Hi everyone,
I intend to bring my family (5 adults) to visit England and France for a total of 20 days. Would be glad if someone could suggest me an itinerary and means of transport. Which is more economy - by car, by train or other public transports?
I recommend starting with Rick's itineraries for England and France. One of his books' greatest strengths is helping you understand what places are worthy of a visit, and for how long. (Although we usually slow down and cut back compared to the intineraris that he describes). Also his shows are on YouTube and can help you narrow down your interests, You can probably find his books at your local library. Depends upon what you want to see, but for my wife and me these countries are best visited with a combination of train and rental car. A lot of people only go to London and Paris, but there is so much more to these countries! That said, I would not allocate less than three full days (four nights) to each of those cities. But, that's based upon my interests and you should plan based upon yours.
No-one can suggest an itinerary, as you have given no indication of your interests etc.
You will struggle to get five adults plus luggage in a standard car, so you would need a people carrier. If you are visiting London and Paris, a car is a disadvantage. You can take the train between London and Scotland, if you were to go there and then hire a car to see the countryside. Book rail tickets 12 weeks out for the best prices.
Take the Eurostar between London and Paris. Book 6 months out.
Fly open jaw to avoid back tracking.
musmdh: In your case a travel agent, a good one, could help you more than we can. Your conversation with an agent would reveal your budget, your interests (museums? Castles? Small English or French villages? your hotel preferences,?) and allow the agent to help you plan accordingly. You may even want to consider a tour, especially if one of the five adults is elderly or has limited mobility.
I second the advice about a single rental car being problematic with luggage for five adults. You are probably going to need two cars. Also, definitely Eurostar between countries. The convenience cannot be beat.
With a planned itinerary, you can better compare time, cost, and convenience.Trains serve many destinations and it's possible to find various economy tickets, discount cards, rail passes, etc. There also are some small towns and regions that are more easily accessed with a car, even if you don't use the car for the whole trip.
Can someone explain what flying "open jaw" means? Am I right in assuming that it means flying into one location, but out of another to avoid backtracking? Also, if so, why is it called "open jaw?"
CM, let's say you fly in to point A, then make your way to point B, and then point C, from where you fly out. Trace your journey from A to B to C. It makes a 'V' resembling an open jaw.
If you're looking for open-jaw itineraries online, you must generally choose the "multi-city" option, as opposed to "one-way" or "round-trip". You do not want to buy two separate one-way tickets, which will will often be much more expensive.
Making assumptions that you may want to split your time equally, and see some 'non specific' 'best of' highlights ...
Fly in to London (4 nights)
Train to Salisbury (1 night) for Stonehenge
Pick up hire car and drive to Bath (2 nights)
Drive to Cotswolds (2 nights)
Drive to Oxford (1 night)
Drive via Windsor Castle to Heathrow. Return car and fly to Nice - Cote d'Azur (3 nights)
Train to Arles/Avignon - Provence (3 nights)
Train to Paris (4 nights)
Fly out of Paris
I have never planned a trip with 5 persons, but my Daughter and her family (2 adults, 2 teens, 2 pre-teens( did a drive tour of portions of France by renting a van of some kind and staying in B &Bs. They did not stay in Paris this time, since they had been there before. They visited Normandy and the Champaign and Alsance regions of France and loved the trip.
I have been to those places in France myself and loved it. The French countryside is great and not as expensive as Paris.
Consider Normandy (don't miss the Bayeux Tapestry and D-day beaches(, the Loire Valley and Alsance (near Germany)(perhaps you should skip Alsance since it is a bit out of the way in order to visit England as well.
For England, you can take some great day trips from London, or as someone recommended rent a car and drive the wonderful English countryside to visit, Salisbury, Stonehenge, Bath and the Cotswolds, which are south and west of London.
