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[Travel] Holiday advice for travelling around Europe with an eight year old.



Psychobilly freakout

Psychobilly freakout

HellBilly
Feb 23, 2009
23,015
Brighton factually.....
Good folk of NSC

We are looking to travel around Europe during the school summer holidays with our eight year old daughter, we have both booked the full six weeks off work and are just starting to have a look at the best way to do this.
We have it in our heads not to drive and use the train system throughout Europe and possibly Scandinavia, even the odd plane flight if need be.
The countries we are most interested in are Denmark, Germany, France, Italy, Switzerland and Austria, have the good people upon this board any recommendations or suggestions regarding travel, trains and best places to go other than the well known standard affairs.
 




K

knocky1

Well-known member
Jan 20, 2010
12,969
Sounds a great trip. No advice beyond pack light. Good luck.

Maybe too busy in August for spur of the moment travel. Have you thought of a campervan?
 




M

mothy

Well-known member
Dec 30, 2012
2,104
I would advise avoid city trips - deathly boring for kids & stick to the great outdoors of nature (rivers, forests & beaches)

Maybe girls are different - after a few market stalls my boys have had enough - & cities can be too hot to do anything
 






O

ofco8

Well-known member
May 18, 2007
2,387
Brighton
Take youself to STA travel in North Street. Brighton.

Last year my wife and myself booked Interrail with them and had one of the best holidays ever. There are great deals usually this time of year and travelled in June/July.
We got 1 months First Class travel for £409.00 each (You do have some extra charges if using High Speed trains on some of the journeys). We travelled for 3 weeks and took in Paris, Aix-en-Provence, French Riviera, Genoa, Turin, Zermatt in Switzerland, Berne, Paris and home. Make sure you give yourself a good non travelling break of about 5 days in the middle to recharge batteries and stay a minimum of 2 nights in any place.

Travel as light as possible.

Will definitely do again taking in another area of Europe.
 


nicko31

nicko31

Well-known member
Jan 7, 2010
17,606
Gods country fortnightly
The one thing I would say is kids are amazingly adaptable. Some parents think the only place to take an 8 year old is Center Parcs or Euro Disney
 


BigBod

BigBod

Well-known member
Dec 12, 2014
355
If it were me I would do it with my own transport. Be in charge of your own destiny then. I've toured all over Europe with motorbike and sidecar. Great fun.

I would head South down towards Spain, have a play in the Pyrenees. Carcassonne is a must see medieval walled city...head East to French South coast, take in Cannes, St Tropez, Antibes, Nice, Monte Carlo....also taking in the Gorge de Verdon, something like that any way. AKA French Grand Canyon. Have a good play in the Alps before moving onto Italy, Pisa, Rome, Venice, moving North take in the lakes in North Italy. I would have a look at Czec Republic and do Prague then up to Germany taking in the Black Forest, Austria is lovely too and some great passes in the Dolomites. Travelling North up through Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium and Holland and ferry over to the Scandinavian countries. I'm not so familiar with these bout would make seeing the Northern Lights and going up to Tromso....and there is a ton of other stuff you could do on the way. I've done it all by bike and camping, my choice now would be a camper van. Have fun.
 




B

Brian Parsons

New member
May 16, 2013
571
Bicester, Oxfordshire.
Mont St Michel is a must especially if you've been to St Michael's Mount in Cornwall. Then come down coast to the Bordeaux region possibly go round the Martell distillery at Cognac. Take in Lascoux caves, Cheddar but better. Then down to St Tropez and the perfumery at Grasse. Monaco just to say you've been there. And into Italy and beyond. Don't whatever you do go the same time as the French holiday period. Hard to find accommodation, roads are a bloody nightmare and prices miraculously go astronomic.

Sent from my SM-G925F using Tapatalk
 


P

pearl

Well-known member
May 3, 2016
12,804
Behind My Eyes
ofco8 said:
Take youself to STA travel in North Street. Brighton.

Last year my wife and myself booked Interrail with them and had one of the best holidays ever. There are great deals usually this time of year and travelled in June/July.
We got 1 months First Class travel for £409.00 each (You do have some extra charges if using High Speed trains on some of the journeys). We travelled for 3 weeks and took in Paris, Aix-en-Provence, French Riviera, Genoa, Turin, Zermatt in Switzerland, Berne, Paris and home. Make sure you give yourself a good non travelling break of about 5 days in the middle to recharge batteries and stay a minimum of 2 nights in any place.

Travel as light as possible.

Will definitely do again taking in another area of Europe.
Click to expand...

that sounds fantastic! :thumbsup:
 


M

maffew

Well-known member
Dec 10, 2003
8,873
Worcester England
Psychobilly freakout said:
Good folk of NSC

We are looking to travel around Europe during the school summer holidays with our eight year old daughter, we have both booked the full six weeks off work and are just starting to have a look at the best way to do this.
We have it in our heads not to drive and use the train system throughout Europe and possibly Scandinavia, even the odd plane flight if need be.
The countries we are most interested in are Denmark, Germany, France, Italy, Switzerland and Austria, have the good people upon this board any recommendations or suggestions regarding travel, trains and best places to go other than the well known standard affairs.
Click to expand...

There are some expensive destinations on that list, sounds fantastic though. A campervan would seem like a great option if you can share the driving
 




Live by the sea

Live by the sea

Well-known member
Oct 21, 2016
4,718
Both the French and Italian riveria’s are stunning that time of year and surprisingly child friendly . Personally I wouldn’t bother with Germany, not a very attractive country to visit and the food is awful. If you have a reasonable budget, I would stay in hotels, waking up in a camper-van every morning is depressing beyond words .
 


M

maffew

Well-known member
Dec 10, 2003
8,873
Worcester England
Live by the sea said:
Both the French and Italian riveria’s are stunning that time of year and surprisingly child friendly . Personally I wouldn’t bother with Germany, not a very attractive country to visit and the food is awful. If you have a reasonable budget, I would stay in hotels, waking up in a camper-van every morning is depressing beyond words .
Click to expand...

horses and courses I guess. I would much rather wake up with my kids in a camper van and cook a bit of brekky with them than hotels, much more of an experience IMO
 


Thunder Bolt

Thunder Bolt

Silly old bat
Aug 18, 2009
65,500
Beside the seaside, beside the sea
Live by the sea said:
Both the French and Italian riveria’s are stunning that time of year and surprisingly child friendly . Personally I wouldn’t bother with Germany, not a very attractive country to visit and the food is awful. If you have a reasonable budget, I would stay in hotels, waking up in a camper-van every morning is depressing beyond words .
Click to expand...

The Black Forest area of Germany is beautiful, and can be accessed from Strasbourg, en route to Switzerland.

There are delightful b&b's to stay in rather than hotels.
 








Cheshire Cat

Cheshire Cat

The most curious thing..
Nov 4, 2006
11,444
Sitting on a bough of a tree a few yards off...
Don't try too much, otherwise you will spend six weeks staring out of train/car windows, and not actually being anywhere.
 


BNthree

BNthree

Plastic JCL
Sep 14, 2016
10,904
WeHo
Psychobilly freakout said:
Good folk of NSC

We are looking to travel around Europe during the school summer holidays with our eight year old daughter, we have both booked the full six weeks off work and are just starting to have a look at the best way to do this.
We have it in our heads not to drive and use the train system throughout Europe and possibly Scandinavia, even the odd plane flight if need be.
The countries we are most interested in are Denmark, Germany, France, Italy, Switzerland and Austria, have the good people upon this board any recommendations or suggestions regarding travel, trains and best places to go other than the well known standard affairs.
Click to expand...

With an interrail pass that should all be possible and all those countries have great train services (apart from maybe Italy). Have a look at

https://www.seat61.com/

for good Euro rail travel advice.
 




S

Saunders

Well-known member
Oct 1, 2017
2,292
Brighton
Thunder Bolt said:
The Black Forest area of Germany is beautiful, and can be accessed from Strasbourg, en route to Switzerland.

There are delightful b&b's to stay in rather than hotels.
Click to expand...

This, southern Germany is beautiful and as you say can combine with Austria, Northern Italy or Switzerland. If you dont like German food there are plenty of non German restaurants to go to. Pensions (b&bs) are the place to stay rather than hotels. I just wish I could understand their accent.

Also look at Deutsche Bundesbahn deals and prices it is a lot better to book direct through them in my experience if going by train.
 


H

Hastings gull

Well-known member
Nov 23, 2013
4,635
Psychobilly freakout said:
Good folk of NSC

We are looking to travel around Europe during the school summer holidays with our eight year old daughter, we have both booked the full six weeks off work and are just starting to have a look at the best way to do this.
We have it in our heads not to drive and use the train system throughout Europe and possibly Scandinavia, even the odd plane flight if need be.
The countries we are most interested in are Denmark, Germany, France, Italy, Switzerland and Austria, have the good people upon this board any recommendations or suggestions regarding travel, trains and best places to go other than the well known standard affairs.
Click to expand...

You mention Germany -if you want to explore the Alpine area, think no further than a little town called Oberstdorf. there is a station there and inter-city trains terminate and start from there. If you look at booking a Gasthaus, or a ferienwohnung (self-catering holiday flat) some are part of a scheme whereby the cable cars and chair lifts are all free. There is a lovely swimming complex in Oberstdorf and a huge one in nearby Sonthofen. Your daughter would love the Rodelbahn (google it) at the Sollereck mountain. If you are really interested, then PM at some stage for further help. A truly idyllic place.
 


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