BootsnAll Travel Community

Hi..we are planning on europe this summer with our two girls age 8 and 6 but we are debating if we should do eurorail or find cheap flights like ryanair...anyone have any suggestions or has anyone done the eurorail with kids? which countries did u visit? We want to start off in London as we have family there and then we want to visit two or three countries..we are debating those as well..any ideas or suggestions would be great! Thanks in advance!

Well, for sheer entertainment value, it's nice to fly into London and take the Channel Tunnel (Chunnel!) to Paris. We did it and it was beautiful, relaxing, and very exotic for our then-five year old.

We've also taken the high-speed train between Amsterdam and Paris, very efficient. I'm a big fan of these three cities, and moreso with kids. In Amsterdam and London, you've got English familiarity in your corner, along with many child-friendly sights (free museums in London, etc). Paris is great because there are so many books written about it for children, to help get them excited.

In Amsterdam, we didn't stay IN Amsterdam, but instead in the little suburb of Haarlem (Joops Hotel). It's quaint and villagey, but a quick train ride into Amsterdam. And, if you end in Amsterdam (or Paris) you can do open-jaw flights back to the US.

There are many other great countries as well - I'm sure others will chime in.

Bigdaddy - I'm sure that plenty of us will have helpful tips, but we might need a bit more info to start. How long do you have and what areas of Europe interest you? What about your budget? Can you afford flights if they're more than the train? This info will heavily influence our advice.

Initially, coming from the UK, it seems you have two choices: Fly to a country of your choice (literally anywhere) or take the train to France. Perhaps a third choice would be a boat to Ireland.

If you've got a week, I'd stick with one small focused area -- Paris and environs, or perhaps a few selected sites in the Benelux area. With a month, you can get a bit further afield. What you want to do depends on what you want to see. You could fly to Prague and use that as a base for a tour of central/eastern Europe. You could Chunnel to France and see a good part of that country, plus a bit of Spain or Italy. You could fly to Istanbul and spend the whole month touring Turkey.

My wife and I took plenty of trains in Europe with our 18-month-old last summer, mostly in France and eastern Europe. That's obviously quite a different age compared to your kid, but we learned one lesson that's probably applicable: We had to travel a bit more slowly than usual. Don't rush things, and don't be too ambitious.

PS: I like wabashcannonball's idea about flying back from wherever you end up. That will save help immensely if time is limited.

That is a great age to take kids to Europe and I also have to agree it depends on how much time you are talking about. I would not leave London if you only have a week except for a day trip or two.

But if you have a month or more, I would HIGHLY recommend renting a small motorhome as it is a fantastic way to see Europe with kids.Most middle class Europeans know that, but most Americans are in the dark.

http://www.transitionsabroad.com/publications/magazine/...ming_in_europe.shtml

We have been Rving around Europe with a 6yo ( 5 when we started) for the last 8 months and it has really been the best! You will see lots of good ideas for kids that age on our blog that might help with your planning.

The possibilities are really endless,so it is hard to suggest possibilities without more info ( but you have gotten great replies so far).

SLOW is really the way to go with kids and if you do not do RV , I would do a weekly apt rental in a few places instead.

We really like traveling with a backpack that rolls or can be put on the back and my child carries her own when we travel by train,bus,plane,taxi,ferry etc.

If we move fast ( sometimes it is a must and has not been a problem including 3 museums in a day in Paris or 10 days of serious desert treking in Morocco) we make up for it with slow easy days. Kids still need time to play ..take advantage of the wonderful playgrounds in Europe and DO take them to museums...just make it faster and fun.

I think read,read,read before you go ( great books for kids on Europe,kids art books and games,and horrible histories etc) and see movies set in the places that you will visit to help them "own" the experience.

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Originally posted by jv:

PS: I like wabashcannonball's idea about flying back from wherever you end up. That will save help immensely if time is limited.

It can also end up saving you money - London has very high airport fees compared to many other European cities.

I agree with the "slow down" approach if you only have a week or two. I like the slowtravel website, myself. There's even a special section on Slow Travel with kids.

Hmm, I'd like to hear your stories, jv, of train travel with an eighteen month old. Should I assume you didn't have what we in the biz call "a runner?" I could do it with my firstborn, but my second is definitely a runner. Dang.

Ah yes a "runner", I have not heard that expression before, but I know what you mean. I think I most definitely had a "runner" who could run faster than me at 9 months. Plus loved to jump off things and climb everything in site including door jams.

BUT I can tell you the good point of a runner, ( or at least in our case) they make really good walkers who have endless energy for keeping up on endless walks thru cities and country hikes.

I have heard of people who used strollers in Europe for 5 year old kids which amazed me, but that would never do for my little one even as a toddler.

Mine was famous for running football fields away from me as soon as she could run and running away from everyone like the little gingerbread boy, but I managed without ever using a leash...tho it was tempting at times.

So hang in there WBCB ( too long to spellout) !! A "runner" might be a blessing in disguise. By four and five she could take the long flights as well as keep up with all adult walking.