About Us
| Rooms Traveling with a larger family can be a challenge. Most European rooms are described as "doubles" -- that means two twin beds. Full size beds are rare...Queen and King are almost non-existent. Some hotels and B&B's offer "family" rooms In some cases they are like two room hotel suites ...more often than not...it could mean five twin beds....literally pushed side to side. Many times we have booked two rooms -- which can be price prohibitive. We would put our littlest in with us and the boy and girl (two years age difference) in a room by themselves. Many times, a "hotel" will only accept a family of four. So we have left one child outside...and snuck them in later...throwing duvets and comforters on the floor to make a bed Some places will drag in a cot or a spare mattress for the floor. The point is....be flexible. It will never be "like in America" That is a good thing... we travel to try new things |
| Family Travels How We Travel |
| Packing Clothes/Shoes We try to bring one week of clothes. Check out the "Once You Are There" page for more info Bring old underwear and socks. Wash them once on the trip, then throw them away...leaving room for more souvenirs. Bring your oldest and most comfortable walking shoes/sneakers. Throw them away before returning to the States. Same thing with water shoes Swanson Rule: If it smells...throw it out |
Usually everyone has one small carry-on size case One duffel bag for shoes and coats One duffel bag as catch-all. Total of 7 small suitcases for five people for three weeks of travel Even my teenage daughter can pack for three weeks into a carry-on Each person needs to be able to lift and carry their own suitcase up/down stairs(for example up six flights like pictured below)....on/off trains....on/off subway trains etc. |
| Turret Guest House Edinburgh, Scotland |
| Hotel or B&B We have stayed in both fancy name brand hotels and family run Bed and Breakfast establishments. We much prefer the B&B's. Of course, free is free. We have cashed in travel awards with Hilton and Marriott and had some excellent stays in big cities (Paris, Munich, Salzburg, Prague and Nice) On many occasions, we have pulled into the village or town, visited the local tourist information office or TI and used their room booking process. However, in most cases, we have research on-line or in travel books (We love Rick Steves) and reserved rooms before we went. In almost all cases, the smaller inns and B&B's offer friendlier service and sometimes unique and interesting "homes away from home" |
| "The" Backpack Bring a Day Pack with you It is great for carrying your cameras, emergency umbrellas, jackets, snacks, water bottles, first aid kit, medicines and sometimes even picnic supplies. We also collect pins and patches from our travels. It is a great conversation starter as people love to talk and share their travels. It has even been photographed by tourists. |
| Souvenir Rule You can buy it IF you can fit it in your suitcase (it goes for Mom too!) But look at what we can fit in our suitcase....Remember to balance out weight wise what you throw away (old shoes socks, underwear) and use up (toiletries)---to what you bring home |
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| Most Important Tip Buy the Rick Steves Travel Book for the area you are traveling. Read it, highlight it, Carry it with you You will not believe how helpful it is We call it our Travel Bible Rick Steves' has many, many travel books specialized by country and sometimes by city. Buy the book several month in advance. Read it, highlight it, cover the page edges with sticky notes. Carry it with you at all times. We follow almost all of his self guided "Walking Tours". We see sights that he recommends...we go where he recommends, when he says to go and do what he says. Of course, we use his recommendations and personalize his info to make the trip our own. However, We find that our dining experiences are better when we eat at listed restuarants...His B&B and hotel information saves alot of time and stress in planning. His travel advice and tips are not to be ignored. I also condense the info into cheat sheets. I have provided samples to the left. These are invaluable for planning our day and quick reference Another idea is to make copies of important pages and maps for easy access. I (as mom) also assigned homework...making three copies (for three kids) of any pertinent history sidebars, biographies or even vocabulary. They love me. |
| Cheat Sheets In planning your trip, do your research and summarize on cheat sheets. This idea is a HUGE help in planning and organizing your trip I personally make cheat sheets of each area or town that we visit. So that when we arrive I can simply grab that cheat sheet, a copy of the town map and head out to explore. Examples London Tuscany, Italy Vienna Austria Prague, Czech Republic |
| Swanson Family Travel Rules |
| Drinking Age Limits and Responsibilities. Europe is very open minded about early exposure to alcohol. When we order a carafe of wine in France, the waiter will automatically bring wine glasses for children as young as twelve. This is a very personal family decision; however, we allowed our children to sample, taste and even order beer/wine at lunch or dinner. Our philosophy...Learn to appreciate, not over indulged. Learn to "taste", not binge Beer is often cheaper that soda...and twice the size |
| Erica, age 12 Champagne tasting in Reims, France at Piper-Heidsieck |
| Czech Republic age, 16 |
| Jameson Whiskey Distillery Dublin, Ireland Brent, age 15 Erica, age 18 |
| Guinness Dublin, Ireland Amanda, age 11 YUCK! |
| Augustiner Braustubl Salzburg, Austria Amanda, age 7 Just kidding folks....she's just pretending |
| MONEY Forget Traveller Checks....that is old school and Don't use credit cards for cash advances unless it is an emergency to avoid high fees. Almost every destination will have a ATM--that is your best access to cash. Also bring several hundred dollars in local currency (usually Euros) It can be ordered through the bank The easiest way....is to visit the ATM before coming home from your last trip....to stock up on currency to bring home for next time Last Resort, there are currency exchanges... shop for good rates. Don't wait until you are desperate for cash |
| Home Basing Another trick we have learned is to stay in one area longer.... We call it "home base" and make side trips from there For example, we stayed in Lindau...but made side day trips into Bavaria, Germany and Eastern Switzerland, even Lichtenstein We also planned several days in Tuscany... We homebased in Montepulciano...visiting 10 little village towns in Tuscany...and even spending a day in Assissi (an hour south) The Benefits...well, of course, time savings because you don't lose time packing/unpacking suitcases, packing/unpacking cars, settling bills, checking in etc. There is also a cost savings as many places offer discounts on multiple night stay. Warning; We were even insane enough to try a day trip to the Cinque Terre, Italy from Nice, France. It didn't look too bad...maybe a two hour drive... but it was more like four hours each way because of the twisty, winding roads along the coast. Plan Carefully. |
| Do your research. Read Books. Check out the Internet. Explore travel sites like this. Come up with a plan. How long is my entire vacation? What countries/cities do I want to visit? What are the major sights I want to see? Very Important...how do I connect the dots...rental car, train, buses? How long does transportation take? How many days can I spend in one general area (see Home Basing) Then come up with a rough itinerary. Book plane flights Travel connections Hotel Reservations and anything extra. |
| Bryn B&B Conwy, Wales with castle in the backyard |
| Above: D-Day Cemetery Normandy, France Right: Dachau Concentration Camp Germany |
| Traveling is such a great family experience. Nothing brings family together like putting three children in the back of a small station wagon. Not only does traveling expose the kids to other cultures and history, it teaches them be flexible, easy going, and willing to try new things. We love sharing our love of traveling with our children. We hope these opportunities and experiences will shape their character in adulthood to be knowledgeable of world history including the effects of war, compassionate of poverty, understanding of religious and political differences, tolerate of all racial and ethnic backgrounds and truly appreciative of their US citizenship. |
| ATMS Again, to make this work for you... do your research. Some ATM fees are high, other banks offer lower exchange rates. If your bank has high ATM fees, consider traveling with a debit card. No fees, good exchange rates, interest on the balance. |
We use our Visa Credit Card for large purchases, expensive splurges for restaurant dinners and most hotel stays. Again, do your research. Make sure your credit card is accepted in international destinations. Make sure your credit card offers a good exchange rate and low fees. Don't assume your B&B or small hotel will accept your card. Always ask at check-in what type of payment is required at check-out. You may need to plan a trip to a ATM or exchange office for cash Also notify your credit card company and banks of your plans to travel internationally. Some companies will notice "unusual activity" and put a hold on your account. This happened to us in Pisa Italy. For a few hours we were stranded with no money. Again, notify them before you go. |
| Above: Erica sharing her homework about the Roman Forum Below: Amanda reads from Rick Steve's walking tour |
| Above: Souvenirs from 2008 Below: Souvenirs from 2009 Yes, we brought home 18 bottles of wine....and 6 pieces of heavy pottery |
| You need to bring small, lightweight suitcase to be able to maneuver small winding staircases. |