Slovenia is great. I wonder whether it would be a bit a bit too similar to the Dolomites? How about flying into Venice then heading to Slovenia and the Istrian peninsula, which is the northern part of Croatia? That way, you could combine Venice with Slovenia’s mountains/lakes and the beautiful beaches and Roman ruins of northern Croatia.

Op here, also a great idea. Spouses family originally from Croatia but only he’s been…I like this combo…

Anonymous wrote:

We did Venice and Dolomites his summer with 13 and 16 year olds.

Not sure how much they enjoyed Venice but we all liked the Dolomites. Did ebiking, a spa, hiking. We had 3 full days there; having 4-5 would have been great.

Op here. I lived in Venice for a few months years ago and worry my memories will mislead us…though I lived the broader Venetonregion in general too….but why did your kids not like it? Too many people, boring churches, etc? I think we would probably only stay 2 days anyway and then focus elsewhere…

For the Dolomites, any recommendations?

I didn’t get the impression they DISliked it - but neither raved about it either. I just think the “absorb the city” nature of experiencing Venice wasn’t their thing maybe - or just that they liked the other spots we went to more. Personally I do like Venice and still find it charming.

In the Dolomites we stayed in Ortisei. Took the train from Venice to Bolzano and rented a car there. It was lovely. Went to Seceda, Alpi di Suisi, and day tripped to Merano.

For Scandanavia— my college age DD did a 5 week language program through her college and tacked on 5 weeks of travel. So, she’s in scandavia now, and has been for 3 weeks. She spent 6 days in Stockholm and was supposed to spend 6 in Copenhagen, but likes it so much she is moving things around and staying a couple days longer. I have been to Stockholm and it’s a fun city with lots to do. She loved it and says Copenhagen is even better. And that they are very different places.

Very fun cities. Great weather in the summer. Hours of sunlight. 1 hour train ride between them. No need for a car in the city. Trams, trains and bikes everywhere and very walkable. .

She took Icelandair over, and everything routes through Reykjavik. You can stopover in Iceland on the way to or from for up to a week for free. Iceland, Copenhagen, Stockholm would be a fun trip with kids that age. My 20 year old is navigating it 100% on her own (staying in 6 girl rooms in hostels with free been for $25 a night— ahhh to be in college again). I would let responsible 14 & 16 year olds explore these cities some on their own if they wanted— especially if they had find my phone and cell service activated.

I took this same kid Europe for a mother-daughter pre-college post COVID lockdown HS graduation trip, and we did Southern Spain. Barcelona is amazing. But is was so incredibly hot. Just miserable. And this was mid June. And we handle DC summers. This was something else. I think everyone would be happier with that for spring break.

Anonymous wrote:We did Venice and Dolomites his summer with 13 and 16 year olds.

Not sure how much they enjoyed Venice but we all liked the Dolomites. Did ebiking, a spa, hiking. We had 3 full days there; having 4-5 would have been great.

Where did you stay? Looking for recommendations for this September

Slovenia is great. I wonder whether it would be a bit a bit too similar to the Dolomites? How about flying into Venice then heading to Slovenia and the Istrian peninsula, which is the northern part of Croatia? That way, you could combine Venice with Slovenia’s mountains/lakes and the beautiful beaches and Roman ruins of northern Croatia.

Those are all good possibilities but might be better for spring trips.

For summer, I recommend
--the UK in August (London, York, Scotland) or any combo but the London part will be $$$.
--Scandinavia in late June (midsummer) (Copenhagen, Bergen, Oslo, Stockholm with trips to the fjords in Norway and the Swedish Archipelago from Stockholm)

Slovenia was great and have heard Trieste is great so your itinerary sounds perfect to me

Op here, thanks! Where did you visit in Slovenia?

We did Venice and Dolomites his summer with 13 and 16 year olds.

Not sure how much they enjoyed Venice but we all liked the Dolomites. Did ebiking, a spa, hiking. We had 3 full days there; having 4-5 would have been great.

Op here. I lived in Venice for a few months years ago and worry my memories will mislead us…though I lived the broader Venetonregion in general too….but why did your kids not like it? Too many people, boring churches, etc? I think we would probably only stay 2 days anyway and then focus elsewhere…

For the Dolomites, any recommendations?

Slovenia was great and have heard Trieste is great so your itinerary sounds perfect to me

We did Venice and Dolomites his summer with 13 and 16 year olds.

Not sure how much they enjoyed Venice but we all liked the Dolomites. Did ebiking, a spa, hiking. We had 3 full days there; having 4-5 would have been great.

Anonymous wrote:Found Italy including Venice really uncomfortable in the summer. Most places have no AC and most restaurants and cafes do not provide ice. I usually like heat but this was too much for even me.

I read people are starting to vacation up north eg Sweden/Scotland due to the heat.

Anonymous wrote:I was thinking of this but don’t know if it would work—
Fly into Madrid, spend a few days there to see El Prado and such
Car to Segovia, castle and aqueduct
Car to Avila, walled city
Drive north, maybe stopping in Burgos
Beach on the north coast
Hadn’t figured out flight back yet

Would love thoughts on that plan.

Great plan. We did something similar except half-way through teens liked one location and we just parked there for 4 days and scrapped the rest of the travel. I realized it was really relaxing being in one place in a different country and am planning our next vacation to be like that. Fewer locations with longer stays so we can really get to know an area instead of just doing all the tourist haunts.

Found Italy including Venice really uncomfortable in the summer. Most places have no AC and most restaurants and cafes do not provide ice. I usually like heat but this was too much for even me.

I was thinking of this but don’t know if it would work—
Fly into Madrid, spend a few days there to see El Prado and such
Car to Segovia, castle and aqueduct
Car to Avila, walled city
Drive north, maybe stopping in Burgos
Beach on the north coast
Hadn’t figured out flight back yet

Would love thoughts on that plan.

Planning to go in early to mid June. Kids have been to Paris, Rome/florence, Budapest/vienna. They will be 13 and 15.

Thinking of flying into Venice, spending time there then in the Dolomites and then going to trieste area then slovenia. maybe 2 weeks.

I’d also love to go to Spain and scandinavia so any suggests for a great trip at these ages welcome! We are pretty open.