Hello Everyone, my wife and I are looking to travel to France in May for 8-10 days and possibly a day trip to another local country on the euro rail . We would like to make our dollar travel as far as possible. Can people please recommend if we should book our trip through a specific tour company or simply do it on our own? We are looking for the best deals possible to see as much of France as possible. We want to visit versials, mt st. micheal, and go on a champeign tour. Can people please recommend tour company%26#39;s and give me a idea what a fair price is for most of this stuff. Any advise would be greatly appriciated
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Hiya
Me and my partner travelled to Paris last November... We were on a tight budget with Christmas coming up but had an absolutely wonderful time all the same.
We booked our hotel through lastminute.com and our flights seperately with BMI.
When we were there we went on a few tours. One by open top bus which cost us 20 euros each - which to be honest i wouldnt really recommend, We had already travelled around Paris ourselves using the very easy Metro and had seen pretty much all they show on the bus tours, plus the commentary on the bus isnt that great anyway.
We also went on a river cruise down the Seine which was brilliant, excellt value for money (cost just 10 euros each) much better commentary and more romantic atmosphere plus you get a more chance for pictures etc as the boat moves alot slower than the bus.
Id also recommend, if going to the Eiffel Tower you do it as late as possible, It closes at 10/10.30 (i think if i remember rightly) me and my partner went about 9 and was able to just walk straight on, plus at night, again, much more romantic, the Tower is all lit up and you can look out over the beautiful bright lights of the city from the top..
Another peice of advise would be, dont use taxis, we found that some of the drivers, as you%26#39;re unsure of where you were going, would take you the longest possible route while your just sat there watching the meter clock up and up. The metro is easy to use - if you follow what seems to be the rule in Paris which is *NO WAITING, JUST PUSH YOUR WAY ON* and is also very very cheap.
Hope this helps and you and your wife have as lovely time as we did on our visi there...
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hi, we also recently travelled to paris on a pretty tight budget and found it wasn%26#39;t as bad as what some people say price-wise if you%26#39;re smart.
Our hotel had a special offer which included four nights accommodation including breakfast, a museum pass and a paris visite pass with five day zone 1-3 metro and bus pass. Considering the museum pass was about 50euros and the only other attraction we paid for that wasn%26#39;t included in this was the eiffel tower and grande arche we thought that was great value. Things like louvre, arc de triumph, notre dame, musee rodin, concergerie, versailles (just had to pay for audio guide), pompidou centre...The metro pass got us around the city by train and bus really easily. Only paid to get to versailles as it%26#39;s outside the zones included, again not much.
We also avoided the bistro%26#39;s a cafes adjacent to major tourist sites and chose to eat in italian cafes and pizzerias, asian (mostly japanese) and indian restaurants whihc are much cheaper than most of the bistro restaurants we saw.
hope this helps
j
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sorry, also forgot our special offer also included a one hour boat cruise with commentary which we went on at sunset which was great!
j.
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I always travel on a tight budget. In general, IMO, I find it best to book things separately. I am sure there are very good deals to be found booking a package deal with a tour company, but I don%26#39;t like to compromise anything. I like to go when I like to go and do what I like to do.
Try signing up for travel alerts, keep checking airfare on-line. Try to be flexible with your dates..sometimes that will pay off with the airfare. Also, if you do find a good deal on a package, you can certainly post the details here on TA and many will help let you know what they think. Sometimes the hotels in the package is not so great or very far from the center of the city, which in turn could drive up your transportation cost and general enjoyment of Paris. Try looking up the hotel included in any package here on TA and see what others have to say about it.
There are many budget hotels, restaurants and general tips on this forum about saving money. You can do a search and pick up alot of useful info that way as well.
Good luck and have a great trip!
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Number one tip,, read these boards, read , read , read, I had been to Paris 4 or 5 times before , and I still learn great tips on this board .. how to cut line up time, get good deals, and I found and booked two hotels directly, after checking them out on the review board here.
Paris can be done relatively cheaply. At least it IS a lot cheaper then Hawaii, which I think after London is a very expensive place to visit.
Versiallles. Take the train from the Invalids station, costs about 5 euros, and takes 45 minutes. Much better then paying 30-50 euros and up for a bus tour there!
Paris is full of cheap places to eat, notthe fancy restarants, but cafes and bistros and street carts.
Aovid tourist area cafes, if it has a view your soda will cost 10 bucks!
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Lots of good ideas in the previous posts. Along with those mentioned already we%26#39;ve found the biggest money (and time!) saver for us has been to picnic for lunch. From hot entrees to cold sandwiches, sausage, fruit, dairy etc. there%26#39;s so much available for carryout and you%26#39;re not at the mercy of someone else%26#39;s schedule. Our travel kit includes a corkscrew and a small collapsible cooler and, along with a trip to the nearest marche our first day usually involves picking up a small Opinel knife, some plastic flatware and paper napkins. Also, drink that morning coffee at the bar or counter rather than sitting at a table and you%26#39;ll save a lot.
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The best previous advise it to read the forum constantly and ask questions until the day your leave. There are so many tips here for saving money. If you have to get high up to see Paris from above, go up the Arc de Triomphe instead of the Eiffel Tower. It%26#39;s lots less expensive and there%26#39;s rarely a line to waste precious time standing in. On days when there is inclement weather and you can%26#39;t picnic, have your big meal at lunch when the same meal at the same restaurant for dinner is twice as much. Get good walking shoes and DEFINITELY break them in well before your trip (this may not save money, well, okay, you won%26#39;t be spending money on band-aids...but it will likely save your feet and make your trip more enjoyable). And don%26#39;t forget to eat an eclair a day while you%26#39;re there. I%26#39;m convinced they ward off illness...:) Have fun!
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I still believe the single best way to save money right from the start, particularly since you%26#39;ll be there longer than a week, is to rent an apartment. Your lodging will very possibly be cheaper than a hotel, and even if it%26#39;s the same price, you%26#39;ll save money by shopping at a local market for breakfast, picnic items, a few dinners, etc.
Pick a neighborhood and then start searching on vrbo.com or many other sites mentioned and/or recommended on here. Search TA for apartment rentals. There are many reputable companies and individuals out there who will rent for 8-10 days. Museum passes, transportation passes, all easily obtainable in Paris once you arrive, may also save you money. Perhaps the most important thing one can do to save money, provided you have the time, is to avoid any third party provider. Whether it%26#39;s a tour, an Internet company, etc., if they%26#39;re selling you something, they%26#39;re going to price it so they make money, and I have yet to find anything in Paris that I can%26#39;t buy or book on my own.
Use public (mass) transportation, not private. Read menus posted outside restaurants and choose those within your budget. And when you use TA, be as specific as you can be, as the responses on here will be much more useful to you if you get pointed and clear answers. For instance, when looking for a restaurant, ask for recommendations that are in your budget. Don%26#39;t ask for %26quot;moderately priced%26quot; restaurants, as we all have different opinions on what that means. But if you ask for recommendations for restaurants less than €20 per person, the responses you get will be more fruitful.
In most cases, planning your itinerary loosely in advance will help you save money. If you%26#39;re there for 8 days, and buy a museum pass for 6, plan your itinerary to do things on the 2 days you don%26#39;t have a pass to include those things you don%26#39;t need the pass for, like visiting the Eiffel Tower, or seeing an exhibit that%26#39;s not included. Investigate all your transportation pass options and purchase the type that makes the most sense for your needs. Passes come in different durations, different zones, or distances, etc. Buying the one that suits your plans best will definitely save you money.
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For what it%26#39;s worth, I, and a lot of others on the forum, agree with ArrowCapet about the apartment. Aside from the fact that you have more of a %26quot;home%26quot; while in Paris, it is often (but not always) less expensive than a hotel. Unless I was staying in a city for less than 5 days or a week, I would always opt for an apartment. Having said that, you need to be sure you won%26#39;t miss the services of a concierge. Good luck.
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thanks alot everyone, i really appriciate it
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