Our Personalized Star Wars Characters, Montreal Science Center, August 2012
A few weeks ago I shared the first of the endless barrage of Summer Camp options coming down the pike. You know the drill…wait anxiously for the opening time, load up the website or call, and find out the options your kids would love are sold out.
I have another way. Last year I debuted the “Camp Mom” trip, where I spent the money I would have spent on a week of camp for the kids and took them on a trip. This is also known as: True Deal Mommy Confessions: I spent my kid’s camp tuition on plane tickets to Montreal!
Before you go crazy with all of the camps out there, I just wanted to share the option of spending the money differently. Granted this means you have to have to have the time off work as well, but for us Camp Mom was a total win and I can’t wait to do it again this year.
Here’s where you come in. I’ve gotten a go on Camp Mom as an add-on to our Ireland trip, so we’ll be departing from Dublin in July…so Europe it is! We’ll have 11 days including transit to and from Dublin. Neither Deal Kid has spent any time they remember in Europe.
Deal Kids are 6 and 9. Here are my criteria:
1. Not too hot, especially considering lack of Aircon (leaving out Costa Del Sol, Madrid, most of Italy), but not too cold either (a concern with Black Sea Beaches)
2. Safe and very stable (leaving out Greece, Turkey)
3. Kid-diversion friendly (at least some beach/amusement/”kid” activity time built in)
4. Culturally interesting.
5. Award availability (or cheap flights) from Dublin.
At first I was limiting myself to where I could find either $249 weekly condo rentals or super cheap points redemptions. However, with the new Club Carlson credit card that gives B1G1F redemptions, all of Europe is now in reach!
Where would you recommend for Camp Mom? Please share any ideas you have for a great 11 day itenerary that might fit the bill!
Why on earth do you say Greece is not safe or stable?!
Go to Portugal. It has culture, beaches, not too warm (unless you are unlucky), and it is very cheap when compared to American standards.
Hi Miguel,
(Should have clarified). I would be OK with Greece, and probably Turkey, on my own, but solo parenting with a 6 and 9 year old is a different beast, and Deal Dad has some concerns about the political instability in Greece. Portugal is a great idea. Does the Algarve get too crowded in July? Where are the tourists mostly from? I thought it was so interesting how the Costa Del Sol was 100% British in Spots, whereas in Tenerife I often spotted the German flag right under the Spanish one.
Most tourists in the Algarve are from the UK (they mostly concentrate in Albufeira) and Portugal. And during July it gets indeed quite crowded.
But the Algarve isn’t the best place to visit, so that’s not at a problem 🙂 Algarve has become too “touristic” and with too much construction next to the sea. The best “unspoiled” beaches are in the Alentejo region, which is the West coast between the Algarve and Lisbon. And flying to Lisbon on points is much easier than to the Algarve (which mostly relies on LCCs and charter flights – although since you are coming from Dublin, to the Algarve/FAO airport you can use Ryanair) – not to mention than Lisbon in itself is a pretty cool city, full of history and wonderful sights and food.
So fly into Lisbon and drive south, but not too far south! Got it. Thanks for the great advice!
I would head to Germany. I think Ryanair flies into Memmingen, west of Munich. There is a very nice RCI timeshare in Oberstaufen where we stayed with our daughter with plenty of outdoor space and childrens activities. From there you can do some easy fun daytrips to Lindau (on Bodensee/Lake Constance for bike riding and swimming), Legoland Germany (near Ulm), Fussen (Neuschwanstein castle), and the Alps.
Hi Denise,
Thanks for your recommendation! Do you happen to remember the name of the timeshare you liked? I can rent RCI inventory through EVR or (with luck) it may show up as available on my skyauction cert.
The resort is the Mondi-Holiday Oberstaufen
Malas 8-16, 87534 Oberstaufen, Bavaria, Germany
Here is a link to some updated Tripadvisor comments – we stayed there 4 years ago: http://tinyurl.com/a9ftjwl
Thanks much!
Switzerland. Interlaken. The Alps. Ahhhh…
That sounds nice…for me. Will the kids be bored out of their skulls?
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