I booked a Fontainebleu/Vaux Le Vicomte tour based on Rick's 2018 book for Paris but I'm not able to print out the voucher. Customer Service is absent...and now reading reviews through Yelp it's making me think even if I cancel I won't get my money back or they'll tack on a 25% cancellation fee.
Curious if anyone's been in this situation with this company.
Any recommendations on printing out a voucher in case my iPhone voucher isn't enough?
Anyone else take this tour?
Thanks,
=shane=
I booked the same tour for a day next month. I got an email back from them that says: Pre-paid voucher to be redeemed before boarding. It has my booking number, my name, the specific tour and date, number of persons, with a little image of a map where the meeting spot is. That is what I printed out. It does not have one of those images that they can scan (like a ticket) but since at the top it says "find below a voucher of your tour" I figure what I printed is the voucher. Did you get any type of email like that?
Linda
We're doing a few city wonders tours and it seems like the same situation. We just printed the e-mail with voucher number and our names.
And yes I scoured the internet for reviews before booking. In general it seems you get what you pay for.
I did this same tour last September and I thought is was very good considering it covers both chateaux in one day. I did the guided tour, which had only 12 people, and thought it was well worth it. Everyone else was using the tour for transportation. I felt we had ample time at both sites, with time for lunch at Vaux-le-Vicomte, which was the first stop. It was a long day, but I enjoyed it.
As for the voucher, the email is the voucher. Print it and take it with you. Enjoy the day.
I took a trip with them two Christmas ago to Vaux-le-Vicomte and I am not a fan. The bus left during rush hour and we were only given under 1.75 hours to see the Chateau.
When you arrive, you check in in their office. If you're stressed about printing out the voucher, ask your hotel to print it out for you. If you're not at a hotel, find your closet cyber-cafe.
If worse comes to worse, if you have a smartphone you can show them. I remember them giving me a ticket after I gave them my voucher. Don't stress. It will work out.
I didn't think there were cyber cafes around anymore since email/wifi is so ubiquitous.
Since it was recommended by Rick Steve's Guidebooks, I assume these things are trustworthy and vetted.
I did find a cyber-cafe in Versailles. Cost me a 1euro per page...black and white. yay.
Anyway...I'll get to the office early and hope everything goes smoothly.
Just want to make sure I have enough to eat considering.
Thanks for the input, all.
=s=
So here's the experience in case you were wondering:
FONTAINEBLEAU & VAUX LE VICOMTE- Tour
Here's how it works:
Book your tickets online. You'll get your confirmation and voucher to print. In my case I couldn't print anything that easily and was concerned about how they handled it.
I contacted them 3xs by email, but no response.
I find a internet cafe (remember those?) and print the 2 pages for 2euros.
I show up an hour early and present my voucher, they give me a bus ticket and tell me which bus to line up for 15 minutes ahead of time.
In the end I guess I could have just shown them the email and they would have given me a ticket anyway...so don't sweat it if your AirBnb doesn't have a printer.
There are two bathrooms in the offices. One is out of order. So go before you get on the bus.
We turned our ticket over to the person who gives us our CHATEAU TICKETS and WHEN TO MEET DIRECTIONS. She speaks several languages.
The driver was quite jovial and friendly. Really enjoyed his attitude throughout the trip.
The bus has CELLPHONE CHARGERS at each seat. The seats are a bit tight for those with long legs.
The bus has a toilet those I didn't see anyone use it.
The first leg is to Vaux le Vicomte, it's out in the countryside. It's great because it took maybe 35-45 minutes to get there and it's not busy at all. Your guidebooks will tell you all about the place. Me, I preferred Fontainebleau it as well as Versaille. There are several bathrooms there and we had 3 hours to kill.
I ate my lunch that I brought with me in a peaceful side garden.
Everyone meets back at the spot the driver said and we're off to Fontainebleu.
Fontainebleu has a town that has sprung up around the chateau. There are a lot of places to eat, boulangerie's patisseries, etc. Check them out. The driver tells us where to meet and we're off.
The chateau tour is more diverse and ostentatious as everything else is.
The gardens are close to the the manmade lake and are excellent for picnics...hence, get some food or whatever and plan on relaxing there.
There are several bathrooms throughout, but the one behind the chateau that looks open to the public is .30euros. Inside is free.
We meet back at the bus and we're heading back to Paris. If it's a weekday, it's going to be thick with traffic. SO BE PREPARED. HAVE FOOD AND WATER...because it took 2.5 hours to get back! That's just the way it is.
Otherwise, the air-conditioning on the bus can get a little chilly even with the top vents closed. BRING SOMETHING TO COVER YOURSELF WITH.
The service was reasonable and I didn't expect anything more than a ride to and from the spots. And they delivered on the most basic things.
Thanks so much for your great run down on how the tour went. We will be going on the same one next month. We are also going on a weekday. I had read in their description that we should be back in Paris by 6:00 to 615pm. What time did you actually get back? And just to confirm, it is okay to bring food on the bus? Thank you! Linda
Yes you can bring food on the bus.
We are considering the same City Vision tour to Fontainebleau and Vaux Le Vicompte, but after reading Rick's 2018 Paris and France comments, I am thinking we can just as easily catch the train out to one or both of them and find our way ourselves. We are in Paris for 12 days and will have a Paris Museum pass and the Navigo Decouverte card. it would be cheaper, I think to go it alone, even though we would have pick just one for the day. (Yes, we are going to Versailles on a different day). I like to find my way around, as long as I don't have to spend too much time on transport and losing precious sightseeing time.
The questions are:
Thanks, Kat
Out Versailles and these two I preferred Fontainebleau most of all. It's the right-size for the amount of what you get to see. Versailles sprawls but feels empty to me...Vaux Le Vicomte, is fine but is best early morning.
Also the town around Fontainebleau is quainter with a nice array of eateries, though I did not partake.
You'll probably have to cab or Uber it from the trains. But it shouldn't be a problem.
We did this same tour last week. It does take the whole day away from time spent in Paris itself. Before we left I thought I would prefer Fontainebleau over Vaux Le Vicomte but I ended up liking Vicomte better. That could be because we went to it first and there was no crowd at all. But also the history of the chateau there was more interesting to me. By the afternoon when we got to Fontainebleu, it was quite crowded there. As far as the tour went we felt we had enough time to explore both places and we had lunch at Vicomte which was fine. We decided to do the tour and not figure out how to get there on our own just to make it easier. Though after this tour we did use the Metro all around the city and it was great.
