Five City European Vacation thru Groupon
 

This is my first trip to Europe and there will be 5 family members going. This is the link to the trip we are taking https://www.groupon.com/deals/ga-go-today-europe-10 and I have received confirmation that the hotels listed on that site will be the ones we will stay at during our trip. One person at go-today suggested we may want to stay at a different hotel in Venice due to water travel.

Since I have never been to Europe, I am 69, going with my daughter, son-in-law and two adult granddaughters, and they also have not been, I was hoping someone could give me their opinion about the hotels and please feel free to provide any additional advice you may have. Thank you so much.

Also my first time posting.

Linda

The biggest problem with this trip is how little time you have in each place. It takes at least half a day each time you change locations, so your three nights in each place is really just two days to sightsee, explore, experience. But there is nothing to be done about that.

You can ignore the "experts" advice in the brochure about the hop on hop off bus - it would be a terrible waste of your precious little time in each location.

Sorry, I can't help with the hotels.

Go to Booking.com and Expedia.com, they are booking sites for hotels but they will have reviews of hotels. I do not like Trip Advisor because many of the reviews are not true for one reason or another. Booking.com now will only allow you to review a hotel after a recent stay at a hotel reserved through them.

Also note that the tour says or a similar hotel.

Additionally, I agree that it is a rushed tour, but if you have no expectations of returning than it may be worthwhile for you.

Also search the Internet and see if you can find any reviews of the tour company.

95% of the people who post here, travel independently without the aid of a tour group.

Good luck.

I agree with everything Kathie says, but will add that all the hotels are very poorly located and well out of the areas usually preferred for getting around easily to sights. And, since the Venice hotel is actually located in Mestre, on the mainland nearer the airport than the Grand Canal, not sure what Go Today's concern is with water travel.

It doesn't look like good value, to me, since you would spend a lot of time and money getting around, especially in Rome and Venice. If you eliminated Barcelona, you could easily do a much better trip independently to Rome, Florence and Venice.

that is a good company, they do a decent job, I had a friend who did one of their packages. I thought those rates looked very good, although not as quite as astounding bargain as I first thought. But it is convenient the way they package all the transportation for you (and maybe have a handler around to get you to/from all these sites, I hope?). I saw rates of about $2400 for October, so if the airfare and train alone would be worth around $1400 (including the ones within Europe), that is $1000 for 14 hotel nights or about $70 per person per night or $140 a couple. Pretty good. Now in Barcelona, you could get that hotel yourself for about 100 euro so that isn't a savings. But the Paris hotel is usually around 180 euro and that can be expensive at that time period (well, the one I checked, October, not sure when you are going).

The hotels look decent, of course, you can see them, I think the biggest issue is the locations, that's all. I can't speak to the Italy ones but the one in Barcelona is really an inconvenient location. Very. It isn't even near a metro stop and is not near the center or attractions. The one in Paris is kind of far out and in a dull area IMO (Nation metro) but it is near a metro stop, at least. I think you'd enjoy something a bit more central, but it's not horrible.

So not sure what your hotel choices are, if you can choose another in a more central location in Barcelona, I definitely would, and Paris probably.

Since you are in Barcelona 3 days, I think you might want to do the hop-on/off bus there for one day, actually, many enjoy it. Barcelona is fairly large and spread out and it can be a pleasant way to view the city. I took it one day and liked it. I don't think it's as useful in Paris and you can waste too much time on it due to the clogged traffic (and you can more easily just walk about amongst sites or take short metro trips there).

I checked out the hotels in Venice, Florence, Rome and Paris. The Paris hotel is in the 11th Arrondisement near a major transportation hub. It's a good idea to learn how Paris is organized and the transportation system before you leave. It will make your sightseeing more enjoyable.

Your Rome hotel appears to be about 20 minutes (by car) from the city center, based Google maps.

Your Venice hotel is actually in Mestre, not Venice. You'll need to learn the transportation options for getting to and from Venice unless you decide to switch to a hotel in Venice. If decide to move to a hotel in Venice you'll either walk or use the vaporetto to get to different sites.

According to Google Maps your Florence hotel is about 0.5 miles from some of the main sites or a 15-20 minute bus ride. However, if I remember correctly Florence has a nice bus system, so you should have no problem getting around.

You have vary little time in each city. Do not waste money or a minute on HOHO busses.

HOHO in Paris is boring. It is easier to use metro and walk.
In Barcelona, Taxis are cheap and take you directly where you want to go. Local buses are also good.
Most of Rome center is walkable. There are local buses and taxis are reasonable.
Florence center where most everything located, is very, very small - think village size. Only take a bus if you are going to the outskirts of town, up to Fiesole, etc.
Venice has no streets, so no busses as such. Vaporettos (water bus) gets you around along with walking.

Get a top ten guide book for each city and a map. You could also get this info here on Fodors in the Destinations Forum. Pick the things you most want to see in each city. Check times they are open. Mark their location on your map. For museums and some other things, you can order tickets ahead, so less waiting in lines.

That hotel is not in Venice proper. It is in Mestre, a town on the mainland. It is nearby, but will eat up a lot of time going back and forth. I would not stay there. Pick a place in Venice Proper, even if it is not as new or nice. This is your first and perhaps only trip to Venice. Staying there at night is magical. You are spending a lot of money on this big trip. Staying in Venice is often a highlight for travelers. Don't scrimp on this one.

I am going to disagree about the on-off buses. For people who have never travelled before and may live in places that they go by car and do not do much walking...these buses give an overview of the city and are not tiring. I have taken it in Barcelona and it was very good. Highly recommended. Also took it in Paris when it was bitter cold and we just did not want to be outside and walk. It was fine..interesting, saw lots of places. Plus, we got off and went to things we wanted to see and then rode around until we warmed up. We often go to London and take the on-off bus every time. It is a nice activity and better than miles of walking sometimes going in the wrong direction. For experienced travellers, it may not be a good idea, but these people are going to places they have never been.

The hotel in Rome is quite far out, but it's very near a bus stop which will take you to a metro station. Just to give you an idea, it would take you an hour or a little more to get to the Colosseum by that means, and a little over half an hour to get to the Vatican.

The website mentions two possible hotels in Florence, which are fairly convenient to the center; both are a 15- to 20-minute walk from the Duomo, and both are close to bus stops if that's too much walking for you.

As others have said, the hotel in Venice is in Mestre, fairly near the train station, so you could take a train into central Venice. There are also buses into the center of Venice. It would take about an hour using public transportation to get to Piazza San Marco.

By the way, Mestre is part of the city of Venice, not a separate city.

Basically in Rome and Venice, you would have about a 2-hour commute each day, round trip. When you have only a short time in a city that does add up.

I would definitely get a more-centrally located hotel in Venice and Rome - especially given your limited time.

I think if you want this trip you need to upgrade to hotels much closer to the center of the cities and sights you actually want to see. As it is you will spend a lot of time just getting from hotels to what you want to see.

Venice is especially bad - since the hotel is NOT in Venice - it's in Mestre - which is an industrial suburb on the mainland. To get into Venice you will have to get to the train station, take a train to the Venice train station and then a vaporetto (boat the equivalent of a city bus) down one of the canals to the sights you want to visit.

Have you investigated the costs if you go for hotels with decent locations?

Mestre, there are buses and trains into Venice all day (and night long) even so the Magic of Venice is 6am watching it all come alive and 10pm as night falls.

Next to Mestre station it is a bit rough but there are some older parts of Mestre (to the east of the station) which are actually pleasant (just not the whole city in a lagoon thing)

Have you actually booked it yet? If you have people can help you make the best of it with some suggestions. But if you have not yet booked it I would say DON'T. Those hotels are all in terrible locations. This is a perfect example of how people go to Europe for the first time on a package like this and think they are saving money when they aren't and then spend most of the time getting to the places they want to see rather than seeing them and then come home and think European travel is over rated.

NYTraveler, you're wrong. Mestre <i><b>is</b></i> part of Venice, just as Brooklyn is part of New York.

I never said it wasn't part of Venice - I said it was an industrial suburb on the mainland - which is perfectly true - often suburbs are technically within city limits but not really where one would want to stay - due to distance/time to get anywhere as well as unpleasant conditions.

I don't want to pronounce a judgement on other cities, but the Hop-on, Hop-off bus tour wouldn't be a good idea for any of the three Italian cities on the itinerary.

In Rome, the buses have been greatly restricted in the number of stops they can make, as a traffic and pollution amelioration initiative. That, combined with the fact that many of the favorite tourist sights are not accessible to vehicles of that size, means that you don't see much from the bus, and have to do quite a bit of walking to get to many places.

In Florence, very few of the central streets are open to traffic, and the center is relatively compact and easily walkable.

In Venice, the main islands are totally closed to vehicular traffic.

Yes, Brooklyn is one of the outer boroughs of NYC - and it and Queens are largely residential and parts are definitely suburban (as opposed to Manhattan which is definitely big city and different from the outer areas.)

Mestre is part of the city of Venice - but still nothing like the center of the city. It's a mostly quite unpleasant with mixed suburban areas with a lot of industry and pollution.

Agree.... on-off buses not good in Italian cities. But Rome is big...should do something to get overview. They are not there that long.

NYTraveler, you're kind of redefining what you said above:

<< Your Venice hotel is actually in Mestre, not Venice. >>

If I had said on a New York travel forum, "Your hotel is in Brooklyn, not in New York.", I think more than one person would have corrected me.

OK, all just IMHO.

If an overview, scope of the city is something really personally important to you, and you think you might get that, then do the bus thing.

IME, however, they leave you with mostly a visual jumble of buildings. I did it on my first trip to London. It was not horrible, but not a good experience. Thinking, I had missed something good, I did it again on my fourth trip to London and it was truly horrible. Thinking it might be better in Paris, I did it there. Simply a boring waste of time. Barcelona was a tad better, but what do I actually remember? Nothing from the bus window - lots from walking in parks and inside churches.

The more limited your time, IME, the better it is to pick specific things, cathedral, museum, little neighborhood, even parks and explore them. Stand and let the atmosphere soak into you. That is the kind of experience that becomes your memory.

Thank you for the many replies. We have already booked the trip. This is the info I received from the hotel in Mestre regarding transportation to Venice.

To reach Venice from the hotel you got 2 options.

1) Our shuttle service, € 5.00 per person per trip, schedule available at your arrival, aprox. 15 min to reach the City.
2)n Public transport, stop is 200 mt from Hotel, you need to catch tram and bus, € 1.30 per person per trip, aprox. 25 min to reach the City.

I can probably upgrade our hotel to one in Venice but do not know the cost to do so. I will check on that. One person said all of the hotels are in terrible locations which worries me. I have been reading reviews of the hotels and had not seen that the locations were terrible.

We did not plan to do any tours but did think we might use some of the hop on hop off buses. Hopefully that is not a bad idea as well. Thoughts?

Also I have scoliosis and we are a little concerned for my back pain for long walks. I am going to try a cane to see if it helps. Is there availability of wheelchairs in any locations or too difficult to use?

Thank you again.

At the top of this thread, are several responses about the HOHO busses, including what to expect in different cities, such as Venice has none and Florence is too small to need any. So, lots of thoughts already for you about the HOHO bussess.

IMHO, just about any place in Venice (except Lido) would be better than Mestre. Actually, I would even prefer Lido, but it would not save you any time. Post some of the hotels they are offering as an upgrade.

Unfortunately, for you, Venice and Florence are made for walking. At least, you do not have to hurry in either city, so you can take it slow. In Venice, use the vaporetto as much as you can for getting around. Take a ride down the Grand Canal and probably, for you, a gondola ride, so you can see as much as possible without so much walking. Use your cane. In Venice, a wheel chair would be limiting, if not impossible, because of the bridges everywhere. There are some straight walking passages, then bridges. Look at the map and kind of plan ahead to go from campo to campo or piazza to piazza, etc. for places to sit and rest for a minute.

Cafes often charge more for sitting, but you might need to do that in Florence and Rome to get a break. However, right near the Duomo in Florence, there is a cafeteria style place that does not charge extra (as I remember). They are crowded and super busy, but the food is pretty good. There are also some low walls near the Duomo where you could sit.

I very strongly urge you to upgrade to a hotel in Venice. It is a magical city and staying in Mestre is a terrible idea.If I had to stay in Meatre, I would skip the trip.
I think a wheelchair would be almost impossible in Venice though with many bridges that have steps and down them. You can take vaporetto rides all around ; it is a small city so you limit your walking distances with those rides.

Both Venice and Florence are walking cities. Yes, vaporetto is available for longer distances - but there is still a lot of walking once you're off the boat. Wherever you go in Venice there are bridges to be climbed to get over the various smaller canals. Most are not steep stairs but more like a number of long steps - perhaps 6 or 7 in each direction. But walking is the only way between them.

There might be wheelchairs available for use/rent in the larger museums - but I would find out in advance and reserve them - and be sure there are elevators to get them to upper floors. Am sure this is possible in Vatican museums - but not sure about other places.

If you have mobility issues -- especially Venice will be a problem. Bridges/steps/uneven pavement everywhere (EVERYWHERE). Add to that you hotel being in Mestre . . . this will be a very difficult part of your trip.

According to Google maps, your Barcelona hotel is near the El Puxtet stop on Line 7 of a suburban metro commuter line that will take you to Plaça Catalunya in the heart of the city. The train actually begins or ends there. The trip takes 15 minutes. The hotel should be able to give you information about fares and schedules.

In Paris, your hotel is estimated by Google maps to be a 5-6 minute walk to Nation Métro station on Line 1 (and RER A). It will get you to the Châtelet station near Notre Dame in 10 minutes.

So there may not be too much difficulty in those cities with easily reaching the sights you want to see.

I hope you have a wonderful and memorable trip with your family. When are you going?

>>In Paris, your hotel is estimated by Google maps to be a 5-6 minute walk to Nation Métro station on Line 1 (and RER A). It will get you to the Châtelet station near Notre Dame in 10 minutes.<<

The Metro in general will be tough. Lots and lots of walking and steps. You may want to study the bus routes -- buses will be much easier if you can't walk far or manage stairs.

http://www.ratp.fr/plan-interactif/cartebus.php?lang=uk

I have actually seen a visitor in a wheel chair in Venice (waiting for an elevator in the Doge's palace), and last fall there were ramps on some of the main bridges, but it would be very limiting. I have visited Venice with foot issues and had to two foot the bridges, and while possible it did slow me down a lot.

Last time I was in Venice I stayed out of the center in Sant'Elena (at least it was convenient for the Bienniale), but I would not consider staying in Mestre. Or on the Lido, unless I had kids.

The bus might be easier for you in Paris. Hard to say. We use the bus a lot when we're there but have encountered packed buses here and there. Of course, the Métro is packed sometimes too. If you want to look at both possibilities for getting from your hotel to another place in the city, go to this site and plug in your hotel's address and an address or Métro station near your destination. Then you can choose the means of transport and get the details of the route and the time involved.

http://www.ratp.fr/en/ratp/c_20527/getting-around/

The 86 bus goes to the Latin Quarter and St.-Germain On its route is Bastille where you could connect to other bus routes to the Eiffel Tower or Opera areas, for example. By using the interactive map janisj gave you a link to, you can easily see the options.

If you have trouble walking or with flights of stairs then the Paris Metro is NOT the way to go. the correspondences (transfers) between different lines are often multiple flights of stairs in different directions and there can be a couple of block of walking. I have no knowledge of elevators - they may be everywhere, although I never noticed one. But would not enter without full information for the stops you wil be using.

Since you are already committed to this trip ( paid for) then I would at least try to make the best of it. And that might mean switching some hotels if that is possible.

For example - the Paris hotel is not in a 'terrible' location for someone with no mobility issues and who is staying a fairly long time. 5 minute walk to Nation Metro + 5 minutes down the stairs and along corridors to the platform + frequently a 10-15 minute wait for a train + 5 minutes walk including up stairs to exit Châtelet station + 5-10 minutes walk (across a bridge and a busy street) to Notre Dame. So figure at least a half hour from your hotel to Notre Dame each way including lots of stairs and walking. Reverse it to get back to the hotel. Is this how you want to spend your time? If I had limited time and energy I'd certainly want to be closer to the things I was going to see. Have you looked at a map and figured out what's on your 'list'? I would do that for each city and then decide if it was worth it to stay in the hotels they are including.

I guess you could figure you saved some money with the groupon so now spend it on better locations. Everything takes longer than you think it will.

I have been offered these hotels in Venice to stay instead of Mestre. Would you recommend that we change to one of these? There will be a charge as shown to select one of these hotels. I did not read back through all of the replies but one of you was kind enough to offer to review for me. I will also review their websites.

Hotel Al Sole- additional $126 for the two nights, but it would be a triple and a double room
Hotel Scandinavia- additional $246 for the three rooms for the two nights
Hotel Carlton Capri- additional $252 for the three rooms for the two nights
Hotel Pausania- additional $447 for all three rooms for the two nights

Thank you for all of your assistance.

Hi Jones37
I looked up the hotels and the reviews are nice. Based on the maps you will have to some walking once you get of the vaporetto, which will include some bridges and stairs.

If stairs are difficult for you it appears that Hotel Al Sole has an elevator, but Hotel Scandanavia does not. I would confirm with hotels whether or not they have elevators and about the possibilty of getting a room on the ground floor or 1st floor (equivalent to 1st and 2nd in the US) if that is your preference.

Also ask for early check-in before you leave. They won't guarantee it, but if it is an advanced request they will try to accommodate you.

I didn't research the other hotels.

Thanks so much for the advice on asking for early check-in. I wondered if that was a good idea. I am ok with walking up stairs. It is more long periods of walking that are difficult. I really appreciate your response.