Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I am planning a week trip (10 or 11 day) to Italy and/or France for two people sometime before October 2015. Flight would be from LAX.
We have never been to Europe before so I was wondering if anyone has any advice on booking the trip i.e. Vacation packages (if they are worth it) /vs/ booking my own flight and hotel. I am a pretty savvy guy when planning getaways, when I have to be, so my biggest question surrounds whether I would typically be saving money by choosing one method over the other.
Any recommendations on vacation packages that are reasonably priced and worth it? I understand that most of these vacation packages include breakfast, which is nice not so much if it is some run of the mill hotel breakfast.
Would you save any money booking a flight/hotel package versus booking them separately? Sometimes yes, sometimes no.
It's pretty easy to check though, since airfare is what it is, the only thing flexible would be the lodging rate.
Hard to recommend anything without knowing what your "reasonable" budget is or what cities you are visiting or when.
Best bet is to choose one country. I think Italy is easy for a first time visitor to Europe. Additionally FCO for Rome is usually one of the cheaper airports to fly into. Spend five days in Rome--rent a flat and plan on having breakfast and some dinners in. Then go to Florence for a few days then Venice for a couple. Use the train and public transit, a car is not required in those cities. Maybe rent one for a day to visit Tuscany while in Florence.
You don't need a package or a tour, although IMHO a tour guide at the Forum is not a bad idea for a first visit. You can hire one outside the gates, look for one with a license, they wear them on their shirt.
Would you save any money booking a flight/hotel package versus booking them separately? Sometimes yes, sometimes no.
It's pretty easy to check though, since airfare is what it is, the only thing flexible would be the lodging rate.
Hard to recommend anything without knowing what your "reasonable" budget is or what cities you are visiting or when.
That's pretty much what I was suspecting as the air rates are what they are, but it seems like the vacation deals offer the bundle of air+lodging at just a few hundred dollars more. There really is not budget that I'm working with, per se, as a trip for two will probably cost over $2,500 easily. Just looking for the best bargain. As part of that, I know these vacation packages offer free breakfast daily and a free dinner once or twice so I'm also wondering about the authenticity of these meals.
Quote:
Originally Posted by annerk
Best bet is to choose one country. I think Italy is easy for a first time visitor to Europe. Additionally FCO for Rome is usually one of the cheaper airports to fly into. Spend five days in Rome--rent a flat and plan on having breakfast and some dinners in. Then go to Florence for a few days then Venice for a couple. Use the train and public transit, a car is not required in those cities. Maybe rent one for a day to visit Tuscany while in Florence.
You don't need a package or a tour, although IMHO a tour guide at the Forum is not a bad idea for a first visit. You can hire one outside the gates, look for one with a license, they wear them on their shirt.
That's pretty much what I was suspecting as the air rates are what they are, but it seems like the vacation deals offer the bundle of air+lodging at just a few hundred dollars more. There really is not budget that I'm working with, per se, as a trip for two will probably cost over $2,500 easily. Just looking for the best bargain. As part of that, I know these vacation packages offer free breakfast daily and a free dinner once or twice so I'm also wondering about the authenticity of these meals.
Good advice, I will be looking into that.
When I plan a vacation, I usually start with dates or range of dates, rough itinerary (cities I'm visiting), a budget, and the level of comfort I have in mind for the trip (hostels? pensiones? 4-5* hotels? apartments?) then look for the best "bargain".
IME, European hotel breakfasts are not worth the price -- hard rolls, butter, jam, coffee. Maybe you would like the convenience but for me, I like to walk around and see what I can have for breakfast in the morning.
Best bet is to choose one country. I think Italy is easy for a first time visitor to Europe. Additionally FCO for Rome is usually one of the cheaper airports to fly into. Spend five days in Rome--rent a flat and plan on having breakfast and some dinners in. Then go to Florence for a few days then Venice for a couple. Use the train and public transit, a car is not required in those cities. Maybe rent one for a day to visit Tuscany while in Florence.
You don't need a package or a tour, although IMHO a tour guide at the Forum is not a bad idea for a first visit. You can hire one outside the gates, look for one with a license, they wear them on their shirt.
I agree with Annerk. Go with one country. Italy is probably easier than France, but that is really up you you.
When I went to Italy, I booked a flight - hotel combo for Rome through Al'Italia (the Italian airline). We went in late February and the deal was excellent, even with a 4 Star hotel minutes from the Colosseum. I would suggest looking for the same kind of deal.
Like Annerk, I would also strongly recommend against a rental car, especially in Rome. Also, a small warning, 7he Italian trains are not the most timely or the cleanest.
If you are going to look at trying to see some of both France and Italy, you can book a trip that included air - hotel and train for Paris and Rome. We did a similar trip to Brussels and Amsterdam in October 2013 using a site called European Destinations.
I just checked the site, entering Paris (3 nights) and Rome (4 nights) for early October 2015, travelling from Paris to Rome by train and had an initial result in about 2 minutes. The price for two people came out to be around $3,400 for two people. For this, I went with the initial flight and hotel suggestions. However, the site had over 300 hotel choices available for each city. Altering flights and hotels will obviously change the cost.
If you want to be in cities most of the time, agree that a rental car is not a good idea. However if you want to see and stay in the countryside, a car will be easier and not much more than rail travel, especially if you can stay off the autostrada most of the time. We've saved a bunch of money by staying in vacation reantals near little villages and met some really interesting locals as a bonus. But I understand that that might not be preferable for many, especially if it's your first visit.
Keep in mind that European hotel standards are not par with American ones. A four star in much of Europe will be at best equivalent to an average three star in the US. Also European bed sizes are different than US. For example a UK/EU King is smaller than a US queen. Many hotel rooms in Europe only have two twins (which are smaller than a US twin). Not a pleasant surprise if you are traveling with a significant other. In other words, be very careful and do your homework before booking accommodations in a different country.
Italian and French breakfasts are among the lightest in Europe. It doesn't matter whether you're in a fancy hotel or cheap hotel - if it's not uber-touristy, don't expect anything more than coffee, croissants and orange juice. The flip side is that this gives you a good appetite for lunch. Don't wake up too early if you need a heavy breakfast (like me) to start the day.
Learn some French. Learn some Italian. They are very similar languages.
Agreed that you should not bother with long-term guided tours or rental cars. Short-term guided tours are fine (i.e. a tour around a city or part of a city for an evening).
Paris is overrated. Smaller French cities are better.
For any train trip exceeding 5 hours, I would look into taking low-cost flights.
Italian and French breakfasts are among the lightest in Europe. It doesn't matter whether you're in a fancy hotel or cheap hotel - if it's not uber-touristy, don't expect anything more than coffee, croissants and orange juice. The flip side is that this gives you a good appetite for lunch. Don't wake up too early if you need a heavy breakfast (like me) to start the day.
Learn some French. Learn some Italian. They are very similar languages.
Agreed that you should not bother with long-term guided tours or rental cars. Short-term guided tours are fine (i.e. a tour around a city or part of a city for an evening).
Paris is overrated. Smaller French cities are better.
For any train trip exceeding 5 hours, I would look into taking low-cost flights.
As an option to low cost flights, an overnight train from Paris to Rome takes 11 hours (but you will be sleeping) and costs from $215 - $500. Realize that a hotel room would not be needed that night and your days would be free for sight seeing.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
