to book a trip. Looks like they have some very reasonable deals. Thanks.

http://www.europeandestinations.com/Default.asp

topping-- we are also thinking of using this company.

Fantastic trip to Rome, Florence, Venice thru European Destinations in November. They put together a great package. I couldnt believe how great the price was. Hotels were clean and confortable, near train stations and in the center of the city. We could walk everywhere. Buffet breakfast was very good at each hotel. The people were very friendly and helpful at the travel agency as well as all the hotels. We also ran into someone else who booked thru the agency and had nothing but positive things to say. I highly recommend them and will definately use them again in the future

We've been looking into them for Spain. Glad to hear the good word.

sholten-
Did you use just rail or rent a car from them as well? We'd like to go just by rail - our drive-around-foreign-countries days seem to be over. (probably an age thing!)

We went by train only. I had a large suitcase that we had trouble dealing with on the train.Make sure your suitcase is on rollers and not so heavy that you cant hoist it onto the overhead luggage racks by yourself.

I read on a thread here that rolling duffles do well on trains cause they go easily down the aisles. of course the one I recently bought would be way too heavy to hoist up! Were the aisles wide enough for your suitcase?

I looked them up and saw how their prices were good but I ended up deciding NOT to use them because when I did a comparison between the airfares, hotels, and transportation that I looked up on my own, and their package, my do-it-yourself was about $1600 cheaper (for 15 days). With that said, I've compared them to other packages and they seem to be one of the bettr priced companies but if you have the time and inclination, you can save a lot going the do-it-yourself route.

For customized tours and itineraries, try www.lemonlimetravel.com. They are US-based and offer great service and expertise to European destinations. They also have relationships with consolidators that are able to offer good airfare/connections to Europe.

depending on how old you are you might also want to look into the travel company contiki... it caters mostly to 18-35 year olds. I just took one this past summer and absolutely loved it. I didnt have to worry about anything. I was so happy with the company that I am going on another contiki this summer to new zealand.