Gablefan

Hello, all!

Hubby and I are taking our first (and perhaps only) trip to Europe this coming August. We are planning it around hubby's golf trip of a lifetime at St. Andrews. We are flying in and out of Edinburgh via British Air. However, we would also like to visit London, Paris, and Vienna. Question: What's the easiest way to get to all these different placee...train or plane?

I'm buying all these travel books, and it feels like I'm cramming for a final exam...so much to remember!

Thanks!

janisj

Before anyone can give useful advice, we need to know how long the trip is.

But in general, flying to/from Vienna, train between London/Paris, and train or flying between London/Edinburgh would be the "best" transport options - depending on which order you visit them.

Gablefan

Our total trip time will be two weeks. Five nights in Edinburgh, four in London, two in Paris, three in Vienna.

Gablefan

Sorry...the cities will be visited in that order, beginning and ending in Edinburgh. So it will be Edinburgh=>London=>Paris=>Vienna=>Edin burgh.

janisj

I think your plan is very (VERY) hectic. Unless Vienna is a must for some reason, I would drop that idea and do maybe 3 or 4 days in Edinburgh, 5 or 6 days in London, and 5 in Paris.

Fly to Edinburgh,
Train to London,
Train to Paris,
Fly to Edinburgh,
Fly home.

ira

Hi G,

You can fly Edinburgh to Vienna and Vienna to Paris. See www.whichbudget.com

Take www.eurostar.com to London, and the train to Edinburgh.

Enjoy your visit.

Michel_Paris

As people here state, when you are trying to do multi-city travel, you need to factor in, say, 1/2 day or more, for every switch (get to airport/train station early, transfer, get baggage, get to hotel ,check-in, repeat.

So trying to do 4 areas in 2 weeks is a bit tight.

If you want to see a city, and not just the checklist, places like London, Paris and Vienna would need a week each (or more). It can be done, that is not the question, the question is can you enjoy it if you feel rushed to see things and prepare for the next place.

More is not always better

I'd suggest Ed/Ldn/Par and do an open jaw from Paris. Train between places.

janisj

I would have also recommended open jaw - except that the OP says their flights are in/out of Edinburgh so just assumed the tickets are already purchased.

Michel_Paris

Even more reason not to do all of those locations, need to get back to Ed for flight, so probably would need to be there day before.

Mimar

In this trip, it might be worth paying to change to open jaw tickets, flying out of Vienna or Paris. I can't find any cheap airlines flying between Vienna and Edinburgh, so you'll have to pay quite a steep fare to do that. Might as well just change your ticket and get more vacation time on the ground.

Hope you've been to Paris before because 2 days is not enough.

Robespierre

Yeah - fly into Vienna or Edinburgh (depending on Auld Course availability), and out of the other one.

EDI and VIE are the outliers, and it wouldn't make much sense to end the trip with a one-way from either to the other, backtracking every cm.

If you travel between cities in the evening (after the sights are closed), you don't waste prime morning touring hours getting to your next base.

My preferred itinerary would be
Fly into Vienna
Train to Paris
Train to London
Train to Edinburgh
Fly home

(Air can be substituted for the 'trains' above, but as I hate to fly as much as I do, I'd probably spring for the rail fare.)

Mimar

I like Robespierre's suggested itinerary, but would reverse it, golf reservations permitting. With only 2 days in Vienna, jetlag will take up much of your visit. At least you should recover from jet lag in 5 days in Edinburgh/St. Andrew's.

janisj

you guys are giving the OP all sorts of great suggestions - except - reading the post it seems clear that:

1) they are flying in/out of Edinburgh. If the tickets are non-refundable/non-changeable, which most reasonably priced ones are - they have to work w/ that itinerary.

AND - 2) if they have booked tee times in St Andrews/Carnoustie etc. - even more reason that the itinerary is set.

bob_brown

I think you have not taken into account to vital factors.

1. Even if flying you will lose time to travel that takes precious time away from "pay off" - time in the city of choice.

2. Given the size, complexity, and the number of world class attractions in London, Paris and Vienna, you are not allowing enough time to do any of them justice.

If you are spending all this money to get to where you are going, it seems to me that all of your destinations are worth more than a lick and a promise.

I have been to London several times, even spent a week there once. There are still places I want to visit and have not had time on my agenda to get there. I know during my 2nd visit, years ago, I was going places anywhere from 14 to 17 hours a day and could not get them all in. We had something on the sechedule every night and all day every day.

Paris is a similar story. I have been there 4 times for multi day visits. Despite the number of visits, there are two places at least I have not visited that rank high on my remaining list, and I have made only two trips to the Louvre. [That place is so huge and museum, fatigue for me sets in after about 4 hours, that repeated short visits are preferable. Of course if art is of no concern, then the point is moot.]

When you think of London and Paris, it is not just the attractions inside the immediate metropolitan area but also the superb attractions on the periphery. For example, London to me should include Windsor Castle, Kew Gardens, Greenwich and, if you are an art lover, the Dulwich Gallery - all on the periphery.

Paris offers several blockbuster attractions a few miles out. These include Versailles, Vaux le Vicomte, and Fontainebleau.

Vienna is not quite as complex in my opinion, but yet there are many attractions in that cosmopolitan city where west meets east. After two visits there I am not quite as keen on a return engagement unless I could get tickets to some stellar performance at the Staatsoper.

caroline_edinburgh

There are no direct flights beteeen Edinburgh and Vienna, so you would spend the best part of a day travelling between the two. I would rearrange your itinerary to take advantage of direct connections, which there are between Edinburgh & London and between Edinburgh & Paris.

alanRow

<<< We are flying in and out of Edinburgh via British Air >>>

AFAIK the only 2 BA routes from outside the UK are Geneva and Krakow, so presumably you are travelling via a London airport - but you want to visit London.

I'm confused.