Berlin is hard to beat for Cold War museums-- there are military museums, the Check Point Charlie Museum, the Stasi Museum, etc. Plus, there is a great Science & Technology museum. Just seeing all the bullet-pocked walls all the city speaks volumes about WW2.
On the museum island, the Pergammom Museum is world class. The Pergammom Altar exhibit is closed for restoration, but rest of museum is open. The blue Ishtar gate and the Miletas market gate exhibits are open. And the bust of Nefertiti at the Neues Museum is fabulous.
We bought the 3-day museum pass which gets you into most museums. Worth it.
It’s easy to stay occupied in and around London for 10 -14 days, and with a pass for public transportation and a flat (which means you can have breakfast and the occasional meal at home), the cost is manageable. For the flat, I have had better luck with ivylettings than Cheval simply for price and selection. Definitely check out both. Remember that at that time of year, the days are shorter and the weather is colder. Not a deal breaker at all and cities have tons to do, but some of the outdoor attractions may be less attractive.
The other vacation that could appeal to your family is a cruise of the Greek Islands although your dates might not work. There are some Greek flag lines that do smaller boats (50 people ) so it’s not the big ship experience you’ve had with Disney. This is probably preferable at the end of the school year, though.
Don’t forget that December 26th is Boxing Day in England. Most places are closed that day. The Tube and trains run at a reduced schedule and most stores are closed.
I took D to London/Amsterdam/Paris for two weeks, keep in mind London is expensive and it may be tough for a family of 4 on the budget/length of time you suggested - but if you can get r/t airfare off season and rent a flat, you might do ok! Check out the fodors site, there is a wealth of knowledge on the forums there and we were able to plan the perfect trip researching everything in advance.
I can’t imagine having 2 weeks to spend in London and not taking at LEAST several days to see Paris. Day trip is not enough. Skipping it entirely?! Inconceivable to me.
Our first overseas trip with our daughters was a week in London and a week in Paris. Perfect amount of time in each place.
The days are really, really short in December in both places, which limits some outdoor activities. You have to get going early to enjoy several hours in another location. For that reason alone, a day trip to Paris is not the best idea.
We were in Paris in mid-December 3 years ago. The lights and displays were beautiful. Airfare was around $500 RT. We stayed in one of the Paris Perfect apartments (return renter plus good timing got us a great price). I don’t know their licensing situation, but Im sure they are more on the up and up than lots of places. Air BnB is a risk in Paris, as are many apartments.
My SIL got fares RT to Europe in a recent sale for $450 - a late spring trip. Hope fares are like that when you book. Cheaper than Hawaii!
This definitely caught my eye. We have a 9 day vacation planned to Israel/Jordan in Feb, just for me and my husband. After looking at how incredibly much we spent this December, I feel bloated and overspent. Nine days on vacation where we can’t work (and it actually means we won’t earn income much of the month because we travel for a living, and can’t stand to be gone all month). I’m starting to think about cancelling this attempt. It’s mostly refundable.
Our kids mentioned that they’d enjoy going to Italy over the summer, and some of these family vacation suggestions sound quite appealing also. It would cost more money with the kids, but at least we’d have our debt paid off by then. And it would be with them.
I don’t know, what should I do? Should I follow your family vacation lead and cancel, or go on our own?
@NerdMom88 : When it gets closer to the time, I’ll be happy to give you some recommendations for places to eat in London. One of my staffers goes over two or three times a year (his daughter works for a theater company, lucky girl), and he swears I haven’t steered him wrong yet.
No, not terribly expensive, doschicos. Think our hotels average $150 a night. However, there are a couple thousand dollars worth of tours we’d take, and the cost of not working most of the month is the biggie. I won’t make any decisions right away, just realized that I’m not so much looking forward to it, but thinking of the hassle. Really like Israel, but never been to Jordan.
No, it’s a 3 day Jordan tour, and a Jerusalem one. I figure this trip will cost $6500 min, plus tips, local transportation and food. Then almost an entire month of lost work (usually am gone 12-13 days, so only working four in that month, for both of us).
Plus NerdMoms plan of renting a flat sounds really appealing. We have a different hotel almost every night, just because of logistics. Honestly, her trip sounds better to me, especially if we delay it awhile. I dunno, I’ll mention it to my husband and see if I get a strong reaction either way.
H and I find a different hotel every day exhausting. We rarely ever do that any more. We did one trip like that across SW national parks and both kids and we found it too tiring a pace for us.
I don’t like doing that either, HImom, too much like work. I don’t want to go on vacation to bag drag. I like to stay at one or two places.however, in this case the itinerary we had made that unworkable. Renting one hotel or apartment is a lot less stress.
I’m sure you and your H will figure it out @busdriver. It can be tough to relax and enjoy if you’re fretting about bills and not working but also not so fun to cancel something you planned and looked forward to.
I also think 2 weeks in London is too much. If you want to see a bit more of the UK, rent a car and see Bath, the Midlands, Dartmoor, and maybe Edinburgh etc. etc.
If you are feeling a little more adventurous, try a central European trip - Vienna, Budapest, Prague.
@busdriver11, is this Israel/Jordan trip a dream vacation for you? Will you regret it if you never have another opportunity to go? H and I were supposed to go to Irkutsk with my parents to visit a good friend. The first summer, my dad had hip surgery; the second summer I was pregnant and sick. Then I had an infant, and so on. (We didn’t consider going at any other time of year, on the advice of my friend. Siberia isn’t exactly a winter tourist spot!) At any rate, it’s 20 years later, we never went, and my parents are far too frail to make the trip now.
If you’d like to include the kids and it wouldn’t cost too much to cancel, I’d say wait until summer and go to Europe (if it’s affordable.) There has been a lot of great advice on this thread, and no one has said they regretted setting up a home base and touring. Then you can tell me how it goes for you!
BTW, I grew up traveling in a station wagon or Suburban, stopping and setting up camp each night because hotels were too expensive, then breaking down in the morning and heading out again. The idea of staying in one place is the height of luxury for me!
A week in London: yes. Edinburgh is an easy train ride away and is absolutely enchanting. You can enjoy The Elephant House, the cafe where JK Rowling has done much of her writing.
