But before we get to the elegant-strolling-through-vineyards bit, there are a few European-holiday rites of passage\u2026<\/p>\n
*These may or may not be based on personal experience. You\u2019ll never know and I\u2019ll never admit it.<\/em><\/p>\n When you\u2019re 18 and fresh out of high school, a party trip through Europe is a fantastic idea. (Do NOT tell my children this, please.) Mostly because organised tours, backpacking, compulsory socialising with strangers, and being broke doesn\u2019t yet faze you. You must capitalise on this.<\/em> Within a few years the idea of sharing a Spartan room with three snoring, deeply-boozed mates (and 1-2 non-English speaking but quite handsome holiday flings) in Mykonos will not seem fun, nor will having no money when you lose your credit card on a nightclub floor. Also, your body won\u2019t be resilient to a daily diet of gyros and red bull vodkas forever. You\u2019re here because the tour was cheap, because everyone else was going, and because FOMO in the age of social media is torture.<\/em><\/p>\n In your early twenties the thrill of being overseas far outweighs the expensive and largely prohibitive experience of visiting places like Paris<\/a> and London<\/a>. But you\u2019re 23! You don\u2019t care that your bedroom is the size of a mandarin! That you\u2019re sleeping next to a train line and a nightclub! That the low cost airline lost your suitcase and you\u2019ve been wearing the same jeans for 10 days! You\u2019re as robust as McDonalds lard, which, funnily enough, is probably your major food group, along with street crepes and pots of cider. You walk or catch trains everywhere; you actively and happily meet new people (a trend that will fade with each subsequent trip), and the idea of your accommodation being anything more than a place to store your suitcase, and occasionally, your head, is truly foreign. You\u2019re here for adventure, for excitement, and for experiences: good, bad, uncomfortable, ecstatic: all of it. Your energy, resilience and enthusiasm is disgustingly buoyant. Embrace it.<\/em><\/p>\n By thirty, many of us have set off on the classic sightseeing adventure of, say, Venice, Rome and Florence. This is when travel finally<\/em> starts to look a bit more like Real Life, as opposed to making you feel and live one notch up from a backpacker. Your hotel offers more for breakfast than boxed cereal and cordial, decent dining kicks in, and souvenirs extend beyond ashtrays and shot glasses. Since you saved up so much money for so long to take this trip, you chew the bone and suck the marrow: no landmark is left unphotographed, no three hour queue for David unjoined, no signature aperitif undrunk. You give every day 120% and your sore feet, depleted bank account and sky-high calorie count are proof. You\u2019re here to see and appreciate other cultures, collect memories, and amass a nuclear<\/em> social media feed. GOOD!<\/p>\n The most expensive trip you will ever take, featuring ridiculous hotels, an insane sheet thread count, and 9\u20ac cappuccinos. Places like Santorini, Positano, Capri, Sicily and Spain are ideal\u2026 anywhere with unbelievable views, overpriced everything, and a high brag-factor.<\/p>\n Some might say, \u2018Why fly to the other side of the world to laze on a sun bed? Can do that anywhere.\u2019 And to them I say: \u2018Alas, my fictional opponent, we shall agree to disagree.\u2019 I\u2019d strenuously<\/em> argue that laying by the pool as adorable, smug newlyweds in Oia, looking down at cruise ships gliding around over the Aegean is pretty much the definition of something you can\u2019t do anywhere.<\/p>\n A honeymoon is meant to be obnoxious \u2013 it\u2019s coated in judgment-free Teflon: the location, the cost, and the amount of time taken off work (suck it, boss!) are at your full discretion. So BLOODY GO FOR IT. Cement a life-long memory of joy, relaxation, love, and excitement for the future, already! And pool burgers. Lots<\/em> of pool burgers.<\/p>\n Everyone told you not to travel with humans aged between 10 months and three, yet you boarded with two of them. But who cares! Once you arrive in Charles de Gaulle, it\u2019ll all be worth it!! \u2026 Right<\/em>?<\/p>\n Yes<\/strong>. No, this won\u2019t be the sexy, carefree Euro trip of your youth, with table-dancing and wine-guzzling and noon sleep-ins, but there WILL be plenty of 6am wake-ups, and naps cutting into your day, and 7pm lights out in the hotel room, so: phew!<\/em><\/p>\n But seriously: a trip to Europe with the family is<\/em> worth it. Because even if you\u2019re following the exact same routine as back home<\/em>, you\u2019re not<\/em> back home, you\u2019re on a glorious beach in the Mediterranean, watching your kids eat sand, and splash around, and letting them go to bed late and have gelato twice a day. And even though you will run out of nappies, and get no sleep, and the sunscreen costs three times as much, it\u2019s worth it. You\u2019ll always remember when little Darryl was 3 and Dwayne was 1, and you all went to Greece and ate pita and dips at sunset on the beach that time. Always.<\/p>\n When you\u2019re confident, both financially and personally, your choice to travel tends to be based on experience, wisdom and whimsy, rather than a tiny window of annual leave, or hotels with kid\u2019s clubs. It might be a bucket list trip to the Pyrenees, a cruise around the Dalmatian coast, a foodie trip to San Sebastian<\/a>, or it could be that your daughter has shacked up with a chap in Dublin and it\u2019s time to meet the cute little heart thief.<\/p>\n But wherever you go, you\u2019re going it because it interests you, not because it\u2019s all can afford, or where your friends want to go, or a Travel Check-Lister (Paris, London, Rome etc.) This trip lacks the frenzy, pace and drama of the aforementioned trips, (not that those elements can\u2019t make travel great in their own way), and may<\/em> even feature solo restaurant dining at night (gasp!). This is travel for the unadulterated enjoyment of travel. It\u2019s something to look forward to and relish. (And saturate your social media. Duh. No<\/em> trip is immune to that.)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.au\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/PARIS.jpg\")
<\/p>\nThe Total Blur Trip<\/h2>\n
The Fun Seeking Adventure<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.au\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/VENICE.jpg\")
<\/p>\nThe Grown-Up Euro Holiday<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.au\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/SCOTLAND.jpeg\")
\n<\/strong><\/h2>\nThe honeymoon!<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.au\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/HONEYMOON.jpg\")
<\/h2>\nThe High-Effort, High-Return Family Trip<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.au\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/SICILY-scaled.jpg\")
<\/strong><\/h2>\nThe On-Your-Own-Terms Trip<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.au\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/SANTORINI.jpg\")
<\/p>\n