My wife and I are getting close to pulling the trigger on a 6 week international trip from early June to mid-July next summer. We have several well traveled kids between the ages of 7-15. Right now we are looking at western europe and Southeast Asia. Here's my question for the group: for this "once in a lifetime" type trip which would you lean towards:

Option 1: 3-5 days each in about a dozen countries (moving west to east) OR

Option 2: a week or so in six countries.

FWIW, here is the current itinerary we're looking at if we choose option 1:

Ireland
UK
France
Switzerland
Italy
Austria
Egypt
Thailand
China
Japan
Hawaii
Home

Maybe kind of meander your way through 2-3 cities where you stay for a few days, on your way to a place where you stay for a week, then do the same thing on your way to another week long spot. That is how I would structure it. Make sure your week long spots have plenty of day trips available, or fun activities that you can still make it back for the night.

Option 1 would be a nightmare honestly. I would choose one region and 4 or 5 countries max. I just returned from six weeks in Asia.....started in Bangkok then went to the islands in Thailand for about 10 days, flew over to Cambodia for a week before going down to Bali for 8 days. I finished with a week in Saigon. I had a great time and it was a perfect mix of big city/beach.

I'd go with Europe or Asia and then plan from there.

Moving every 3-5 days from a place for six weeks sounds like it could be a PITA, especially with kids.

You move around too often and it'll all become a blur and won't be able to truly appreciate each place to the extent you'd like, especially since you are able to invest so much time. I'd go with option 2 and then try to find very unique differentiation between each location.

No Australia? My preference would be Australia, Thailand, Ireland, Turkey, Switzerland, Italy

Olympics in France so might be a little congested.

Just an FYI, the pacific rim counties are not close at ALL. You're looking at several solid 4-5+ hour flights.

We thought Australia was cool but it wasn't really anything crazy special. Camping in the outback was cool and so we're the blue mountains and Cairns, but overall it was kinda like being in SoCal. NZ on the other hand was unbelievable.

Fly to Singapore and visit 2-3 days to acclimate, then Bali for 4-5 days, 1 week on the Gold Coast of Australia and 4 weeks touring New Zealand islands in a RV - trip of a lifetime

Kind of inline with your first option, I did six weeks "backpacking through Western Europe" my last summer at A&M and it was the perfect amount of time; more days in the interesting places like London, Rome, Paris and 1-2 days for the pitstops like Salzburg and Monaco. Get a rail pass and you can change your itinerary and timing on the go; overnight trains are making a comeback which are a great experience and can help you squeeze in more stops.

I think these were the countries I hit over six weeks, almost did Spain but we were out of rail pass days and the flights were too expensive for young Ag CPA:

England
France
Netherlands
Germany
Switzerland
Austria
Italy

FWIW, we just returned from an Asian cruise that started in Japan and finished in Singapore with stops in Hong Kong and Vietnam. We can't wait to go back to Japan. I think a week would be barely enough time to experience Tokyo thoroughly.

If you're leaning towards Option 1, though, then I'd recommend doing two back-to-back cruises with slightly different itineraries on the same ship. That way at least you eliminate all the packing/unpacking between countries.

At this point we've narrowed it to either Western Europe or Asia for the 6 weeks. Which would you choose and why?

aggiefan2002 said:

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At this point we've narrowed it to either Western Europe or Asia for the 6 weeks. Which would you choose and why?

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It really depends on what you're looking for, but SE Asia is my favorite place to travel. The food and beaches alone make it worth it. You could spend 6 weeks just island hopping in Thailand.

I'm 80% sure it will be Asia. Right now we are thinking about 8-10 days in each of Thailand, Vietnam, Japan, and China with a few days in Hawaii on the way home.

I just can't imagine being gone from work that long. I'd be dreading the ****show I would be coming home to

I'll be between jobs which is exactly why we want to do it then.

Angkor Wat is a must see if you are going to SE Asia.

Quality over quantity. Go with option 2. You get to enjoy each country and won't feel as rushed. If you get bored with a city you can always train to another in the same country, rather than going to an airport.

I'd stick with one continent. Around the world travel would be awesome if you're solo or doing an adults trip, but not with kids. Maybe you can hit the ME/Egypt on top of Europe since they are close, but I doubt they'll want to fly to a place like Thailand from Europe after making one long flight from the USA.

sounds super fun. pick 4-6 countries you really want to hit and then just go. one route I think would be fun would be to start in Portugal then head east and stay on the mediterranean. E.g. Spain, Italy, Croatia, Greece.

You will have so much fun. My only advice is pack a ton of clothes unless you have access to washing machines. It is so hot and humid. We were stationed in Singapore and my daughter spent all summer last year in Thailand. I felt like i could take 2 or 3 showers a day.