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Help with travel in Europe

Hello Experienced Travelers,

I need help with our travel plans in July 2015. We fly into Paris and then we want to visit Frankfurt and England. We want to do some
tourist things but also do somethings in the French countryside and when in England we want to go to Bath, Cotswalds and Wales.
We are visiting family in Germany so they will take us around.
We have about 6 days in each country. Im so confused on the trains and want to get the best for the money. England usually isnt
included in passes. What can get us around to all three countries and also travel inside France and England?

Thanks for you help!!

Posted by
10344 posts

This is going to be a complicated trip to plan. It will take a lot of your time. The nature of it is such that signing up for one tour doesn't work, it will require more planning by you.

Have you been to Europe before?

One thing you could clarify: you say "we want to do some tourist things but also do somethings...."
But then all the things you mention after that are tourist things.
What is it you mean when you say "tourist things" and then other things?

Posted by
10344 posts

You say 6 days per country. But if you want to go to Bath, Cotswolds, and Wales, you will probably want more than 6 days in England, if you also plan on spending any time in London.

As mentioned above, some clarification of your objectives would help us to give you more specific advice.

Posted by
6502 posts

If you're flying into Paris, will your next country be England or Germany? If it's England, take the Eurostar train to London. Then, after your time in England, take a budget airline (easyjet, ryanair, others) to Frankfurt, and fly home from there. If you're going to Germany after France, then take a train or fly to Frankfurt, and, after your Germany time, fly to London, and when you're done fly home from London. Skyscanner can help you find these flights. Flying roundtrip from home to Paris and back home means you have to return to Paris at the end of your trip, which will cost you time and money unnecessarily.

With six days in each country, you won't have time to see much outside Paris and London. I'd suggest basing yourself in those capitals, and taking one or two day trips as time allows. In France, you could take a train to Chartres or Reims or Rouen or Giverny and see some countryside from the train, or you could rent a car for a day's drive with more flexibility. In England, you could take a train or a tour to Bath. The Cotswolds and Wales would be too far for day trips, I think. And renting a car in England means driving on the left, which takes getting used to. (I'm assuming that you live in a right-side-driving country.)

Rail passes don't usually work for trips like yours, with limited time and destinations. And you won't need advance reservations for most day trips by train from the big cities. Remember, the more time and money you spend moving from place to place, the less time and money you have to enjoy and experiences the places themselves. In the time you have, if it were my trip, I'd stick to the big cities.

Hope that helps.

Posted by
16893 posts

Plot your destinations on a calendar first, then work out how to buy the tickets. Budget flights and Eurostar tickets are for sale now, but other point-to-point train tickets are not usually sold more than 3 months ahead (which is when the best advance discounts are offered). I agree that you probably won't have enough train rides on the Continent to justify a rail pass, although there are versions for just France or France and Germany. The Paris-London Eurostar train is not covered by rail passes. A flight in the mix can be a good idea, especially if hopping further than just Paris-London.

BritRail passes are separate products and come in several varieties, depending on how wide an area you need to cover, such as just England, or just a SW or SE corner of England, but Wales is part of the bigger versions.

How to Look Up Train Schedules and Routes Online gives you the DB train schedule link, which is the most comprehensive for planning trains across Europe.

Posted by
23267 posts

Are your air tickets booked? Why fly into Paris?? It would be cheaper and more convenient to fly into London and home from Frankfurt. You are long on plans and short on time. You do realize that Frankfurt and England are in opposite directions. Need a better idea of your schedule or plans.

Posted by
10344 posts

What Frank said.
Just so you actually take into consideration, and allow time for the fact that, England and Germany are in opposite directions from Paris.

Posted by
333 posts

Frank is right, if you haven't booked your flights, please reconsider your cities. Also, do you have six full days in each country, or are you also including flight and travel time (in which case you lose a day flying in and likely a full day between countries). We can offer more suggestions with a bit more information. Also, when you say "we" are you refering to you and a significant other or a whole family? What are your ages and activity levels? Are you indoorsy or outdoor people? Art lovers? Traditional or quirky? Foodies or picky?

You have a lot of great places on your list. With a bit more info you have a ton of people here with a wealth of ideas to give you!

Posted by
5 posts

Ok this trip is on air miles... we've been saving for along time to cash them in. I know the time we are going is peak time but thats
all we could pull off with different schedules. We have 2 rt tickets on Air Tahiti Nui from Lax to Paris with miles. I have two tickets on hold with Air Tahiti til Thursday for the other 2 tickets. (Cashing in points for one ticket) The "free tickets" are quite hard to find so this what I ended up with.

My original choice was to go into Frankfurt and leave out of Paris but that didn't work out.

We is my husband and my son 20 and daughter 18. We love the indoors and outdoors. We love beautiful quaint places. We love
the beach or coast. We were hoping to catch a taping of Top Gear in London but I dont think they tape in summer. We love the
royal family and we love food. The guys love cars and all that. When we saw the Cotswolds on a video we fell in love. How long of a trip is that from London?

Arrive into Paris stay 6 days then go to London on Eurostar stay 6 days then fly to Frankfurt stay 6 days then take train to paris to fly out. Does that sound crazy? Expensive transportation? (the 6 days include traveling.)
I appreciate ALL your imput!!

Posted by
32206 posts

kupfer,

"Arrive into Paris stay 6 days then go to London on Eurostar stay 6 days then fly to Frankfurt stay 6 days then take train to paris to fly out. Does that sound crazy? Expensive transportation? (the 6 days include traveling.)"

Your proposed Itinerary is certainly "doable", although it's not the most efficient route. Keep in mind that each change of location will have a cost in both time and money and since your six days includes travel time, that will reduce your sightseeing time.

A few thoughts......

  • I'm not sure what to suggest "in the countryside" in France? You could easily spend five days in Paris as there's so much to see there. It would be a good idea to have a look at some guidebooks for each of the places you'll be visiting.
  • It's important to book EuroStar ticket early to get the best prices. I believe the cheapest tickets are non-refundable and non-changeable, so choose carefully. Have a look at the excellent Man In Seat 61 website for complete information on how to book tickets. You MUST check-in at least 30 minutes before departure, or you won't be riding. Leave extra time as you also have to go through security and Passport control.
  • With only about five days in London, I'm not sure you'll have time for all the places you mentioned. Bath is easily accessible by train or bus from London, but the Cotswolds are going to be "challenging" without a car (although you could take an escorted day tour). IMO, you'll probably have to skip Wales.
  • I had a brief look at flight options from London to Frankfurt. Using an arbitrary date in June, for a group of four on Air Berlin would be about US$600. EasyJet doesn't fly to Frankfurt, but you could use Cologne and then take a train to Frankfurt. Their price was considerably cheaper. Note that the cheapest tickets on budget airlines are also non-changeable and non-refundable, and the prices tend to be on a "sliding scale" and will increase as the flight fills up.
  • The trip from Frankfurt back to Paris is fairly easy. There are direct TGV departures (one at 08:57) with a travel time of 3H:53M, and that's the one I'd suggest if you're not used to the trains in Europe. There are many trains on that route, some with as many as three changes, so the direct one would be the easiest option. Note that the TGV (which travels at up to 300 kmH) has compulsory reservations, which will be included with your tickets. The departure mentioned above arrives at Paris Est, so you'll have to use Metro or whatever from there to the area where your hotel is located. Paris has about six rail stations so it's important to be aware of which ones you'll be using. You can research all your rail trips using the bahn.de website.
  • You may find it helpful to have a look at THIS short video.

Good luck with your planning!