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Should You Tour with Teens?
Absolutely, but a little planning is needed for a smooth experience.

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What Our Teens Need to Enjoy the Tour

Happy Teens, Happy Family Vacation

Traveling with kids can be a challenge, especially when they're in a bad mood. We’ve experienced it too—one negative attitude can quickly turn into a stressful situation. However, with a bit of preparation and a flexible mindset, you can pave the way for a peaceful and enjoyable family Rick Steves' tour. Embrace the journey and create wonderful memories together.

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Flight and Bus Entertainment

  • We make sure those who tend to sleep are seated together and those who stay awake are together on the flight.

  • We bring electronics and portable chargers. No teen wants to run out of battery life.

  • Window seat rotation, so everyone gets a chance to see the view.

  • We also bring a lot of snacks, gum and sanitizer.

  • We have found that eye masks and sweatshirts help with sleep.

  • The bus transportation is smooth with frequent stops. We loved our first experience at an Italian autogrill.

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Selfies and Shopping

  • Teens like to take selfies. We just stop and wait.

  • Our daughter would shop the entire trip if she could. We schedule a few hours for shopping on our itinerary. We record the address of shops she may see during other activities and circle back to them during her scheduled shopping time.

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Let Them Pick Activities

  • Have them pick a few activities they want to do on vacation. Most of the time they will want to see the same big sights as you but sometimes they may surprise you.

  • Maya chose to go to the Opera in Venice, and it became a delightful new experience for our entire family. We would have missed out on this enriching cultural adventure if she hadn't suggested it.

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Downtime

  • We schedule downtime and change the schedule as needed to give the kids time to rest and recharge. 

  • Our kids like to sleep in a bit longer. On free days we schedule activities mid to late morning so they can get a few more hours of sleep. The adults can sleep in too or have a quiet hotel breakfast while the kids get those extra moments of needed sleep.

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Snacks

  • Everyone is happier when they aren't hungry.

  • Visit the local market or corner store and sample foods you can't get at home. You never know something might become your favorite and you can have it shipped to your home later. (We had "Tayto" chips shipped to our house after our kids fell in love with them in Ireland.)

  • Have snacks in the hotel room for late night munchies.

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Pack Light

(picture from our first tour)

  • We continue to ask ourselves why we brought so many clothes and toiletries.

  • Both of our tours provided laundry services halfway though the tour.

  • You do not need to pack so much. You do not need it.

  • We also have a teen shopper so we bring a packable bag for souvenirs.

Items We Feel Are Essential For the Tour

  • Sense of adventure

  • Rick Steves' Guide Book and Mobile App

  • Dramamine

  • Two pairs of comfortable walking shoes.

  • Raincoat (we used raincoats on both tours)

  • Umbrella

  • Portable phone charger

  • Plug adapters

  • Headphones

  • AirTags for luggage

  • Mini first aid kit (pain reliever, bandaids, hand sanitizer) Do not overthink it. Pharmacies are everywhere.

  • Local currency​, so the kids can make small purchases

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“It doesn’t matter where you are going. It matters who is beside you.” – Anonymous

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