I also posted this on The Netherlands board, but I need all the help I can get...
My wife and I would like to spend about two weeks in Europe at the end of June/beginning of July. We%26#39;d like to see Paris and Amsterdam and one other city, perhaps Rome or Madrid, but we%26#39;re open to other ideas.
With airfare skyrocketing and the US dollar tanking, we want to be sure we do everything we can to get the best prices on transportation and lodging.
So far, we%26#39;ve looked into booking everything seperately online, and we%26#39;ve also checked out some tour companies. Does anyone have any suggestions for getting the best value? If a tour is the way to go, what are the best companies?
We%26#39;ll be departing from Detroit, MI and would prefer rooms that have private baths, though for a big savings we%26#39;d probably make some exceptions.
Any tips and advice would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks!
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If you want to save a little money, and enjoy your vacation, then pick one location, in this case Paris. Paris can be very exciting, in July before the hordes of tourist arrive.
Regardless of the value of the Bush dollar, it is always prudent to stay in one place and make day trips if you want. Amsterdam is doable from Paris, but Rome and Madrid should be save for another day.
Remember, when you%26#39;re traveling between two majoy points, you typically end up loosing at least one day that you could be spending enjoying the sights and having something to remember besides the flight or train ride.
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I replied to your post in the Amsterdam Forum but after seeing Roberts answer in this forum I thought I%26#39;d add more. It%26#39;s quite a long way from Paris to Amsterdam so I don%26#39;t know how he would stay in Paris and sightsee in Amsterdam! Maybe he means to not plan on seeing other cities far from Paris. We purchased first class rail tickets and reserved sleeping cars so we traveled mostly at night. I thought this would be great because it would take the place of paying for some hotel nights and save days for touring. The only problem was I did not sleep much at all and was therefore tired and crabby the next day. The times we took the train in the daytime was nice and we met many interesting people and the scenery was enjoyable. I do agree you should spend more time in one area such as seeing several other places in France. Picasso%26#39;s home in Giverney is lovely. We loved Paris and wished we had more time to see things there. Amsterdam was kind of scary at times. We had 2 incidents with people high on drugs and we weren%26#39;t into that at all. One man was very stoned and blocked our way to our taxi. The hotel staff finally came out and dealt with him. We stopped into a McDonalds to see what they were like there and a very stoned man threw his tray containing a large soda and meal at his table, splashing me and the whole area around us. Then he layed his head on the table and stayed that way for a while. Nobody ever called police. It was interesting. I%26#39;m sure you%26#39;ll be careful there. My favorite places were Venice and Rome. I wish I%26#39;d spent a whole 2 weeks just seeing that area. I plan on going back there to do that. I%26#39;ve been enjoying seeing everyone%26#39;s opinion on what to do and please write in and let us all know how your trip turns out.
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If you are still going to Paris, please keep in mind that it does not truly matter where you stay as long as you are near a metro line... everything is accessable. Even though it may be charming to stay in the center of Paris, do not hesitate to look to the outer arrondisements, especially the 14th and 15th. You will get better deals, and a real Parisian atmosphere.
Also, please note that Picasso did not have a home in Giverney, but Monet did, and yes, it is truly worthwhile.
Regarding Amsterdam to Paris... it is a pretty short trip (four hours) and relatively painless. To save money, however, book far in advance. Besides, last time I was there, they were planning on shutting down the offices and making every booking online.
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Thanks Nunununu! Sorry about the Picasso comment, I was talking to my daughter about her recent visit to a museum in Barcelona and I guess he was stuck in my brain. Sometimes I have my blonde moments! What kind of offices are you referring to Nunununu? We bought train passes on line before we left for Europe then we made some reservations on line and some at the train stations. We changed our plans a few times after we got there. Are you referring to the tourist offices located in the stations?
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I was refering to the ticket office right at Centraal. I was there last time in September 2004, and the lady from whom I bought my tickets told me that the administration thought it would be more efficent to have everything online. I am not sure what came of this.
No matter what, though, it is always cheaper to buy in advance, and not the day of travel, like I did, but it was really a spontaneous trip. Oh well.
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Oh! And also, I just forgot about this. There is a newer travel option in Europe for Budget travel. It is called easyjet, and for sometimes as low as 30 Euro one can fly between major cities, usually by way of a UK airport. It is no-frills and it is best to have very little baggage, meaning what you can carry yourself. Always an option for those brief jaunts outside of your city of choice.
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Interesting replies...so,here are my thoughts !!!!
I didn%26#39;t enjoy Amsterdam...so,no comment there.
Paris is lovely...but 2 or 3 days is enough.
Provence and the South of France are undescribely WONDERFUL !!!First trip,we drove south from Paris to St.Remy-de-Provence...about 8 hours...and made that our base and did great day trips from there.Last year,we flew Easyjet(easyjet.com) from Paris to Nice (return price was less than $100).Nice was lovely...explored the walled village of St.Paul-de-Vence..lovely morning market and restaurants in Nice.Then drove via Cassis( Ahhhhhhh !!) and Aix and back to St.Remy.Can you tell we loved that little town(great market on Wednesdays !! ).Every bit was grand !!!! You could stay in Avignon,Arles,Rousillon,Gordes...L%26#39;Isle-Sur-La-Sorge ..market day there is a picture-postcard !!!! They%26#39;re all close and easy to manage a few towns in a day.
Any questions......glad to help.
CRUISELADY
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I can%26#39;t resist adding a few more ideas. We stayed at the Royal Phare. (I put in a review and pictures on this site) The hotel is inexpensive and we loved the location. It%26#39;s located next to Rue Cler which has wonderful shops and cafe%26#39;s. Only a short walk to the Eiffel tower and a metro entrance is right in front of the hotel. The ambiance of the hotel is not great but it%26#39;s clean and comfortable. We used %26quot;France Tourisme%26quot; for an Illuminations and Lido tour. They were great. I had my 78 year old aunt with me and she tired pretty quickly so we just could not do a lot of walking and metro. Their tours were the best prices I could find and they were very friendly and did a great job.
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