Any good websites for cheap travel to Europe?
 

I'm looking to travel to Europe around thankgiving time and want to know if there are any good sites out there with good deals. It would be my girlfriend and myself, traveling for 4 or 5 nights. We kind of have Italy, France, Greece and Spain in mind, but are open to suggestions. Thanks in advance.

Pretty big qestion really.... 4 countries 4 languages

Languages, interests etc might help...

Unlikely to go wrong with madrid, paris, barcelona. In italy venice is the most romantic. Each of these will fill 4 to 5 days unless you want to go on the beach in which case only two will

Cheap? With the way the dollar is falling, nothing will be cheap.

That said, I'm looking to go Thanksgiving week too. It is off season so things should be a bit cheaper.

I went to Rome two years ago Thanksgiving and it was packed.

Weather-wise, Rome and Seville should be good bets to stay warm at least.

are you talking about 4 or 5 nights total?

And are you considering going to Italy OR France OR Greece OR Spain -- or are you thinking of going to all 4??

Where are you flying from?

Thanky for the replies. I'm not looking for anything specific, I've only been to Rome once, so anything would be nice. My girlfriend said she would care if it was a beach atmosphere or not. I'm just looking for any websites with decent prices. Thanks.

Sorry for the vague description. Yes, I'm going for a total of 4 or 5 nights and only to one of these places. I know there'd be no way to enjoy even 2 of these places in such short of a stay.

Oh, and I'm flying from Chicago.

First: the biggest portion of your expenses will be airfare.

Second: the cheapest places to fly in/out of are major hubs.

Paris, Madrid, Rome, and Athens would all be good late November trips.

Use http://matrix.itasoftware.com/cvg/dispatch/prego/ to do a month long search (try Nov 20th and 30 days later) for a 5 night trip (do 6 if you actually want to spend 5 nights in Europe as the overnight flight counts as one night). Tyr this for each city.

Try your home airport to each of the cities. Going to more than one place or to a smaller city will drive up cost.

This Thanksgiving we'll be in Rome. But I did that week in Paris a couple of years ago and it was really RALLY nice...and I got lucky. It was even pretty warm. I dunno, it may be that I'm biased, but I think one can do Paris shall we say "frugally" and its STILL splendid.
Just that the weather at that time of year can be "iffy", I'd not be a terribly happy "camper" if I spent all that time and $$ to go to a beachy place and find it the weather wasn't nice.

That's not necessarily true.

Air France for instance often displays lower fares to FCO from SFO than SFO to CDG, even though you fly through CDG to get to FCO.

Besides airfare, any good websites for vacation packages? Thanks.

Sure, try http://www.go-today.com

For more of an overview of current specials, try www.travelzoo.com or www.smarterliving.com

I've never met a vacation package I liked: the flights always seem to have unnecessary connections and layovers and the hotels at the base price are in the boonies. Of course, they always have better hotels availible in the areas of the city you want to be in but they charge too much. You can get better hotels by asking here at Fodors- usually the small, family run places that the packagers don't use.

BTW, it looks like the cheapest non-stops (RT) from Chicago in your time frame are:
$670 Madrid
$770 Rome
$870 Paris

There are no non-stops to Greece in November, but there are flights for $785 with layover in Madrid or $865 with layover in Munich. Prices include all taxes/fees. Source - http://matrix.itasoftware.com/cvg/dispatch/prego

Thanksgiving is not beach weather in europe - it will sinmply be too cold. If you want warmer weather head to southern Spain or Italy south of Rome- and weather will probably be pleasantly cool - or even a little warmer - and possibly rainy - but definitely not for the beach.

Anyone know of any hotels you would recommend in Rome, Paris and/or Venice? I'm finding some good prices for these cities and would like to know where I should stay. Something nice and in a nice area, hopefully close to any attractions. Thanks for everyone's help.

That's a tall order. For a great overview, look at these for now:

All are well vetted, well reviewe, well lcated, and inexpensive. Once you've chosen a city, I can give you some specific recommendations.

http://www.eurocheapo.com/rome/hoods...-de-fiori.html
http://www.eurocheapo.com/rome/hoods/piazza-navona.html

http://www.eurocheapo.com/paris/

http://www.eurocheapo.com/venice/

Hi T,

Go to Paris. Second choice - Paris.

>hotels you would recommend in Paris

We always stay at the Hotel Bonaparte, 61 Rue Bonaparte in the 6th. From 128E dbl w/bkfst. It is located near 3 metro stops. Has AC and an elevator.

Tel 33 1 43 26 97 37
FAX 33 1 46 33 57 67
[email protected]
www.hotelbonaparte.fr

For more info, enter "Hotel Bonaparte" in the "search this forum" box.

Photos are at http://tinyurl.com/ludgd

Enjoy your holiday.

((I))

www.lacalcina.com in Venice is lovely