Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you want to do this because you’re bored of domestic vacations and want international travel for yourselves, so the goal is just to find something that they won’t complain about too much? If so, what do you like and what are your goals?

Or is the goal to take them to Europe because you feel like it will be good for them? I think that’s a harder ask given what you say are their likes and dislikes. It’s a lot of money to just go swim at a hotel pool or go to playgrounds …. So Florida keys or Costa Rica or Puerto Rico might all be better choices. They are great ages for those destinations and would probably really like snorkeling, kayaking in a double with a parent, seeing animals, etc. We went to Costa Rica when my kids were 4, 6 and 9 and they had a great time. One of the things we did was take a catamaran snorkeling tour — the cat had a water slide from the second deck into the ocean and the older tow were crazy about it. If you want another few years, the kids probably will be interested in some European history — they’ll get into Percy Jackson or Six or whatever the next thing is, and you’ll have an entry into something like that, plus they’ll be more at an age for scarcer hunts in museums etc.

But given what you’ve said I guess maybe London? There are nice parks and playgrounds and the food is fine an accessible. There’s the Harry Potter studios and Harry Potter themed walking tours. There are some castles with kid focused activities outside the city you could do as a day trip. You can anlsl take a trip up to York which has the city walls you can walk annd a biking museum and an old prison museum each of which might be fun types of museums? If I did England I might watch or read paddingtkn or secret garden or some other British themed shows before we went to get them thinking about some places.
You can get books like Who Was Queen Elizabeth? Or Who was Shakespeare?

Ireland might be another idea but it’s pretty dreary in April—summer would be better for Ireland. I think April is rainy in London too though.

I would say southern Spain but Spain is the one place you’ve been with them so msybe not.

No place in Europe will have swimmable beaches in April.

Thanks! Yes, definitely considering London plus a less urban destination. We have had good luck reading books about travel destinations before, and the suggestions you mention sound like good advice.

As to why—My spouse and I love yo travel and would love to show our kids more of the world, including places we have visited and loved and places that are new to us. But of course the travel would be for us, too. We have an unusually long spring break next April, and it doesn’t overlap with Easter, so we thought it might be a good time to target European destinations, which can be very crowded and $$$ during Easter break. Longer trips during summer don’t work that well with my spouse’s work schedule, plus many parts of Europe are extremely crowded and hot during the summer; another reason spring seemed like a good possibility. Not sure I understand the people saying I’m only interested in insta or my family is ultra American. I don’t think it’s that strange that an art museum is not my kids’ first choice on vacation, but I’m more likely to have a chance to see things I want to see if my kids aren’t miserable for the entire trip. And a kid friendly museum doesn’t necessarily mean a children’s museum or a play space; that can include places like the British Museum or the V&A.

Anonymous wrote:We did a split stay between Amsterdam (perfect timing to see the tulips) and Copenhagen a few years ago.

This year, we flew into London, stayed for 4 days, flew to Inverness and went to Inverness and Edinburgh, and then drove back down to Heathrow, stopping for a night in Leeds.

Both trips were great.

Anonymous wrote:I’m the London/York proponant.
Another idea which you should take with a grain of salt because I haven’t done it, but maybe along the Central Europe area with lots of castles. Those destinations allsp tend to have nice outdoor options like farms, fields of flowers etc.

I don’t know if this is in your budget but this looks kind of awesome —- I often look at the adventures by disney or the tauk family tours to get an idea of possible activities.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Portugal. Lisbon, Evora, Comporta.

Switzerland. Zurich, Lucerne, Interlaken.

Puglia. Stay at a house with a heated pool or a Masseria.

Greece. Athens and Crete.

Italy. Rome and Umbria.

I like to limit big cities to 2 ish days with kids. It's easier to be in a house somewhere with a pool and access to smaller towns.

Thanks! These are great ideas. We have been thinking about Rome and potentially venturing to Pompei for the amazing history, and including a seat in a house in Umbria or maybe elsewhere in Lazio could be a good break from the city. Switzerland would be beautiful and maybe a bit off the beaten path as a spring trip.

Anonymous wrote:Do you want to do this because you’re bored of domestic vacations and want international travel for yourselves, so the goal is just to find something that they won’t complain about too much? If so, what do you like and what are your goals?

Or is the goal to take them to Europe because you feel like it will be good for them? I think that’s a harder ask given what you say are their likes and dislikes. It’s a lot of money to just go swim at a hotel pool or go to playgrounds …. So Florida keys or Costa Rica or Puerto Rico might all be better choices. They are great ages for those destinations and would probably really like snorkeling, kayaking in a double with a parent, seeing animals, etc. We went to Costa Rica when my kids were 4, 6 and 9 and they had a great time. One of the things we did was take a catamaran snorkeling tour — the cat had a water slide from the second deck into the ocean and the older tow were crazy about it. If you want another few years, the kids probably will be interested in some European history — they’ll get into Percy Jackson or Six or whatever the next thing is, and you’ll have an entry into something like that, plus they’ll be more at an age for scarcer hunts in museums etc.

But given what you’ve said I guess maybe London? There are nice parks and playgrounds and the food is fine an accessible. There’s the Harry Potter studios and Harry Potter themed walking tours. There are some castles with kid focused activities outside the city you could do as a day trip. You can anlsl take a trip up to York which has the city walls you can walk annd a biking museum and an old prison museum each of which might be fun types of museums? If I did England I might watch or read paddingtkn or secret garden or some other British themed shows before we went to get them thinking about some places.
You can get books like Who Was Queen Elizabeth? Or Who was Shakespeare?

Ireland might be another idea but it’s pretty dreary in April—summer would be better for Ireland. I think April is rainy in London too though.

I would say southern Spain but Spain is the one place you’ve been with them so msybe not.

No place in Europe will have swimmable beaches in April.

Anonymous wrote:Portugal. Lisbon, Evora, Comporta.

Switzerland. Zurich, Lucerne, Interlaken.

Puglia. Stay at a house with a heated pool or a Masseria.

Greece. Athens and Crete.

Italy. Rome and Umbria.

I like to limit big cities to 2 ish days with kids. It's easier to be in a house somewhere with a pool and access to smaller towns.

Anonymous wrote:Greece could work. I had a SB trip all planned but flights got cancelled and we rescheduled for summer. Then I had serious sticker shock about the prices in summer! A few days in Santorini with a hot tub, and a few in Athens would be easy. We went to Naxos too, but for beaches.