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Thank you, I'll search that thread. My fear is trying to plan it on my own. I'm afraid I'll miss something, or plan something that we won't enjoy.
Quote:
Originally Posted by greatblueheron
I second Portugal, especially since it's part of your history.
Buy or get from library several travel books on Portugal and study up, use internet too....tours are rigid and are limiting with no free time...I'd rather go on my own and do activities as I find them. Biking would be great there.
When I went to the Algarve, the beach where we were was rocky...there might be plenty of sandy ones there, not sure.
Loved Lisbon.
There was recently a thread on someone getting back from a Portugal vacation..."Just got back from Portugal"
May I suggest if you want Italy see the Amalfi coast . Beauty beyond compare . I saw it once and I will never forget it . I think im going to avoid traveling for the next few years as I have had several bad travels lately . I m going to save up some money and go again in a few years maybe 2 maybe 5 years before I travel again . But definitely get to the Amalfi coast you will not be disappointed . safe travels wherever you decide to go .
Thank you! I actually have the Amalfi coast on my list as a possibility. Thanks for confirming that this is a good choice.
Every teen has SOME interests. Is he more outdoorsy? More into the beach/water? More into food? A person can be open, but have some things they generally like to do that would help us guide you to a general destination.
No seriously, he is open to anything. Loves beaches and water sports. Loves snow. As I said, not so much hiking, but we like biking. He just wants to travel. He's been to Costa Rica. He's going to Peru. He's been on cruises. He's been to beaches, both east and west coast. Gone to the mountains. Snow tubed, snorkeled, parasailed, wake boarded, jet skied, boated, culinary tours, etc. etc. Been to Mexico and The Bahamas. Loved it all. The only thing I can offer is he doesn't love museums and touring historical monuments, hence my original explanation about not booking tours. He's been to DC, NYC, Houston, Charleston, Savannah, Atlanta, Boston, Nashville, San Francisco, Miami, to name a few cities).
I'm looking for suggestions and how to go about planning it without using a touring company and spending an entire vacation visiting historical sites.
I'm looking for suggestions and how to go about planning it without using a touring company and spending an entire vacation visiting historical sites.
I typically pick a few places and then start researching. That includes getting books from the library, looking on trip advisor, Reddit, and also just googling the location.
Once you find a place you like, also start googling the name of the location plus travel blog, or 2 week itenary. That's basically how I planned my last vacation. We went to Iceland, and it was our first time going to Europe. I did a lot of research for that trip. I kept a Google doc of our itenrary, and when I came across something cool, I added it to the location it fit with. With Iceland, we took 2 weeks to drive around the entire country, so I divided the information between east, west, south, north. It was a lot of time and research, but it ended up being an amazing trip.
Australia. Hands down. It will be memorable and it's fantastic.
We only had two weeks and honestly it was one of the best vacations and most relaxing, even with the travel time. We only visited two places in Austraila, which helped tremendously. We spent the first four in Sydney then the last 8 in Port Douglas/Cairns area, where the Great Barrier Reef is. In Sydney we saw the opera house, zoo, beaches and climbed the bridge. In cairns there are great beaches as well as neat places to explore, Daintree and Tablelands.
My kids loved it. The adults loved it. We used frequent flier miles so it wasn't that expensive - we rented apartments and cooked some meals in. We got tickets for low miles leaving CLT on Tuesday and returning on a Tuesday in the summer on American.
A nice backpack, a ticket to Frankfurt, and the rest of the money available to be put on a card. Kick him in the ass and let him go explore the world as he wants. If he wants to blow it in a week at a five star hotel, probably not the best choice, but whatever. The cost to send four people for a couple weeks could be a several month adventure and a big step in growing up for someone out of school.
Australia. Hands down. It will be memorable and it's fantastic.
We only had two weeks and honestly it was one of the best vacations and most relaxing, even with the travel time. We only visited two places in Austraila, which helped tremendously. We spent the first four in Sydney then the last 8 in Port Douglas/Cairns area, where the Great Barrier Reef is. In Sydney we saw the opera house, zoo, beaches and climbed the bridge. In cairns there are great beaches as well as neat places to explore, Daintree and Tablelands.
My kids loved it. The adults loved it. We used frequent flier miles so it wasn't that expensive - we rented apartments and cooked some meals in. We got tickets for low miles leaving CLT on Tuesday and returning on a Tuesday in the summer on American.
Thank you, great advice. Luckily I have a friend on FB that I know from school who now lives in Australia, so I can pick her brain as well. How did you find reputable places to rent apartments?
A nice backpack, a ticket to Frankfurt, and the rest of the money available to be put on a card. Kick him in the ass and let him go explore the world as he wants. If he wants to blow it in a week at a five star hotel, probably not the best choice, but whatever. The cost to send four people for a couple weeks could be a several month adventure and a big step in growing up for someone out of school.
He has and will have plenty of time to travel on his own. This will be a family vacation.
Since you mentioned biking I’ll through out Amsterdam, and the coast on the North Sea. Not as hot as Southern Europe.
We did a few weeks in Portugal a few summers ago and we loved Lisbon and Porto. We aren’t beach people, so we weren’t enamoured with the Algarve area, but if you like the beach it seemed pretty popular.
I highly recommend doing an airbnb or VRBO type accommodations. Lets you live like a local.
Since you mentioned biking I’ll through out Amsterdam, and the coast on the North Sea. Not as hot as Southern Europe.
We did a few weeks in Portugal a few summers ago and we loved Lisbon and Porto. We aren’t beach people, so we weren’t enamoured with the Algarve area, but if you like the beach it seemed pretty popular.
I highly recommend doing an airbnb or VRBO type accommodations. Lets you live like a local.
Thank you!
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