syllytexan

My friends and I will be traveling to Europe in June. We are looking into tour groups but are feeling restricted by the set itineraries.

Any suggestions for traveling to the various cities and countries on our own or for finding lodging for our trip? Places we would like to visit are:

London
Amsterdam
Paris
Venice
Rome

In the event we stick to a tour, are there specific tour companies that are recommended? We are currently viewing options with Globus and Trafalgar.

Any other advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks for your help!

tcreath

When we made our first trip to Europe, several years ago, we too looked at tour groups but found them too restrictive. Now I'm glad we passed. Europe is surprisingly easy to get around and you should be fine on your own. I have some questions for you: have you read any good guidebooks? If not, I recommend Rick Steves for first time travelers. While I don't follow all of his advice, he gives good insight for first-timers. What is the length of your trip? I'm assuming you want to use the train system? If so, check out www.railsaver.com to see if you would save money by purchasing a pass or not. Be sure to click on "only if it saves me money." You may want to consider spending at least a few days outside of the cities. After days of being in only cities, traveling some of the countryside has a welcoming effect.

Good luck and happy planning!
Tracy

elaine

Before people here can make useful suggestions please provide more information:
How many people are going, and their ages?

What assortment of rooms do you want--4 people all in one, 1 couple in a double room and 2 singles in a twin room, each person wants their own room etc

In a hotel, do you have to have
an elevator? Air conditioning? Private bathrooms?

How much time do you have for the whole trip?

What is your departure city?

How much do you want to spend on hotels, or give some indication of a budget per person for the whole trip. Let me just mention that the cities you mention are expensive simply because they are popular, cities are more expensive than small towns, you're going in June, and if you are from the USA or Canada the dollar to Euro or Pound ratio is not favorable.

What interests everyone:
Art museums? Historical sights?
Churches? Just unstructured strolling about? Fine dining or food that's as inexpensive as possible? Cities vs countryside?

Any special issues: health, stamina, seniors, young students, all women, all men, couples and singles, gay or straight, vegetarians or omnivores, etc etc

travelphile

nothing constructive to say... just that I had a great laugh at Elaine's "...vegetarians or omnivores, etc etc..."

LOL! Syllytexan, after you address some of Elaine's questions, there are lots of people on the board who are willing to help you.

One thing you'll need to look at is the amount of ground you're covering. That's a pretty hearty amount of ground to cover if you only have say 2 weeks.

Edward2005

I would recommend reading Rick Steves' "Europe through the Back Door." I has a lot of great tips for novice European travelers who want to travel independently. Tips like how to pack light, how to figure out the train system, how to get oriented in a new city, and how to design your own itinerary.

Michael

For finding your own accomodations in Venice, try this site:

http://www.turismovenezia.it/eng/dynalay.asp?PAGINA=437

suze

If you want to plan it yourself IMO those cities are easy enough, but depending on the time you have for your vacation...

If you only have 10 days and really want to see all 5 cities then I would consider the organized tours you mentioned.

If you have 2-3 weeks and are willing to narrow it down to 3 or 4 cities, the logistics would not be all that complicated for self planning... using guidebooks, websites, internet BB's such as this one, etc.

To me the decision comes down to a couple things... how much structure you want on your trip (do you mind getting up early in the morning, riding on a bus with the same group of people, staying in the hotels and eating the restaurants arranged for you?) OR do you want the freedom of moving at your own pace AND are willing to put in the time (which some of us find loads of fun) to plan your own trip (book airfare, reserve hotels are the main points).

suze

This may be premature but here are two hotel suggestions. Check out their websites to get an idea of what it will be like planning a trip of your own!

in Venice
www.lacalcina.com

in Paris
dacia-paris-hotel.com

These are both centrally located, lovely little 3-star hotels I stayed at originally because they were recommended by friends but would happily return to both/either.

travelbunny

As you are a "first timer", I would echo the advice as to deciding whether you want to see a few things or do a whirlwind trip with the idea of getting a taste of things. Also how many of you are going? If you have 2 weeks or less and want to see 8 cities go for the tour esp if you are more than 3-4 people. It can be difficult organizing a number of people unless you truly have the same agenda, travel style, budget and have been in close quarters for severaal weeks. In terms of tour groups, you might add Insight if you are considering Globus and Trafalger..If you would like to see 3 cities (and day trips) or if you have more than 2 weeks think about going it alone.

syllytexan

Thanks to everyone for your advice and insight.

My party consists of 2 couples; we are all in are early 30s; we have no set budget, but we would like to keep things reasonable; we are planning on spending about 14 days on our trip.

Rick Steves is a great suggestion. I am hoping we will be able to organize this ourselves...makes me feel more like an adventurer this way!

Thanks again!