they want/what they said they wanted to do, I’ll suggest Costa Rica. Both my boys (11 and 16) said it was one of their favorite vacations ever - lots of adventure activities, waterfalls, hiking, ziplining, great food, volcanos, beaches - it has it all. We have done European cities with them and they enjoy them but definitely prefer adventure to city/museums at this point. Another suggestion could be Iceland - very easy flight and we had a great family trip there.
Post by wanderlustmom on Nov 13, 2023 17:06:27 GMT -5
I think others have said it too--my kids have done well traveling because it's traveling! I think you will find the same. We took them to South Africa this summer (16 and 18) and our flight was delayed leaving a whole 24 hours. My not on vacation kids would have lost their ever loving minds to be stuck another day at the airport. Traveling? They got excited about all our free food vouchers and they rallied. I think we all do best having to deal with the ups and downs of travel. But I definitely agree with other posters to slow down. We don't travel as fast with our kids and limit our countries. Also I think Costa Rica would be a wonderful first international trip, Iceland too.
Can this just become the London recommendation thread? lol H and I booked a one week trip for late April and I need to know all the things. Where to stay. What to do. How to get tickets to a show in the West End. Is there a cute little rural town we could take a train to for a day? ALLLLLLL the things.
We went last year after Christmas! We did all the touristy things - the London Eye, aquarium, toured Parliament (HIGHLY RECOMMEND, with an actual human guide), Westminster Abbey, Hyde Park, Buckingham Palace, The Tower, etc.
We’re going back in June because of baseball and I wanna go mudlarking. Google it!!!
I took my kid on an overnight flight at age 6 and age 7.
The first time we went to Lisbon. I picked Portugal because it’s the shortest flight to Europe as far as I could tell, and I was nervous to do a red eye with a newly 6 year old. The second time was to Greece, which was a much longer flight.
My daughter slept for a bit but eventually couldn’t get back down. She was very happy to eat M&M’s and watch movies.
We brought our own travel blankets and good neck pillows and that helped a lot. Get the kind that support your chin so you don’t bob forward.
I agree that if your kids can’t think of places to go other than amusement parks, that’s all the more reason to take them abroad now. My daughter preferred both Lisbon and Athens to Disneyworld. Small things enchant her- the money is different, the buildings are different, the cars are different, the language is different!
I’ve been to Ireland, Italy, France, Greece, Spain, and Portugal. I LOVED Portugal and I highly recommend it. It was a great starter trip to Europe with a kid! It’s a family friendly culture where kids are welcome pretty much everywhere. When I travel with kids, I prefer to base out of one place and take day trips elsewhere. Packing us all up mid trip is kind of annoying.
I also seem to do it a bit differently because I just cannot push through on day 1. I book my lodging starting the night before so that I can check in upon landing instead of waiting until 4 pm. We eat and then crash, wake up around 1 or 2 pm local time. Walk around, explore, get a nice dinner somewhere, in bed by 9 or 10, and then suck it up from there. Don’t plan a morning activity for day 2 (like don’t try to take an 8 AM tour, book a 1 pm tour), but by day 3 mornings were fine.
Taking my kids to Europe is one of the things I’m really proud of as a parent. My daughter’s worldview has benefited. We will probably shift to other continents next, maybe South America because I’m not brave enough to fly to Asia (too far for now) and I’m saving Africa until she’s a teen.
I’m from Ireland so we fly there a lot and the flights are always overnight (depart Boston at 9pm and then arrive at the crack of Dawn local time). I usually try to get them to put screens away half way through and at least try to sleep. Even a couple hours restless sleep helps power through day one.
Try to resist napping day one but if you can’t make it, set an alarm and force yourself to wake after 2 hours. Usually if we power though we go to bed normal time and sleep for 12 hours then we’re good.
Post by definitelyO on Nov 13, 2023 19:34:15 GMT -5
I didn't read all the other recommendations - but yes, I would give it a go. you won't know until you try I think.
I find as long as I hit the ground running in the new city based on their time zone I'm usually pretty good to go. I recommend against taking a nap the first day (maybe it's just me) but I struggle to wake up and am groggy tired the rest of the day.... throws me off. I find the return harder to adjust.
Mine and now DH's first trip together outside the US was to Africa - huge flights - 24 hours to get to Arusha if I recall - I don't remember how I slept on the plane but am positive I did.... so I wouldn't let it deter you.
Post by expectantsteelerfan on Nov 13, 2023 20:56:52 GMT -5
Just to respond to some questions, yes we have done sightseeing in our local city as well as other cities we've been to on other trips, but I would say our biggest issue is that my kids are pretty different in their interests. Ds is VERY adventure oriented...has no fear, wants to be on the go constantly, and gets bored more easily at things like museums and indoor things. Dd is much more reserved, nervous about a lot of things and hesitant to try things (even at amusement parks), loves animals though so zoos/aquariums/animal experiences that can be certified not to be cruel are always a must, but enjoys more educational stuff than ds. Neither has any specific interests in history, Harry Potter (though they have read it, ds gave up on the 2nd to last book, dd read all of them), or any aspect of science that would lead me to plan a trip around a specific museum or exhibit type place.
I'm leaning more toward taking the plunge, but still grappling with details. I get overwhelmed easily, so I think staying in one place would make me feel more comfortable, but I don't know if dh would be on board with that. We'll have to see what we can hash out in the next few days.
I really appreciate all the anecdotes and opinions though!
Post by wanderingback on Nov 13, 2023 21:01:41 GMT -5
expectantsteelerfan it’s totally fine if your kids are in to different things. Not exactly the same but my partner and I travelled a lot before covid and we have different travel styles so we’d often do things separately for a bit. Unless I really begged him (which I never really did) he was not going to be getting up at 8am to go site seeing. So I’d often do my own thing for a few hours and then he’d meet me.
So yeah everyone doesn’t have to do everything together if there are separate interests so hopefully everyone can have an overall nice time.
If you’re relatively new to travel, I might stick with one city/country to make things easier, and London/England also removes any language barrier which may also help ease your mind.
Kids wanting to do totally different things is normal, and part of being in a family is doing something you love mixed in with doing something others love. It’s a good life lesson!
You could base yourself in London and easily do day trips to places like Thorpe Park (theme park) or Paradise Wildlife Park. Mix those days with the Tower of London or London Dungeon, you could also do the hop on/bus around the city your first day there to help get your bearings (and rest if jet lag hits you).
Just keep in mind that June in London may not be very warm so may not be a good choice if you’re hoping to swim some days.
I think it’s worth a try. Just plan for the first day to possibly not be very productive. We took the kids (7 and 12) on their first redeye from NYC to Paris this summer. Me and the youngest would have been fine (but he slept on the plane more than the rest of us). DH and DS1 were so tired they didn’t even remember some things we saw the first day. Everything went so smoothly landing in Paris we were at the hotel to drop off our bags by 8am but couldn’t check in until 2pm. We went to eat and on a bus tour. I wish we’d spent less time walking /sightseeing and just relaxed at a park.
We flew from the West coast to NYC on the way and spent a couple days there which was a great adjustment. Originally that flight was supposed to be a redeye but it was changed to an earlier day flight. I was glad about after we experienced the redeye because 2 redeyes in 3 days would have been difficult.
Sometimes longer redeye flights are better because you have a longer period of sleep (like west coast to Europe). I used to take tons of red eyes from west to east coast and I’d be lucky to get 4 hours of sleep, which I think it’s the minimum sleep someone needs to be functional.
I’d probably still do an international redeye again with kjds but maybe book the hotel a day early so we could go straight there. I know they say don’t nap to avoid jet lag, but that’s what we did as soon as we could check into the hotel and we were fine. I think we would have been better if we could have napped as soon as we landed and then woken up and had a late dinner. Supposedly getting on the new time zone meal schedule helps avoid jet lag too.
Also, I recommend London and Paris as an easy first trip with kids. The cities, culture and food are very different but it’s minimal travel time between them and you won’t have a language barrier in one, which simplifies things. I have family around London so I stop there for at least a couple days for every Europe trip. We flew into Paris because it was cheaper, took the Chunnel train and flew out of London (we also spent time in Normandy and Scotland but that was more time consuming and travel complicated). It is nice to get out of the cities for a day, but you could go to Versaille from Paris or Brighton from London on a short train ride.
Italy is amazing (I used to live in Rome) but I think my kids at their ages really enjoyed France/ UK more for their first Europe trip because they’ve seen so much imagery of it their whole lives. Unless your kids have a specific interest, you have a cultural connection, or it’s your dream to go there over the other places, I’d probably save that for a second Europe trip. Travel/ time can be a little more complicated outside of the major cities so think about where you are going and how you are getting there. I’ll drive in Europe if it’s the same side of the road I’m used to and not in a major city. I much prefer train travel and don’t really care for group tours.
I didn’t take my kids to Athens/ Greek islands with me, but I thought that would be an easy trip with kids.
I feel the clock ticking too and want to go to Italy with my kids before the middle schooler goes to college, but we can only afford that type of trip once every few years.
Are there any other options for European cities with direct flights from you? I’d consider Amsterdam or somewhere in Spain or Portugal. Flights within Europe are cheap so if a train ride is more than 5 hours, I fly and book that ticket separately with a European airline. Search on Google flights. You can also book a departure and a return flight on different airlines if you aren’t getting the flights/ prices you want. I book directly with the airlines but use travel booking tools to figure it out.
I have so much to say about this 😂 We had a tight itinerary and had 2 full days in each place and 1 full travel (jet lag) day between each. That was an aggressive schedule with me as an experienced travel guide although we also had a bonus half day since travel usually went smoothly. If you have 3 days in each place plus travel days that would be enough to see everything outside but not necessarily have a lot of scheduled things or time inside museums. We didn’t book a lot of things ahead of time because I didn’t want to be stressed about staying on schedule every day, so there were some things that were booked or closed we didn’t do, but we found other things to do. We usually go on s hop on/ off bus tour to get our bearings, get off at the stops, take the boat tours, etc.
My family is full of picky eaters and dietary restrictions and that was more challenging in France.
expectantsteelerfan - I would maybe task your kids with finding something at your destination that they want to do. They have google! And if you separate sometimes to do different activities, then that’s okay! I toured Parliament alone while my husband and kid did the zoo in London.
This is a trip for everyone so everyone should have at least one thing they want to do.
Post by midwestmama on Nov 14, 2023 7:00:25 GMT -5
My 12 (DD) and 14 (DS) year olds did not sleep well on the plane over to Germany. The first day was really rough. They arrived at 9 am, we were able to get to our hotel and actually get our room as soon as we got there. DS crashed and was not happy to be woken up after a 1.5 hour name to go get lunch.
We were all fine with only spending a few days in each location, we wanted to make sure to see multiple places in our 1.5 weeks, and that was the only way to do it.
Post by dcrunnergirl52 on Nov 14, 2023 8:06:00 GMT -5
We've done a bunch of trips with overnight flights with our 4 kids since they were little--Hawaii, Italy, London/Paris, Amsterdam/Copenhagen, red eyes to the West Coast. It sucks if they don't sleep but your kids are at an age when they should be able to rally, and I'm not above giving my teenagers a soda or other caffeinated beverage to help them get through.
We've done London/Paris and Amsterdam/Copenhagen in a week's time so it's definitely doable. But DH and I have both traveled a lot, I lived in London, etc. Since you and your DH haven't done a tone of traveling, I'd recommend just sticking to London. There is so much to do, day trips you can take, no language barrier, easy to get around, etc. Have them find activities that interest them.
Also, are there things they've learned about in school that they would like to see in person? My kids get a huge kick out of seeing things they've read about in books or learned in class. Things like that were a hit were the Greek and Roman Ruins in the British Museum (and then in Italy), Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, Mona Lisa at the Louvre, etc.
My biggest piece of advice is be ready for some family members to want to be on the go all day and others to just like to do one or two activities and need down time. I am the type that wants to be on the go all day--my kids and DH aren't. It used to make me so mad and I'd force everyone out, but then we were all miserable. I've now come around to just doing 1-2 big planned activities per day and giving them down time and then planning something for myself later. Or, taking just one kid to something they would be interested in that others wouldn't--finding a specific food one kid has their heart set on, shopping with DD, etc. It's made it much more pleasant, and I love that time either alone or with just one kid.
I could talk all day about family travel, so feel free to ask other questions.
Post by basilosaurus on Nov 14, 2023 8:49:59 GMT -5
I don't have kids, but I have a lot of experience traveling long trips. My first at 18.
I'll echo others that just accept the first day isn't the greatest day. But you might be surprised the adrenaline gets then farther than you as an adult. As a teen I actually did better by waking up earlier due to jet lag and lived that part, being alone, eating an early breakfast.
Loudon and paris is doable. So is rome and Amalfi (I'd skip Capri unless you really need a beach. Anything more and you'll do so much traveling and be tired.
We have taken our kids (now 12 and 14) on probably 4-5 overnight flights from the time they were about 6 and 8. They never sleep for more than a couple of minutes here and there, but they do a decent job of pushing through when we arrive and getting on a schedule easily. Only once did we rent a hotel near the airport for a nap (and it was because we were driving 4 hours across the country from the airport and I was afraid to drive that far on no sleep).
At worst, they are beasts for a day. I say do it.
I would do 2 cities in a week. You could easily do London and Paris. Also look into Iceland (short flight, really cool trip)
"Hello babies. Welcome to Earth. It's hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It's round and wet and crowded. On the outside, babies, you've got a hundred years here. There's only one rule that I know of, babies-"God damn it, you've got to be kind.”
Post by ellipses84 on Nov 14, 2023 12:32:55 GMT -5
I just remembered the summer Olympics are in Paris this summer. I don’t know exact dates but I’d avoid that and surrounding weeks. It will be really expensive for hotels.
My kids have been doing transatlantic flights from they are babies as most of my family is in the UK. I agree -some people sleep on flights, and other don't. Just expect everyone to be tired on the first day.
In terms of suggestions, I wouldn't do 2 places that aren't close together on a first trip and with only a week. London and Paris could work. How about somewhere int he south of Europe so warmer that you could also do some beach time with? Greece, Spain, Portugal? I have shared before that we did 12 days in Spain last summer - 5 nights in Barcelona and a week on the coast with family. WE enjoyed having both of those options - although if we were flying at the start of the trip, then I'd rather to do the beach first (easier and more sleeping time!) and then the city after when you are used to the time zone.
I think both those trips sound fantastic. If you’re not going to travel a whole lot, doing London and Paris is a solid way to hit so many of our cultural touchstones.
I can’t sleep on planes at all (my kids, 11 and 15, can even though they are crap sleepers at home). We always plan to stow our luggage and have an easy first day. We also try to do 10-11 day trips so we have an actual week to see a place with the loss of two days going to Europe and one day going back.
We did London and Paris this past summer when our kids were 13, 12, and 8, and had an amazing time! Only 1 of them slept ok on the plane, the rest of us just had to battle through. Once we got to the hotel, we took a walk in the sunshine and got dinner, and then went to bed super early (like 7:30pm). We all slept 12 hours and were good to go the next morning. Didn't have any jet lag the rest of the trip. We've done city and beach trips with our kids, and even though this one was city oriented, they really stuck with us through all of the places we went. I would just suggest doing a mix of slow things (museums, historical sights) with fun things (we did a bike tour through Paris and a chocolate making class in Brussels that why LOVED). I really think they'll remember it for the rest of their lives!