https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Wed, 17 Jun 2026 06:15:04 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/kid-free-europe-trip-early-planning-stages/page/2#post-2710077 Tue, 14 Mar 2017 10:10:36 +0000 Banana330 2710077@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@youboots: I'd look in to flying in to one city and out of another. There's lots of cheap airlines in europe if you're looking to do places that are further apart. You could easily do London _&gt; eruostar Paris _ fly to Rome and do Rome/florence. or Berlin, or Prague, or Barcelona. Montenegro and croatia are great too. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/kid-free-europe-trip-early-planning-stages/page/2#post-2710060 Tue, 14 Mar 2017 09:58:42 +0000 youboots 2710060@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs D: thanks so much for the tips. I appreciate you taking the time to respond </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/kid-free-europe-trip-early-planning-stages/page/2#post-2709163 Sun, 12 Mar 2017 19:29:00 +0000 Mrs D 2709163@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I absolutely loathe Paris CDG airport. So I would avoid it at all costs.</p> <p>I have always enjoyed Amsterdam airport. So efficient, clean and well run. Plus I think KLM is a great airline for intra-europe flights. I have had similar good experiences in Frankfurt - but of course that is further and further east - which may not make sense based on where you want to go.</p> <p>My only personal European trip included London, Paris, Munich, Venice, Florence and Rome. I loved London and Florence more than I thought. Munich and Rome met my expectations. Venice was nice - but in hindsight I would have skipped this and saved it for a trip with a significant other (I went with my BFF). Paris was a complete dud at the time - just an awful experience.</p> <p>I have since been back to Germany and love it. I love the people, the food, the culture - everything.</p> <p>Paris I have been back to, as well as some of the countryside of France. I ADORE everywhere I have been in France outside Paris. My company has plants in the castle "district" outside Paris - I LOVE it in the smaller towns. As I have been flying in and out of Paris I have spent a few more nights there - and had better experiences. Not sure if it is bc I have lowered my expectations or because I am different now than I was at 27 - but I have liked it. </p> <p>I tried to make a list of where I want to go still and its SO long. There are so many amazing cities in Europe. </p> <p>Rome was remarkable - but "out there" location wise. There is nothing like standing in the Colosseum and feeling the history. Literally...you can feel it. Same with Tower London.</p> <p>I also recently visited Budapest for work - such an underrated city I think.</p> <p>Take advantage of trains when you can. The train stations are usually quite central to the city, less time consuming than an airport. Plus the countryside views are lovely. Its so fun to grab a meal, hop on the train - have a beverage and eat while traveling low stress. German and French trains have been my fave! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/kid-free-europe-trip-early-planning-stages/page/2#post-2709116 Sun, 12 Mar 2017 16:49:26 +0000 Poshbecs 2709116@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@youboots: the weather here is SO unpredictable!! Ha! Generally the start of September is nice enough and June is often ok. July and August can be nice too but it's all a case of luck!! The days are longer in the summer so if it's rainy earlier, you can still do something in the evening. The winter months can be very dark and miserable! But bring a raincoat and good shoes and you'll be grand!! 👍🏻 </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/kid-free-europe-trip-early-planning-stages/page/2#post-2709105 Sun, 12 Mar 2017 16:16:19 +0000 littlejoy 2709105@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Being the total nerd that I am, I would watch all of the Rick Steeves episodes for the places you're planning to go. I LOVE that he usually suggests things off the beaten path, and his food adventures look so amazing! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/kid-free-europe-trip-early-planning-stages/page/2#post-2709078 Sun, 12 Mar 2017 13:52:06 +0000 Littlebit7 2709078@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>why can't you do santorini? I don't know if you've considered it, but you could fly into one airport and home from another. Maybe fly in to Paris, explore paris and whichever other city you'd like via train. Then take a hop to Athens via a flight. there are a ton of slights that leave hourly to santorini.<br /> DH and I are going to a wedding in Eastern Europe this summer and we're going to stopover for 4 days in Santorini on our way. It seems totally doable and the perfect destination without kids. This why we are doing it ;)<br /> Then you could return to athens and fly home from there.<br /> Maybe save it for the end of the trip; you will have trekked all over a few cities and likely need some downtime anyway. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/kid-free-europe-trip-early-planning-stages/page/2#post-2709064 Sun, 12 Mar 2017 12:52:37 +0000 yoursilverlining 2709064@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@youboots: Italy is very kid-friendly. We spent 2 weeks in Tuscany (1 week in a rental villa in the countryside and 1 week in an apartment in Florence) and found is extremely kid friendly! </p> <p>If you are set on Paris and London I would probably do Ireland, somewhere else in France. You'll lose a day on either end traveling as well as time traveling between locations in Europe. I wouldn't try to do more than 4 places in 2 weeks personally. </p> <p>I love Italy - the blue grotto referenced upthread is beautiful. I've been to Rome, Tuscany, Capri and sorento and all are fabulous. You could easily spend 2 weeks just in Italy.</p> <p>We've also done Northern Europe: Denmark, Finland, Estonia and Russia. I liked Finland and Estonia best of those countries, but those would be harder to fit into a trip to those countries depending on where you want to go. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/kid-free-europe-trip-early-planning-stages/page/2#post-2709049 Sun, 12 Mar 2017 11:55:41 +0000 mamainthesun 2709049@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@youboots: ive mostly stayed in the southern countries of Europe and I still want to visit many places but I love Spain and find that the southern cities of Spain (Sevilla, Cordoba, also Toledo a bit more up North and of course Barcelona are fantastic) The first two are great because the night life is great, the weather will be great too(too hot in the summer), and the architecture and history is very interesting as it is a mix of European and Arabic heritage! Also I love the food in Spain! And they have a nice cava(cheaper version of champagne)!! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/kid-free-europe-trip-early-planning-stages/page/2#post-2709031 Sun, 12 Mar 2017 10:26:24 +0000 lamariniere 2709031@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@youboots: as for kid friendly, I haven't been to Italy with kids but everyone says it's great. We've been to Barcelona and Copenhagen with our LOs and they were great. I hear most of Scandinavia is kid friendly. Vienna is actually very kid friendly (and I'm not just saying that because I live here!) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/kid-free-europe-trip-early-planning-stages#post-2709029 Sun, 12 Mar 2017 10:05:57 +0000 youboots 2709029@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@lamariniere: you are the best. I will bother you when we get a bit closer. I want to feel like I can settle in a bit so I'm thinking 3-4 nights at each location.</p> <p>What do you think the most kid friendly cities/countries are? I want to save those for another trip.@mamainthesun: we will go in late spring/early summer so May/June. I would like sun since we are from a rainy climate. I like your recommendation of everything that is close together.@Poshbecs: wow! Thanks so much for taking the time to set up an account and help me out. I think I would love an all southern costal trip but that is something we could do with our daughter later. Usually we go to Mexico or Hawaii and hang out by the water all day so I want to do something more challenging. That is so amazing you live in Ireland. My brother in law lived there for many years. We want to visit Ireland and Scotland down the road for 2 weeks. What months have the best weather? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/kid-free-europe-trip-early-planning-stages#post-2709007 Sun, 12 Mar 2017 06:19:03 +0000 Poshbecs 2709007@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Hi! I'm Irish (live in Ireland) and have been to lots of places in Europe! If you're only going for 2 weeks, I'd try to fly early morning/evening between destinations because I could never sleep well on overnight trains. And flights aren't a lot more expensive than the train. I did a train trip over 3 weeks from rotterdam-Amsterdam-Brussels-Paris-Barcelona-Madrid-Lisbon-Porto. Barcelona is fab for architecture and bright colours, lots of Gaudi and the cathedral. Definitely do the day bike tour if you go, it really shows you the highlights and is not exertional at all. South of Italy is also amazing, I think Rome is one of my fave cities in the world. I did a day trip to Pompeii on the train via Naples and it was totally doable. We went to amalfi for our mini moon, and that's also absolutely gorgeous and only about 1.5 hours from Naples by bus/car I think. It very easy to get boat ferrys up and down the coast, to Capri etc. Weather would be gorgeous that time of year too. From what you've said, I would fly to Paris for 3/4 days, fly/overnight train to Barcelona for 2/3 days (not as much to see as Paris/Rome but still a really cool city) then fly to Rome (fly to Naples and bus transfer is probably cheapest) for 3/4 days (so much to see there, and food is amazing), then head down to the coast for some relaxation before heading home (Naples is quite a big airport I think, it would probably be easy to fly home from here). I think that would be a fab trip and not too hectic and not all big cities. Ryanair fly to/near each place. There are lots of other amazing places too, Ireland and UK are nice but weather much less reliable and I would personally prefer the other trip. You could squeeze a day or 2 in London to the start of the trip and get the Eurostar to Paris. South of Spain (Seville, Granada, ronda etc) is gorgeous. Portugal is lovely but maybe slower pace and less in the way of major sights than other places, but that could suit you. Florence is kind of difficult to get to, as in it takes a day or so and I'd probably skip it if you only have 2 weeks but it is totally gorgeous, as is Venice/Verona/Lake Garda. Other places mentioned like Prague/Croatia are also lovely, depends what you want from your trip! Europe is so rich in history and sights it's hard to go wrong to be honest! You'll have an amazing time. I have found trail finders preplanned itineraries for inspiration before, they give a good guide as to good routes to takes, time needed in each place etc, then you can customise as you see fit. If I could be of any help in your planning let me know! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/kid-free-europe-trip-early-planning-stages#post-2709003 Sun, 12 Mar 2017 03:07:36 +0000 mamainthesun 2709003@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@lamariniere: i have friends in Mougin, let me know if you need any recommendations! Also if you are going to Marseille, not that far!! It's definitely a nice place! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/kid-free-europe-trip-early-planning-stages#post-2709002 Sun, 12 Mar 2017 02:56:15 +0000 lamariniere 2709002@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@mamainthesun: we are waiting for a confirmation near Grasse. I have been wanting to go to Marseille for years, and I hope we can at least do a day trip this summer! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/kid-free-europe-trip-early-planning-stages#post-2709001 Sun, 12 Mar 2017 02:50:19 +0000 mamainthesun 2709001@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@lamariniere: I live near Marseille! Where are you going?! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/kid-free-europe-trip-early-planning-stages#post-2708999 Sun, 12 Mar 2017 02:47:05 +0000 lamariniere 2708999@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@mamainthesun: what part of the south of France do you live in? We are spending a week there this summer (currently waiting for our airbnb confirmation)! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/kid-free-europe-trip-early-planning-stages#post-2708998 Sun, 12 Mar 2017 02:44:39 +0000 lamariniere 2708998@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@youboots: as for trains, figure out your itinerary and then I would be happy to point you in the right direction since there are different companies depending on the region. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/kid-free-europe-trip-early-planning-stages#post-2708997 Sun, 12 Mar 2017 02:39:06 +0000 mamainthesun 2708997@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I live in the south of France and travel quite a bit to see family in other countries.<br /> We usually fly Ryanair because the flights are always the cheapest.<br /> Other low cost airlines are easy jet, German wings, air lingus, vueling.<br /> The train system in France isn't bad with bordering countries,l. From Paris you can get to Belgium in an hour(great beer), to the south Marseille in three( sun) and London in two! So it's a good starting point!<br /> What i often do when traveling to an unknown city is looking at the airport website and see which airline flies there and then look on their website for ticket info. I be never found cheaper tickets than on the actual airlines website.<br /> When are you going and do you want sunshine? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/kid-free-europe-trip-early-planning-stages#post-2708996 Sun, 12 Mar 2017 02:34:39 +0000 lamariniere 2708996@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@youboots: I'm here! :happy: </p> <p>I would probably cut it down to 4 cities. 5 seems ambitious for 2 weeks and you'll lose at least half a day (if not more) in transit time. I would probably do 3 capital cities or major cities and one seaside. </p> <p>Some ideas:<br /> Fly in to London. Train to Amsterdam (3-4 hours). Train to Paris (3ish hours, could potentially stop in Brussels). Fly to Barcelona. </p> <p>Fly in to Paris or London. Go to the opposite city by train (2 hours). From London fly to Rome. Train/bus to coastal city. </p> <p>Fly in to Paris or London. Go to the opposite city by train. Fly to Prague or Budapest (or Vienna!!!) (less than 3 hour flight for any of these combos). I have a slight preference for Budapest over Prague because the baths and food are amazing. You could potentially do Prague to Vienna or Vienna to Budapest via train. Fly to Greece. </p> <p>Fly in to Paris or London. Go to the opposite city by train. Fly to Copenhagen or Stockholm and then go to the opposite city by train (5ish hours). </p> <p>Fly in to London. Go to Paris by train. Go to the south if France Marseille/Nice (most likely by train). From Marseille take a ferry (overnight) to Corsica. Fly from Corsica back to Paris for the return. </p> <p>This is the itinerary I did when I went on my first trip to Europe in high school, and it was 2 weeks: fly into London. Train to Paris. Overnight train to Rome (18ish hours?). Bus to Sorrento. Day trip to Capri. Bus to Brindisi. Overnight ferry to Greece. Return via Athens. But it was grueling and we only had 1-1.5 days in some places. </p> <p>A low cost carrier to check into is flyniki.com, which usually has really good deals. Something else we have had good luck with is booking all flights at once. For example, go to kayak and use the multi-city journey feature and put in all the flights. We saved like €300 per ticket last year when we went to Asia as opposed to buying each ticket piecemeal. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/kid-free-europe-trip-early-planning-stages#post-2708979 Sat, 11 Mar 2017 23:30:45 +0000 youboots 2708979@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I should also mention I'm a film photographer so I'm interested in architecture and bright colors.</p> <p>I'm an Air Force brat and was raised in Germany. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/kid-free-europe-trip-early-planning-stages#post-2708968 Sat, 11 Mar 2017 22:18:24 +0000 Mrs. Microscope 2708968@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We went a few years ago before kids, and took 16 days. We flew on Iceland air, which was great. We flew into Munich, did oktoberfest, rented a car and then drove to Prague, Budapest, and Venice, stopping on our drives for lunches in small towns in Austria and Slovenia as well. Dropped the car back at the train station in Munich, jumped on the tgv and rode to Paris, flew out from there. The rental car was cheap, and a great way to travel at our own pace and stop on small towns as we went. And Europe is small, the longest day in the car was Budapest to Venice, we stopped for lunch and a hike in Slovenia, and it was still only an 8 hour day! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/kid-free-europe-trip-early-planning-stages#post-2708963 Sat, 11 Mar 2017 22:03:22 +0000 Anagram 2708963@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@808love: It was amazing! I used to use the website Couchsurfing all the time back then this was pre marriage/pre kids and stayed with people in most of those locations, but stayed in hostels the rest of the time.</p> <p>One of the hardest things about marriage and parenting for me has been giving up that kind of freedom. I traveled solo to Europe, then India, then Argentina, then backpacked from northern Mexico to Guatemala, then a second trip just all over Guatemala.....all by myself, and I miss it. =/ </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/kid-free-europe-trip-early-planning-stages#post-2708960 Sat, 11 Mar 2017 21:58:21 +0000 808love 2708960@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Anagram: That sounds like an amazing route! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/kid-free-europe-trip-early-planning-stages#post-2708957 Sat, 11 Mar 2017 21:50:26 +0000 Anagram 2708957@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@youboots: you could fly into London and out of Athens and make your way overland or find a cheap flight. London to Paris is easy enough...you can take an overnight train from Paris to Rome. Then you can travel around Italy for a few days, and then fly to Athens or Santorini.</p> <p>I once flew into Athens and flew out of Zurich, but I made an enormous loop in Europe before coming back to Zurich. I flew into Athens, took the ferry to Santorini for 3 days and back, flew Athens--Venice for about $70, went to Venice, Rome, Florence, some small towns around there (Pisa of course, Lucca to a vineyard, Siena), then down to Naples to see Pompeii, Mt. Vesuvius, etc. Then back all the way up on the train from Rome to Paris...3 days in Paris, then on the Brussels, Amsterdam (and a few places around the Netherlands...visited a friend in University in Delft), then to Berlin and Munich, and finally back to Zurich where I flew out.</p> <p>It was about......3.5 weeks total? It was a blast--I traveled solo and had so much fun and met so many interesting people. So I think London--Paris---Rome (and surrounds)--Athens (Santorini) is doable in 2 weeks. Look for cheap flights between cities, or overnight trains to save time. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/kid-free-europe-trip-early-planning-stages#post-2708956 Sat, 11 Mar 2017 21:41:33 +0000 808love 2708956@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Bibliolove: fresh croissants from the bakery are worth the chance--I get it. Time for another trip! The cheese..the wine...the croissants...just not the same at Epcot. 😂 </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/kid-free-europe-trip-early-planning-stages#post-2708930 Sat, 11 Mar 2017 19:04:26 +0000 Bibliolove 2708930@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@youboots: The main reason we did Ireland was because it was so cheap to fly over there, and then cheaper (and shorter) to fly back from Dublin to home. Plus we both wanted to see Ireland and we met up with friends. The first night we were there, we sat in a crowded pub, drank Guinness, and listened to live music. </p> <p>It's definitely worth going back to and doing up the whole country though!</p> <p>I think Paris was my favorite city. We stayed by the Luxemburg Gardens. My only regret is that the morning we were due at the train station, I ran over to the bakery for one last croissant. I get there only to find out that the bakery wasn't open until 9! I wish I could have eaten more pastries! :grin: </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/kid-free-europe-trip-early-planning-stages#post-2708916 Sat, 11 Mar 2017 18:39:02 +0000 Kemma 2708916@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@SweetiePie: the south of France is just stunning! Definitely a perfect place to relax for a few days!</p> <p>@youboots: I've only done a Contiki through Europe but I'd do London, Paris, Nice (or anywhere in the south of France), then Florence or Rome, and maybe Venice if you wanted to squeeze it in (I don't think you'd need more than 1-2 days in Venice but I could easily spend more time in the other cities). </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/kid-free-europe-trip-early-planning-stages#post-2708910 Sat, 11 Mar 2017 18:21:55 +0000 youboots 2708910@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@lamariniere please help. If I go to Prague maybe we will meet after all since you are just a stop away 😍 </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/kid-free-europe-trip-early-planning-stages#post-2708909 Sat, 11 Mar 2017 18:18:09 +0000 youboots 2708909@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@erinbaderin: @peachykeen: thanks for the Prauge recommendation. I'll look into it.@looch: my parents are doing that trip for a month this summer- they are having a hard time finding lodging in Sweden for some reason. I'm toying with flying into London and out of Barcelona. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/kid-free-europe-trip-early-planning-stages#post-2708908 Sat, 11 Mar 2017 18:17:59 +0000 808love 2708908@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@youboots: Ireland=beer :goodluck: My mom just came back from Spain and Portugal and loved it. She kept saying I had to go there. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/kid-free-europe-trip-early-planning-stages#post-2708906 Sat, 11 Mar 2017 18:15:56 +0000 youboots 2708906@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@808love: as long as I can have a beer I'm a happy traveler. </p>