- I wished I had packed gym clothing. We started late enough most days that I could have visited the hotel gym at least a few times. Since this was not a particularly active itinerary, I think I would have felt better if I had worked in more exercise.
- We were the only people in our group that arrived early. Everyone else flew in on Day 1. I honestly don't know how they did it. There is plenty to see and do in Edinburgh, so I recommend pre-days if you can swing them.
- I appreciate @Chirple and @Calfan 's thoughts on why they perceived DS as too young for this itinerary. There are a lot of people who, for whatever reason, are afraid to travel with children at all and that makes me kind of sad. But if the question is not whether kids should travel at all, but rather, whether a particular trip is right for them, then I think we are all actually on the same page. Hopefully my report has helped some parents decide whether this trip is right for their kids.
- After Scotland, the ABD's that are of interest are: South Africa, Ecuador/Galapagos, Danube Cruise and China. Depending on price, we may book South Africa for 2020.
I always want to bring gym clothes, but I don't think I've ever been on an ABD where there is time to work out. I remember super early meet times on the old Scotland itinerary. I don't think I've had an ABD with a meet time later than 8:30 am and most were earlier than that. You must have been up very early, LOL!
I can't believe you were the only ones to arrive early! I think that's unusual--or at least it hasn't been that way on the ABDs we've been on.
I totally agree with Calfan and Chirple as well. We traveled with our kids outside of the country, including Europe, when they were under 5, but I didn't try group travel with ABD until they were a few years older. I think most of the European ABD itineraries are very busy and not set up with young children in mind--long days, lots of travel, not a lot of downtime, etc. I haven't been on a River Cruise, but that might give more flexibility for down time and choosing activities based on how the kids are doing/feeling.
China and the original Scotland itinerary are the favorite ABDs that we have done, but I would caution you against China for a few years. It is phenomenal, but there aren't many activities to interest young children, and the days are extremely long. We had 5 interior flights requiring very early wake-ups, etc. We had a couple kids on the trip who were under 12 (?) and they were often asleep at the table, LOL. I know
@CousinOrville took his son when he was pretty young and had a great time, but I don't think China attracts a lot of young kids in general.
Excellent points! I've lived in some quite old houses with "antique" toilets so haven't had a problem (knock on wood) with flushing in Europe...I do find myself flushing after others have left the stall so maybe some of the above instructions aren't intuitive!
I grew up in an old house as well, and the non-flushed toilet issue is something that we've grown used to (ugh). I've seen some in England with a "hold the handle down until completely flushed," but most of Europe should have those, LOL.
I think where ABD falls short a bit for me (and this is based solely on trip reports and itinerary review), is that many of the trips just are not active enough for younger kids, or the activities don't allow for younger kids to participate.
I think it depends on the kind of "active." One of the reasons I would steer people with young children away from *some* of ABDs trips is because I think they are too active in terms of busy (long days etc), and they don't let themselves to lots of down time or the ability to easily remove yourself/kid from a situation if they are struggling. Some ABDs are more physically active than others (Norway and Switzerland come to mind?), but I think that brings up another issue: liability. I imagine it's hard to find lots of physical outdoor activities (rafting, horseback riding, ziplining, etc.) that appeal to older kids and adults that younger kids are going to be able to do. I've seen the liability issue on
DCL often. Many times DCL port adventuress have age requirements would be higher than the company operating the activity. My friend did a horseback riding port adventure with her 11 at time (?) son who was too young for DCL but not for the company. I would love to see more hikes on ABDs, but I suspect they are building itineraries to the average and there aren't a lot of kids/adults who want to hike longer than a mile or two on these trips.