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After years of planning, I can’t believe my family’s trip to Europe is just a few short months away! (Covid, don’t ruin this for us!) My kids haven’t been to Europe since they were very young, and they’ve never been to France or Switzerland.
Now, my kids are teens and tween-aged. While I’m sure that the language barrier and the food will take some getting used to, there’s one other factor that I believe will present the biggest challenge for them in Europe.
Vacation Pace
The biggest challenge for my kids will likely be the pace of our Europe trip. You see, my kids (and most other teens) love to “chill”. One of the reasons they love cruising is that there is so much time for their #1 past time, chilling. Even last year, when we went to Disney World and Universal, we made sure to have a day off from the parks every two days. (Ok, that may have also been for us parents, because walking around the parks is a bear!)
Our plans for our time in Europe are ambitious (see our tentative plans for France and for Switzerland). Each day involves schlepping around via subway, train, gondola, walking, etc. The purpose of this trip is to see and do a lot, not to chill.
The Compromise
I’ve been preparing my kids for the pace of our upcoming trip, letting them know they won’t be hanging out in the apartment all day chilling on their phones. But, then I got to thinking. Would it be so horrible if they didn’t participate in our agenda every day?
My husband and I talked, and we decided to allow them to have a day off in each country. In Paris, it’s likely the day we go to Sacre-Coeur. If they decide not to come, I’ll be ok with that. In fact, my husband and I might enjoy exploring the city by ourselves for part of the day. In Switzerland, maybe they will skip one of our planned hikes. It’s their loss.
This compromise might save all of our sanities (and save a little money too!)
Bottom Line
I’m a Type A planner, and as such I’ve got a lot of things planned. But, my kids aren’t the same as me. They are growing at a rapid pace, and at this phase of their lives they may need more rest time.
I’m trying to learn to be a bit more chill myself. 🙂 I’m really looking forward to this trip. I can’t wait to return to Paris and to see Switzerland for the first time!
Do you give your teens some leeway on their participation on your vacations?
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Author: Nancy
Nancy lives near Dallas, Texas, with her husband and three kids. Her favorite vacations include the beach, cruising and everything Disney.
While I don’t think that I have any kids, giving them some freedom is a great idea. My siblings and I had that freedom and it was really fun to discover things on our own. When my wife and I travel with other people we always insist on a day per city that the two of us can do as we like without the inevitable compromises that group travel requires.
@Christian That’s a great strategy for when you’re traveling with a group.
Have you also considered giving your teens (depending on their ages) some time to explore on their own (as a group, but without the parents)? We’ve done that several times (most recently, last November in Rome, with a 14 yo and 17 yo). As long as they have a working SIM card, they can easily get around, and it builds so much self-confidence and a love of Europe and this type of travel going forward. We generally have one activity per day as a group, and then they can chill or go out on the town for lunch or shopping or whatever before we get back together for dinner, where they are full of excitement to share what they have done.
@mechteach Hmmm…maybe we would consider that. My oldest will be 18 and we also have a 23-year-old niece joining us. I can see us doing that more in Switzerland (small mountain towns) than in Paris. Sounds like it worked well for your family.
For Paris – my daughter was dragging in the morning. Had to set the alarm and get up and go. I did give her som downtime the last night while i was working and packing up. she appreciated that
@Momma To Go I hope to hear more about your recent trip! Your Paris hotel view looked awesome.
We’ve done very ambitious trips around Europe where we’ve driven a lot and the driving helped them bc they can sleep anywhere and loved having a few hours to nap or chill each day. I wouldn’t be surprised if your kids opted to go see it all with you when given the choice!
@Sarah I hope they want to see it all, because when they older they may regret staying back to chill.
I took my teens (they are in 20s now) to europe several times, and they loved it. We’d do something in the morning and afternoon everyday, but most of it was exploring cities. When they were young we’d stop at every gelato shop but generally no bribes were needed. Exploring with just vague destinations and schedules worked well
@RAP My kids can be bribed with ice cream!
We took the NCL Pride of America around the Hawaiian Islands when our kids were teens. On the cruise, every day is a port day and it is rather tiring. One of our kids wanted to stay onboard one day and at first I was against it, but we decided to let her stay. In the end it was the best decision because she got her time to recharge and the rest of us enjoyed our day as well!
@Becky That sounds perfect! We’re doing something similar on our upcoming Caribbean cruise. My sister and I wanted to do a tour in Nassau but I gave my kids the option of staying on board, and they all voted to do that. 🙂
When my daughter and I traveled to London when she was 13 (or so) our compromise was her awakening early 2 days- one for a Harry Potter tour and another to catch the Eurostar to Paris for the day. On the other days, we had afternoon plans but I would get up during my usual early hours, knock out things I wanted to do and returned in the afternoon to a rested and more cheerful teen. This approach made our trip very enjoyable 🙂
@pensacoladogmom That sounds like a great compromise!