SteffiLangner

Hello all. I am German living in the US. I had my share of adventures traveling thru Europe in my younger years before I left everything behind and moved to the US. Now my son is graduating HS in May and we have always talked about him traveling Europe and kind of earn his rite of passage before entering the rabbit hole of US college life.I am a strong believer that everyone entering adulthood should do something out of their comfort zone because otherwise how will we grow?
However I realize our world has changed dramatically over the last 30 years ayeaI want to make sure that my sons experience is a positive one.
Besides maybe a document of parental consent for him traveling, what else could be a hick up on the way?
I am planning on flying to Germany with him and starting him out the first two weeks under the loose guidance of my family all over Germany. Heidelberg, Stuttgart then let him travel into Switzerland where he can connect with my brother in Zurich. We talked about the Interrail pass and his wish to go to Paris, Barcelona, Milan, back to Northern Germany to connect with my Cousins, a few days in Amsterdam and flying back to the US from there. He will turn 18 in August and has US and German Passport. Any thoughts and recommendations are truly welcome. Please refrain from rude comments like putting my child in danger. I have given this a lot of thought and I feel that giving him the opportunity to explore Europe by himself is worth more than a car or anything materialistic to celebrate his Graduation. It proves to him that I trust him that he is becoming the man I tried to raise and that he is ready to spread the wings I asked him to grow. I have gotten a lot of mixed comments from classmate parents if I'm not afraid to leave my kid alone in Europe, drugs, drinking, crime etc. I trust that I raised him right and that he has the maturity and emotional intelligence to do this journey and grow but I don't want him to get in trouble either for being under age.

Moderator3

Moved to Europe board.

hetismij2

Lots of European kids do this, though usually with a friend. Since you have plenty of family he can call on if he needs to I say great let hm enjoy some freedom.
Make sure he has good travel/healthcare insurance, and all the proof of vaccinations he may require by the summer. Travel into and out of Europe on the German Passport and into and out of the US on the US one.
Interrailing requires some planning and research so he uses the right trains and has enough days for his needs so look into that carefully. Check out the website Man in seat 61.
There are long distance buses which are very cheap as well. Flixbus is one company but there are others.
He will need to look into hostels as well.

SusanG

I think that this has more to do with his maturity than his age. You do not mention this - has he traveled alone before in a different country? There are definitely some countries I would not travel to alone even now in my 50s. There are some scary people out there. I watched that movie Midnight Express! My parents sent me to spend a summer in Dinan, France when I was sixteen with high school French. I was with a "living abroad" group, staying with a family, who had no English, and communication was hard! I was completely unprepared for it. On the flip side it was one of the greatest experiences I had in my younger days. As long as he is traveling to countries that you feel (and he feels comfortable with) he should be fine. Agree with the previous poster, make sure he has copies (and photos) of the travel documentation he needs, like his vaccination card. Lastly I agree 100% percent with you - this is an amazing gift you are giving your son, and -- I'm sure he will always remember it. So much better than material things. Good luck!

Tulips

My son did a trip by rail when he was 17, traveling with a friend who was 18. Do check age restrictions on hostels; some do not accept U18s on their own. In The Netherlands he cannot go to bars or clubs when under 18, and they do check ID. Definitely make sure he has a parental consent form.

Jean

You know your son better than anyone here. IMO, if you're comfortable with the plan, he should be fine. My only advice would be to triple-remind him about keeping his stuff secure while riding trains, esp. if there's a chance he'll doze off. When you're travelling alone, you have no one to "watch your back."

In addition to hostels, have him look into university dorm housing. In the past, this has been a very affordable option.