Hey kids, Big Ben...
February 12, 2010 8:17 AM   Subscribe

My 50-something parents would like to make their first big trip abroad in July (to Western Europe). I want to help them, but my Europe travels are quite different than they want theirs to be! I'd like to identify a few routes for them that are easy and accessible, but still off the beaten path and reasonably priced.

Some more about them (I will not be on the trip):

They're looking to get the most out of a week to 10 day long trip.

They are active and would want to include activities like hiking but not build a trip around it. They are flying from a major international airport in the U.S. Money is an object. I'm not talking super budget travel, but they're not looking to spend a fortune. Accidentally buying an eight dollar coke in Paris might freak them out a lot. They love history, but are more interested in experiencing it up close (seeing ruins or amazing buildings) than visiting museums. Art is not terribly exciting for them; scenery is much more so. They love good food, but appreciate a local gem or hole in the wall much more than a Michelin star. They also are in to wine/vineyards. They're not averse to renting cars or taking trains, but I'd like to find a route that doesn't confine too much of their trip to transit (or, require multiple stops in one trip). They like unique hotels with personalities, but have very firm requirements for cleanliness and bathroom amenities. Also, they'd rather spend their money on activities than fancy hotels. They speak a little Spanish, but will plow through any language.

A semi-guided option might be a good thing (not a tour group).

I'd like to help them get to a few different kinds of places with different environments/personalities. (ex: I was pondering Cinque Terre and Milan or Florence).

I'm quite excited for them and want them to have an amazing time and expand their boundaries without feeling too much vacation discomfort (i.e., "why didn't we just go to Phoenix?"). They have only traveled out of the country a couple times (Mexico) and, as I plan to move out of the country in the next few years to a far less accessible place than Western Europe, I want them to be much more comfortable with it. No need to address how I should not be a control freak about my parents vacation plans.
posted by xaire to Travel & Transportation (13 answers total) 5 users marked this as a favorite
 
Response by poster: Rethinking this a little--I don't want to portray my parents as wimps. But they live in a part of the country where travel by bus, metro or train doesn't happen. Petty crime is non-existent. Exotic travel means visiting one of the million state and national parks around. This would just be different.
posted by xaire at 8:36 AM on February 12, 2010


I think they'd seem more than capable of figuring this itinerary out by themselves. Sorry for the generic answers, but until you have specific cities, it'd be hard to figure out hotel recs.

As for routes, guide books are a good thing here. We use the Dummies series (really just a more easily readible, concise Frommer's) but it's country specific and they do have lots of good itineraries in them for the country you'd want to see.

As for hotel recs, I'll quickly offer the Plaza Mayor as a GREAT hotel rec in Madrid that fits your requirements. But, really, the web is so fun for travelling and if they're web savvy I think they'll have lots of fun planning the trip, reading through tripadvisor.com reviews and figuring out what to do also.

Good luck.
posted by skepticallypleased at 8:38 AM on February 12, 2010


There are two areas that leap out at me and meet most of your outlined parameters:

Southern France , in towns such as Vaison-la-Romaine and others in that vicinity. Why? This is wine country region (I remember lots of vineyards when I was traveling between the towns). Small towns. Finally, you will mainly be looking at ruins and not a museum. Believe it or not, southern France is known for its Roman ruins – they are very well preserved. At Vaison-la-Romaine in particular another town was found underneath. If your parents like that area, just look around for other nearby towns (eg, Nimes).

Italy. Towns such as Assisi, Pompeii (near Naples). Why – the town Assisi has lots of medieval churches, and the monks from that sect will give you a tour for free in a lot of the churche (it makes this kind of art spring to life). You can hike into the hillsides (a couple miles max) and see where Francis of Assisi used to preach to the birds. Pompeii – lots and lots of ruins, mosaics, murals. Better than that, you can see lots of casts of the bodies in back rooms.
A note on Cinque Terrre – it is really beautiful but I think you can hike the entire length between all the towns in one day. It was still a worthwhile trip, though.

The only challenge with Italy is those places may not be close together and the trains took a long time to go from town to town but you may need to look at a map and decide which options are the best.

Both Florence and Venice are unique - but I'm not sure as to whether to recommend those places - because of the ruins request but not into art?
posted by Wolfster at 8:48 AM on February 12, 2010


Your existing combination of Cinque Terre, Milan and Florence (or swap in Italian Lakes, Venice, Pisa etc. as required) seems like it hits a lot of the points you are after. It is possible to take fairly rapid and fairly easy trains between these connections - or to join up with semi-guided tours for all or part of this type of trip. None of the transit distances involved are too great, Milan is a pretty good gateway airport, they could do some hiking and nowhere is too daunting to travel in. If they take a tour then the major point is that they look for one that does not pile on the museums and sites too heavily I think.
posted by rongorongo at 8:49 AM on February 12, 2010


They sound like the perfect demographic for Rick Steves. He has a lot of information on his website, and his books are great too. I used his tour itineraries when I went to Europe, though I wasn't traveling with his tour group. I recommend, if they do get one of his books, to supplement it with a more general guidebook.
posted by apricot at 8:53 AM on February 12, 2010 [2 favorites]


I made my first big trip to Europe in September of '08, and i did a food tour of Crete with a company called Crete's Culinary Sanctuaries. They're dedicated to eco-friendly tourism and supporting sustainable and organic endeavors on the island.

It was not a tour in a traditional sense; I went on my own and joined a group of 3 other Americans [students at a holistic school in WA], and we had local guides depending on where we were. We went from place to place by car, which meant we could stop anywhere at whim. And from an administrative standpoint, these folks really have their sh*t together—everyone was there when they said they'd be there [apparently an amazing feat in Greece, especially on Crete], everything was ready when it was supposed to be ready ... and still it was so easy-going and tailored to what we wanted to do.

We went to an organic olive oil grove, an organic winery [i ate shiraz grapes right. off. the. vine, warm from the sun], and ate lunches and dinners at local taverns—included in the tour cost—and sat at tables crowded with local specialties.

But while it was a food tour, there was so much more—lots of sight-seeing, lots of different environments: From the city of Heraklion and the nearby ruins of Knossos Palace to the tiny little Medieval village of Vamos and swimming in the Aegean ... Our final night was in Vamos, and featured a cooking class in an old olive oil mill. It was perfect.

I could go on an on and on, so let's suffice it to say i highly recommend it. My trip was only five days, but there are different options. [And Vamos does their own tourism thing, which i think my folks would enjoy.] Depending on your folks' budget, they could bookend it with trips to other places in southern Europe—i started out with three days in Athens.

And if this particular thing isn't your parents' thing, searching for tours dedicated to something specific like food or wine or whatever they happen to enjoy might help. They're usually off-the-beaten-path-type things that eschew the usual get on the bus/get off the bus/get back on the bus model of traveling.
posted by feistycakes at 9:04 AM on February 12, 2010


It sounds to me like focusing on one country might best suit their needs -- running from place to place, trying to coordinate and then find the right plane/train/bus/whatever can be stressful. It sounds to me like traveling around Italy might suit their needs just fine:

- It's gorgeous, both in terms of architecture and natural beauty.
- There is wine.
- To me, it felt like the whole place is a beautiful history lesson; you can't help but stumble across artifacts and ruins and "Oh here's this one thing a pharoah sent as a gift to Rome that one time."
- You can arrange for tour guides in various cities.
- I had amazing luck in just wandering into any little restaurant/osteria and asking for the special of the day (but I love pasta and whatever you want to put on it, so YMMV).
- There's a great range in cities (Venice is great for wandering, Rome is great for historical artifacts you can walk up to and touch, Florence is great for shopping), and smaller places such as Cinque Terra and Orvieto. And Naples/the Sorrento area has Vesuvius and sunshine and limoncello.

I will say that Italy is a place for the laid-back. One of my friends asked me in Venice as we were drinking coffee and writing in journals in the sunshine, "So, uh... What do you do here?" My response: "Uh... this?"

If they want something mostly self-guided, they'll need to do some reading to know what it is they're looking at; Rick Steves' guide for Italy and Europe Through the Back Door would be helpful, as they include historical info, directed tours, travel tips, and hotel and restaurant recommendations. (And reading The Agony and the Ecstasy brought Florence alive for me, FWIW.)
posted by runningwithscissors at 9:05 AM on February 12, 2010


They love history, but are more interested in experiencing it up close (seeing ruins or amazing buildings) than visiting museums.

I think they would love, love, love seeing the Forum and Colosseum in Rome. From the rest of the question, I do think Florence/Tuscany would be a good bet for them for the rest of the trip and I am sure there are lots of organized tours that would take them into Rome from Florence for a day or two. If it includes a Vatican tour and/or a trip to the Pantheon, all the better!

Rick Steve's will be a good guide for restaurants and walking tours, but he has a thing about not booking a hotel until you get into town.
posted by soelo at 9:25 AM on February 12, 2010


I would recommend getting a phone (and sim card) for them before they leave. For a hundred bucks, you buy them a great deal of peace of mind if anything happens. I would preload it with phone numbers they might need (US embassy, hotel, emergency services, your contact). My guess is that they will ultimately not use it too much, but just having it can bring the anxiety down quite a bit.

I am getting this one for my in-laws who are heading to Europe in july as well.
posted by poyorick at 11:14 AM on February 12, 2010


I also recommend Rick Steve's. My parents sound similar to yours, and it was a great and accessible resource for them.
posted by Solon and Thanks at 11:17 AM on February 12, 2010


One little reco: If this is their first trip abroad, don't bother worrying about sending them off the beaten track. 'Off the beaten track' is for experienced travellers who are sick and tired of the track, and who want something fresh and new.

Staying on the beaten track will still be exciting for your parents if they've never really been abroad before, and will have much better beginner-traveller transportation options.

Also: ten days is not much time. They won't be able to see much, and it'll probably be stressful to rush. Spending a few days in a couple of the big cities will give them plenty to do do, without overwhelming them with traveling from place to place.

Here's my recommended itinerary:

- Fly into London. It's Europe, but they speak English, so it's like slipping into the shallow end first.
- Spend days 1-3 in London, with a day trip to Oxford.
- Take the train to Paris.
- Spend days 4-6 in Paris
- Take the train to Amsterdam
- Spend days 7-9 in Amsterdam and environs
- Take the train to London, for the flight home

This itinerary ensures that they see lots of sites, that they visit multiple countries, and that they won't get overwhelmed by language or transportation issues. I think, personally, that this is the ideal 'intro to europe' itinerary.
posted by Kololo at 12:46 PM on February 12, 2010 [1 favorite]


Roadtrip! Fly into Rome, visit for three-four days, perhaps rent a car, drive north along the "Via Cassia" (SS2) with stays in Orvieto and/or in Siena, reach Florence driving through the Chianti (SR222) and stopping along the way in a few small towns (Panzano, Castellina), leave the car in Florence and stay a few days more visiting the city, fly out of Florence.
posted by _dario at 12:47 PM on February 12, 2010


Response by poster: Thanks everyone. This is incredibly helpful, you all get best answer! Can't wait to share this with them.
posted by xaire at 2:46 PM on February 16, 2010


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