I want to sign up for the best of Europe tour in Sep, but do not want to fly to paris and back from Rome alone. Is any woman also interested in this tour? I'm a woman. Hope to hear from you.
Posted by
NYC
922 posts
Linda, if this would be your first trip abroad, I understand, but it's really so easy to fly into Paris CDG and get to the starting hotel for the tour. The Europe Through the Back Door (ETBD) office will send you detailed instructions for exactly how to get from the airport to the hotel. And at the end of the tour there will probably be other tour members going to Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino (FCO) airport at about the same time you need to go. The airports are well signed, and if you can navigate through any large U.S. airport, you can handle CDG and FCO. Please don't let this concern stop you going. If you are worried about using unfamiliar public transport from/to the airports, save up some extra money and take a taxi to relieve your stress. You can do this! And you will have the time of your life on the tour.
Posted by
OP
DFW, TX, USA
2 posts
Rose, Thanks. It sounded you did the tour before. People have to find their own hotel in Paris before the tour starts, then Rome. Is that safe and easy to do it?
Posted by
NYC
922 posts
I like to arrive a day or so before Day 1 of the tour, to rest up from the transatlantic flight and be fully relaxed before meeting the other tour members. When you are confirmed on the tour, call the Tour Dept. and ask them to give you the name and email address of the first hotel in Paris. Contact that hotel immediately and ask to reserve a room for the pre-tour night(s). Be sure to say you "wish to arrive early ahead of the start of the Rick Steves tour." I have always been able to get a room in the tour hotel for the pre-tour nights and at a good rate. If that doesn't work out, call the Tour Dept. again and explain the situation and ask if they could suggest a nearby hotel, so you could easily move to the first tour hotel when you need to. Then try to make a reservation there. The Paris hotels chosen or suggested by ETBD are safe. Paris in general is safe, as long as you stay in the city center. Just carry your Passport and other valuables in a moneybelt worn underneath your clothing. You need to get cracking soon to book your flights as soon as you are confirmed on the tour (not before!). DM me if you want to chat more.