Inexpensive European Travel with teen aged kids? Any advice? (cost, hotels, Paris)

[sheena12]

I have been abroad only twice in my life. I have two children who want to travel there desparatly.

We only plan to stay a week and again we are on a tight budget,

What are the least expensive countries to visit with the lowest cost flights?

Should I use a travel agent? When is it least expensive to travel? How is spring break?

We are open to all European countries. Because it will only be for a week I do think that visiting more than three countries would be a good idea.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

When I last traveled four years ago, money was no object - today it is THE OBJECT

Thans in advance!

[StealthRabbit]

Where do the kids want to go? Let them (help) decide and budget (we did that with ours back in the era of multiple currencies).

Boys or girls? Anything specific in mind? Major objective? (I would do much longer than a week, due to travel / logistic issues; lots of prep, One day to get there; one day to get back. Eastbound destinations are tough on my bio-clock.

I use international guest homes $10 - $20 / night. Usually includes a meal or two Some destinations are very well hosted (The Netherlands, Germany, Denmark are prominent in one of my several directories, but these aren't cheap places to vacation.)

For early spring weather you need to be selective. (consider May or Early June, more flowers, less people) Kids will do fine being out of school (probably get more education traveling). (ours didn't go to school til 10th grade, then they went to college and skipped HS The 6 wk to 6 month field trips were great!)

Probably Croatia and Balkans will be cheapest on the groud, but expensive and far to get to.

Do some queries of airfares (I use Subscribe - Airfarewatchdog or alternatives)

Another method to economize is to use a eurorail pass, and travel after 10 PM heading to a far destination (passing some in the night) Next morning you alight, then as the day progresses you take more train routes, eventually ending up at a desired overnight just before 10 PM. (only used a one day punch + get a free night lodging) It has been 15 yrs since I last did this, so please verify. At the time, it was critical to buy Eurorail pass in USA (I used AAA). If you get some connections at military bases, you can book cheap travel. Apparently inter Europe flights are quite cheap (but flights always take a LONG chunk out of your day)

Other options, Fly to a common hub (Frankfurt, Paris, Munich, Zurich, Budapest, Prague) and use that as a base to travel out of / or near. It can be much cheaper to stay / eat in a small community a short train ride away.

Eating... follow the locals, buy groceries, pay your host to cook for you. Eateries are way too spendy to enjoy as a family. Often the bars and pubs have cheap (and GOOD) snacks. Eating takes LOTS of time in Europe, if you are on a tight schedule consider that. Anytime I spend with my hosts is well worth it in cultural exchange / life knowledge.

Ask lots of questions to the locals about their interests / culture. LISTEN carefully. Go as a participant in their culture, not as a tourist.

My kids (boys) REALLY enjoyed, Normandy and all the WWII stuff (history, museums, cemeteries), in France, Belgium, and England.
Castles in France, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, and Spain.
Train rides and meeting locals (especially Switzerland, where the older folks would be very engaging in discussion, they were in no hurry !! no jobs!)

Watch lots of videos (library) and listen to radio podcasts of Rick Steves' Europe: Travel with Rick Steves Podcasting

If the kids plan the trip YOU will have more fun .
(keep a spare $100 hidden to get you home in case they mis-budget some days)

Econo MUST. wait till you get back to USA to buy a soda-pop! Water can be more expensive than beer or wine in some areas. (Tudela Spain claimed to use Wine in the mortar of the Church cuz water was too hard to get )

[intelfan11315]

I could be wrong, but someone I knew went to Prague and said it was quite cheap. Prague would be a cool place for teenagers with a lot of different touristy things to do.

[Kobber]

I agree with Stealthrabbit about May and early June being a good time to go, and not to worry about taking kids out of school. Unlike SR, I'm not keen on the idea of couch surfing, but would rather have the freedom and flexibility of staying in a cheap hotel/pensione. And for me, eating in local restaurants and cafes is a big part of the whole experience, even if it costs more than eating with couch-surf host or buying groceries. Different strokes for different folks!

A week isn't long enough to see more than one or two cities in my opinion. Maybe Venice and Rome? Venice accommodation is pricey but there's a town called Mestre just 8 mins outside Venice by train, which has lots of cheap hotels clustered around the station. The station in Venice is right in the middle of all the action, and the trains leaving Venice all stop in Mestre and run pretty frequently (or did when I was last there just a few years ago).

In Rome there are plenty of cheap hotels if you look around, especially near the main train station.

No more time to write more now... I'll check this thread later and maybe contribute some more ideas!

[TarheelsMatt]

Originally Posted by burgler09

I could be wrong, but someone I knew went to Prague and said it was quite cheap. Prague would be a cool place for teenagers with a lot of different touristy things to do.

Yep, I went there 2 summers ago and it was very cheap compared to other places I'd been to.

[BlueWillowPlate]

I agree that it's good to get the kids interested in planning.

We too took our kids out of school, and traveled in May/June.

I also agree about Airfarewatchdog. Pick a couple destinations. Get on their email list.

I did not think Croatia or the Balkans were all that cheap, but maybe I am especially frugal.

A week is not very long, and you do not want to spend the entire trip traveling from one place to another.

I agree with Stealthrabbit's suggestion of the Normandy beaches and/or castles. Also, some smaller places such as Toulouse or Siena have a vibrant atmosphere but are a bit more manageable than the big cities.

We have not used a eurail pass in quite some time, but maybe for 5-6 days of travel it might be cost effective.

In 2009 the three of us Couch Surfed in France, in the home of a woman and her 10 year old son. It was a wonderful experience and we saw places we never otherwise would have found. And it was free lodging--can't beat that price.

[sheena12]

I agree that one week is way too short. However, I am on a budget. We are not terribly selective about where we stay - my kids are used to roughing it and would want to avoid anything bling.

They have SO many interests that it's hard to say.
My son is interested in WW two and interested in Punk music.
My daughter is studying French and would like to go to France.
Both have an interest in England, Ireland, Poland and Scandinavia.I have been to Russia and Ukraine and they want to go there too.

They are really easy kids and any Euro jaunt would pass their muster.

Oh they have mentioned Prague and the Netherlands as well.

HELP!

[BlueWillowPlate]

Originally Posted by sheena12

I agree that one week is way too short. However, I am on a budget. We are not terribly selective about where we stay - my kids are used to roughing it and would want to avoid anything bling.

They have SO many interests that it's hard to say.
My son is interested in WW two and interested in Punk music.
My daughter is studying French and would like to go to France.
Both have an interest in England, Ireland, Poland and Scandinavia.I have been to Russia and Ukraine and they want to go there too.

They are really easy kids and any Euro jaunt would pass their muster.

Oh they have mentioned Prague and the Netherlands as well.

HELP!

You have one week.
You need to narrow down the choices.
You could cover WWII, punk music, French and France by going to northern France. Lille is a very cool city, lots of pedestrian areas, imaginative public art and young people.
Same with Rouen.
Of course there is Paris.
Has your son listened at all to Nouvelle Vague?

[calgirlinnc]

With one week, I would limit it to 1 or 2 areas.

You could do London (good for punk scene and WWII history) plus another area of England, say the Cotswalds. But I think in general England is pricey. I would not suggest Ireland for the 1st trip to Europe.

Italy is amazing...Rome is NOT cheap to stay or eat and neither is Venice. If you are staying in a cheap area of Rome you really need to be careful.

Likewise Paris...it's gorgeous but expensive.

Southern Germany could be neat...you could do Munich and Bavaria including possibly Heidelberg in a week. This area is beautiful!...don't know if you would have time for Berlin or not.

Agree the Chezch Republic could offer a lot of value for your dollar. I hear Warsaw is really great...that they have the 2nd best square after Venice.

Look at the Rick Steves website...

[annerk]

Spring break is spendy. The least expensive time to travel to most of Europe is in the winter months, especially to Germany. Germany is overall less expensive.

I'd seek out guesthouses that provide a breakfast in the lodging rate.