Rhine River questions

[EvelynL]

Hi, we are looking at the Scotland trip and keep seeing posts of how much it has changed. I’d love to know how and if older teens would likely enjoy the current itinerary?

The other trip we are considering is there Rhine River cruise. Same question Re teens and also late July temperatures on the river.

Any feedback is appreciated.

 

[Donalyn]

We did Rhine last summer with a 19 year old and a 16 year old - both girls. Trip selected by the 19 year old (when she was like 13). We all loved it, as well as our pre days in Basel and our post-days in Amsterdam.

We liked the mix - cathedrals, castles, cute European towns, museums (both world class and unique), the outside activities, the food (both on and off the boat), wine. There were more active days/activities available too, a few of the days.

I think that you need to just really look at the itinerary and make sure that the kids do too. See if there are things that they like to do/would want to do. The cruise didn't have as much "kids by themselves with guide" as we'd seen on our other ABD. That was okay for my girls, as they generally wanted to do the things on the trip.

Temps - it will likely be hot and humid. It was in June last year.

My youngest liked the Rhine so much that she has now changed her first choice for her grad trip from the Poland/Prague/Vienna trip to the Danube cruise.

Good luck deciding.

 

[chuff88]

We did Rhine last summer with a 19 year old and a 16 year old - both girls. Trip selected by the 19 year old (when she was like 13). We all loved it, as well as our pre days in Basel and our post-days in Amsterdam.

We liked the mix - cathedrals, castles, cute European towns, museums (both world class and unique), the outside activities, the food (both on and off the boat), wine. There were more active days/activities available too, a few of the days.

I think that you need to just really look at the itinerary and make sure that the kids do too. See if there are things that they like to do/would want to do. The cruise didn't have as much "kids by themselves with guide" as we'd seen on our other ABD. That was okay for my girls, as they generally wanted to do the things on the trip.

Temps - it will likely be hot and humid. It was in June last year.

My youngest liked the Rhine so much that she has now changed her first choice for her grad trip from the Poland/Prague/Vienna trip to the Danube cruise.

Good luck deciding.

Was Zuza or Winston one of your guides? They were our guides in Germany and they were fantastic, and I know that Zuza also often does both the Danube and Rhine cruise. She had great things to say about both of them, but it sounds like the Danube might be even better! Winston (who is Austrian) usually guides the Poland/Prague/Vienna trip.

 

[Donalyn]

No - we didn't have either of those guides on the Rhine. (Our guides were great too!)

My only concern with the Danube is that Salzberg really deserves a few days and Vienna could use closer to a week, to see all that I'd like to see in those cities or surrounding areas. So, only spending like a morning in Salzberg and one day in Vienna - I'm concerned that I will not feel that I've really done those locations. If that makes sense. But I'm sure that it will be great, none the less.

 

[sayhello]

The Scotland trip, when it was first introduced (2013) was called "Scotland: A Brave Adventure" and was a story-telling based trip, with the storytelling being the locations and inspirations behind the movie "Brave". Most of that storytelling portion (both live storytellers and videos from the makers of Brave) is gone, as are a lot of the locations that made it unique. The trip no longer goes to the beautiful Isle of Sky or hikes the amazing Quiraing, or to Eilean Donan castle, or has the chartered flight to the Isle of Lewis to experience the Black houses and the Dun Carloway Broch and the Callanish Standing stones, nor does it visit the ruins of Dunnottar Castle or the East Coast of Scotland or Elizabeth II's childhood home of Glamis Castle. The trip also included a lesson in tapestry making at a local studio in Edinburgh, where each trip contributed to a large tapestry of scenes from Brave. I really wonder what happened to that tapestry...

The new trip certainly does a lot of things that the old trip did not do, but they are things that are more "typical" of Scotland tours, like a visit to Culloden battlefield and the visit to Blair & Floors Castles, and the visit to the Royal Yacht Britannia. The new trip is not a bad trip by any stretch. It just isn't as unique and magical as the original trip was.

But Scotland is amazing, and so totally worth seeing!

Sayhello

 

[EvelynL]

Thank you for the great info for both trips. For Scotland, do you think older teen girls would enjoy those new stops on the tour - it seems like some of the “unique experiences” have been changed and we like hands-on activities, but we also want to see Scotland

 

[sayhello]

Thank you for the great info for both trips. For Scotland, do you think older teen girls would enjoy those new stops on the tour - it seems like some of the “unique experiences” have been changed and we like hands-on activities, but we also want to see Scotland

I haven't done the newer itinerary, so it's hard for me to say. Culloden is a battlefield, and you generally walk around it while someone gives you insight to the history and describes the battle that occurred there, the various folks who fought & died there, etc. I went with a couple of folks during our OYO time, and I found it fascinating, but I'm not an older teen girl, nor do I have any kids, so hopefully someone else can chime in on that.

There *are* still some great hands-on activities still in the trip like the canoeing on Loch Ness, the shortbread making activity (although we made scones) and the day at Rothiemurchus. Plus they've added a falconry experience that looks like it could be very cool, and the Scotch Whiskey Experience. Honestly, I still think the trip is very worth doing. And if David is still doing the touring of Edinburgh, you're in for a treat! He's been doing this trip for YEARS and he's amazing!

Sayhello

 

[aggiedog]

There are so many great cities in Europe that deserve a week or more each. Sometimes you just have to accept you can’t see everything and know you’ll just have to go back another time.

 

[Eastridge]

Here are links to reports on the Rhine River cruise
https://www.disboards.com/threads/rhine-river-cruise-reports.3776570/

I went in late July 2018 and it was hot.

 

[jimmymc]

The Rhine River cruise stops at some great small to medium sized towns and ends in one of my favorite cities in Europe. None of the ABD activities seem particularly unique, but just being in those cities with guides to help you out would be a great trip.

 

[tink1970]

DD did the Christmas Rhine as a 17 year old and really enjoyed it-so much so that her hs graduation present was a Danube river ABD (similar to pp above). One of the advantages to the river cruises is the larger "pool" of participants (which some die hard ABDers find a negative)--larger group, more likely to find your people as it were.

That said, Scotland is a beautiful, amazing country and definitely cooler than Central Europe in the summer soooo there's that. Honestly both great choices so I'm not much help

 

[aggiedog]

Give serious consideration to the temps in Europe in the summer. It gets HOT. Even the river boats get warm when they are not moving. The AC seems to work better when you’re underway. I would take Scotland over mainland Europe that time of year hands down. I will say Edinburgh is one of my favorite cities. It’s so easy to explore on your own, it’s beautiful, and has a unique gothic vibe.

 

[Donalyn]

I actually agree with the PP. I was trying to get my daughter to consider the Scotland tour, because we were SOOOO hot and humid every day. The boat was fine, AC wise, but every day was just so hot.