First Time Overseas, Any Tips?
 

Hello,
I am 22 and making my first trip overseas. I am going with my 2 roommates and we are going for 11 days to London and Paris. Does anyone have any tips / tricks or advice? I am so excited and want the trip to be perfect!

Thank you all so much.

In order for people to give you good advice, you need to tell us what your interests are...art culture? museums and history? hiking? big cities, small towns? night life? etc. Does the 11 days include your travel days? Where are you flying in to and out of (best to fly into one city and home from the other so you don't lose time and money backtracking.) What time of year are you planning this trip? Just tell us a bit more and you will get more precise recommendations.

Sorry! I'm really awful with forums, tahnk you for the suggestions.I am arriving on September 8th in London then flying to Paris on September 15th and flying back home (Florida) at 2pm on September 18th.

While we are in Paris we are spending one day at Disneyland and have only one day to spend in the city. I know we are going to do the touristy things (Tower, Louvre, River Cruise, etc.), but with such limited time was wondering if there was any time / money savers. Besides the tourist sites we want to experience a little bit of the French culture and get off the beaten path. Are there any suggestions of where to shop / eat that would be a neat adventure? Or any great night activities would be amazing! (we aren't planning to sleep much on the trip)

London we have a bit longer, and think we are going to get one of the hop-on hop-off bus tours, does anyone have experience with those?

What I really want to know is if there is anything hidden or amazing that is a must see / do? When you visited, what you remembered and enjoyed the most. We don't have a huge budget, but want to get as much crammed into the trip as possible. I don't know if I will ever be able to visit again and want to make sure I get the most rounded trip possible.

Hope this helps!
Thank you.

'Perfect' is the enemy of a great first trip with friends.

Preparation ! (talking in advance about interests, plans etc., including safety awareness)
&
Flexibility ! are your best friends for this and other trips - IMO.

Have a great time !

Well, the sky is the limit! I wouldn't go to Disneyland...too much great stuff in Paris, but that's me and I am just not an amusement park girl.

The catacombs is more of an unusual thing to visit in Paris. The most beautiful place in Paris, for me, is Saint Chapelle. I would encourage you to climb the towers at Notre Dame to see the gargoyles up close and the beautiful view of Paris.

for time savers, consider the Paris Museum Pass...it will save you time waiting in line for entry. It's not so much a money saver, but allows you fast entry to most major sites and museums although you will still have to go through any security checks. It must be used on consecutive days and comes 2, 4 or 6 day versions. Visit their site for all the info and what is included.

Usually, the earlier you go the better or later. Check to see if the sites have any days with longer hours...I think the Louvre is open later on Wednesday nights. Also, use the mall carousel entrance rather than the main entrance at the Louvre...far fewer people enter that way (on rue Rivoli).
Shopping depends on your pocketbook, tastes, etc... Avenue Montaigne and rue Faubourg St Honore are great for high end designers. Rue Commerce in the 15th for younger, less expensive clothes.

The food choices are tremendous, as well. I love Le Souffle for lunch...especially the Grand Marnier souffle for dessert.

Check for posts fromKerouac to find the more true, unusual, less touristy Paris things to do. Just search his name...he lives in Paris and shares the most interesting things that most of us would never know about!

The best advice I can give is don't overplan or overpack. Keep an open mind and as Marnie suggested, remain flexible.

Your itinerary is not clear to me. I am interpreting it as one of the followings:

Interpretation 1.
9/8 Fly into London (LHR?)
9/15 Fly from London (LHR?, Luton?) - Paris (CDG?)
9/18 Fly Paris (CDG) - Florida

Interpretation 2.
9/8 Fly into London (LHR?)
9/15 Fly from London (LHR?, Luton?) - Paris (CDG?)
9/18 Paris - London (some way)
9/18 Fly London (LHR) - Florida

Pack light, make many outfits out of a few pieces. You won't be seeing the same people over and over.

Learn at least 25 words of the local language. This will include please and thank you. Be polite.

Don't compare anything to home. You didn't come all that way to be just like home.

You make your trip perfect, by getting along with your travel companions, by learning to accept things are different and by not whining.

This last is a good tip for life in general.

In London, do a walk-by of Buckingham Palace, Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, and the river Thames. See inside Westminster Abbey and/or St. Paul's Cathedral (Westminster is my favorite), the Tower of London Jewel House and the Beefeater's Tour (free), Harrod's Department Store just to look and maybe buy a souvenir in the basement, the Victoria & Albert Museum, go to the theater one night, eat Sticky Toffee Pudding, have afternoon tea, visit the Churchill War Rooms if you have an interest in history, pay a brief (or longer) visit to the British Museum, see the National Gallery, the Tate Gallery, or the National Portrait Gallery for art, go to the British Library's Special Documents Room, take a walk with London Walks. You will never run out of things to do in London, and then there are dozens of day trips such as Oxford or Cambridge, Salisbury and Stonehenge, Bath, Canterbury, and on and on.

You can get good information by reading trip reports on this site, and you should all look at travel guides (free at your library) and then buy the one you like best.

I agree with seeing Ste. Chapelle in Paris. Try for a sunny day so that the beautiful stained glass windows really glow. Notre Dame is fabulous. In addition to the Louvre, we liked the Cluny, the Jaquemart-Andre, and the d'Orsay museums. If all of you are from Florida, I wouldn't take time from Paris to see Disneyland. You could also go to Versailles for a day trip.

Check out Paul's for baked goods and try a macaron somewhere. (Lauduree's are wonderful.) They are scrumptious and not like U.S. macaroons.

I hope you have a wonderful first visit and can almost guarantee you will come home and start saving your money for more trips.

Learn the Metro and Tube systems. How they work, how to get around and where the Metro goes.

I could spend a month in Paris and hardly know the city.

I also would spend more time in Paris than London.

I recommend skipping Disneyland as well. We've been twice with our son and it really can't compare to the US versions. If you're from Florida you will almost certainly be disappointed. Compared to Disneyland in LA, the one in Paris is dirty, dingey, smokey, and cheerless.

Instead spend all the time you can in Paris, visiting the Louvre, Musee D'Orsay, Notre Dame, Eiffel Tower etc, or just eating and wandering. Euro Disney will not get you off the beaten path. It will cost you much more than lunch at a cafe, talking with your girlfriends, watching the Parisian world go by.

Also, see carolyn above. Everything she said about London is perfect.

Is there no way you can spend more time in Paris? It really is a beautiful city. So much to see. We enjoyed strolling around Paris more than we did London, but that is just personal preference.

The Tube/Metro is very easy to use. Do not be intimidated by it. Look at a tube/metro map and find where you want to go in relation to where you are. Now look at the name of the last stop in the direction that you are going. When you enter the metro there will be signs directing you to the track for that ending metro stop name. Once on board as you arrive to your stop you will see your station name clearly on the wall. Be sure to save your ticket as you will need it to exit the metro. The Oyster card is a good alternative for the London Tube if you will be staying there longer.

Forgot this, yes use the Metro in Paris, but also use the bus. Both are very easy and use the same ticket ( buy a carnet of 10 tickets to use). The bus is a great way to see more of the city as you go. I wish I had started using the bus in Paris earlier...not sure why I waited.

Here is the link to the Paris museum pass site:

http://en.parismuseumpass.com/

With 11 days I don't understand why there is only 1 day in Paris? What am I missing??

Best advice is keep a good attitude, pack light (seriously this is a really good tip for first timers), be flexible and open minded.

This would be a good time to check out a big pile of guidebooks from the library and look thru them at the maps for each city and to read, look at photos, and see anything special that catches your interest.

Don't take out any electronics in public, especially in Paris.

First - your trip will not be perfect. No trip ever is. What you want is to make sure that it's a good deal in terms of both your time and your budget. And that will happen by planning - and figuring out what you want.

For anyone from FL - who I presume has been to Disney there - going to Disney Paris will be tremendously disappointing - since it is much smaller and not especially interesting - esp compared to the wonders of Paris.

Have a look at the Let's Go student guides and look at the Thorn Tree section of the only Planet web site. it will give you ideas of what many young people do - and how to make your $ go as far as possible (be prepared that prices for everything will e substantially higher than at home).

Why would you waste a day at Euro Disney when you live or go to school in Florida? Its Paris-way too many things to see,do eat and drink there along with shopping that I would definitely forgo a wasted day out at Disneyland.
Tip-Printemps department store has a fabulous rooftop that you can get a beer,5 euro wine split and nibbles with the most fabulous views of Paris from the Tower to Sacre Coeur on the rooftop. Thursday nights it stays open longer than 730pm and has alot of cute guys coming from work. (I was there with my 27 year old daughter two weeks ago.)

Still another recommendation that you skip Disneyland and spend that day in Paris. You are from Florida! Disneyworld is so much more fabulous. Paris is so worth spending more time. Don't go all that way to miss so much of Paris in favor of a second rate amusement park.

On arrival in London obtain an 'oyster card' for each of you. You can buy them at most major tube stations and can buy them at the airport - just ask at the help desk. Preload each card with 10-20 pounds, and then you will use them everytime you go on the tube or the bus. The cost is far less than regular travel fares. The 5 pound deposit on the card can be refunded to you if you sell the card back on departure.See the London transport website link here to learn about using this card - this is key tip #1 for anyone spening more than a few days in London. http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tickets/14836.aspx

Secondly you asked for more unusual sights that aren't so touristy - and you like 'free' - some that are forgotten are London's Roman Amphitheatre (Free see http://wp.me/p2r6no-8E
and the Petrie Museum of Egyptian artifacts (Free) http://wp.me/p2r6no-1I
Remember that many of London's key museums and art galleries are free - as are the Royal Parks, and the wonderful Southbank walk along the Thames from Westminster Bridge to the Tate Modern gallery - a must walk.
Enjoy London - its wonderful

You know, if you and your friends have your heartset on going to Disneyland, then go.

It wouldn't be something that I would do but you may not do what I'd do to go see a favorite artist or a car museum.

You have to do what's in your heart. Personally, I've only been to the Disneyland in CA and wouldn't drive up to see it again. That said, I've met people who love the Mouse. It's you're vacation and I would love to read your trip report. Keep in mind that most of the people on this board are not in our early 20's. You live in a different world in that respect. :)

I have to say, I agree with suze on spending more time in Paris.

I wanted to congratulate you for actually knowing what you would like to do when you go to Europe!

Too many people post here for the 1st time and expect us to rewrite a guide book. Thanks for doing your research ahead of time kelseyclarice.

1. Make sure everyone has some sense of priorities of things they want to see (must, like to, nice to but could see another time, etc) and that that's clear to everyone.

2. Get together to group them on the maps and work out some rough plans in advance for the day or two ahead (something to talk about at breakfast!), but be prepared to chop and change according to mood, weather, something interesting you spot en route, or whatever.

3. Allow for "alone" time, and/or what to do if you get accidentally separated.

4. Get everyone to familiarise themselves (now!) with:

Getting around in London: www.tfl.gov.uk
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/gettingaround/15101.aspx
http://golondon.about.com/od/londont..._in_London.htm

Getting around in Paris:
http://www.ratp.fr/en/ratp/c_21879/tourists/
http://www.ratp.fr/plan-interactif/
http://goparis.about.com/od/transpor..._and_Buses.htm

5. Relax: tell yourselves there'll always be another time.