stokebailey

Fodor's types enjoy the experience of planning our own trips, and so would be less likely to know a good TA.

Gretchen

She has specifically asked for TA's so how about those of us who have used them, let her know.

NO, she asked "would anyone recommend a TA", and we are mostly saying, no we would NOT recommend a TA.

And the reason is that most TAs are reading the guidebooks and recommending from "afar"--never been there. So why not make up your mind for yourself.

However, if you want to sign up for a tour--have at it. it will be taken care of for you. there are tour operators that will get you "there" and "there" and then you do your own thing--like finding the foodie restaurants. Tours will not be taking you to foodie restaurants--maybe good and OK but not the best.

I would suggest the OP carve out an hour a day and use her lawyerly skills in research to plan a trip. Get a map--stick pins in it where you want to go and connect the dots. Put some days on each place and then see if you have enough time--including the time to get there. it is really not hard--OP, do you plan trips in the US? it isn't any different.

Gretchen

I'll suggest in Paris hiring Michael Osman for a day of touring including a bit of the museums. He may open your eyes to things you never realized.

PalenQ

She has specifically asked for TA's so how about those of us who have used them, let her know.>

Well for trains I would highly recommend Byron at www.budgeteuropetravel.com - a Raileurope agent who will answer all questions and can book any train required - obviously using RailEurope or their agents means missing out on some discounted prices as they generally only sell full price tickets, etc but for ease of planning as OP indicates - being very busy - perhaps priceless.

Hotels seem pretty straight forward just using Price Line or any of many such agencies.

Group tours - well the old standbys - American Express, etc.

Once in London or Paris the open-top double-decker buses that circulate for the whole day and on which you can hop on and off are good ways to orient yourself - they give running commentary en route in English and a Bable of other languages. Just buy those tickets at the bus stops.

BigRuss

<i>Once in London or Paris the open-top double-decker buses that circulate for the whole day and on which you can hop on and off are good ways to orient yourself - they give running commentary en route in English and a Bable of other languages. Just buy those tickets at the bus stops.</i>

And in London both exceedingly expensive and really S L O W because: London traffic.

PalenQ

Well i'll grant you they are slower than a Parisian waiter bringing the change dish to obvious tourists... weekends though IME are a bit less like molasses in January. Lots and lots of things in London are really expensive - really really expensive except many major museums are free, thanks to the Lottery I guess.

flpab

I could eat my way through London starting here boroughmarket.org.uk
Barefoot Contessa just has a London Show on today. Her Paris shows are great as she has an apartment there.
Come here, we love to give tips. Do an open jaw ticket to save time also. Paris and London with a few day trips. St Cirq can be totally trusted for advice.

StCirq

Thanks, flpab.

I completely agree that in recent years the HOHO buses in London have gotten a really bad rap for being interminably slow because of London traffic. They used to be fun, maybe now not so much. And they are expensive.

The ones in Paris are measurably better, but you can still get hung up waiting at a stop for 20 minutes or more. Using the Batobus, which isn't cheap either, might be a better alternative for getting around the first day or two and getting to understand the lie of the land. And do take a Seine cruise (I like the Vedettes du Pont Neuf) early on in your trip to see the city lit up at night and get a sense of where things are in relation to each other. The Vedettes website allows you to download a coupon for 3 euros off the price of the cruise, which is pretty inexpensive to begin with.

PalenQ

and do the Eiffel Tower as one of the first things - a great way to orient yourself to the lay of Paris spread out below - see Montmartre royally capped by the basilica - see how the Seine snakes around the western art of the city - Notre-Dame and Ile St-Louis, etc.

Some folks like going up the Eiffel after dark to see the blaze of lights - ditto for a Seine boat with things like Notre-Dame and the bridges sublimely illuminated.

Whatever cruise you take all give discounts - on free Paris maps you'll usually see coupons - no one pays full price or should have to.

IMDonehere

With a travel agent be sure to ask:

When was the last time he/she was in Paris/London/whatever?

How familair is he with those cities beyond the basic tourist sights?

Does he know hotels with charatcer not just those that are in the sphere of TA's.

There was a person on these boards earlier this year who sought the advice of TA and he clearly did not know what he was talking about.

We were in London last year, and even though we did not eat Michelin rated places, the food there is beter than 50 years ago, but that is not a standard.

ribeirasacra

All these answers shame that NBADancer never confirmed anything or wrote saying thanks

IMDonehere

Ribi

She only posted in Monday.

Postings are also instructive to others.

IMDonehere

OK, I was wrong.

PalenQ

Actually, stokebailey, I think a number of reasons have been clearly stated why using a travel agent is not a great choice these days. It may not be "wrong," but it's usually not the best solution unless you want to take someone else's trip.>

Well that is a simplistic take on what the average person does when pondering a first or maybe second trip to Europe - to them it is so daunting that I'd wager that the overwhelming number of Americans going to Europe do so with the help of a travel agent and or on an all-inclusive group tour, often thru a travel agent as well.

I base this on my many friends and relatives who have 'done' Europe - everyone of them has either used a travel agent or done a group trip - even after I tell them how 'easy' it is to do it on your own.

And some people do not have the time to do the research - folks who are really busy and are glad to pay extra for someone else to do it - a large number of folks I think fall into that - some folks have all day to research things but many do not and do not want to - every tried to book trains on www.trenitalia.com or www.renfe.com - there have been so so many complaints and frustrations posted here about those sites and others.

Some make is sound so so easy but that is for them but should not be automatically applied to others. I have never used a travel agent for anything and yes I think like St Cirq that is is foolish to do so these days but nevertheless many folks I know do it and are staisfied - perhaps not realizing they are paying much more sometimes for things but overall just wanting it done.

Time to some who work is precious and they just do not want to spend hours tracking everything down and then making sure it melds all together.

The demise of the travel agent has been predicted now for years but I still see the same old agencies around.

There is nothing WRONG with using a travel agent - especially for someone who is clueless about it all as the vast majority of Americans going to Europe are.

IMDonehere

As noted above, it is probably ahrder to find a TA who is well versed in the areas you want to visit, rather than a generalist.

A thousand years ago we had a wonderful travel agent. We did our research pre-cyber days and asked her to put together a trip. She was a Holocaust survivor who knew Europe as she born in Poland and often returned for visits and then she learned the popular vacation areas in the Caribbean out of need and professionalism.

PalenQ

Most travel agents know diddily about anywhere in Europe - at most they have gone on tours gratis and that's is - they don't know a TGV train from a tram, etc and automatically call RailEurope's Agent desk for any train bookings, at of course a higher price and may even charge a handling fee for it.

But again to some having everything buttoned down by someone else is priceless.

StCirq

The OP has already stated on Trip Advisor that she's planning this trip by herself now, so no need to keep talking about travel agents.