Joyce

Debbie, <BR>I am a travel agent and my response to you is find a good travel agent. <BR>You will go crazy trying to make all the arrangements yourself. <BR>We have many more resources available to us. <BR>Many people think using a travel agent is more expensive. It is usually LESS expensive, because we can usually get better rates. <BR>Good luck

Dayle

Debbie, my piece of advise is to allow yourselves variety and freedom! Consider that you might be ready to commit murder after 2 weeks on a bus. Touring Europe just isn't that hard. No reason you can't do it on your own if you want. Try a mix of cities and countryside. The cities are wonderful, but it's nice to see some scenery too. Allow time for the unexpected -- you never know what you'll find and want to explore further. See some museums and art, hike some Apline meadows, check out a small town festival or market, and don't under any circumstances forget to indulge in lots of good food, wine, and gelato! Have a wonderful trip, you're very lucky to have 6 weeks!

Paulo

To Joyce: in principle, you're right! A good travel agent is worth its weight in gold ... but there aren't that many around. I haven't found one yet, here in Brazil! How often clients get apparent good hotel deals (consolidator rates) just to find out that the hotel location is crap? Just recently in this forum (I guess it was Marcel) Mestre was sold as Venice. Last summer, a friend of mine only discovered that he was lodged outside Siena when he got there ... and he had no car. <BR> <BR>To Debbie: I would forget about Greek islands. You have plenty of options to "relax" in France, Switzerland and Italy. Leave Greece for another trip that you surely will do. Add Turkey and you'll spend not more than 2/3 of what you'll be spending in this trip. I agree with the opinions that you should avoid organized tours of long duration. You may take a half day, one or two-day tours, here and there. If I were in your shoes my plan would look something like: <BR> <BR>* 5-7 days in London <BR>* 5-7 days in Paris <BR>* rent (or lease) a car for 16-20 days and "find" the way from Paris to Rome; return the car. <BR>* 5-7 days in Rome <BR>back home directly, or transfer to London (train or air) and back home, depending on airfare alternatives. <BR> <BR>This would leave you the decide on how many days in each of the main cities what to do between Paris and Rome (you'll get 1000 suggestions). <BR> <BR>If your plan ends up looking something like this, I would reserve rooms in London, Paris and Rome. In between, I would only reserve in those cities that either may be crowded (Venice, Verona during the opera festival, etc.) or that are somewaht awkward for searching a room with a car (Florence). <BR>Paulo <BR> <BR>

cheryl

With all due respect to Joyce, who I'm sure is a very good travel agent, I would agree with Paulo, and advise making the arrangements yourself. I considered using a travel agent for my first trip to Europe a few years ago, and discovered that, for me, it was not the way to go. The travel agents kept trying to sell me on some kind of a tour or package, which I knew I didn't want, and the agents I dealt with didn't seem to understand the types of hotels I was interested in, and told me that I would be happier in an "american" style hotel. I realized later that the small european hotels often don't deal with travel agents, so it isn't really their fault that they couldn't book me where I wanted to be. I've since discovered, as have many others here, that planning the trip is a good deal of the fun, and I've seen too many people have disastrous trips because they didn't do their own planning. <BR> <BR>I don't know if you're still having trouble deciding where you want to go, but if Rick Steve's videos are available in Australia, I find them a fun way to "see" different parts of the world and decide which places most appeal to me. Unfortunately, I very rarely decide that any place doesn't look interesting, but there's always another trip! Good luck, we all can't wait to hear what you finally decide.

lisa

Debbie: Given your age & other vital statistics, I recommend Eurrail rather than a coach tour or driving. Driving in foreign countries can be very stressful. Trains are relaxing -- they do the work for you, and you can meet so many wonderful people on the train -- they give you the opportunity to interact more both with other travellers and also with Europeans who can give you great advice and the insiders' perspective on some of the places on your itinterary. <BR>I can only offer my own experience. I have been to Europe twice: once for six weeks by myself in my early-mid 20s, and once for 4 weeks with my boyfriend in my mid-late 20s. Both times I took Eurrail and ferries and loved it. Here's what I would do if I were going for the first time and had 4 weeks: 5 days in Paris (recommended daytrips: Versailles, Loire Valley chateaux), 3 days in Florence, 3 days in Rome, 7 days on a Greek island (we liked Poros -- a small, reasonably priced, gorgeous, untouristy island a short ferry ride from Athens -- not to be confused with Paros), 3 days in Venice, 3 days in Switzerland (we liked Lugano), 3 days in Amsterdam. This is just my opinion. I have spent time in England and Germany on both trips and they are wonderful too but the ones I listed are my favorites if I only had 4 weeks. In particular, Paris, Venice, Rome, Florence, and a Greek island (take your pick) are absolute "do not miss" experiences. My most negative experience was in Athens so I do not recommend that except for the Acropolis. <BR>I hope this helps! Planning the trip is almost as much fun as going on it so do it yourself and enjoy it. Your budget is plenty generous so you should be fine. My main tip is not to overpack! Bring as little as possible. Have a great time.

Cheryl Z.

<BR>Lots of good advice above and just a couple more things here: by now you've probably narrowed your countries down hopefully but if not, do so. Airfare can vary considerably depending on your arrival city even within the same country (ie - Milan is usually cheaper than Rome), and coming from Australia, this may narrow your choices down considerably. Also, I'd think England would be particularly interesting to you as you are Australian, and it also would be one country you may feel more comfortably driving in. Remember, everyone else drives on the "wrong" side of the street. If you spend time in England, remember there's other parts of Great Britain to see while you're there. And France would be easy to include in your itinerary with easy access to other countries. You could save Italy, Greece etc. for another time because you WILL go again. Remember too that these kinds of trips are more of an adventure rather than a restful vacation. Whether or not you use a travel agent may depend on your comfort level for traveling too.

Pierrette

Debbie <BR>Every year my husband and I visit our daughter in London from Canada. We always go to any travel agency in London to book what is called a "square deal" trip. They are last minute deals sometimes only three days notice to anywhere in Europe. We have never paid more than 200 pounds each for a week in Portugal, Spain, Greece, etc. and that includes air fare and transfers to our destination and accommodation, usually a studio or one bedroom appt. This is not for everyone as we always know the area but not the hotel where we will be staying. Your guide is always in the same district and if you are not happy with the hotel you can change for a fee. <BR>Last year we went to Crete in May and had a studio with a beautiful private garden with grapevines and lemon trees, beautiful flowers and an ocean view. We have always been more than happy with the accommodations. <BR>I don't know if these arrangements could be done through the internet. <BR>

Eric Bredesen

Visit http://www.ideamerge.com/motoeuropa to learn about the low-cost alternative to renting a car: a Renault Eurodrive tax-free, short-term car lease. These deals may seem too good to be true, but they are true! Anyone wanting to drive in Europe from 17 days to 170 days should check this out. You can even order online. <BR> <BR>This site is also a full and free guide to European motor travel. <BR> <BR> <BR>