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This is just something I cooked up on my own, using the ideas taken from here. I used May 8 as the date since that's the date the tour company has. May 8-23
May 8: Flying out of Dulles Airport (DC) to London - arriving May 9 in the AM
May 9, 10, 11 and 12 - spent in London
May 13 AM: Eurorail from London to Paris - approximately 2 hours ($132 total for 2 people)
May 13, 14, and 15 - spent in Paris
May 15 PM: Overnight train (Thello) from Paris to Venice ($192 for 2 people)
May 15, 16, and 17 - spent in Venice
May 18 AM: Italia Rail - Venice to Florence ($168 for 2 people)
May 18 and 19 in Florence
May 20 AM: Italia Rail - Florence to Rome ($168 for 2 people)
May 20, 21, and 22 in Rome
May 23: Fly from Rome to DC
It's roughly $600 in transportation costs, $2,364 in airfare, $2900 in hotel (I used the hotels that are on the itinerary, but I'm assuming this can be cut down) for a total of $5880, not including food or excursions. In the end, we are probably going to save about 3 or 4K when it's all set and done. The Grand Tour of Europe trip that they have is about $10K which includes airfare, hotel, taxes, breakfast, and 5 three course meals. Add in another 2K if we wanted to do all the excursions.
Your tour cost seems awfully high. Take a look at a company like Cosmos. Tour cost seems to be half what you're quoting, without airline costs, which without any discount they'd offer, looks to be under 1K each. Or a company like this. You'd probably find a much younger crowd there.
Cheap tours are always cheap for a reason. The tour company still needs to churn out a profit.
One of the most common complaints I've heard associated with cheap tour agencies like Cosmos or Contiki is that they place you in hotels usually located far outside the city centre or away from the main tourist attractions, usually in random unremarkable suburbs or alongside highways. If you want the leisurely dinner at your own pace followed with a pleasant nighttime walk through the center of Paris watching the moon above Notre Dame, and stopping somewhere for a late night drink, forget it. It'll be "back on the bus no later than X time to get to the hotel a hour away" and the hotel is located in a semi-industrialized neighborhood where there's only a McDonalds or the European equivalent if you want to do something after hours.
Cheap tour companies usually operate on the basis that they offer you a bare bones price then charge you a small fortune for anything extra, such as extra meals and extra guided tours. At the end of the day you really don't save that much money.
Quote:
Originally Posted by EnricoV
Your tour cost seems awfully high. Take a look at a company like Cosmos. Tour cost seems to be half what you're quoting, without airline costs, which without any discount they'd offer, looks to be under 1K each. Or a company like this. You'd probably find a much younger crowd there.
Given this is your first trip, I'd take the guided one that also gives you some "free" time to be on your own. The next trip, then choose which method you like.
The thing about Europe is that what is available to see is huge. Guided tours can take you to the big ones and get you inside more quickly and have an english speaking guide in a museum for example. If you are on your own, you can find yourself in a long queue waiting to get inside. European tour buses are not American greyhounds, they are typically quite comfortable and you can catch up on some rest between stops. If you are on your own, you are going to find rest hard to come by as you mess with transportation, reservations, luggage etc.
Ideally, the way to see Europe is to rent a car and drive it yourself but for me, I'd want a full 30 days to meander around on my own. When you have limited time, there is much to be said for a guided trip.
Given this is your first trip, I'd take the guided one that also gives you some "free" time to be on your own. The next trip, then choose which method you like.
The thing about Europe is that what is available to see is huge. Guided tours can take you to the big ones and get you inside more quickly and have an english speaking guide in a museum for example. If you are on your own, you can find yourself in a long queue waiting to get inside. European tour buses are not American greyhounds, they are typically quite comfortable and you can catch up on some rest between stops. If you are on your own, you are going to find rest hard to come by as you mess with transportation, reservations, luggage etc.
Ideally, the way to see Europe is to rent a car and drive it yourself but for me, I'd want a full 30 days to meander around on my own. When you have limited time, there is much to be said for a guided trip.
Good luck on your decisions.
I think this is what we're going to do after talking about it last night. I pointed out in one of my other posts that there is another tour, it's 11 days (or 10 b/c of flight) that goes to London/Paris/Rome, and you spend 3 nights in each. Afterwards, we're going to do something on our own for 4-5 days. So it's still a 16/17 day trip, but we kinda get the best of both worlds.
Unless you are wealthy and want too, you don't need to spend nearly that much to tour those countries. I recommend the following:
1. Obtain several Rick Steve's travel guides for Europe. You can also view videos online on Youtube of this if you want.
2. Go to www.europeandestinations.com and customize a "bare bones" trip to these places. The price will include airfare, hotel, and transfers to the airport. It may include rail fare in some situations.
3. Careful reading of the Rick Steve's guidebooks will largely eliminate your need for a guided tour in many places. Europe is far more "English friendly" than you think it is and language barriers have largely disappeared.
Do it my way and you can save a great deal of money. I have other tips if you want those too.
Please do post other tips. These are good ones.
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