6 weeks in Europe - Things to think of

[Anonymous]

In some countries, kids can get student discounts on public transport, but may need an international student card to show this. Worth checking.

[Anonymous]

Check whether your credit card’s insurance covers rental cars. Our Chase one does.

Make sure everyone has minimum 6 months validity on their passport.

Make sure you each get a ETIA if it has been introduced by then. Will be needed for every US citizen from “mid 2025”.

[Anonymous]

Why do you want to obligate everyone to daily pre planned activity. Why not just go and enjoy.

[Anonymous]

Check the temperatures in Spain. It could be stinking hot and not much fun to go to camp.

[Anonymous]

A rental might not have a clothes dryer. You can get electric drying racks, if you need one.

If everyone has a contactless bankcard, life will be easier.

Your kids will have to deal with the preconceived notions that the other kids have about Americans. These are not always positive.

If you are in Barcelona, Valencia, or another city in Catalonia, Catalan dominates Spanish, so getting practical Spanish experience might be tricky.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A rental might not have a clothes dryer. You can get electric drying racks, if you need one.

If everyone has a contactless bankcard, life will be easier.

Your kids will have to deal with the preconceived notions that the other kids have about Americans. These are not always positive.

If you are in Barcelona, Valencia, or another city in Catalonia, Catalan dominates Spanish, so getting practical Spanish experience might be tricky.

In summer in Spain, the clothes will be dry in an hour or two out on a clothes rack on the balcony.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For spain:

16 year olds can and do drink in Spain (really starting around 14 it is normal to see kids doing "botellón" or outdoor illegal BYOB drinking parties) but they can't drive until 18 even with an international license. (Be sure you get an international license.)

Also, mandatory schooling in Spain ends at 16, and like 40% of Spaniards stop going to school at 16, so there are a lot of 16 year olds in the workforce already.

I just get the monthly overseas cell plan that has unlimited data, it works fine although with a ton of phones (4 with the teens?) you might decide it is easier to get spanish SIMs and turn off your US plan. Also download whatsapp, everyone uses it in Spain.

Always bring your passport and intl driving license with you when you drive (you can get the intl license at AAA I think?). There are a lot of mandatory police checkpoints in Spain where they will check your papers and sometimes breathalyze drivers. You can also be stopped on the street/on public transport for papers and to make sure you have a ticket, and there are pretty hefty fines if you didn't buy or validate your ticket.

Also the traffic lights in spain are not across the intersection but on the side you stop at, which is annoying if you're the first car.

Except in Asturias, the drinking age in Spain is 18.

https://www.esmadrid.com/en/legislation-and-illegal-practices

And in the USA, the drinking age is 21.

The point is that PP's statement that "16 year olds can and do drink in Spain" is inaccurate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our family is planning a 6+ week stay in Europe, probably Spain or possibly Italy, for summer 2025, where we will anchor in one coastal area and do weekend trips. We have three kids, one in elementary and two in high school.

The intent will be for the high school kids to be in camps learning the language and doing activities the four weeks in the middle. The little one will attend at least a half-day camp and possibly get a nanny so the spouse is free to pursue some of their interests.

Lots of research is happening on the where and the what and I'll post in other threads over time about specifics. I'm curious for this boards feedback on things we might not be considering yet - items like copies of vaccination records, phone plans, driving permits etc. that are easy to forget about until its too late.

We just did a two week trip to Spain last year and really everything went smoothly except not getting tickets in time for some sites. Six weeks just feels like there'd be more chances for something to need to be done ahead of time that I haven't thought about.

Wash and fold laundry. All the bigger cities have them and they charge by the kilo. We did it twice. The one in Rome was great.

[Anonymous]

Pretty incredible how ignorant some of these posts are, like “so much terrorism in Spain” or “the French hate Americans”.
Or one year of HS French and you can’t speak the language- no kidding. One year of math and you can’t do integers???
Re camps: There are plenty of language camps for children, teens, adults because, guess what, Europeans learn foreign languages.

Some practicalities:
Check with your health insurance- ours covers emergency services abroad. Other than that, a Dr visit in Spain is very inexpensive- I paid 2.00 to get a prescription filled when I extended a stay abroad and ran out of meds.
Phone has been covered.
Alcohol for teens- talk to your kids beforehand. A glass of wine with a meal is fine.
Laundry- get a place with washing machine- they do have those in Europe
Drivers license- never had a problem with my US license but if you feel the need, get an international one from AAA.
Money- even grocery stores now take CC, so obviously get some that don’t have foreign transaction fees.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Pretty incredible how ignorant some of these posts are, like “so much terrorism in Spain” or “the French hate Americans”.
Or one year of HS French and you can’t speak the language- no kidding. One year of math and you can’t do integers???
Re camps: There are plenty of language camps for children, teens, adults because, guess what, Europeans learn foreign languages.

Some practicalities:
Check with your health insurance- ours covers emergency services abroad. Other than that, a Dr visit in Spain is very inexpensive- I paid 2.00 to get a prescription filled when I extended a stay abroad and ran out of meds.
Phone has been covered.
Alcohol for teens- talk to your kids beforehand. A glass of wine with a meal is fine.
Laundry- get a place with washing machine- they do have those in Europe
Drivers license- never had a problem with my US license but if you feel the need, get an international one from AAA.
Money- even grocery stores now take CC, so obviously get some that don’t have foreign transaction fees.

You need to check the country for the international driver's license. Rental companies may rent to you with a US license but if you get stopped for speeding in some countries, the police may demand to see an international license and fine you if you don't have one.

[Anonymous]

From what I can see Spain does require the international license. I just dropped in to an AAA office and got it done in 5 minutes for $20. You need two passport photos or can get them done at AAA. You can also print out the forms online

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:From what I can see Spain does require the international license. I just dropped in to an AAA office and got it done in 5 minutes for $20. You need two passport photos or can get them done at AAA. You can also print out the forms online

France too. Whether you will need to ever show it is another matter - I have never had to, but in the part of France that I spend the summer, it is fairly common for police to stop cars and ask for documents, and this is what they would need to see. Definitely worth the peace of mind to get this.

[Anonymous]

I would worry about not having health insurance for overseas, even if just for emergencies

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PS: personally I'd do France, not Spain or Italy. Much more centrally located.

I feel like France has a higher prevalence of terrorist attacks than Spain or Italy, and therefore seems less safe to me.

Errant nonsense

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP here. My family once traveled in Europe for 5 weeks, mostly in Spain. We didn’t have any issues with healthcare, driving, needing passports on us at all times, etc. It was just like any other vacation, except that it lasted 5 weeks.

I would choose Madrid and do side trips from there.

Have fun OP!

It’s too hot in Madrid in July and August and everyone leaves