Europe Next Summer- Suggestions....

Want to do a 10 day trip to Europe next summer with the wife and my daughter (she’ll be 10).

Thinking Italy and Spain, but would love ideas. Either places within those countries or open to other suggestions. If Italy is going to happen, Florence is a must as we spent time on our honeymoon there and want to bring our daughter.

***I’ve benn hoarding SPG points for such a trip and have around 200,000 to work with.

Italy trumps Spain on all counts in my eyes. If only two weeks or less, Italy would be my choice (3 weeks even).

200k points is nice, I’d blow them at the Gritti Palace for 5 nights (140k) if you like Venice. Sardinia is way cool. Florence, Venice, Sardinia, Genoa/Cinque Terre, Naples/Amalfi coast, etc.

Just don’t go in August to either country.

I was in Venice and Croatia for three weeks in May/June. Loved them both. (but no Starwoods to speak of in Croatia, the Le Meridien Split is way too far out of town).

Spain trumps Italy on all counts in my eyes :wink: Let me know if you travel to Andalucía!! Granada, Sevilla, Córdoba, Almeria!!!

10 days for me points to a single country, and ideally max 2 bases, though 3 at a push assuming one of the transfers is short / simple.

Assuming you want to do lots of sightseeing and with plenty of time in cities, then we would normally choose May or late September - October. No guarantees on the weather, but those months have served us well in avoiding the extremes. Fully agree August is generally to be avoided, unless staying in a villa / hotel with a pool and planning to spend plenty of time soaking up the sun. I’d add July to that, though at least tourist numbers are a little lower then. If it has to be summer (for school hols), then I’d reluctantly lean towards July.

What would interest your daughter? History, scenery, mixing with local / international kids, famous stuff, seaside or pool etc.? Ideal to ensure the visit has something memorable for her.

If peak summer, would somewhere like Sweden (Stockholm/ plus countryside or coast) appeal? Lots of daylight, plenty of history, English widely spoken. Can be pricey, but mitigated if points take the strain.

Likewise, would UK / Ireland appeal? Again the weather unlikely to be so hot it gets in the way of sightseeing. You could even look at daytripping to Paris on the Eurostar.

I agree with Ian. 1 country. I Have been to both Italy and Spain in the summer and it can get damn hot. If Italy somewhere near the sea (Amalfi coast). Your daughter might enjoy the beaches. Spain - Barcelona has a lot of stuff and nice beaches, San Sebastian is great and not hot (most likely).

Some more info re: what you want to do would be helpful also.

SPG usually has more options in Europe in my experience but don’t forget they transfer to Marriott also.

George

We did a trip to Paris and London/Cotswolds with our two kids when they were 16 and 13 (daughter turned 13 while we were in London).

Really, almost anywhere you go is going to be fun for her, assuming she is open to travel and new experiences/language/food, etc.

For us, Paris was the place they had the most fun. So much to do, see, eat (I actually had to sell them on the idea of going, so created a powerpoint with pictures of scenery, food, activities, etc.)

We explored Paris, went to museums, took organized bike rides around the city, and out to Versailles. It was great.

I’m obviously biased but I’d say forget the continent and just come to the UK. Historically low fx rate whereas $ is pretty weak against the euro. 10 days in the uk would barely scratch the surface and doing it in August would give you a good chance of beautiful weather. London, Cotswolds, bath, oxford, Cambridge, Edinburgh, Peak District Pennines, Northumberland, Edinburgh and the highlands just for starters.

Touché!

I agree with a lot of the comments you have gotten. Pick one country; don’t go to more than 2 or 3 places; and don’t go in August. You don’t want to spend half the trip traveling.

Take your daughter for lots of gelato.

Did all over Italy for 3 weeks during honeymoon. We’d love to go back to Florence, but otherwise, Amalfi or Spain. UK would be cool, but I’m not a huge fan of Indian Food and that seems like the best they have. Need to incorporate food into the mix and I have a picky Vegetarian for a daughter, which is why Italy seemed sensical. (Pizza and Pasta for days).

I’ve heard amazing things about Croatia, but not sure of the cuisine and also if 10 days there is too long. Greece was on the short list, but I think it might be too much of a party scene for a family trip.

A remarkable comment…

I laughed. I mean, if you do like Indian, UK probably has the best outside of India itself (remarkably, even though the town I live in here in the Bay Area has a large Indian population, there aren’t many great Indian restaurants).

I’ve spent probably a year’s worth of days in the UK in my life, and can count on one hand the number of Indian meals I’ve had. Pub food, anyone? Fish & Chips? Italian? Pizza? Greek? Chinese? Japanese? French? High end restaurants? You can find pretty much whatever you want, just like here in the States.

I’ve lived in both Italy and Spain and love both, but if you are going any later than early June many of the best spots to visit can be unpleasantly hot–that includes Rome, Florence, Venice, Madrid and all the classic Spanish towns in the south. Spring and Fall are better for the most traveled parts of both Italy and Spain.

For summer, I think your best options are Paris, maybe coupled with Normandy or the Loire Valley, Northern Spain (San Sebastian would be a good base) or the Greek Islands.

Wasn’t trying to offend. Just what I’ve heard. I stand corrected.

No worries

Croatia is tough for vegetarians wanting vegetables, but plenty of pizza and pasta.

Croatia is tough for vegetarians wanting vegetables, but plenty of pizza and pasta.

If you haven’t had Indian food in London, it might explain why you arent a big fan. Outside of NYC and DC, the Indian restaurants in the US are meh.

Unless you are referring to the Greek Isles, I do not view Greece as a party town. So much history and family friendly activities in Athens and the mainland as well as Rhodes. We loved it when we went a couple years ago.

Actually love this idea - get your mix of big city and then relax a bit. We’ve had a blast in both the Loire (rent a car out of Paris, then VRBO - there’s a thread here on it) and San Sebastián. I’d challenge you to consider Corsica, which is incredibly cheap on Air France out of Orly and is essentially Maui in the Med, but with Salumi, fantastic rose and amazing beaches. VRBO for the win.

Outside of that, I’m in Nola’s camp with Spain > Italy. Somewhat prejudiced, as I’ve driven 2/3 of Spain, but have only spent time in Northern Italy.

We just got back from Spain. Me, wife and 10 y/o daughter. Loved it. Since we have similar aged kids, I’m sure school schedule influences when you can go on these long vacations and summer is the easiest. But, it was HOT as hell in southern Spain. Almost unbearably hot. My biggest memory of Sevilla is the monster heat. If you can go in mid-late June, it would be worlds better than July or August. My daughter’s favorite destinations on the trip were Barcelona (she plays club soccer and we were able to catch a FC Barca game as well as go on the FCB tour and experience) and Majorca cuz of the beaches. I’ve also been to Italy twice and I think both are equally amazing.