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[sarahindenmark]

ok soo...this isn't going to happen for awhile but i thought i'd get an early start.

my parents have come to visit me twice while i was living in europe. before this, they basically hadn't travelled at all. i figured if this were to happen again, a nice package tour might be the way to go. i normally don't like package tours but costs add up since my parents are largely anti-walking long distances and anti-hostel.

so has anyone been on a tour that was a lot of fun with reasonable costs? i've also been looking at intrepidtravel.com as they seem to offer a lot of freedom within the itinerary but i don't know of any other companies to start with.

i would also prefer ones with flexible "single supplements", since i will be the third wheel. lol

[greekcypriot]

From your name I thought that you are writing from Denmark or am I wrong? You are not telling us what countries they want to visit, and how long are they planning to be in Europe.
These two things are very important.


http://www.travelpod.com/members/greekcypriot
5600 photos, 5 blogs, 30 countries!

[kathryn77]

Hi Sarah,
That's great that your parents will visit you and are open to travelling to an extent. I kinda avoid package tours myself, so I can't help you there, however I wanted to suggest apartments to you? They might work out cheaper with 3 of you, rather than an additional single person supplement? I think most one bedroom apartments also have a sofa-bed in the living room, as I know my flatmate went for that option when she took her mum to Barcelona recently.

Alternatively, you could stay in a hostel near your parents accommodation? Not sure how well that would work in your situation, but might be an option? Depending on where you are going some hotels now even have a hostel attachment - I saw one like that recently in Oslo, where it was half hotel, half hostel, so that could be worth looking into...?

[sarahindenmark]

the apartment thing sounds like a good idea. i might be living in denmark for a year or so. since my parents don't particularly like denmark, i would meet them somewhere else in europe.

i recently got around the single supplement in hotels in london by saying i was under 18. i look young without makeup but other countries take your passport at checkin.

basically, my parents like the idea of traveling but aren't natural travelers. they have a very american idea of hotels. i don't normally like package tours but they would definitely cut down on a lot of walking as i tend to drag them everywhere otherwise.

as for where in europe...they've been to copenhagen, berlin and london. scandinavia is too expensive especially since they aren't all that interested. my dad loved the whole germany thing so i think they would both love more germany. if we did it independently i thought of splitting a week in paris and munich.

[kathryn77]

What about the Netherlands? There's lots to see and do there, they've got a fantastic train system, and nowhere is more than 3 hours away from anywhere else. I was there for a long weekend and saw loads of places - I based myself in Delft, and the accommodation was right next to the train station and fairly cheap. I managed to see The Hague, Rotterdam, Gouda, Oudewater, Schevinengin and more in one weekend (I'd been to Amsterdam before, but that would have been do-able too). It is in my Europe blog if you wanted to see what these places have to offer - I loved it there

[starlagurl]

Have you checked Trafalgar tours? I think they are cheap sometimes...