My wife and I will start our European road trip in Amsterdam on March 27. When we land we will immediately get our rental car and head for the Paris area (decision made after air tix bought.)
We will spend two nights in Meaux near Disneyland. On the 28th we will take the train to central Paris to see the sights and have dinner at the Jules Verne restaurant.
The following two nights (29 & 30) will be spent at the Disneyland hotel. After that we head to Switzerland.
Our concerns are possible rail strikes and protests like are going on today. I don’t want to drive into central Paris but it will be too late to cancel our restaurant reservations once in country and we really want to dine there.
Anyone see any other concerns besides spending a ridiculous amount of money?
Thanks for any advice.
Posted by
Reno, Nevada
1025 posts
In my opinion, this is waaaaaay too much traveling and precious little fun. The trip from Amsterdam to Meaux by car will take more than 5 hours. If you are arriving from the US, you will be jet lagged and disoriented, and a risk to yourself and others on the highways as you drive.
The trip from Meaux to Paris isn't too bad, but traveling time will exceed a couple hours, even assuming no delays. You will be rushing around Paris looking at the sights, and ending up the evening at the Eiffel Tower with the confusing task of trying to connect on several trains, RER trains, and Metros to make it to the Gare d'Est for your train ride back to Meaux. If the Jules Verne is on your bucket list, by all means go there, but the logistics of this will be daunting. It's doable, but complex.
You might want to rethink driving from Amsterdam and fly to Paris instead. Then, you can rent a car in France, and avoid the out of county high drop off fees.
Posted by
Paris
9580 posts
It is a really bad idea to drive such a far distance after landing on an overnight trans-Atlantic flight. You are putting yourself and all the other people on the road with you at risk.
Posted by
OP
Central Oklahoma
2 posts
Ok, people, thanks for the replies and I know the jet-lag + driving distance is daunting but I have done it before, just different country. If I do feel the need to stop and take a nap, I will. We won't be in a hurry. We get into Amsterdam early and have all day to get to Paris. Hotel desk is open 24/7.
I may change our Meaux hotel to something closer to Paris but parking is always an issue. Other than seeing the Eiffel Tower in person and dining there, we really aren't that interested in doing much around Paris besides walking around away from the major sights, stopping at cafes, people watching and maybe the Louvre.
Can't change the air tickets. They're a done deal. This was not our original plan but found a really good deal for Disneyland Hotel/Park but we have to do it before the end of March.