itstimetotravel

The three of us —husband, wife and adult child (26) would like to travel soon to London and Paris and need advice. We looked into Tauck but average age is 65 which we’re not keen on. We’re thinking of private tours through Kensington as another option. Are there any other ideas or suggestions for traveling with an adult child? Thanks!

Moderator1

Welcome to the Fodors Forums. Your thread has been moved to the Europe board and tagged for France and the UK.

Travel_Nerd

Are you open to traveling independently, not through a tour?

London and Paris are very easily paired with each other. Get some good guidebooks to determine what you want to see. You could fly into one city (say London) and back home from Paris. And travel via Eurostar between the two.

The advantage of independent traveling is you decide. With a tour, they decide, often with a bunch of people, often leaving hotels very early, limited options for restaurants, etc.

janisj

Is there a specific reason(s) you want to join a tour? Paris and especially London are two of the easiest cities anywhere to visit independently. Guided group tours have their place but me personally -- I'd never book a tour to those two cities. And definitely not when there is a generation difference. On tours you have no options for visiting the sites YOU want to see, don't get the best choice of hotels, and they actually can cost a good deal more than traveling independently.

Its Easy peasy - book open jaw (i.e.multi city) in to London and home from Paris. Take the Eurostar train London city center to Paris city center. So all that's required are flights, two hotels and the Eurostar. . . . plus a few museums / sites that are better pre-booked.

SusanP

And if you decide to do it independently, there are lots of people here who are glad to answer more questions about further details.

Iwan2go

I just returned from a trip to Paris and Amsterdam with my son (he’s in his 40s), and my husband and I have taken seven other trips with him (Barcelona, Madrid, Lisbon, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Vienna…to start), and it’s pretty easy to do it on your own, as the others have said. In London, we did London Walks, and in the other cities we hired guides for personal walking tours. He likes museums, walking, food, plays - but is perfectly happy to go off on his own if we prefer to do something he’s not interested in (or take a rest!). We did all take a great food tour in Barcelona one night, and after the tour a group of the younger people went off on their own for a few hours.

it helps to have a hotel in a central area, near good public transportation, with a lounge or bar area to relax and meet other people. I think it also depends upon your son’s personality and preferences, of course. Do you think that could work for you?

Iwan2go

I looked at the Kensington private tours page to better understand what you are looking into. Am I correct that you’re not necessarily looking for a group experience, but wish to have a more personalized tour guide - so that you don’t miss a lot?

if that’s the case, you might find the walking tours by London Walks (https://www.walks.com) and Paris Walks (Paris-walks.com) meet the bill. These are really interesting, two hour walks lead by great guides - and an opportunity to talk to other travelers. We’ve taken some in Paris that walk through Montmartre, a Hemingway tour of the Latin and st Germain quarters, a chocolate tour (that was fun!). In London, Westminster abbey, London at war, Hidden London (there are nighttime tours as well). All you do is sign up and show up, and you can chat with other people - of all age groups.

it sounds daunting to prepare for a trip on your own, but you have chosen two wonderful cities that can actually be toured on your own without too much effort.

Does that help? People here have great ideas, feel free to let everyone know in more detail what you want and you’ll have a great trip!

wtm003

I have a 27 and 30 year old, who we've traveled with, and they would hate traveling with a tour group but aren't opposed to taking a tour. Last year we spent 10 days together in Thailand. We made our own flight and hotel arrangements and spent most of our time on our own schedule but also booked a day tour since we didn't have a car as well as a taking a really fun cooking class. We've taken several "free" walking tours that have been excellent and just tip well at the end. Those groups usually seem to skew younger which may be better for your son.

My husband and I are currently in Athens and out of curiosity I just looked up Kensington. Honestly, I think the price, which doesn't include airfare, is outrageous. Even if money is no object, it really seems like you're paying for a service which offers very, very little. Everything on their itinerary is so rushed and something you can easily do on your own or find a day tour. Your hotel can arrange for a transfer from the airport as well as help book tours if that's your preference. Let your son take the lead on some of the planning.

Green83

The themed walking tours in London are fantastic. The hidden gems are what make this city so fun to visit. I also think the Parliament Westminster Abby tour is worthwhile reserve in advance. Don’t miss the British Museum, Tower of London and Tate Britain (not modern). The British Library, Greenwich observatory and the Churchill War Rooms are also worth visiting. Most sights in London have tours throughout the day. Look into a play at Regents Park.

The Louvre in Paris definitely needs a tour because it’s too big to find the highlights on your own. The art museums are the highlight of Paris. You don’t need a guide. If you have time, consider a day tour to the D-Day beaches.

janisj

The OP hasn't returned . . . until we know if they have even read our input, we are just taking among ourselves

Jean

I smile at the oxymoron "adult child."

kerouac

I always want to know what the adult child hs done in terms of investigation for such a trip.

SusanP

I was thinking the same thing! 😁

k_marie

Parents plus next gen adult, maybe?

Jean

"Parents plus next gen adult, maybe?"

Well, that's one way of getting around the gender identification thing... not that I think anyone here really cares or that it would make a difference in the travel advice.



The OP is new to Fodors, so there could be a little newbie confusion about replies/posting, etc. Oh well, it's only been 3 days... Maybe itstimetotravel had a more action-packed weekend than we all did.

janisj

I usually cut them some slack. Some newbies come back to apologize for not responding -- they thought they would have received notification of new activity on their threads. But, after 4 or 5 days . . .

mjs

I think the problem is that we are not answering the OP's question. Although something like 10% of Americans have traveled to over 10 countries in a recent poll, I suspect many of these people have done so by tour or cruise. I think it is only a relatively small percentage who travel abroad independently. I was in Rhodes last month and we were always being mistaken for British at dinner since Americans apparently always come by boat. We were in Norway last year and although we saw a lot of people from North America in Bergen and Flam, we met no such people driving around the country. We occasionally stay at International 5 star chain hotels and it is not infrequent to see tour groups like Tauck for a day or two. They do not stay long and the age range is definitely on the older side. After all that's when we tend to have the most spare time and money. Those in their 30's or 40's are busy having a family and or establishing their careers. There are certainly tours for young people that are inexpensive, and many tours for older retired people. I don't know any tours that cater to those in the middle of their lives. Many Universities in the US advertise tours for their alumni. Could that be what might work for the OP? I must confess however that I do not know much about tours. The only one I ever took was a three week Sputnik tour of the USSR back in the 80's.

janisj

The OP asked "Are there any other ideas or suggestions for traveling with an adult child?" which is an awfully broad query . . . We've asked them to answer a few questions and fill in some of the blanks so we actually CAN answer the original question.

Jean

So, I re-read the initial post and then looked at the mentioned Kensington tour of London and Paris. Wow. $8190 per person, double occupancy, for 7 days (including arriving and departing days!). So, easily over $25,000 plus air fare, lunches, dinners (except for one included dinner). Itinerary includes three half-day and one full day of privately guided tours, tickets and entry fees related to scheduled sights, and meet/greet/transfers at airports and train stations. If this is the travel style of the OP, I can't be of much help.