+ Start the trip, anyway, with some place in their comfort zone -- where they can expect to be under

We have friends who have not traveled outside the US ask us to go to Europe with them. They have basically left the itinerary up to us. With a 10-14 day time frame to work with. What would you, my fellow well traveled friends, suggest? I am thinking perhaps some sort of Spain, Portugal/Spain or Rome/ southern Italy. Thank you for your help fellow fodorites.
We are in our 50's. We have been to all of these areas previously. Our friends however have not been to Europe. Looking at either a May or September trip. Can use multiple, ways to travel, plane, train or/drive.
I don't mean to rain on your parade, but IME taking first timers to a foreign country can be agonizing if they are expecting you to be their tour guide/mother. I urge you to get them actively involved in the detailed planning of the journey. If you are going to be the "Trip Nazi" each morning, whipping them on to the next series of sites of which they have no knowledge or interest, I predict the loss of friends.
Scotland, or London, or Paris, or Southern France, or Rome/Florence . . . in no particular order, those would be my choices for a two couple trip. (Slight preference for Scotland or the UK in general)
Make sure you have clearly stated ground rules..Lots of trips are spoiled discount hotel reservations and time wasted discount hotel reservations by "Where do we go now"?, "What do you want to do?" and please set aside some time of your own. I always have had to be firm in my multi people travels to be able to say. "Away I go to check the shops/market/sit in the sun and/or watch the world go by." (even with my husband).We are not always in each others back pockets. A 6 week trip to the far east worked out just fine as the lines were drawn before the trip started. discount hotel reservations Mutual friends were placing bets as to how long the traveller friendships discount hotel reservations would last. We won, because we knew ahead of time what to expect from each other...They discount hotel reservations lost.HAHAHA!!!
With people who have never traveled before I thnk you need to force them to do some work and figure out some things they want to see do. I would also reco starting someplace they can spend some time by themselves - whether than means UK or Ireland - or someplace wher they can manage a little of the language.
If you do Spain and Portugal they will be hanging on your neck every minute of every day -since they can;t cope with the language, the culture, the expectations - or know what they want to see or do. Everyone know Notre Dame, Eiffel Tower, Big Ben and Tower of London. An incredible number of people have never heard of anything in Spain or Portugal, know noting about the culture (will they like dining at 10 pm?) or have any appreciation of what they will be seeing.
I agree. These types of trips are fraught with perils and the chance you'll never speak to each other again. Over the years I have learned never to take newbies on trips - too much responsibility, too much coddling, too much not being able to enjoy myself the way I like to, too much hassle.
discount hotel reservations But if you must, I agree, get THEM to do the planning and the research so they know what to expect. And make sure you allow for time on your own, and let them go off on their own. Everyone needs to to learn how to travel in Europe.
I was part of a group of 11 who went to London some years ago. One of the men and I were nominated to organise things which we were happy to do. We sent numerous emails to the others asking for their input about what they would like to see. Nobody replied so went ahead and organized a rough itinerary for each day.
Everyone was fine with our suggestions except one chap who grumbled EVERY day! For some reason he thought we would all get up at about 8am, spend several hours over a lazy breakfast and then head out. There was no chance of that happening, there was too much to see and do in a limited amount of time. Later on that trip we did that while staying in a villa in Tuscany. But I will never travel with him again.
discount hotel reservations Just to chip in here. I have also holidayed with friends and has disastrous holidays from my point of view. My simple rule now is to state and restate one clear sentence. If I want to do something and you don't then tell me what you want to do, I'll put you on the right road with all the information you need for your trip, I'll even go to the departure point with you, then do my own thing and we meet up at the end of day and compare days. On my last trip with friends discount hotel reservations I could even go shopping for souvenirs without company. It was sooo frustrating.
Agree with all of the above. Thought if I could provide the basic itinerary, then involve them in the planning of the sites to visit and activities . Jointly and invidually. We have like interests different interests. Just wondering where your favorite spots to share are?
Your friends want to go to Europe. What do they think of when they think of a trip to Europe? Get their input. discount hotel reservations In the same situation, I would follow nytravelers advice to visit London and Paris with a day trip from each. But if your friends are dreaming discount hotel reservations of Tuscany or the Alps, London and Paris won't satisfy them.
Get ideas from them on the basic itinerary - don't let them talk you into choosing. Then come back with questions. We can provide lots of input on our favorite areas of Europe but we can't choose for your friends.
It doesn't really matter what our favorite spots are. Mine's the Dordogne, but so what? THEY need to get out maps, guidebooks galore, videos, and everything else they can get their hands on and figure out what appeals to them. Perhaps they want to do a tour of the casinos of northern Belgium. Maybe they're World War I buffs. Could be they have a nautical bent and want to charter a yacht off the coast of Italy. Who knows? Let THEM start to own the trip. What we think is utterly irrelevant.
+ Have you traveled with them before? If not it would be a really good idea to talk through your different travel styles. Sleeping in vs staying up, how much to spend on dinner, how many `sights' to see in one day, what is an acceptable length of time in the car, hotel expectations, etc. etc. Neither party needs to be right, discount hotel reservations you and they just need to know what to expect.
You need this information to make a plan. If it turns out you have very different styles, discount hotel reservations you'll have to compromise on hotels for example, but you can agree, say, to go separate ways most afternoons discount hotel reservations (they hit another museum, you sit on the terrace), or leave whole days unplanned. Whatever works.
+ Start the trip, anyway, with some place in their comfort zone -- where they can expect to be understood in English, assuming they don't have second-language skills. Or, if one of them speaks a European language, then certainly go to that country -- this will reduce their newbie nerves and shrink the experience gap between you.
+ Nothing wrong with presenting them with a few broad ideas (as you suggest) and starting with the one they pick. How about London+Paris and outskirts (urban), Southern Germany+Alps (driving tour), Northern Italy, Southern Italy, or Spain.
Once I was on vacation with a friend who wanted to be with me all the time. There are times when I just want to be alone. It's a tough thing to explain to someone who is clingy or insecure. Be completely honest about your needs.