Good age for Germany trip?

[aujeffk]

My kids will be 12 (girl), 9, and 9 (twin boys)next summer.

We're interested in the. Germany trip. I this a good age for them?

 

[richflour]

We just did this trip (daughter is 9) most of the kids were in that age range .
My daughter loved it!

 

[aujeffk]

We just did this trip (daughter is 9) most of the kids were in that age range .
My daughter loved it!

Thanks. Any certain suggestions? I might arrive a day early to adjust to the time change and explore Frankfurt where my dad was born.

 

[sayhello]

Thanks. Any certain suggestions? I might arrive a day early to adjust to the time change and explore Frankfurt where my dad was born.

No matter which trip you choose, I always *highly* recommend arriving at least a day ahead of time to allow yourself time to recover from jetlag, and to lower the stress of travel.

Sayhello

 

[richflour]

the first hotel is in Heidelberg, which is about an hour from Frankfurt.

Heidelberg is very easy to walk around and most people in the different shops speak English.

There is a restaurant called HUGO wine and dine that is walking distance to the hotel that had the best food on the trip !


The trip seems rushed in Munich, so if you can stay an extra day do so.(it is the last 2 days of trip)

 

[SingingMom]

the first hotel is in Heidelberg, which is about an hour from Frankfurt.

Heidelberg is very easy to walk around and most people in the different shops speak English.

There is a restaurant called HUGO wine and dine that is walking distance to the hotel that had the best food on the trip !

The trip seems rushed in Munich, so if you can stay an extra day do so.(it is the last 2 days of trip)

We leave on Friday for this trip! Who were your guides? We are arriving a day early. Wish we had also tagged on an extra day in Munich, but I guess vacation MUST come to an end at SOME point!

Thanks for the restaurant recommendation! Any other advise would be greatly appreciated!

"SingingMom" ....Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[richflour]

1.if you want ice in your drinks you have to ask for it , even at mcdonald, s
2.our guides were Stephanie and Frankie.
I dont have any more advice except have a great time...

 

[SingingMom]

1.if you want ice in your drinks you have to ask for it , even at mcdonald, s
2.our guides were Stephanie and Frankie.
I dont have any more advice except have a great time...

Thanks!! Frankie was our guide in London/Paris last year! We adored him!

How was the weather? Hot? Cool? Determining what to pack. I have all light summer clothes out right now.

"SingingMom" ....Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[carpenta]

My kids will be 12 (girl), 9, and 9 (twin boys)next summer.

We're interested in the. Germany trip. I this a good age for them?

For what it is worth we already signed to go on the Germany trip next June and our daughter is 12 now and 13 at the time of the trip. The first time we went to Europe as a family was when our daughter was 8 yrs. old. She had a great time. You know what your kids' ability to travel and adjust to time change(s) so I would recommend this trip for your family.

 

[misstammy824]

Thanks!! Frankie was our guide in London/Paris last year! We adored him!

How was the weather? Hot? Cool? Determining what to pack. I have all light summer clothes out right now.

"SingingMom" ....Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

I wore mostly longer shorts and capris. I don't remember wearing jeans until we transferred to Paris after the ABD. I think I remember our guides mentioning that we were getting warmer weather than usual. I think it was in the high 70s low 80s mostly. We were lucky to avoid most rain. I did have a foldable travel windbreaker that I kept in my purse to pull out as needed. Our Neuschwanstein day was cooler than the others.

There is a great photo op on the bridge across from Neuschwanstein. You could coordinate the family that day (from the waist up, at least) if you're looking for that next Christmas card photo (if you're into that thing). You are doing a lot of walking up and down that day, so nothing crazy, but some in our group had cute scarfs, and I was happy I had at least taken time for makeup and hair even though it was an early morning. I'm talking more of a cute casual look if you want to plan for a specific family pic. The guides will take a LOT of individual family and whole group photos along the way.

Shoes - A lot of cobblestones, so shoes with heels are not the easiest. Walking or athletic shoes/sandals are fine for most of the touring/exploring. Ballet flats or a shoe with more of a block heel would work better if you're taking anything nicer for evening. It really isn't necessary and is really a matter of preference. It wasn't like a cruise where you dressed for dinner each day. I dressed up a little more for dinner at the castle and for our last night, but I wore patent ballet flats or wedge sandals for dinners. Nothing fancy.

 

[SingingMom]

I wore mostly longer shorts and capris. I don't remember wearing jeans until we transferred to Paris after the ABD. I think I remember our guides mentioning that we were getting warmer weather than usual. I think it was in the high 70s low 80s mostly. We were lucky to avoid most rain. I did have a foldable travel windbreaker that I kept in my purse to pull out as needed. Our Neuschwanstein day was cooler than the others.

There is a great photo op on the bridge across from Neuschwanstein. You could coordinate the family that day (from the waist up, at least) if you're looking for that next Christmas card photo (if you're into that thing). You are doing a lot of walking up and down that day, so nothing crazy, but some in our group had cute scarfs, and I was happy I had at least taken time for makeup and hair even though it was an early morning. I'm talking more of a cute casual look if you want to plan for a specific family pic. The guides will take a LOT of individual family and whole group photos along the way.

Shoes - A lot of cobblestones, so shoes with heels are not the easiest. Walking or athletic shoes/sandals are fine for most of the touring/exploring. Ballet flats or a shoe with more of a block heel would work better if you're taking anything nicer for evening. It really isn't necessary and is really a matter of preference. It wasn't like a cruise where you dressed for dinner each day. I dressed up a little more for dinner at the castle and for our last night, but I wore patent ballet flats or wedge sandals for dinners. Nothing fancy.

Thanks! We do like to dress for dinner, but I wear flats. DD20 insists on heels. @@. Lol. We have dresses for dinner and shorts or sleeveless polo dresses for daytime. I bought a pair of Lands End espadrilles as a closed toe shoe for walking and bike riding, but will wear my uggs or Merrill sandals everywhere else. DH is only bringing topsiders and walking sandals. He was happy with those two options last year in our London - Paris ABD.

Did you find ample free wifi opportunities? DH is worried about keeping in touch with the office. @@. I reminded him it is his VACATION, but I guess I can't complain, since his job is the reason we can pay to travel with ABD. LOLOLOL

"SingingMom" ....Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[misstammy824]

Did you find ample free wifi opportunities? DH is worried about keeping in touch with the office. @@. I reminded him it is his VACATION, but I guess I can't complain, since his job is the reason we can pay to travel with ABD. LOLOLOL

"SingingMom" ....Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

Not free wifi, but we managed to get connected at each location. In Heidelberg, there was a free business center with two desktops and in-room wifi for purchase. We also found a café behind our hotel with free wifi that we used to Skype home. In Rothenburg there was a room equivalent to a closet with one desktop that was free and you could purchase wifi time for in-room use with your own device. Waldeck had a wired option in our room for purchase. Munich was free wifi, I believe. You may already know this (I did not though in hindsight I should have), but the keyboard in the business centers is slightly different from the standard US/English keyboard. Useable but some of the letters are flipped around from what you've undoubtedly memorized, and of course the German symbols are there.

Back on the original topic, we had children of varying ages on our tour. A 4-5 year old boy, three or four elementary-aged children (they were cousins), a 13 year old (also a cousin), and two 17-18 year olds traveling with their families as a graduation gift. Our guides did a great job of putting families with similar aged kids together when our big group needed to be split, and the kids all seemed to become quick friends. Sometimes the back of the bus sounded like a party