<p>BHG thanks. It was very nice..:)</p>
<p>We went to Madrid and Barcelona. We did not have time to go anywhere else, it was just for a week.</p>
<p>Seeing this thread reminded me that S had mentioned just such a thing -- I suspect it will come up again soon. Our brains are working at cross purposes, as I had become attached to the thought of a family trip to Europe to celebrate his HS graduation and our 25th wedding anniversary before S goes off to college. Can't seem to get my brain to go in reverse and remember why he would think a road trip with friends would be more fun...</p>
<p>:p Dizzy. That made me laugh...</p>
<p>We have always given an unqualified "no" to these requests, simply because too many of our kids have gotten into too much trouble on anything bordering on these things. If my niece or D had asked, it might have been different. My son was overseas this summer and ended up in jail there, and H bought a ticket to go over there to get to the bottom of the situation, but before he could leave, they deported my son. So with kids like that, you would have to be insane to fund or give your blessings on such things. Also you need to know the kids who are going. Once they are 18, they can just plan these things themselves and go. I didn't see the hurry.</p>
<p>I was so hesitant to have my daughter just go to the beach for a week the summer after she graduated from HS. But, we did, she had fun and it was no big deal. Going to Europe with recent HS grads would have been out of the question. Also, most of her friends have conservative parents,and it would have been hard to find a quorom.</p>
<p>While I agree that graduating HS is an important milestone, it's not as if this is the last opportunity to go to Europe. I know I would rather see a mature 20 + year old go then an inexperienced 17 or 18 year old.</p>
<p>With my daughter, what a difference in her and ME since she's been out of HS. She has driven to and from college in IL and PA a few times, down to New Orleans once and twice to Florida. It was weird, she never asked for our permission, just for our understanding and to let us know what she was doing. Of course, that's also because she used her own money. I realize that she is responsible for her own actions and she's very good at making the smart choices. But, that's come with age. Maybe, she was mature enough at 18 and it was just me that wasn't ready. Like Jamimom said, you have to know your own child.</p>
<p>We let out S and this year my D do the school Europe trip, it is supervised loosely but supervised and we wanted one last summer before total independence at school started. My S had an amazing trip and still talks about it. They work the rest of the summer but this is right after graduation and is their graduation present.</p>
<p>Do these 18 year olds have a hard time getting hotel rooms? Don't know the policy....</p>
<p>i've been traveling to Europe since I was 9...so my graduation present is going to be a trip through Europe with my best friend. my dad lives in London, so we're going to stay with him and venture out on weekend trips.</p>
<p>it's a great thing to give to your kid if you really want to show them you think they're responsible.</p>
<p>frazzleddad, no, being 18 is not a problem for staying in hotels in Europe by yourself.</p>
<p>I am an 18 yr old.</p>
<p>I visited and did interviews at more than twenty schools on my junior summer road trip. I did the plannings etc on my own since my parents don't know english and I found such an around-the-nation road trip to be extremely rewarding. Instead of driving, I took greyhound from coast to coast (which is actually cheaper and safer to an extent) and I discovered a lot of things about this nation that I could never imagine. I agree that different teenagers might see things differently but high school senior summer might be one of the last time that the teenagers truly have nothing to worry about and have the free time to do such a road trip. Upon entering the colleges, I would have to worry about internship, summer research exc.
I am not urging anyone to do an extensive road trip. But for those who have the ability, I think parents should give them the freedom to do so. When I was on the road, I called my parents everyday and this greatly reduced their stress. My description of different places also triggered their interests.
I also impressed the adcoms a lot and left a huge hook for admission if any juniors in high school are planning on such a trip.
As for the accomodation issue, there're abundant hostels around the nation offering cheap and safe places. Some motels have policies about age issue but the vast are not very strict at all.</p>
<p>Someday I would love to see Bar-tha-lona.</p>
<p>Jamimom, oh my God!! Jail. I could not handle that. What country was that? Some countries are just very strict about really strange things. A friend of mine was arrested in Bulgaria, for being improperly dressed!!( scruffy jeans and T-shirts with slogans on it) many years ago.
Achat, what country did your kids find accomodations for 24 euros, was it Spain, and was it youth hostels? What kind of sources did you go to for finding info.</p>
<p>Chocoholic, it was Rome. I'll ask my son about where he got the info. I think mostly expedia.com and orbitz.com. He did his own planning. It was a youth hostel in Rome. Although I don't know that I would recommend where he stayed because it was in the Rome suburbs and he had to take a train (and local trains in Rome are yucky) to go to Rome everyday. </p>
<p>Since it is your daughter, I'd recommend staying in good American hotels like Holiday Inn and doubling,tripling or quadrupling up with other girls to save money. If it is 85 euros a night, then it would come to 28 euros per person for 4 people in one room; check if the hotel would allow it.The Eurail pass for going from one country to another unlimited for a month was EU 450 or so I think.</p>
<p>chocoholic
Yeah, the driving part is a little (very!) worrisome...</p>
<p>Well, the other thing about doing Europe when you're 18 is you tend not to care too much about how fancy the accomodations are. I think there is a somewhat limited window of time when this is true for people. I say go when you are willing to stay virtually anyplace - you learn a lot more, you meet real people, and see the real Europe. Europeans camp frequently. Kids are more than willing to do that too. They will certainly be off the tourist path.</p>
<p>BTW, the Spanish paradors have a good deal for people ages 20 to 30. It is ANY parador for 42 euros per night. Regular prices are like 150 and up per night. It's a really great way to see Spain (but quite fancy...) <a href="http://www.parador.es/english/ofertas/promociones/escapada/escapada.jsp%5B/url%5D">http://www.parador.es/english/ofertas/promociones/escapada/escapada.jsp</a></p>
<p>Great Link Weenie. Wow, a lot of the paradors are in medieval castles. That is definitely something to look into. Thanks!</p>
<p>I'm a world-class worrywart, but I did let my S go to Russia when he was 13. My son and daughter went to prep school and learned to navigate airports both nat'l and int'l during their h.s. years. D, 18, just got back from Paris. She used some of DH's flier miles and hotel rewards and funded the rest of the trip herself. She went with one other friend, and they went to museums and took photos (art/architecture buffs). I am always a bit nervous, but my kids are determined, responsible and resourceful, and they will stay in touch, which is how I could be easier giving them these freedoms. If they had ever shown themselves to be anything but, believe me, I wouldn't consent to international travel. It is still nerve-wracking, though. Some of my friends have raised their eyebrows at what we've let our kids do, but it's generally the people whose kids haven't shown themselves to be responsible and can hardly be trusted to walk down the street without being trouble magnets. My feeling was always that since my kids were the hardworking and responsible type, I wanted them to see the world and I didn't want them to limit their schooling or career choices based on geography. I like them to go places with a purspose in mind, however--a learning experience, study or community service. It doesn't sit well with me to just go lounge on a beach. But still, I guess if they "earn" it by working hard and being responsible and funding a goodly portion, I'd probably cave.</p>
<p>I have always wanted to get a conversion van and take a wonderful cross-country road trip, but I figure it's not worth it unless I'm 21 (or maybe 25 and can rent a car) and have a decent sum of money. By that time, I'll probably be too career-focused and money-grubbing to take time out for my awesome road trip. Oh well.</p>
<p>The summer after my eldest S graduated he and his friends worked until the first week of August. Then, 4 of them departed on a cross country sojurn by Greyhound Bus! They had discussed driving, but no parent wanted to donate their car (! )and they actually wanted to end their trip in California. They bought one of those 4 week passes (go on any bus, anywhere) and left from the Port AUthority in NY. They travelled the country and had an amazing exxperience. They actually met us in San Francisco and our S left them and spent a week with us before he left for school. Worked out that we got the best of both worlds! It was a nervewracking experience knowing that they were travelling at all hours of the day and night, staying god knows where, spending hours in bus stations and having the most fabulous time. Now, my kids have travelled extensively with us and with summer programs and on shorter road trips before they even graduated, but this trip still made us nervous. We said yes though, and ultimately were glad we did...
Only you can know if your kid is ready to deal with the vagaries of a road trip and the "on the spot" thinking that goes along with it...S2 is already planning his post graduation road trip. Looks like this crew will convince some parent to lend a car, so it may be a different type of worry!</p>
<p>My parents, who have been VERY strict throughout high school (no dating, no drinking, no smoking, no going out past 10 pm) have been very bizarre this year. I honestly have no clue what happened. I am going to NYC for two days w/ a friend of mine (she is also a senior) for my 18th bday/grad gift to ourselves. We are taking the chinatown bus, going to broadway show and spending the night there. After graduation I am going to senior week at the beach with some friends from school and then I am going to Europe with another school friend who will graduate with me. We are taking a tour through Contiki, which does tours all over the world for 18-35 yr. olds. My parents' one stipulation was that I pay for it all myself-I am using the money I have saved from two years of working and being unable to go out and spend it. </p>
<p>I would love to take a road trip, but I dont think my parents are quite ready for it. Im so shocked that I get to do all the above that I think ill run with that. That would be awesome, though. </p>
<p>Notes about the camping in europe. When I lived in france this summer, I was in a seaside town with lots of tourists. My family and others who lived there year round commented that the camping was not a safe place to be and was basically the drug center of the area. I dont know if this is true for all of them, but my host sister wouldn't go nearthe place, so I would be careful about sending 18 yr olds alone there.</p>