TRAVEL EUROPE WITH KIDS

Yes go but parking in Italian cities is a nightmare so be ready. I am married to an Italian and the rules of the road are, if you are in a motorhome and going slow on a 2 lane, a BMW for example comes up behind you and flashes his lights, pull as far to the right as you can and let him by even if traffic is coming. The It people understand this, Americans do not. Having driven there I find most Am drivers to be a hazard to themselves. Venice (stay in Verona and take the train to the ferry as there are no roads in Venice. You sure bit off a trip and a half in one trip though. Verona takes at least a day as it has the most perfect Coliseums left, made of Pink Dolomite. You ahve to ride the inner or outer ring trolley and go to Naschmart in Wein. Italy is very safe, so is Austria, Germany and Luxembourg is too small to be unsafe. When the Gondalier steps in front of you and says, $200.00 for a gondola ride learn the Italian phrase Go to Hell!
andare all'inferno and walk past, he will go lower , you then go lower and don't be afraid to raise your voice. You're in Italy and be sure to talk with your hands.When in and Italian restaurant always order the house wine. They will think you are a very nice American and it may tase like vinegar but make a fuss.
We went to Germany once, They had the best vinegar you could drink.

Most towns I have visited will not accommodate a class A motorhome or even a class C on many streets. That is what I love about Europe in general, it is bicycle and pedestrian friendly unlike the US. Your kids would have a vastly different and better experience if you travel by train from town to town and in Europe the trains are modern and travel at up to 180 MPH or 6 times as fast as the ones in the US. Light rail in all the cities and often a metro with cheap rates and day or week passes.

In the late 80's I was drafted to drive my parents around England, Scotland and Wales for 3 weeks. They were both over 70 and couldn't rent a car at that age. In retrospect, we all agreed that more time and fewer places would have been better. We drove on a few 4 lane highways, but mostly on narrow two lane roads that were built wide enough for 2 single horse carts to pass each other. When you add driving on the wrong side of the road from the wrong side of the car, it required extra concentration. Mostly, I was nervous all the time.
In your case, add "are we there yet?" children to the mix. I suggest reducing the number of countries and/or increasing the length of the trip. If nothing else, you won't feel like you need a vacation from your vacation.

Thanks, ImaHeadaU, lutraveller.

I will try my best unless my family objects to do so.

Have a nice day...

I have camped in some of those places with a C class van. However, I'm an old fart. So I tend to take it much more slowly. I agree that you should cut back the number of places and suggest that you schedule in several free days. That will give you more flexibility. Another important point is that August is ultra high season for campgrounds. You might want to reserve campsites for some if not most of your stops.

Happy Trails!

You prepared a very good plan. You can add Vienna in your list. It’s a nearby city to Budapest, which is already in your list. You would enjoy the point of attraction like Schönbrunn Palace, Prater, Vienna State Opera, St. Stephen's Cathedral and Hofburg Palace. For any tour, planning should be based on the type of places. If you are preparing list of places, define category of few cold places, few islands and some culturally richer places. This would help you to choose the correct cities according to the category. For Islands, I would suggest you to visit Solomon and plan your stay in King Solomon Hotel. Else, if you are planning for Venice, then stay in Antico Doge or Hotel Columbina.

Thanks RobertRyan,
Thanks Gary Haupt,
Thanks Johnny T,
Thanks Dcason.

All your comments are valuable for me. As I have already stated, I will make my itenerary shorter (Skip Munich, Wien and Budapest area, may be more...) and try to follow JohnnyT's advice as to operate on quality rather than quantity. Also, as Dcason stated, Schedules are good but when they want to explore something more...that will be the way to go.

When my kids were 9, 9 & 10 I took them to Europe for a total of 5 weeks (hubby joined us for two of those weeks).

We were not in a motorhome but stayed in youth hostels, B&B's and travelled via trains, busses, and occasionally taxi for short distances. I prepared them well what to expect. The night before I had second guesses about doing this by myself with them; I had done it alone many times. I need not have worried.

There were many new experiences which puts them on their best behavior (which they were pretty good anyway). We explored castles (in Ireland, Scotland) and I realized pretty quickly (think behavior) that they needed time to explore areas on their own and not drive around on buses for too long. Schedules are good but when they want to explore something more...that was the way to go.

Think moderation and kid stuff and they will be happy an so will you!
Schedules are made to be broken.

We did another trip when they were 14, 14, and 15. Norway was fabulous and they were troopers travelling by bus, boat, train,plane, and foot.

We lived in Germany for four years... Traveled extensively in our VW camper bus with our two children... Ages 5 and 7 till 9 and 11...

Your itinerary is not one I would recommend... Or one that would have worked for us. It might work sans children on a tour bus staying in hotels on an arranged tour.

Our last trip into Italy we spent 4 weeks enjoying the charms of Italy. We did the same in France, England, Scotland, Ireland, Austria, Switzerland, Spain, Germany, Netherlands.

We lingered in Florence, Pizza, Venice and spent a wonderful week in Rome while camped at Castelfusano. Our kids who are now in their late forties still cherish those memories as Mom and Dad do... As our children and Mom and Dad cherish other countries we spent time in traveling and camping with our VW camper bus.

I really believe you will enjoy and cherish the memories as your children will if you greatly reduce your itinerary...

One of the parameters that governed our plans and travels did not include the notion that this is a one time opportunity...Which I suspect is a factor in the itinerary you have outlined. So we operated on quality over quantity...

JohnnyT

RobertRyan wrote:

garyhaupt wrote:
You might wish to take a look at this guys video..and then get in touch with him for insights on your travel plans

Generally smaller RV's are the go in Europe.Trying to get to some places with an Expedition sized vehicle would be extremely difficult to impossible.

If you'd be kind enough to re-ead my post...I wasn't suggesting anything more than to watch the vid and then maybe contact the person to get some 'insights'. Ideas. 'Where to go things.'


Gary Haupt