Travelling with kids

[Aztrix55]

We are looking to travel august 2014 with 3 adults and 3 children aged 6, 4.5 and 3 years.
We will be flying into Paris. We plan to stay 3 nights/ 4 days. We wish to just see the main sights and take the kids to Disneyland for 1 day. Since we do not wish to do long hauls of walking with the kids, we wish to do a tour bus like hop on hop off. We think this way we can get our bearings of where all the major sights are without having to drag the children around for hours by foot. We plan to visit the Eiffel Tower and take our pick of other sights when we are there.


Can anyone suggest a serviced apartment in Central Paris that will accommodate us on a tight budget? Somewhere right in the middle of the hustle and bustle, close to amenities, shops food etc.


What's the best way to get to Disneyland and in particular on return when we will have very tired children and will need to get back to our accommodation ASAP.


I have heard there is a pass that can be purchased where we do not need to wait in line for the Eiffel Tower, where would would I find this information.


We would like to do some shopping but we are not interested in the high end labels or generic brands that can be found globally. It would be great find see some French designs. Any suggestions?


Next we will be flying to Verona to catch up with family. We will be only staying two days in which we then plan to hire an SUV or similar. We have heard that there is an option of either hiring a car or buying the car and selling back to the company after use. Anyone used the second option before? Did it work out much cheaper? We plan to keep the car for about 3 weeks.


From Verona we will be driving down to Pescara. There will be a stop on the way. Yet to be determined.


From pescara we plan to stay again in a serviced apartment for about 5 days just to soak up the sun and catch up with family. Can anyone recommend accommodation right on the beach close to amenities?


From Pescara we will be going to puglia. We will be staying with family here for about 10 days.


From puglia we would like to go to Sorrento. The plan is find accommodation in sorrento and stay for about 4 days. In this time we wish to visit Naples, Positano and maybe Capri.


From sorrento we will be driving to Calabria. We wish again to find suitable accommodation maybe in Reggio. Plan to stay 3 days.


From Calabria we will be returning to Rome. Not sure if we should drive or train. We plan to stay 4 days maybe do something similar like Paris. Hop on hop off bus and some shopping! Any suggestions again for accommodation right in the heart on a budget and shopping?


Any suggestions on accommodation and tips to make our trip easier with the kids would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Pushka]

That sounds a fairly demanding schedule with young children. Are they used to travelling long distances. And jet lag will be an issue (well it was for us!) for two days.

Purchase the Eiffel Tower ticket in advance. We used Viator which were excellent.

Paris Disneyland is about 45 minutes out of Paris by train.

Sorry I can't help with accommodation as we stayed near champs élysées.

 

[here2go]

Something I'm yet to try (but am excited by pending a trip to Japan in a few months) is Air BNB, where you stay in people's homes (although research suggests some of the accommodation is merely apartments that would have been sold through another party). I have put together a basic search for Paris for five people, family friendly, and you being the sole occupants. Don't just look at being the sole occupants though - I have found a mansion in Singapore which looks awesome where we'd be the guest of a bored housewife with pool, servants, etc for a reasonable price https://www.airbnb.com.au/s/Paris--...tire+home/apt&guests=5&hosting_amenities[]=31

 

[Pollywaffle]

I tend to stay in apartments when travelling, so I can recommend some of those. You don't say whether you want a hotel or apartment. I can personally recommend Paris France vacation apartment (flat) rentals and tourist accommodations. They will have some cheaper apartments - sometimes several in the same building, so you can split your group up for more space if you prefer. I have friends who recommend a man called Olivier who manages a number of budget apartments. Based on their recommendation, I have booked with him for next year. See Paris Vacation Rentals From VRBO - Vacation Rentals By Owner for all his rentals.

For Eiffel Tower tickets, you are best off buying in advance. Note that August is a busy month so don't dither once the tickets become available. I always recommend buying straight from the source - in this case Home Page

Disneyland can be done as a day trip using the suburban trains but apart from that I can't offer any other advice because I've never been.

Every tourist spot will have it's own website (Eiffel Tower, Disneyland Paris etc) so you can do your own research and create your own itinerary.

I like hop-on/hop-off buses as an intro to a city but I think they are a poor option if you are planning to use them as transport. The Paris metro and bus systems are fantastic and I always recommend people use these.

Paris has loads of parks for kids and there is always a gaggle of them at the Jardin du Luxembourg. Do you know about TripAdvisor? There are plenty of trip reports written by people with kids. The one lesson that shines through will all successful trips is that the pace was slower, plenty of time was spent in parks and there was more a go-with-the-flow atttude than a rigid timetable that must be adhered to.

Have fun! Paris is great.

 

[here2go]

Never underestimate playgym tourism either. Yoyo YOYO Mobile in Luxembourg was a site to behold. The kids and Dads were climbing three storey high "trees" and sliding down the equivalent slide when we visited friends there in January, while the mums were having a few quiet ones at the fully licensed restaurant. Good workout for the Dads, while mums got respite.

 

[Aztrix55]

Thankyou so much for your feedback. It's a great starting point for a novice in Paris.