My husband and I first traveled to Europe in 1997 for several weeks during our summer break from college. I fell in love with Europe from the moment I landed in the Charles de Gaulle airport and saw signs that were all in French! And even the vending machines were in French! And everyone was speaking French! I didn’t know French and obviously knew before arrival that people spoke French in France, but I distinctly remember that first moment of being in another country. We also visited Spain and Switzerland on this trip, hopping around with Eurail passes and backpacks from city to city. I remember standing in the Swiss Alps and seeing a family who was staying in the same hostel as us and thinking, “Someday when I have kids, I’m going to bring them here.”
I travelled back to Europe a few times for similar multi-country trips prior to having kids, including a study abroad semester in Ireland. After having kids, I longed to return to Europe, but with two little kids it just seemed like Europe was going to be twice the price and half the fun. But when my husband had a conference in France one year, we decided to bring our two kids (then 2 and 4) to Amsterdam, France, and London for a couple weeks. The airfare was twice the price, but it was definitely not half the fun. Instead, I found that traveling with kids gives you an entirely different perspective on a country. We had an incredible time eating pofferjes in Amsterdam, riding around with the kids on the back of our bikes, discovering ziplines and other cool features in European playgrounds, eating lots of awesome cheese and baguettes, visiting a Dutch amusement park, and seeing the joy our kids found in something as simple as being on the top deck of a double decker bus in London. The double decker bus is actually the only memory our oldest has of the trip.
We are now ready to embark on an 8-week long tour of Europe with our four kids, ages 3, 6, 9, and 11. We haven’t done much traveling in recent years so have been able to save up for this big adventure. I love planning trips and have been researching for months and had everything booked in the winter. Our family loves exploring cities and also loves nature, so we tried to find a balance of the two. In almost all our destinations we are staying at Airbnb rental homes. On weekend trips I’m willing to squeeze all 6 of us into a small hotel room, but since we are going to be traveling all summer we wanted to be in real homes with lots of beds, a kitchen to cook in, and plenty of space. We are spending about a week in each destination so will be able to get settled in a bit. Here is our itinerary and our reason for picking each destination.
Stop 1: Iceland. This is an easy stopover on the way to continental Europe and just a 5 hour flight from Boston. We are staying in the Golden Circle area which is near many amazing nature sites (waterfalls, geysirs, etc.).
Stop 2: Copenhagen. Our main draw here is the bike culture. We are a bike commuting family and loved our trip to Amsterdam where we could ride bikes everywhere.
Stop 3: Spain. We are mostly avoiding Spain in the summer due to the heat, but do need to spend a couple weeks there to get set up, since we only have 30 days from arriving in Iceland to get our residence cards. During this time, we plan to find a place to live and register our kids for school. The kids are signed up for a local day camp which will give them a chance to interact with other Spanish kids and get used to the language prior to the start of school.
Stop 4: Mallorca. This is our vacation from the vacation. We rented a big house with a pool in the middle of the island where we can explore with short day trips or just relax around the house.
Stop 5: Paris. No explanation necessary. We did a street view of our Airbnb rental and could see the bakery across the street with croissants and baguettes in the window.
Stop 6: Switzerland. We will spend a couple days visiting friends near Zurich and then spend time in the Swiss Alps, which is probably my favorite place on earth.
Stop 7: Bergamo, Italy. I love Rome but figured it would be hot in the summer and there would be so much walking for the kids, so instead picked a small northern Italian city where the kids can experience fresh pasta, gelato, and everything else that is amazing about Italy. I picked this specific city since there are budget flights from here back to Madrid that were so cheap that I kept looking at the purchase price ($185) and wondering if I was really sure that was for all 6 of us and not just a single ticket.
Trains, Planes, and Automobiles
Much of our travel will be using budget flights within Europe. This seemed to be the most efficient and often cheapest way to travel, especially since our destinations are so spread out. We will be renting a car in Iceland and Mallorca, and also during our two weeks of getting set up in Spain, but otherwise will be getting around on foot, bike, and public transportation.
From the time we arrive in Paris to when we leave Italy we will be traveling by train. We looked into various rail passes but if you book early enough it is actually cheaper just to pay for individual tickets, so that is our plan. When we last traveled with kids through Europe we found train travel the best option.
I am planning to post to this blog about how our travels are going, so check back for updates during the summer.
Aventuras en España 