Advice on taking a multi-month vacation

[veggieburger]

Hey Folks. So there’s rumblings of a 3-4 month sabbatical next year and consideration is being given to taking the family overseas – or south. I wanted to throw it out to the universe, but not without caveats: if you could take your family (wife and 3 kids, ages 4-10) anywhere away from North American for 3 months, where would you go?

1 – has to be safe
2 – has to be somewhere with a good public transportation, as it’s unlikely we will have a car
3 – Preferably Spanish or French speaking, or a country (like Holland for egs) where most people speak English
4 – I don’t care about the weather. Hot, cold, rain...we can deal with all that.
5 - Bonus points for affordability
6 - Multiple locations is an option, but I would rather stay in one country if possible


Looking forward to your reply.

[Alistair]

With that list, it would hard to beat a tour of Western Europe. Pretty much universally safe, language is a non-issue, transit is easy, etc. Spain and Italy are probably the cheapest to base from, with prices/costs going up as you move north (very generally).

Barcelona would give you easy access to rail into France and Italy, plus the remainder of Spain. Or, somewhere in northern or central Italy would be similar - like Florence or one of the smaller cities/towns in Tuscany, maybe?

Would you be looking for a big city, small town, mountains or sea, etc?

[Alistair]

Latin America would be fun, but rail network isn't there to get from metropolis to metropolis. And it's less compact than Western Europe, so generally more time to get from country to country for trips. Plus some countries or regions aren't safe (either because of cartel activity, or just general poverty-driven crime).

[vav]

España!!

[donevwil]

First thought was Spain as well. So much to see, such a vast country, good train system, good public transit in cities, inexpensive.

If money were no object, Switzerland with occasional jaunts to bordering nations.

[veggieburger]

Originally Posted by vav

España!!

That's where my mind went too. But I was also giving thought to S America, although I don't know it nearly as well.

[72gmc]

Originally Posted by vav

España!!

This was my first thought. You get to explore a whole lot, eat a whole lot, the people are great, siestas are siestas, and Portugal is basically included.

[reuben]

Originally Posted by veggieburger

That's where my mind went too. But I was also giving thought to S America, although I don't know it nearly as well.

I've been to Chile, Bolivia, and Argentina at least once each. If you're into the great outdoors it's hard to beat. Patagonia alone could take a lifetime to explore - lenga forests, mountains, glaciers, pampas, desert, hiking/backpacking, rafting, kayaking, climbing... want to hike on a glacier? There are some easy ones with good local guides.

It's very spread out, but you'll be there for months, so not a problem. Look into busses as well as the usual planes. You may have to stand on the side of the road and flag them down, but they're reliable. Bus stations are often co-located with an airport, and many towns have bus stations.

Above all, wherever you go, be flexible. When one door closes another one opens. You just have to look for it. Don't be afraid to change a plan based on a recommendation from a waiter or other local.

Having said that, backpacking in Scotland is my next long trip.

And if you go to Spain you might want to take a few days to the Azores, part of Portugal.

[charliedid]

New Zealand

[zmalwo]

If you want to be safe, go to east asian countries. I highly recommend a tour such as: 1 month in Taiwan, 1 month in Korea, and 2 months in Japan.

You won't regret it.

[echelon_john]

I would agree that, coming from the U.S., if you have that much time then Australia/New Zealand/Asia would be good. Western Europe can be digested in smaller chunks but going that far would be a great use of sabbatical time. Maybe do it in their Fall, combine with a boat charter someplace awesome?

[fa63]

It is going to be a cliché answer, but my wife and I lived in Paris for 4 months for work and had the best time ever. It helped that I was able to connect with an active cycling community made up mostly of foreign internationals living there (so English was the main language, but it sounds like that is not a problem for you). Pretty much every weekend, there was a ride that would start from the city and go out for 100-150 km, then we would all take the train back. It was a great way to explore the areas surrounding Paris.

For non-cyclists, the city itself is full of places to go and things to see. Plus, you can go to a lot of cool places by car, train or a short flight. I visited the UK, Netherlands, Belgium (and rode a good portion of the Flanders race course), Switzerland, Italy, Spain and Germany.

Just writing it out made me miss it and want to go back

[Spaghetti Legs]

It’s been almost 10 years now (wow) but we did a family trip to Stockholm and Copenhagen and it remains one of my favorite vacations, including several good ones to other parts of Europe. It was only 10-11 days total but I could see staying at least a month in each city, esp Stockholm. 5 hour high speed train connects the 2 cities and English is used commonly in both places.

[verticaldoug]

I go a little shorter, but you need a car. South Africa, Botswana and Namibia.
It's winter so not a bad time in June July August.

I'd go for a two week or longer Safari to Kruger as part of the trip. The wilds of Africa are rapidly disappearing for many reasons. By the time your children are adults, it probably will no longer exist. Urban areas with good public transport will always be around.

You may even get a Honey Badger inside the perimeter of the camp. Guaranteed lasting memories.

[Mr. Pink]

I have done one month stays in Verona and Siena, Italy. One month, because most AirBnB rentals give a sizable discount for renting a month or more. This was pre Covid, and I haven't considered traveling for so long since, so you should check pricing on the properties. It varies. Sometimes 10%, sometimes 30% for over 30 days. You also dilute the stupid fees by staying so long. Makes lodging (and eating, if you have a decent kitchen and markets nearby) very affordable, but, you're confined to one place for a month.
I chose Verona, first, because I wanted to explore the Veneto by train. Verona sits at the crossroads of two major train lines with many high speed trains. Milan to Venice, east/west, and Rome to Munich north/south. I rented a car once to drive through the Dolomites. You need a car to see that. In Siena, the plan was to rent a car and cover, basically, day trips at most an hour in any direction into Tuscany and Umbria. We wanted to see Spoleto, so we made that an overnight. Florence is an easy bus/train trip. No way you can see Tuscany without a car, sorry. Not too expensive. Make sure your AirBnB has assigned parking like ours (ours had a gate). Parking is tough in the old towns.
Language? Eh, be nice and respectful, always say buongiorno at greeting and grazi leaving, don't fake it. 95% of Italians are ok with that. I never learned much, but got by. Many speak English in touristy places. Italians like Americans, btw. Well, most. Just don't be a jerk.

So, anyway, AirBnB is your friend here. I know that's controversial these days, especially in Barcelona. I occupied a nice one bedroom apartment right on the river in Verona that a local middle class person would love to call home, I'll bet. But, no way I would have afforded that trip otherwise. Good luck.

Edit: I forgot to mention that, if in Verona, you are only a train stop away from these guys: https://www.gardabikehotel.com/en/ and they are only a block or two from the train station. I visited the hotel, but never used the facilities (early December). I think you have to stay there to rent bikes. Maybe not. But, they're close.