Thinking DS' travel itinerary is none of our business

[WelshMeg]

DS is 18, he's going inter-railing in the summer 6 weeks or so all in, with 5 friends.
Last night he was talking about his itinerary, they have decided to pre-book all their hostels as apparently it's not uncommon in some places to be unable to get a room.
In the 48 days I think it is they are travelling they have booked for 20 different cities. They aren't doing any massive travel days but some are more complicated than others (like getting from Lake Bled to Trieste or having to get a boat across Lake Como to get to the hostel) but generally they aren't travelling more than 4 hours in a day and there are quite alot of 1/2 hour journeys like Venice - Lake Garda - Milan, Lausanne - Geneva etc.
DH thinks they will be exhausted, I think yeah they probably will be but it's not our business and leave them to figure it out?
They are staying 2-3 nights in each place (maybe one place is a one night stay but I think it's because of trains).
AIBU thinking it's not our business and we shouldn't warn him? Or should we suggest they change it up so they aren't moving so quickly all the time.

I am impressed how organised they are! We did a 30 day Contiki tour across Europe - visited 16 countries in that period. I think they will be fine - it sounds about right to me. I have no doubt they have booked this after advice from others.

I did similar but in India at 19. Stayed in each place 2 - 4 nights, but with some mammoth journeys eg 18 hour sleeper bus rides, 12 hour train rides etc.

The travelling is half the fun. I think people who think it's too much see the train time as shit time before to where you want to be as opposed to part of the holiday in it's own right.

He has some really short train trips in there too. It'll be fun. And if it's not? He'll learn that kind of trip isn't for him. I think you're right to leave him to it. With so many kids his age just sitting in front of their phone or Xbox all day I'd only be proud.

If you look at this 45 day contiki tour accross europe and to Egypt and back it looks much more exhausting if you scroll to the bottom of the page.
Ultimate European Trip | Contiki

Mmm not seeing an issue , we travelled around Asia years ago and did similar. Absolutely fine!

My son is doing similar in March. They can change their itinerary if it all gets too much. Our only ask is regular contact with a whats app message so we know he is ok. Also I would advise very carefully reading the insurance documents. My son booked his with his travel and I discovered that it does bot cover repatriation so have taken out am additional policy which does

Leave him to it lol .... it sounds like an adventure and he's not alone so I'm sure they can adapt / change it if needs be. Also, you don't want to come across interfering

I'm 34 with 2 children and recently been abroad; my parents

A) found my flight and tracked it online
B) used my social media photos to cross reference them against trip advisor reviews to locate my hotel
C) called my siblings & siblings partners to find out which airport I was flying into

Don't become them lol.
I'm going away again and haven't told them anything! Will just up and leave .....

2/3 days in each place doesn’t sound too bad to me - I definitely did similar when I was travelling (I did 3 gap years and no major disasters of collapses from exhaustion).

I do think he’s mad to book everything ahead though - a lot of the joy of travel is to be able to decide as you go along, staying longer in places you love and skipping out of places you don’t. You can also get into a bit of a pickle If transport means you’re delayed and you get out of sync with your accommodation bookings. I always did the research on which hostels I wanted before I went then booked one or two ahead as we went. I’m sure there are some places and times where you need to book ahead but I doubt that’s the whole trip.

Sounds very tiring but they are 18, it’s fun when you’re that age.

I went travelling with a friend aged 19. We met some people who would stay one night in each city - god knows what they got to see but people did that.

I did 3 months interrailing when I was early twenties. I don't think I stayed anywhere more than a few nights (and I I did, it's because it was somewhere like Rome where there was so much to see/do so I wasn't sitting about relaxing!). I loved it, though I planned far less.. Occasionally I had a lazy day where I lay around in a park or on a beach reading. I also occasionally found a hotel room rather than a hostel because I just wanted my own space - but I was travelling alone, so constantly meeting and talking to strangers!

Sounds similar to my itinerary when we went inter-railing as we had a great time!

Can you go with him to make sure he’s OK?

Please tell me this is sarcasm...

Yanbu to leave him to it.

When I went backpacking I had a crazy itinerary for travelling at times. I had a great time.

Good point!

Travellers.. free spirits, planners, adventurers, observers, early risers, party people, loners, spontaneous... they can be all of those or none of those.

I thought I was spontaneous free spirited soul until I realised my spontaneity was all planned!!

I love a well thought out travel plan...

Sounds like the misery guts is envious, I certainly am!

He will have a BLAST!

He will get back and sleep for a week but when he is awake he will talk non stop about all the great stuff he did! Friends of mine did an interail around Europe.....got to be 35 years ago now, my then best friend and I were just a little bit too young to go and were gutted. They still talk about it now, how it was the best summer of their lives!

Pffft... he's 18! He's got all the energy in the world, he'll have a grand time!
Fantastic adventure!

At that age I did a 30 day interrailing trip with a similar proportion of places. It was fine.
I was a lot fitter then. Could carry my backpack and do lots of walking. The fun thing was the shere amount of places we saw.
Knees would not cope now!

Mine would take off for 6 weeks in the summer, ferries, van, right through Europe surfing. They had a ball mostly camping. Came home exhausted but happy

I traveled like this when I was 19. It's not impossible, but it is tiring. They'll either just get tired or adjust. Yes, stay out. "That sounds great, you're going to have a brilliant time" is all you need to say

I don't see the problem either.
They are 18, not 68.
That is exactly what inter-railing is about - seeing as much as you can pack in in the time you have.
2 - 3 nights is plenty in most places.

In fact, I would be super-impressed that a group of 6th formers have put the research in and done so much advance planning.

I can imagine 6 people trying to work out an itinerary is hard enough without others adding their opinions!

I think they have pre-booked for a few reasons,
One they have points they need to meet (meeting friends for the Venice - Como leg, activity booked in Lausanne, meeting more friends for the Spain leg etc.) one girl also had an illness which means she's had to keep track of hospitals etc. and another under 18 which limits where they can stay.
There will obviously be some wiggle room but I think they are probably right in planning ahead.

I did that at his age but I think I stayed three nights at each place. There's a problem if you don't stay long enough and it's not that you are exhausted it's just that you don't see the place fully. At that age if you are exhausted you only need one good sleep!

I would be thrilled if my kids decided to do this, good for him