is there a website that books air+hotel+guided tours all in one? sometime in december. thanks!
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You can book all this through Expedia - your guided tours will be a separate cost but still all included in your final price you pay expedia. You could also book your hotel and plane through expedia and then book tours through Cityrama or Parisvision. I do not know which would be cheaper. HOwever, depending on what tours you are thinking about, you may not need a guided tour....
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I’ve been pricing trips from NYC to Paris in late Dec. – I have yet to find one all inclusive package that is any kind of deal. As soon as we pull out what we would have expected to pay for flights (and they are going to be expensive this year) and then divide out the nights in the hotel it’s apparent it’s no sort of deal and is really much more expensive (especially when many of the hotels don’t get very good reviews on this site).
The best luck I’ve had is to buy airfare in mid-Oct. through Expedia (or one the other 3 or 4 biggies) and then book my hotel separately. I’ve chosen places based on reviews on this site and haven’t been disappointed. It can be an adventure figuring out when to call, practicing how to say, “Do you speak English?” in French and figuring out the different ways of communicating dates and times – but it’s worth it.
I’m a self tour kind of girl – but I’m almost thinking of taking a bike tour or a walking tour. There are so many various kinds of tours to choose from I think you really are better off doing a customized trip. You’ve got lots of help here as you do it.
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Most major airlines offer various forms of %26#39;..packages..%26#39; with add-on tour and excursion options. And there are any number of tour packagers--Trafalgar, Globus, etc.
One tour packager that several friends and acquaintances have used over the years is CLUB ABC TOURS. All have been quite happy with what they received and several have used them multiple times (voting with their wallets). Club ABC offers a broad range of %26#39;packages%26#39; and options to %26#39;semi-customize%26#39; their basic %26#39;packages%26#39;. Since most of these friends and aquaintance live in the NJ/NYC metro area (ABC is based in Bloomfield, NJ) you might try asking around amongst your own %26#39;circles%26#39; to see if anyone you know has used them?....and what they thought of their experience with them?
CLUB ABC TOURS--
http://www.clubabc.com/
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One other suggetion is that if you have a travel agent---***that you either know and trust...or is recommended to you by those whose opinions you know and trust***---contact a good TA about what you have in mind. Good TA%26#39;s can usually put something which suits your personal preferences, priorities, special needs and budget together for you. Just make certain that they know something more about your destination than where to find it on a map. A great TA for the Caribbean or Hawaii, may not know a whole lot about Europe. So ASK QUESTIONS.
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I like Gate 1 travel. I used them to go to Italy.
www.gate1travel.com
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I agree with eastcoastgirl - my experience has been that dealing directly with airlines and hotels has always ended with the most satisfying results.
Right now you can get R/T Newark or JFK - Paris for anywhere from $480- $500 from Continental, Air France, Northwest, American, Delta, or Alitalia.
If you never been to Paris, choose one of the excellent hotels recommended on this forum in either the 5th or 6th arrondissement and negotiate directly with the hote (you can do this either by phine, fax or e-mail)l. In early or mid December, if you can guarantee 5- 7 nights at minimum, you can usually get a break on the daily rate.
As for tours in Paris itself, nothing IMHO opinion beats the Paris Walks fee of 10E per person for a 2 hour guided walk. You would have to check with them about walks in December.
…compuserve.com/homepages/…PWTHOME.HTM
e-mail them at paris@paris-walks.com
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In many cases I would recommend a package, but with Paris I have to agree than going independant is your best bet. The main reason is due to choice of hotels with the packages. You are very limited and the smaller, more charming hotels are not offered in packages. Gate1, mentioned earlier is a perfect example of a company that has limited hotel choice. But, I am not against them- just Paris is usually a place you will get more from by staying in a small inn. If you really don%26#39;t want or have time to research this trip and book this way, get a very experienced travel agent. They may sway you towards a package because it is easiest for them, but try to at least research the hotels on your own and give them a list of the ones you are interested in. A couple companies that offer a large choice of hotels in their packages are GoGo Worldwide vacations and DER/Avant which is owned by Eurorail. Here is my list of favorite hotel choices in the 5th/6h: Hotel St. Jacques, Hotel College de France, Hotel Odeon, Hotel d%26#39;lys, Hotel Clos Medicis, Hotel rue des Ecoles, Hotel Residence Monge, and Familia Hotel. All these are small two/three star places and range from low 90E to 150E.
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I agree with the previous posters: how many times have we seen people on this board asking questions such as: %26quot;Any comments on Ibis porte de la Chapelle or Etape Kremlin-Bicêtre? And, BTW, I am stuck there because it%26#39;s part of a package deal.%26quot; Package tours have a tendency to put you up in more peripheral hotels, because hotel chains have a hard time filling up those big establishments at not very attractive locations.
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You didn%26#39;t say, but if this is your first trip to Paris, you really don%26#39;t want to be stuck out in the hinterlands. As you learn more about Paris, you%26#39;ll probably naturally %26quot;gravitate%26quot; toward a particular area. In my case, realized early on that near the Seine and the Ile de la Cite was where I had to be. Worked out great. We were SO happy with that location.
We booked everything separately....great price on business-class seats (Air France)(there was a super sale going on at that time or we wouldn%26#39;t have splurged on this) and we dealt directly with our hotel by phone and e-mail. In a package deal, you have to take the hotel they give you. You hear people say that it doesn%26#39;t really matter about the hotel....they%26#39;ll only be there to sleep. In reality, it DOES matter. The hotel can make or break your trip. If you%26#39;re unhappy with it, it could color your entire stay.
Paris is very easy to get around in on your own. However, there are plenty of guided tours one can take, plus walking tours. L%26#39;Open bus is good for an overview. They have 4 different routes which overlap at certain points. You can take any of them and either just ride for the entire circuit, or hop on and hop off wherever or whenever you want.
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You are right Chopin. But anyway try out
www.esprit-de-france. com.
They sell the %26quot;hotel du Louvre%26quot; and the %26quot;Mansart%26quot;. The Mansart in adjacent tothe Ritz on Vendôme ( 180 € ) Lat floor has terrces over the roofs.Every room is different.
The %26quot;louvre%26quot; is just opposite the main gate.
They have castles and funny locations to sleep in ( monasteries ... ) I agree with Ile Saint Louis also.
%26quot;Hotel des deux Iles%26quot; is ok
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