Take Your Kids to Europe, 5th: How to Travel Safely (and Sanely) in Europe with Your Children (Paperback)

by Cynthia W. Harriman (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Author Cynthia Harriman has been there--England, France, Spain--and done that: a husband, two kids, and four months of travel. This book answers important questions such as "Why take your kids to Europe?" and then tells you how to do it. Of the "Why?" Harriman writes, "The best family travel involves staying put, taking it slowly, learning more about everyday life. Leave the kids behind, and you're on vacation in Europe. Take them along and you're temporarily living in Europe." The "How?" is laid out in 22 practical chapters that are truly fun to read, accented by useful tidbits from other world travelers who have globetrotted with kids. This book is an essential resource for anyone considering or preparing to embark on a family journey. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description
Can an eight-year-old have fun in Florence? Can you entertain a teenager in London? Can an extended family vacation to Europe be a unique and rewarding experience? Absolutely, says Cynthia Harriman, who has gathered the wisdom gained from months of travel abroad with her family into this comprehensive and essential guide. Complete with anecdotes and witty cartoons, this book includes invaluable tips about where to stay, where to eat, language skills, finding affordable fun for the entire family and more. (5 1/2 x 8 1/2, 352 pages, maps, charts, illustrations)

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Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Globe Pequot; 5th edition (November 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0762710306
• ISBN-13: 978-0762710300
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #926,649 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Both before and during the trip, this book was our bible!!!, August 22, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Take Your Kids to Europe: How to Travel Safely (And Sanely) in Europe With Your Children (3rd ed) (Paperback)

Cynthia Harriman's Take Your Kids to Europe was incredibly help to us in preparing for our recent trip to Europe. Ms. Harriman reassured us in our decision to spend three weeks in Spain, France and Italy with our 9 and 5 year olds (along with another family with similar age children) by sharing some very concrete reasons on the whys and hows to really spend time "experiencing" this magnificent continent. Her list of things to take, things to do beforehand, things to see while there, and ways to deal with some of the day-to-day occurences were very insightful and proved extremely helpful. She referred us to other books that were excellent resources on hotels, restaurants (Rick Steves' Italy 1998 and the Mona Winks series) which made our sightseeing fun and funny!!! We very much appreciate her many suggestions on some of "off the beaten track" places to visit and ways to discover Europe through the eyes of our children. Thank you Cynthia for this wonderful resource!!!!

36 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Start planning you Europe vacation with this book !, August 23, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Take Your Kids to Europe: How to Travel Safely (And Sanely) in Europe With Your Children (3rd ed) (Paperback)

If you are unsure about taking your kids to Europe read this book and you will be ready to go ! My children are 13 and 10 and we have always talked about a trip to Europe. It was refreshing to find a book that is geared for family travel in Europe and encourages you to go for it (most travel books don't say much regarding families), I found no other book that compares. TYKE covers the logistics of planning a trip to Europe and covers the many ways you could approach such a trip. The author presents plenty of good ideas and suggestions to help you plan a trip that you and your kids will enjoy. I found the book to be very inspirational ! Even though they were able to take off 6 months, the experiences they had were helpful for our three week stay. There is a great chapter on budgeting your trip and a great list of resources in the back of the book.

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wunderbar! Tres Bien! Magnifico! Loved it!!, August 10, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Take Your Kids to Europe: How to Travel Safely (And Sanely) in Europe With Your Children (3rd ed) (Paperback)

I stumbled upon Cynthia Harriman's "Take Your Kids to Europe" (TYKE) and thought it was the single best investment for my family's 3 week vacation in Europe. My 4 children (3,6,8,13) did not completely fit the typical family Ms. Harriman wrote about but there were so many nuggets of wisdom included that we were able to expand on the suggestions to fit our needs. Her advice included the practical (call your credit card company and advise them of your travel plans so they don't de-activate your card because purchase patterns appear inconsistent), to the sublime (we altered some of our destinations based on her or her reader reviews). Our friends all thought we were crazy for driving unaccompanied through 5 European countries with young children but after reading TYKE, I had a renewed sense that we could not only survive, but thrive. We were mentally prepared because Cynthia warned us about kids who would be stressed by having to share a back seat and a bed. S! he also had a solution for that lack of control feeling one feels when one is shepherded around touring (let each kid be in charge for a day or part of a day). She gave good references to other reliable books (Rick Steves' series of Europe Through the Back Door and Eric Bredesen's "Moto Europa"). We have been home for one month and have decided this was a life-defining moment for our children. I've passed the book on to my sister who was planning a 2 week American West trip for her family (10 and 13 year olds) and SHE picked up lots of travel tips as well. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants travel advice offered in "friendly neighbor" manner.